The relationship between orthorexia nervosa, anxiety, and self-esteem: a cross-sectional study in Turkish faculty members.

BACKGROUND: Orthorexia nervosa (ON) may be a disorder on the spectrum of obsessive-compulsive disorders, maybe a separate eating disorder, or it may be an eating disorder on the spectrum of other eating disorders. We aimed to explore how anxiety and self-esteem affect the orthorectic tendency among higher-educated groups. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 248 faculty members selected by stratified sampling method from Ondokuz Mayis University in Samsun, Turkey. Data were collected by face-to-face interview method using Ortho-15, Rosenberg self-esteem, and Beck Anxiety scales. RESULTS: The study group consisted of 144 (58.1%) males and 104 (41.9%) females, and the mean age was 42.5 ± 6.3 years. We found a tendency for orthorexia nervosa in 47 (19%) participants. The mean scores were 41.0 ± 2.6 for the Ortho-15 scale, 0.7 ± 1.2 for the Self-esteem scale, and 5.9 ± 5.8 for the Beck Anxiety Scale. Self-esteem scores were low, and anxiety scores were high in participants who tended to orthorexia (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the high self-esteem scores decrease the orthorectic tendency, while high anxiety scores increase the tendency. CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant relationship between anxiety, low self-esteem and orthorexia nervosa. This result can be considered as a preliminary finding leading to further research. Further clinical and longitudinal studies are needed to determine the characteristics of individuals with orthorexia nervosa and identify the cause and effect relationship with psychiatric comorbidities.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children and parents: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity, a complex and multifactorial disease causing severe health problems, is still the second most important cause of preventable deaths after smoking. Another risk is that childhood obesity is associated with overweight and obesity in adulthood. This study provides information on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in primary school students and their parents on location (rural v urban) and gender. METHODS: In this population-based, cross-sectional study, the anthropometric and demographic data of 9786 children and 6855 parents were analyzed. The study was conducted between 1 October 2016 and 30 November 2016 on a sample representing all public and private primary school students aged 6-10 years in Samsun province, Turkey. The multi-stage stratified sampling method was used in selecting the research sample according to the number of district students, the number of public/private primary school students, and the number of rural/urban students. In the BMI values classification, cut-off points in the age- and gender-specific growth charts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used for students, and the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs were used for parents or guardians. After the data acquisition was completed, a questionnaire form developed by the researchers was sent to the parents through the students. While children's anthropometric measurements were performed in their classrooms, parents or guardians self-reported their weight and height. Statistical Package for the social Sciences v22.0 was used for statistical analysis of the data. RESULTS: The study group consisted of 5005 (51.1%) boys and 4781 (48.9%) girls. The 6855 parents comprised 5258 (76.7%) mothers and 1597 (23.3%) fathers. The mean age was 8.2±1.2 years in children and 36.2±6.7 years in parents. Obesity prevalence was 10.5% in children and 20.2% in their parents. Childhood obesity was more prevalent in boys and in those living in urban areas (12.0% and 12.3%, respectively) than in girls and in those living in rural areas (9.0% and 4.5%, respectively). Conversely, adulthood obesity was more frequent in females and in those living in rural areas (20.4% and 21.8%, respectively) than in males and in those living in urban areas (19.7% and 20.4%, respectively). CONCLUSION: BMI values were higher among those of male gender and those living in rural areas. Combating obesity requires further multidisciplinary research to reveal the reasons for the differences based on place and gender, especially on nutrition and healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Regional success on screening and chemoprophylaxis in contacts of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Turkey: a dispensary experience in 2016-2017.

BACKGROUND: Turkey has a national tuberculosis (TB) control program that follows the standards set by the World Health Organization's (WHO) global TB control program. METHODS: In this record-based retrospective study, contact screening and chemoprophylaxis of 469 TB contacts registered at the Samsun Tuberculosis Dispensary in 2016-2017 were assessed. RESULTS: On average, patients with pulmonary TB each had four contacts. Chemoprophylaxis was administered in 233 of the contacts for the following reasons: having close contact with an active TB patient (187 [80%]), being <15 y of age and tuberculin skin test (TST) positive (12 [5%]), detection of latent TB infection (27 [12%]) or not having been treated for TB before in conjunction with the discovery via radiography of a sequel lesion (7 [3%]). The remaining 236 contacts were not given chemoprophylaxis: 203 (86%) were TST negative, 10 (4%) rejected chemoprophylaxis and 23 (10%) refused to participate in an examination. Chemoprophylaxis was given to 30% of contacts in the first week and to 75% of contacts in the first month. The treatment completion rate was 80%, while the rate of chemoprophylaxis abandonment was 19.5% for males and 21.2% for females. CONCLUSIONS: The Samsun TB dispensary is successfully implementing the WHO's End TB strategy and has achieved higher treatment completion rates than other countries.

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Relationship among Adolescents' Perceived Social Support, Psychological State and Future Expectations among Turkish Students.

INTRODUCTION: Due to social and emotional changes alongside the cognitive and logical changes in adolescence, alterations occur in the adolescent's communication with family and friends in this period, and social support assumes greater importance. METHODS: From each of the two middle and high schools in the Ilkadim district of Samsun, a total 688 students were employed by a two-stage sampling method in this cross-sectional study. The data were collected from sociodemographic information, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and Future Expectations Scale for Adolescents (FESA) questionnaires distributed under the supervision of guidance counselors in these schools between December 2014 and February 2015. The Mann- Whitney U test and Spearman's Rank Correlation were used for statistical analysis. The significance level was accepted as p<0.05 for all tests. RESULTS: In the study group, MSPSS Family subscale had a stronger correlational relationship with all the BSI subscales including global indices and also with total score of FESA and subscales with the exception of the Marriage and Family subscale than the other two MSPSS subscales. There were moderate negative correlation between scores of MSPSS and BSI, and a low-moderate positive correlation was observed between total MSPSS and FESA scores of adolescents. The results demonstrated that adolescents who exercise regularly and avoid smoking and alcohol have higher perceptions of social support. CONCLUSION: Perceived social support from family may be more effective than perceived social support from friends or a significant other in the development of psychological well-being and positive future expectations of Turkish adolescents.

Expression of Glypican 3 in low and high grade urothelial carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Glypican-3 (GPC3) is an oncofetal protein which is encoded by GPC3 gene and takes role in the regulation of cell division and apoptosis. Overexpression of GPC3 has been reported in some types of cancer such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the lungs and testicular germ cell tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of GPC3 in the non-neoplastic urothelium and in urothelial carcinoma (UC). We also aimed to explore the alterations in the GPC3 expression according to the grade and the invasiveness of UC. METHODS: GPC3 expression was studied in 108 UC cases by using immunohistochemistry. Each section was evaluated in terms of the extensiveness and intensity of GPC3 staining. Scores of immunostaining were correlated with tumor grade and stage. RESULTS: GPC3 expression was observed in 38 cases (35.2%). GPC3 expression was positive in 43.6% of high and in 13.3% of low grade UC (p: 0.003). In 19 UC cases biopsy also harbored non-neoplastic urothelium which showed no staining for GPC3. The difference in staining percentages between low and high grade UCs, suggests that GPC3 staining could be used as an adjunctive marker in cases where the distinction between the low and high grade tumors is difficult. In addition, lack of staining in the non-neoplastic urothelial areas in 19 cases raises the possibility of the use of GPC3 staining for the distinction between neoplastic and non-neoplastic urothelium, especially in punch biopsy samples. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results potential role of GPC3 in urothelial carcinogenesis warrants further investigation, especially the potential use of GPC3 for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2260833001522844.

Violence towards workers in hospital emergency services and in emergency medical care units in Samsun: an epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of exposure to some form of violence during the previous 12 months and the State-Trait Anxiety levels of emergency medical care (EMC) and emergency service (ES) workers in Samsun. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in all EMC (5) units and ES (4) in Samsun, between April 1 and April 30, 2004. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all of the workers (n=320). RESULTS: Of the workers, 280 (87.5%) completed the survey. A total of 202 (72.1%) participants reported that they had witnessed some form of violence. ES workers (75.9%) were more often exposed to violence than EMC workers (62.3%) (c2=5.08, p<0.05). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that age, gender and anxiety regarding repetition of exposure to violence were related with higher state anxiety point, while anxiety regarding repetition of exposure to violence was related with higher trait anxiety point. CONCLUSION: This evidence clearly indicates that violence in ES and EMC units is a common concern. The necessary framework for the reduction and elimination of violence in the workplace should be provided.