The Prevalence of patients with panic attacks (PAs) and panic disorder (PD) visiting Emergency Departments of the Verona Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Panic Attacks (PAs) and Panic Disorder (PD) represent a heavy burden not only because of the difficulty in distinguishing them from other pathologies and in treating them appropriately but also because of their impact on public health worldwide. In Europe, PD constitutes one of the five most common mental disorders adversely affecting quality of life. STUDY DESIGN: The aim of this study is to evaluate the period prevalence of visits to the Emergency Departments of the University Hospital of Verona (North East of Italy) over the period between 2012-2016 because of symptoms of PAs or PD in order to quantify the burden of the disorder. METHODS: This study was carried out by retrospectively collecting data from the medical records of all the patients assessed at the Emergency Departments (EDs) of the Verona Hospital because of symptoms of PAs or PD over a 5-year period (1 January 2012 - 31 December 2016). The search words used in reviewing the medical records registered in the hospital discharge reports from the Gynecological, Pediatric and General Medicine Emergency Departments were: "Anxiety" and/or "Panic". A multiple logistic regression model was also created to evaluate the predictors of ED visits for PAs or PD over the period that was investigated. RESULTS: The study identified 3,771 cases of PAs or PD; 62.3% were females and 37.7% were males. The female-to-male ratio was 1.7:1. The mean age was 44 years (46 for the females and 41 for the males). The majority of the patients fell into two age categories: 30 to 39 (20.6%) and 40 to 49 (23.8%). The proportion of visits to the EDs for PAs or PD was approximately 20% per year, with an average of approximately 754 patients visiting the EDs every year. The period prevalence of accesses for PAs or PD over the five year period studied in the mean resident population (1.4%) and the mean visits to the EDs (2.5%) were calculated. Study results showed that the majority of the patients (80.9%) were referred to their general practitioner (GP) at the end of the assessment protocol at the EDs. According to the regression logistic model, the following variables were significant (p<0.05) risk factors for PAs or PD: being female vs. male (OR 1.899; 95% CI 1.785-2.020), being Italian vs. Foreigner (OR 1.292; 95% CI 1.174-1.421), having a white or green priority code at arrival (low urgency) vs. the other ones (OR 1.195; 95% CI 1.100-1.297), and being aged ≤42 years old (OR 1.091; 95% CI 1.024-1.161). CONCLUSION: The role of the GP is crucial in the management of PD and PAs. Given the difficulty of implementing primary and secondary prevention programs for these conditions, public health officials should make every effort to promote tertiary prevention in order to reduce the burden of the ailment and societal cost.

Energy drink and ginseng consumption by Italian university students: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: The consumption of energy drinks (ED) and ginseng by young people to enhance their mental and physical performance has become widespread. Reported side-effects of ED have raised doubts regarding their safety. This cross-sectional study investigates the phenomenon. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of Verona university students. The resulting data were analyzed with Excel 2013, STATA 13 software. RESULTS: ED and ginseng consumption was reported by 38.6% and 37.4% of the students, respectively. More than 70% of ED and ginseng users were 18 to 22 years old. Excluding non-responders, ED consumers were mostly males (51.8% vs 33.0%), contrary to ginseng consumers (females 40.4% vs 30.9%). Being a working student was significantly positively associated both to EDs (OR 1.5) and ginseng use (OR 1.4). The most frequently reported academic and other reasons for ED use were: "to study longer" (47.5%), and "to socialize" (29.1%). The most often used combinations were ED containing alcohol (65.6%) and ginseng-coffee beverages (71.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The diffusion of ED and ginseng consumption warrants prevention and monitoring measures, and deserves further analysis.

Brain doping: stimulants use and misuse among a sample of Italian college students.

INTRODUCTION: The non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS) has become the subject of great interest for its diffusion among university students, who abuse these substances to cope with the increasing load of academic stress. NMUPS has been widely investigated in the U.S. due to its increasing trend; this behavior, however, has also been reported in Europe. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine stimulants misuse in a Northern Italian geographic area, identifying possible developments of the phenomenon in Italy. METHODS: To evaluate academic and extra-academic NMUPS (Methylphenidate and Amphetamines), an anonymous multiplechoice questionnaire was administrated to a sample of Bachelor's and Master's degrees students attending a University North East of Italy. Data elaboration and CI 95% were performed with Excel software 2013. Fisher's exact tests were performed using Graph- Pad INSTAT software. RESULTS: Data from 899 correctly completed questionnaires were analyzed in this study. 11.3% of students reported NMUPS, with an apparent greater use by students aged 18-22 years (73.5%) and without any statistically significant gender predominance. Fifty-seven point eight percent of students used stimulants at most five times in six months, and the most frequent academic and extra-academic reasons to use them were respectively to improve concentration while studying (51.0%) and sports performance (25.5%). NMUPS was higher among working students than nonworking ones (p < 0.05), suggesting a use of stimulants to cope with stress by the first ones. CONCLUSIONS: These exploratory and preliminary data suggest that NMUPS is quite relevant in Northern Italy, suggesting a need for preventive and monitoring measures, as well as future analysis via a longitudinal multicenter study.

Influence of gastrointestinal parasitism on biochemical variables in blood of laying hens / Influencia del parasitismo gastrointestinal en las variables bioquímicas en la sangre de las gallinas ponedoras

Objective. This study describes the influence of endoparasites and diet on biochemical variables in sera of brown laying hens. Materials and methods. Biochemical parameters (seric levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, total protein, uric acid, albumin, and alanine aminotransferase activity) were assessed in blood samples of poultry. Three populations of laying hens of different properties (n=20 each) represented our experimental design, from which blood (serum) and feces were collected for biochemical and parasitological analyzes, respectively. Results. From 60 feces samples evaluated 49 were positive for the presence of parasites and 11 were negative. Among the positive samples, 23 had infection with Eimeria spp and the other 26 samples had mixed parasitism with Eimeria spp and Heterakis gallinarum, which influenced (increasing) the levels of total protein and globulin. However, when parasites were analyzed separately, it was observed that the infection by Eimeria spp affected parameters such as cholesterol (which increased, p=0.001) and triglycerides, showing lower results than when the hen was parasitized by Eimeria spp. (p=0.01). Significant (p<0.05) difference was observed in all biochemical variables when the three diets were compared. Conclusions. Our results allowed concluding that the parasitic infection and diet in laying hens influenced the results of serum biochemical parameters evaluated. The main conclusion we found that parasitism caused an increase in total protein and globulin (ie immune response), and there was a negative correlation between parasite load and albumin, uric acid and ALT.

Objetivo. Este estudio describe la influencia de la dieta sobre los endoparásitos y variables bioquímicas en el suero de las gallinas ponedoras marrones. Materiales y métodos. Los parámetros bioquímicos (niveles séricos de colesterol, triglicéridos, proteínas totales, ácido úrico, albúmina, y la actividad de la alanina aminotransferasa) se evaluaron en muestras de sangre de las aves de corral. Tres poblaciones de gallinas ponedoras de distintas propiedades (n=20 cada uno) representan nuestro diseño experimental, de la que se recogieron la sangre (suero) y las heces de bioquímica y análisis parasitológico, respectivamente. Resultados. De 60 muestras de heces evaluadas, 49 fueron positivos para la presencia de parásitos y 11 fueron negativos. Entre las muestras positivas, 23 tenían infección con Eimeria spp y las otras 26 muestras tenían parasitismo mezclado con Eimeria spp y Heterakis gallinarum, que influyó (aumentando) los niveles de proteína total y globulina. Sin embargo, cuando se analizaron por separado los parásitos, se observó que la infección por Eimeria spp afectó parámetros tales como el colesterol (el cual se incrementó p=0.001) y los triglicéridos, que mostraron resultados más bajos que cuando las gallinas fueron parasitadas por Eimeria spp. (p=0.01). Se observó diferencia (p<0.05) en todas las variables bioquímicas, cuando se compararon las tres dietas. Conclusiones. Nuestros resultados permitieron concluir que la infección parasitaria y la dieta de las gallinas ponedoras influyeron en los resultados de los parámetros bioquímicos séricos evaluados. La principal conclusión que se encontró es que el parasitismo causó un aumento de la proteína total y la globulina (es decir, la respuesta inmune), y hubo una correlación negativa entre la carga de parásitos y albúmina, ácido úrico y ALT.