Mahir Güleç

Complementary and alternative medicine use among Turkish diabetes patients

OBJECTIVES To measure the frequency of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among patients with diabetes mellitus, to determine demographic characteristics making it more likely to using CAM, and to find out how benefits, if any, were perceived by patients. DESIGN A 24-item survey questionnaire administered to 371 return patients with diabetes mellitus. SETTING Outpatient clinic of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism department of Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Questionnaire-based measures of demographics, motives, expectations, and effects of using CAM, and types and reported perceived benefits of CAM practiced on patients with diabetes mellitus. RESULTS Forty-one percent of patients (n=152) used at least one of CAM practices; and age, birthplace, educational status, duration of diabetes and family type were significant factors in such behaviour. CONCLUSIONS Patients born in cities, having more education and longer duration of diabetes, at relatively young ages and living in large families were more likely to use CAM. More than half of those using CAM (n=80, 52.7%) reported as benefits the feelings of either strengthening of body, or being in good psychological condition, or disappearance of several symptoms.

Association between cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms among military medical students in Turkey

An association has been documented between two important health concerns, smoking and depression. A cross-sectional study was carried out to explore whether this relationship exists in a sample of Turkish military medical undergraduates. Of a total of 779 military medical undergraduates, 690 agreed to participate in the study. The students completed a self-administered questionnaire including the Turkish adaptation of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and gave a smoking history. It was determined that the smokers among medical students were 2.2 times more likely to have depressive symptoms than nonsmokers. This result extends the significant association between smoking and depressive symptoms in the literature to a sample of Turkish military medical undergraduates.

Relationship between anaemia and cognitive functions in elderly people

BACKGROUND The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of anaemia on the cognitive functions and daily living activities in elderly people. METHODS This sectional study was performed using 180 elderly people. Face-to-face interviews and questionnaires were conducted to evaluate daily activities. To evaluate cognitive functions we used the Folsteins Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). RESULTS The mean age of the anaemic group and the nonanaemic group were 76.0+/-11.7 and 72.5+/-15.2 years, respectively. The average haemoglobin level among the anaemic population was 10.4 g/dL compared with 13.6 g/dL among the nonanaemic population; a statistically significant difference. There was more impairment in functional status (Katz ADL) (6.8+/-4.3 vs 9.3+/-3.7) and cognition (MMSE) (17.9+/-6.4 vs 21.7+/-6.7) in anaemic than nonanaemic groups, respectively. Albumin and body mass index were lower and the percentage of two or more comorbidities was higher in anaemic group compared to the nonanaemic group, which was a statistically significant variation. The anaemic group was more dependent in terms of bathing, dressing, toileting and transferring. CONCLUSION In the elderly anaemic group, the dependency for daily activities that require physical effort was higher compared to the nonanaemic group. The MMSE score in the elderly anaemic group was lower than subjects who had normal haemoglobin levels. We conclude that anaemia may impair cognitive functions and some daily living activities in the elderly.

Role of Urinary Zinc and Copper on Calcium Oxalate Stone Formation

Introduction: It is considered that many factors may play a role in urolithiasis. Experimental and clinical studies have shown that zinc has an inhibitory effect on urolithiasis. Materials and Methods: In this study, urinary zinc and copper were measured in 27 healthy controls and 30 calcium oxalate stone formers. Results: Urinary zinc excretion was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in stone formers than healthy controls (2,575 ± 274 and 960 ± 80 mg/day, respectively). There was no significant difference in urinary copper excretion between healthy controls and stone formers (32.3 ± 3.5 and 33.3 ± 3.2 µg/day, respectively). Conclusions: According to our results, the potent inhibitory effect of urinary zinc excretion on urolithiasis could be reviewed.

The frequency and effecting factors of consanguineous marriage in a group of soldiers in Ankara.

This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the frequency of consanguineous marriage in a group of army conscripts in Ankara and the factors affecting this. Of 4153 soldiers, 387 were married. The rate of marriage between first cousins was found to be 19.1%, and the overall rate of consanguineous marriage was 24.1%. Consanguineous marriage was found to be significantly prevalent among soldiers who were born in and still living in the Eastern region; among those who lived in villages; among those whose parents as well as themselves had low educational levels; and among those whose marriages were arranged by their families. Neither the payment of bride-price nor the presence of consanguinity between parents was a significant factor for consanguineous marriage. In addition, the age of the soldier and the age at marriage were significantly lower among soldiers married to first cousins than among soldiers whose marriages were not consanguineous.

How would military hospitals cope with a nuclear, biological, or chemical disaster?

In any nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) attack, it is clear that the hospitals may be overwhelmed with casualties. In these deliberate accidents, there will be an additional problem of contamination. Military hospitals must be prepared for NBC disasters with a detailed incident plan. Within this plan, decontamination facilities and shower systems are needed primarily to protect the hospital from self-contamination. Physical and collective protection measures of the staff should be taken into account, with evacuation routes under such an attack. Within this conjunction, the required equipment, including protective suits, detection means, drugs, antidotes, and vaccines, should be provided and stored properly. Qualified personnel should be assigned to the NBC first-aid and rescue team organized within the hospital, equipped, and trained according to such a possible task. Medical staff must be aware of the effects of the agents, and must be experienced in decontamination and first-aid to victims exposed to these agents. Therefore, this information must be put into practice by giving attack scenarios and responses to the hospital administration. It can be conclusively pointed out that military hospitals especially should be better prepared than any other civilian health unit to such attacks of weapons of mass destruction.

Relation between Machiavellianism and Job Satisfaction in a Sample of Turkish Physicians

Job satisfaction is affected by many factors. A consistent negative correlation between Machiavellianism and Job satisfaction was shown by many previous studies. To estimate this association in a sample of Turkish people, 361 physicians were selected among the total number of 5,959 working in Ankara City Center. A self-administered questionnaire including the Mach IV scale and Job Satisfaction scale developed by Kasapoğlu was applied to the subjects. Student t test and Pearson correlation were used for analysis. The correlation of –.25 between Job Satisfaction and Machiavellianism scores was significant and consistent with the mean scores on Job Satisfaction between the Machiavellian and Nonmachiavellian groups. Although the present association is small, the inverse value is consistent for Mach IV scale scores with job satisfaction in the literature.

Determination of Carbon Monoxide Levels in Coffee Shops in Ankara

Indoor environments are where people spend 80—90% of their time. They are at their riskiest in terms of air pollution when smoking is not prohibited and various combustion and/or cooking applications are performed. If such environments are where people live or work, or are recreation facilities open to everybody, experience has shown that pollution levels to which they are exposed can reach levels that are a threat to their health. This study is an investigation of coffee shops, which are such communal environments, identified according to factors such as clientele and physical accommodation. The pollution parameter chosen was the level of carbon monoxide in the air, evaluated according to its compliance to the existing standards and setting forth measures that might be taken against probable health risks. The study was performed in 384 coffee shops selected randomly from amongst those (N = 7646) located in five central municipal districts of Ankara province. Most of the environments investigated were observed to have deficiencies in respect of accident risk, hygienic features and accommodation conditions. The mean carbon monoxide level was found to be below the short and long-term threshold values. However, CO levels above long-term threshold levels were observed in 34% of the coffee shops. In conclusion, the environments investigated were found to pose risks in terms of both accommodation conditions and indoor environment air quality. It was concluded that these risks, which could affect the health of workers and clientele, could be eliminated by environmental health measures.

Could rice be used as an anticaking agent in table salt

The aim of the study was to examine whether powdered rice could be used as an anticaking agent in table salt. Salts free from anticaking food additives were selected and powdered rice was added at different concentrations (0%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 10% and 20%). The samples were placed away from direct light and airflow, and left exposed in the laboratory at room temperature and below 30% humidity. The weight of the samples was measured using an electronic laboratory balance and recorded daily for 4 days. At the end of the experiment, all the samples were dried at 105°C in order to determine exact dryness. All the salt samples containing powdered rice lost weight (0.56±0.08%), while the other salt samples free of powdered rice gained weight (10.31±0.63%) (P<0.001). A statistically significant difference was found between the first two (1% and 2%) and last three concentrations (5%, 10% and 20%) (P<0.001). Adding powdered rice to salt as an anticaking agent during salt manufacturing at a concentration of 1% could take the place of other anticaking food additives used in table salt production.

Effect of Smoking on the Level of Ionising Radiation in Student Rooms

This descriptive study was designed to investigate whether there was a difference in the levels of ionising radiation in rooms where smoking was permitted and rooms where it was not permitted. The study was conducted in residential student rooms of a school of medicine. A total of 60h of measurement was conducted, measuring for 1 h in each room. Measurements were made with a “RAD-ALERT 50 Nuclear Radiation Monitor”. Although significant differences were found in the level of ambient ionising radiation between rooms where smoking was allowed and those where it was not allowed it was inconclusive whether this difference was due to cigarette smoking or was affected by other external factors. The increase in the radiation level was below that where there would be an effect on health.