Aneta Sitek

Tattooing and Body Piercing - What Motivates You To Do It?

Background: Body ornamentation is becoming more and more popular, especially among young people. Aims: To establish the sociodemographic characteristics of people with tattoos or body piercing and to analyze the motivations for body ornamentation. Methods: The questionnaire studies were undertaken in Lodz — one of the largest cities in Poland. The data was collected from a group of 968 people, 476 of whom had a piercing and 492 a permanent tattoo. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that in the group of people with a tattoo, 36.8% were female and 63.2% were male. Contrary proportions were noted among people with a piercing: 78.8% female and 21.2% male. Conclusions: Body piercing is significantly more popular among women while tattooing is more popular in men. Among adolescents, body piercing is performed considerably earlier than tattooing. The main reasons for body ornamenting in the Polish population are the desire to enhance one’s individuality and the need to increase sexual attractiveness.

Frequency of under- and overweight among children and adolescents during the economic transition in Poland

The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity, using International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria, in four cohorts of children and adolescents living in Poland in different economic eras: communist economy (1977/1978), crisis of the 1980s (1987/1988), political and economic transformation (1992/1994) and the free market economy (2002/2004). Analysis was conducted on a database including 10,934 records for children of the age 7-18 years. In Poland, in the last 26 years of economic and political transformations, the epidemic of obesity was not noticed but the growing incidence of children and adolescents with body mass deficit was observed (p<0.0001) (20.2% of girls in 2002/2004 vs. 11.0% in 1977/1978 and 12.1% of boys in 2002/2004 vs. 7.2% in 1977/1978). Lower parental education and a higher number of children in a family resulted in a higher prevalence of underweight (odds ratio [OR] fluctuated from 1.26 to 1.63). The social effects of the political transformation in Poland significantly affected families with low socio-economic status (SES), and especially more eco-sensitive boys. This result is opposite to the trends observed in Western countries and makes an important contribution to the current knowledge of the course of further changes in weight-to-height ratio at a global scale.

Association of FTO gene with obesity in Polish schoolchildren

Abstract The goal of the study was verification of fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene polymorphisms as significant risk factors of obesity in the population of Polish children. Body mass index (BMI) and DNA were evaluated, where DNA was extracted from saliva, collected from 213 children at the age of 6-13 years. DNA was genotyped by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and HRM (high resolution melting) techniques, as well as by direct sequencing. Three (3) FTO polymorphisms were identified: rs9939609, rs9926289 and rs76804286, the last polymorphism located between the first two. For the first time, absolute linkage disequilibrium (LD) of FTO gene rs9939609 and rs9926289 polymorphisms was confirmed in data for the Polish population (D’=1, r2=1). The lack of a complete dependence among the three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the FTO gene was a consequence of the concurrence of homozygotes with minor alleles A of rs9939609+rs9926289 of FTO (AA+AA) with major alleles of rs76804286 (GG). A case-control association analysis for BMI in obese children (n=51), as compared to normal-weight children (n=162), was based on the effects of genotypes homozygous for the minor alleles of the studied SNPs in recessive and codominant inheritance models (assuming an independent effect of each genotype). A comparison of children with normal BMI with obese children indicate a strong co-dominant effect of a genotype in homozygotes of minor alleles (AA+AA) of completely linked rs9939609+rs9926289 (OR at age 8.89 ± 1.54 years=4.87, 95% CI 1.81-13.12, p=0.002). An almost five-fold increase of obesity risk in the examined children indicates that the genetic factors, associated with excessive body weight gain, exert stronger effects in the early period of ontogenetic development vs. puberty and adulthood. The role of genetic factors in predisposing to obesity declines with age

Prenatal factors associated with the neonatal line thickness in human deciduous incisors

The neonatal line (NNL) is used to distinguish developmental events observed in enamel which occurred before and after birth. However, there are few studies reporting relationship between the characteristics of the NNL and factors affecting prenatal conditions. The aim of the study was to determine prenatal factors that may influence the NNL thickness in human deciduous teeth. The material consisted of longitudinal ground sections of 60 modern human deciduous incisors obtained from full-term healthy children with reported birth histories and prenatal factors. All teeth were sectioned in the labio-lingual plane using diamond blade (Buechler IsoMet 1000). Final specimens were observed using scanning electron microscopy at magnifications 320×. For each tooth, linear measurements of the NNL thickness were taken on its labial surface at the three levels from the cemento-enamel junction. The difference in the neonatal line thickness between tooth types and between males and females was statistically significant. A multiple regression analyses confirmed influence of two variables on the NNL thickness standardised on tooth type and the childrens sex (z-score values). These variables are the taking of an antispasmodic medicine by the mother during pregnancy and the season of the childs birth. These two variables together explain nearly 17% of the variability of the NNL. Children of mothers taking a spasmolytic medicine during pregnancy were characterised by a thinner NNL compared with children whose mothers did not take such medication. Children born in summer and spring had a thinner NNL than children born in winter. These results indicate that the prenatal environment significantly contributes to the thickness of the NNL influencing the pace of reaching the post-delivery homeostasis by the newborns organism.

Is increased constitutive skin and hair pigmentation an early sign of puberty

The paper analyzes data concerning the constitutive skin and hair pigmentation of 7-10-year-old Polish children to examine whether the hormonal activity of the gonads, which increases in this period, causes changes in pigmentation levels that may be considered an early sign of puberty. The study involved 289 children (151 girls and 138 boys). Skin pigmentation was examined on the medial side of the arm, while hair pigmentation on strands of hair close to the scalp in the occipital area. Additionally, body height (B-v) was measured and compared with population norms. On this basis, it was ascertained that the studied sample was representative of the population from which it was taken and that it represented the prepubertal and early pubertal stages of ontogeny (prior to the pubertal growth spurt or the first menstruation in the studied girls). It was found that in 7-10-year-old Polish children there is a statistically significant (p=0.001) increase in skin and hair pigmentation levels, while the degree of pigmentation of both structures at this stage of ontogeny is sexually dimorphic: girls are characterized by stronger pigmentation than boys. At the age of 10 years, the dimorphic differences in skin pigmentation intensify due to a rapid rise in pigmentation in girls. This change may be deemed an early morphological sign of puberty, as it precedes the pubertal growth spurt and menarche. This fast increase in skin pigmentation is not paralleled by an analogous change in hair pigmentation.

Second to fourth digits ratio (2D:4D) and subjective pain experience in tattooing

Abstract This aims of this research are to determine if the 2D:4D digit ratio is related to subjective pain experience during tattooing and to examine gender differences therein. The study involved 43 male and 28 female Polish adults recruited from two tattoo salons in Wroclaw and Leszno in Western Poland. These subjects were asked if they felt pain during their tattooing and answers were recorded as ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. The ventral surface lengths of the second and fourth digits of each hand were measured, and analysis of variance was performed to assess significant differences in the 2D:4D ratios of right and left hands and twohand averages between genders and the Yes/ No groups reporting pain experience. Results revealed that although the digit ratios for females had systematically higher values than those in males, differences were not statistically significant. Both sex and subjective pain feeling were significantly associated with 2D:4D ratio in both hands and their average values, while sex and pain experience were independently associated with digit ratio. Subjects who felt pain during tattooing had a significantly lower digit ratio. In conclusion, the study did not support the hypothesis that the lower masculine 2D:4D ratio is associated with a higher pain threshold. Prenatal sex hormonal exposure generating the gender dimorphic 2D:4D index may not predispose the actual feeling of all kinds of pain; in this instance, not in pain associated with tattooing.

Biometric Characteristics of the Pelvis in Female-to-Male Transsexuals

The objective of the study was to evaluate the metric features of pelvises of 24 female-to-male (FtM) transsexuals as compared to control groups of 24 healthy males and 24 healthy females. The participants had their pelvises X-rayed with the same X-ray apparatus and in the same position. Seventeen measurements were taken on the basis of X-ray pictures of FtM transsexuals’ pelvises and both comparison groups. Additionally, their body height was compared. The results showed that FtM transsexuals having female body height represent an intermediate size of three pelvic features and male values of five variables. In order to develop a model based on metric variables of the pelvis that would best discriminate the FtM transsexuals, the control females, and the control males, a discriminant analysis was applied. The model included four variables out of 17 metric features: the height of the pubic symphysis, the greatest pelvic breadth, the interischial distance, and the acetabular diameter. The model was found to be the best in discriminating males from females and FtM transsexuals, but considerably less effective in discriminating transsexuals from the two control groups. The results demonstrate that a number of FtM transsexuals’ pelvic measurements reveal “masculinization,” which confirms current results demonstrating a shift in the somatometric traits of transsexual females towards male traits. A discriminant analysis based only on pelvic metric features shows some differences between the size of the pelvis and chromosomal sex in FtM transsexuals, which might indicate a biological basis for gender identity disorder.

Association of FTO and TMEM18 polymorphisms with overweight and obesity in the population of Polish children

Abstract The objective of the study was to verify whether or not FTO rs9939609, rs9926289 and TMEM18 rs4854344, rs6548238, rs2867125 variants are important risk factors for overweight and/or obesity in Polish children aged 6-16 (n=283). FTO rs 9939609 and rs9926289 exhibited a strong codominant obesity-predisposing effect of genotypes homozygous for minor alleles (OR=5.42, 95% CI: 2.04-14.39, p=0.0006). The important finding of the study is increased risk of overweight (OR=5.03, 95% CI: 1.15-21.93, p=0.0306) in individuals homozygous for the minor alleles rs4854344, rs6548238 and rs2867125 in the recessive inheritance model, while no other significant associations between TMEM18 variants and risk of obesity were found. Given the identified interaction TMEM18 genotype × BMI category (p=0.0077), it seems that the effect of homozygous for the minor alleles may be compared to a “weight guard”, which significantly increases the risk of overweight, but not of obesity, because it promotes weight gain only up to the threshold of obesity. Conclusion: The proposed hypothetical effect (“weight guard”) of homozygous for the minor alleles in the TMEM18 based on a rather small sample is a possible explanation of the effects of minor alleles, which minimize the risk of obesity.

Effects of psychological stress on skin and hair pigmentation in Polish adolescents

Abstract The effects of psychological stress, gender and age on hair and skin pigmentation levels were evaluated in the reported study. The material included Polish high-school and university students aged 18-22 (in the age range 17.50-22.49). All subjects who had sunbathed or used tanning beds or lamps, skin tanning agents, tanning extenders and/or medical agents affecting skin pigmentation during the 60 days preceding the beginning of the study were excluded. The use of hormonal contraceptives within a month prior to the study was also an excluding factor. Stress levels were evaluated by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) in the Polish adaptation, while hair and skin pigmentation levels were assessed with a dermaspectrometer (Cortex Technology®, Denmark, 2007). The study was carried out with the exclusion of the summer period. Skin pigmentation was evaluated in 395 subjects (264 women and 131 men). Hair pigmentation was analyzed in a smaller group of 351 subjects (223 women and 128 men), as some had had their hair dyed within 12 months prior to the study while in some others the hair was too short to be correctly measured. Regardless of their age, the studied women felt much more stress related to their life situation and were characterized by stronger skin pigmentation than the examined men. No sex differences were identified with regard to hair pigmentation. In the studied period of ontogenesis (18-22 years of age), hair pigmentation levels increased with age, while skin melanization remained stable. Disregarding the effects of age and sex, the level of perceived stress was negatively correlated with skin pigmentation levels; no such relationship was found for hair melanization.

Relationship between pre-natal factors, the perinatal environment, motor development in the first year of life and the timing of first deciduous tooth emergence.

Abstract Background: The emergence of deciduous teeth, despite being genetically determined, shows significant correlation with the pre-natal environment, maternal factors, method of infant feeding and also family socioeconomic status. However, reported results are often contradictory and rarely concern healthy, full-term children. Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of pre-natal and maternal factors as well as the method of infant feeding on the timing of first deciduous tooth emergence in healthy, full-term infants and to examine the relationship between the psychomotor development rate and the age at first tooth. Subjects and methods: The database contained 480 records for healthy, term-born children (272 boys and 208 girls born at 37–42 weeks of gestation) aged 9–54 months. Multiple regression analysis and multi-factor analysis of variance were used to identify significant explanatory variables for the age at first tooth. Results: The onset of deciduous tooth emergence is negatively correlated with birth weight and maternal smoking during pregnancy and positively correlated with breastfeeding and the age at which the child begins to sit up unaided. These factors have an additive effect on the age at first tooth. Conclusion: An earlier onset of tooth emergence in children exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy seems to provide further evidence for disturbed foetal development in a smoke-induced hypoxic environment.