http://kidneys.zaslavsky.com.ua/article/download/84325/116293

Європейське керівництво з профілактики серцево-судинних захворювань у клінічній практиці — 2016

The number of overweight and obese youth has increased in recent decades, and numerous theories on causes have been proposed. Yet almost no data are available to assess how the lives of children have changed during the “obesity epidemic.” What are children and adolescents now doing with their time that they did not do before? Are they participating less in sports? Watching more television? Doing more homework? Without tracking these broader societal changes, it is difficult to identify the most (and least) promising areas for interventions. This two-part report compiles trend data for several areas. Part 1 discusses trends in time use, homework, and media use; part 2 discusses trends in transportation, physical education, and diet.

The main findings of this article are the following: One, the free time of children has substantially declined because of increased time away from home, primarily in school, day care, and after-school programs. Two, participation in organized activities (including sports) has also increased. Three, unstructured playtime has decreased to make room for organized activities. Four, time spent in some sedentary activities like watching television, participating in conversations, or taking part in other passive leisure activities also declined just when obesity became a major concern. Five, increases in homework have not caused decreases in free time, contradicting a common belief in education circles.

PEER REVIEWED: Childhood Obesity — What We Can Learn From Existing Data on Societal Trends, Part 1

Introduction
We assessed the prevalence of substance use and its association with high blood pressure among adults in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Peer Reviewed: Association of Smoking and Khat (Catha edulis Forsk) Use With High Blood Pressure Among Adults in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2006

Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity: A Review of Recent Case Reports and Registries.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to drastically change their social life habits as governments employed harsh restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus. Although beneficial to physical health, the perception of physical distancing and related restrictions could impact mental health. In a pre-registered online survey, we assessed how effective a range of restrictions were perceived, how severely they affected daily life, general distress and paranoia during the early phase of the outbreak in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Israel, Norway and USA. Most of our over 2000 respondents rated the restrictions as effective. School closings were perceived as having the strongest effect on daily life. Participants who believed their country reacted too mildly perceived the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 to be higher, were more worried and expressed reduced beliefs in the ability to control the outbreak. Relatedly, dissatisfaction with governmental reactions corresponded with increased distress levels. Together, we found that satisfaction with one's governmental reactions and fear appraisal play an important role in assessing the efficacy of restrictions during the pandemic and their related psychological outcomes. These findings inform policy-makers on the psychological factors that strengthen resilience and foster the well-being of citizens in times of global crisis.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.200644

Perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions, reactions and their impact on mental health during the early phase of the outbreak in six countries

Since the declaration of COVID-19 pandemic infection by the World Health Organization, many governmental restrictions have been differently applied in the involved countries in order to contain the spread of the infection; Italy applied severe restrictive, public measures actually confining the entire population to an almost complete lockdown for several weeks; the restrictive quarantine can be considered controversial when excessively prolonged over time, due to many possible economic, psychologic and social consequences with a remarkable impact on the population. In this article we analyze possible collateral damages related to the prolonged quarantine.

COVID-19: the critical balance between appropriate governmental restrictions and expected economic, psychological and social consequences in Italy. Are we going in the right direction?

Background. The aim of our study was to assess the relationship between cigarette smoking and epicardial fat in a cohort of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) at risk for coronary artery disease. Methods. We studied, in primary prevention, 54 subjects diagnosed with MetS. According to their smoking habits, the subjects were divided into two groups: smokers and non-smokers. Besides anthropometric characterization and screening laboratory tests, the subjects had a multidetector computerized tomography scan, which allowed epicardial fat quantification and calcium score (CS) evaluation. Results. Compared with non-smokers, smokers showed older age (61.6 ± 1.8 vs 56.8 ± 1.2 yrs; p < 0.05). Also, the smokers displayed increased epicardial fat volume (138 [123; 150] vs 101[79; 130] ml; p < 0.01) as well as higher CS (94 [3; 301.5] vs 0 [0;10.2]; p < 0.001), in comparison with non-smokers. Notably, CS was positively correlated with smoking habit (rs 0.469; p < 0.01), epicardial fat (rs 0.377; p < 0.01...

Correlation between epicardial fat and cigarette smoking: CT imaging in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Cardiovascular risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa: a review

Recently, although without a universal recognition, the use of lipid emulsions as a rescue therapy for the bupivacaine cardiac toxicity has been proposed. In this article we report a successful resuscitation of a patient after the injection of bupivacaine in emergency room and a commented review of the related literature. The patient is a 73 years old man that, after a subcutaneous injection of bupivacaine (0.5%, i.e. 0.5 mL/h), developed circulatory arrest. After the failure of the initial treatment based on the advanced life support protocol, we have successfully performed a therapy with lipid emulsion. The bupivacaine intravascular injection, together with its interaction with amitriptyline and carbamazepine, could lead to cardiac depression, severe arrhythmias, hypotension, and/or cardiac arrest. In the case of failure of traditional life support treatment, intravenous lipid emulsion proves to be the best therapy to treat bupivacaine systemic toxicity.

/pdf/treatment-with-lipid-therapy-to-resuscitate-a-patient-2mgnbm1thi.pdf

Treatment with lipid therapy to resuscitate a patient suffering from toxicity due to local anesthetics

Introduction Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a genetic heart disorder due to alteration of the ion channels function that causes an impaired in the cardiac conduction system. It is characterized by an abnormal electrocardiogram pattern and may be complicated by malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Pericarditis is an inflammation of the pericardium and 90% of isolated cases of acute pericarditis are idiopathic or viral. Acute pericarditis may appears with chest pain, fever, pericardial friction rub, and cardiac tamponade. Moreover, widespread ST segment changes occur due to involvement of the underlying epicardium. Case Report A 27-year-old man was admitted to the Emergency Department of the …. Hospital due to fatigue and chest discomfort. Laboratory findings showed that WBC count and C-reactive protein were increased. Echocardiographic finding was normal. The patient was admitted with a diagnosis of pericarditis. Electrocardiogram (ECG) showed a “saddle back”-type ST elevation in leads V2, recognised as type 2 Brugada pattern. The ECG normalized within a few days after the beginning of anti-inflammatory therapy and the follow-up was uneventful. Based on findings in our patient and data from literature, we hypothesize that the patient developed a Brugada ECG pattern due the pericarditis. Conclusions Our case report shows that the pericarditis may mimic BrS. Moreover, it is important to underline that a Brugada ECG pattern should only be considered as a sign of electrical heart disease but detailed diagnostic tests are anyway needed.

Manuel Monti

Papers

COVID-19: the critical balance between appropriate governmental restrictions and expected economic, psychological and social consequences in Italy. Are we going in the right direction?

Correlation between epicardial fat and cigarette smoking: CT imaging in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Cardiovascular risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa: a review

Treatment with lipid therapy to resuscitate a patient suffering from toxicity due to local anesthetics

Pericarditis mimicking Brugada syndrome.