[Additional psychometric data for the DS1K mood questionnaire. Experience from a large sample study involving parents of young children]. / Kiegészítö pszichometriai adatok a DS1K hangulati kérdöívhez. Egy kisgyermekes szülöket bevonó nagymintás kutatás tapasztalatai.

AIMS: A new instrument for assessing depressive mood, the first version of Depression Scale Questionnaire (DS1K) was published in 2008 by Halmai et al. This scale was used in our large sample study, in the framework of the For Healthy Offspring project, involving parents of young children. The original questionnaire was developed in small samples, so our aim was to assist further development of the instrument by the psychometric analysis of the data in our large sample (n=1164). METHOD: The DS1K scale was chosen to measure the parents' mood and mental state in the For Healthy Offspring project. The questionnaire was completed by 1063 mothers and 328 fathers, yielding a heterogenous sample with respect to age and socio-demographic status. Analyses included main descriptive statistics, establishing the scales' inner consistency and some comparisons. Results were checked in our original and multiple imputed datasets as well. RESULTS: According to our results the reliability of our scale was much worse than in the original study (Cronbach alpha: 0.61 versus 0.88). During the detailed item-analysis it became clear that two items contributed to the observed decreased coherence. We assumed a problem related to misreading in case of one of these items. This assumption was checked by cross-analysis by the assumed reading level. According to our results the reliability of the scale was increased in both the lower and higher education level groups if we did not include one or both of these problematic items. However, as the number of items decreased, the relative sensitivity of the scale was also reduced, with fewer persons categorized in the risk group compared to the original scale. CONCLUSION: We suggest for the authors as an alternative solution to redefine the problematic items and retest the reliability of the measurement in a sample with diverse socio-demographic characteristics.

Relationship of environmental tobacco smoke to otitis media (OM) in children.

INTRODUCTION: Many, but not all, studies have found a correlation between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and acute otitis media (AOM) and other adverse otologic outcomes. Given its high personal and societal costs and the divergent findings of the effect of ETS on middle ear disease, the aim of the current study was to assess the impact and possible determinant factors of ETS on recurrent (two or more) episodes of AOM. METHODS: The study was performed at Heim Pal Children's Hospital, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department, Budapest, Hungary. Caregivers of a convenience sample of 412 children attending the ENT outpatient clinic were surveyed via a 22-item questionnaire regarding demographics, socioeconomics, and smoking behaviours of the child's family; as well as care-givers' self report of the number of AOM episodes of the child. RESULTS: Of the 412 participants, 155 (38%) children's parents smoked. In bivariate analysis, two or more episodes of AOM correlated with reported hearing problems, day care enrolment, parental employment and increased age of the child. In multivariate logistic regression, parental smoking more than doubled a child's risk for recurrent AOM while increased maternal employment (e.g. part-time or full-time versus unemployed) boosted risk up to fourfold. Among children whose parents smoked, half-packs of cigarettes smoked per day and day care attendance doubled or nearly tripled, respectively, the risk of recurrent AOM episodes. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood exposure to ETS is high among an ENT clinic population of Hungarian children. Such exposure correlates with AOM episodes, ENT operations and conductive hearing loss. Data such as these argue for strict laws smoke-free laws not only in Hungary, but also in Europe and around the world.

[Psychometric parameters of the Hungarian version of Mothers' Object Relations Scales - Short Form (H-MORS-SF) in a large sample]. / A röviditett Szulö-Csecsemö Kapcsolat Skála magyar valtozátnak (H-MORS-SF) pszichometriai mutatói nagy mintán.

INTRODUCTION: The Mothers' Object Relations Scale (MORS) was developed by John M. Oates (Open University, Milton Keynes, UK) in the late 1990s. The MORS is an appropriate instrument for gathering parental perceptions about the child and the parent-infant relationship. The questionnaire and its short form were improved further and validated in British and Hungarian samples in the beginning of the 2000s and the questionnaire was used in several applied studies in the UK where its predictive validity was further confirmed. METHODS: The development and validation phases were based on small samples. The diverse social-demographic characteristics of the For Healthy Offspring project, allowed for further testing the reliability and validity of the Hungarian short-form in a large (n=1164) sample. RESULTS: High internal consistency was found in the original and the imputed data obtained from parents of 0-3-year old children for both of H-MORS-SF dimensions: Invasion and Warmth. The scales had interpretable and systematic cross-correlations with measures of infant temperament (IBQ-R, ECBQ) and mental state (DS1K) of both parents. These results confirm and exceed the previous results based on small samples. CONCLUSION: Given the convincing psychometric indicators and its fast and simple usage, the H-MORS-SF can be considered as an effective preventive screening test for monitoring the developing parent-infant relationship, therefore we suggest its use for professionals working in developmental psychology, child health and social fields.

Effect of diet and physical exercise treatment on insulin resistance syndrome of schoolchildren.

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) of schoolchildren may contribute to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) of young adults. The investigation of different steps, baseline screening parameters and treatment of IRS may help the prevention. METHODS: Schoolchildren (53 boys and 61 girls age 5-17 years) because of adverse family history of CVD, hypertension, and obesity were investigated. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to baseline plasma glucose level (PGL) 120 and 180 min. after glucose consumption (GC): (1) PGL < or = 5.5 mmol/L 180 min. after GC, (2) PGL > or = 5.5 mmol/L 180 min. but < or = 7.8 mmol/L 120 min. after GC (3) PGL > or = 7.8 mmol/L 120 min. after GC. Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP) and parameters of glucose and lipid metabolism were measured at baseline and after two year's lifestyle modification. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CRF) between groups 2 and 3. Fasting PGL > 5.5 mmol/L was found in 1, 2, and 6 cases; HOMA index > 4.4 in 7 (24%), 21 (37%), and 9 (35%) subjects; OGIS index < 400 in 3(10%), 29(51%) and 11 (42%) schoolchildren of groups 1, 2, 3, respectively. Lifestyle modification significantly improved BMI, systolic BP, serum triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol levels and insulin sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: PGL measured 180 minutes after GC may define an important subgroup of pre-diabetic children. The similar prevalance of CRF in both praediabetic groups underlines the importance of this subgroup. Lifestyle modification for two years improves CRF in this population.

Polymorphism in the promoter region of the apolipoprotein A5 gene is associated with an increased susceptibility for coronary artery disease.

Although triglycerides (TG) are a major risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD), their exact role is still controversial. Recently, a T/C polymorphism in the promoter region of the apoA5 gene at position 1131 has been found that is associated with an increased plasma TG concentration. We investigated the role of this polymorphism in 308 Hungarian patients with CAD referred to coronary bypass surgery, and in 310 controls recruited from the same area. The prevalence of the apoA5-1131C allele was significantly higher among CAD patients than among controls (10.9% versus 5.7%; P < 0.001, Odds ratio (OR) = 1.99 (1.30-3.04)). Controls carrying the rare C allele had in average 23.0% (P < 0.001), subjects with CAD 13.8% (P < 0.001) higher TG levels compared to common allele homozygotes. The polymorphism was not associated with other conventional CAD risk factors or laboratory data of the patients. In logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, presence of diabetes, BMI, smoking, LDL-C, HDL-C and hypertension a significantly increased risk of developing CAD was found in patients carrying the apoA5-1131C allele (P < 0.001; OR = 1.98 (1.14-3.48)), suggesting that this allele variant is an independent genetic risk factor for CAD.