Nazan Savaş

Frequency of metabolic syndrome among hemodialysis patients according to NCEP-ATP III and IDF definitions.

Objective. Patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. The metabolic syndrome is a common risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, it was aimed to evaluate the frequency of metabolic syndrome using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adults Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definitions in patients with end-stage CRF undergoing hemodialysis (HD). Materials and Methods. A total of 222 cases undergoing HD were enrolled in the study. After obtaining medical history and physical examination, blood samples were collected from each patient for the measurements of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. Results. Among HD patients evaluated according to both IDF and NCEP-ATP III definitions, the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was confirmed by IDF in 56.5% of those fulfilling the criteria for NCEP-ATP III. Similarly, 86% of the undiagnosed patients according to NCEP-ATP III were confirmed by IDF definitions. The sensitivity and positive predictive value of NCEP-ATP III for metabolic syndrome were 81.25% and 64.8%, respectively. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve for NECP-ATP III and IDF was 0.730. False-positive rate and probability ratio for NECP-ATP III were 0.352 and 2.49, respectively. In other words, among the patients who were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome according to NCEP-ATP III definitions, the proportion of subjects whose diagnosis was confirmed by IDF definitions was 2.49-fold higher than those with unconfirmed diagnosis. Conclusion. It is logical to evaluate patients with CRF for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors at the time of diagnosis and regularly thereafter due to the high ratio of metabolic syndrome in this population.

Prospective Evaluation of 140 Patients With Brucellosis in the Southern Region of Turkey

The aim of this study was to asses the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of brucellosis in Adana region, Turkey. In this prospective study, a total of 140 patients with brucellosis were investigated in terms of spread of infection; seasonal, age, and sex distribution; clinical and laboratory characteristics; depression and anxiety rates; relapse rates; and response to different treatment combinations. One hundred two patients (72.9%) were female, and 38 patients (27.1%) were male; mean age was 45.81 ± 15.62 years, ranging from 2 to 77 years. Twenty-five patients (17.8%) had history of contact with animals, and 31 patients (22.1%) had history of consumption of raw milk and/or its products. The highest seasonal distribution was observed during summer. Malaise (95.0%), sweating (85.7%), and arthralgia (85.0%) were the major presenting symptoms. The most common physical examination findings were fever (52.9%), hepatomegaly (20.7%), and splenomegaly (12.1%). Osteoarticular involvement, orchitis, and iridocyclitis were observed in 64.9%, 38.0% (of male patients), and 0.7% of the patients, respectively. Scintigraphy was performed for 114 patients who have focal joint and bone complaints and findings. Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory testing were applied to 98 patients with brucellosis, and depression was observed in 37.8% of these patients. The total point of State Anxiety Inventory testing was 46.21 ± 12.87, and the total point of Trait Anxiety Inventory testing was 46.98 ± 10.11. Either the depression rates or points of State Anxiety Inventory testing and Trait Anxiety Inventory testing in patients with brucellosis were statistically higher than in the control group. In 134 patients, initial standard tube agglutination testing titer was 1/160 or more. Brucella melitensis was found positive in 22 patients. Relapse rate was 3.5%. Brucellosis continues to be a health problem in countries where consumption of unpasteurized dairy products and stockbreeding are common.

Is atopy and autoimmunity more prevalent in patients with alopecia areata? A comparative study

Objective  We aimed to determine whether there was a difference between adult and paediatric alopecia areata patients with respect to the severity and pattern of the disease, nail changes and personal and family history of autoimmune diseases and also in comparison with controls.

The relationship between women's mental health and domestic violence in semirural areas: a study in Turkey.

The authors examine the relationship between emotional disorders and domestic violence (DV) in 395 women of different ethnicities in Turkey. PRIME MD (Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders) was used for diagnosis. This is a cross-sectional and epidemiological research. Results showed that the prevalence of emotional disorders, anxiety, and somatoform disorders was 22.8%, 24.8%, and 16.9%, respectively. The mean DV score was 2.98 ± 1.32 over 10.00. DV scores were higher when women did not want to get married or did not have their family’s blessing for marriage. Observed scores were also high for civil marriage cases, or when women had a job, had low income, or were afraid of their husbands (P < .05). The number of comorbid diagnoses increased with increase in DV scores (P < .001). Mean DV scores were higher for women diagnosed with major depression, partial remission or recurrence of major depression, panic disorder, and common anxiety (P < .05). The authors recommend that if physicians suspect any emotional disorders in women in primary care, they should evaluate for DV.

Skin diseases in patients with β‐thalassemia major

Background  β‐Thalassemia major affects multiple organs and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The goal of this analysis was to document the frequency of skin diseases among patients with β‐thalassemia major.

Job Satisfaction and Sociodemographic Factors Affecting Garbage Workers' Quality of Life in Antakya (Antioch), Turkey

Objective:The aim was to evaluate job satisfaction and their sociodemographic characteristics effects on the quality of life (QOL) of the garbage workers (GW). Methods:185 GW (94.4% of total) were evaluated. They were given sociodemographic survey, scaler of job satisfaction (Job Descriptive Index (JDI)) and QOL Scale “WHOQOL-BREF-Turkish”. Questions of JDI were compiled by researhers. Reliability and convenience of JDI were analysed. Correlation, student-T test and logistic regression were used. Findings:68.4% of job satisfaction had five contributing factors which are respectively management and overall job satisfaction, coworkers, pay, promotion and work itself. We found positive correlations (p<0.05) between scorings of WHOQOL-BREF-Tr domains and JDI’s components, except promotion. We also saw positive relations between WHOQOL-BREF-Tr scorings and some of workers’ behaviors and habits ranging having particular hobbies, going to movies, visiting friends/family, and not having chronic disease (p<0.01). Lack of satisfaction in each of 5 factors - dissatisfaction to management in all domains, dissatisfaction to work itself in social domain, dissatisfaction to coworkers in physical domain, dissatisfaction to pay in social and environmental domains caused a risk for poor QOL (p<0.01). Not having a hobby also created a risk for QOL in social and environmental domains (p<0.01). Conclusion:The findings show that the QOL of the GW can be improved by improving the management, payment, and by encouraging and supporting them to have hobbies.

Dermatoglyphs in patients with psoriasis

Editor Psoriasis is a heritable disease with a polygenic mode of inheritance with variable penetrance affecting 2% of the general population. Dermatoglyphs are patterns made by epidermis on fingers, palms and soles. They are formed during intrauterine life, between the 7th and 21st week of gestation. During this period, and only then, genetic and environmental factors can influence their formation. The hereditary nature of psoriasis, the common embryological origin of the skin and dermatoglyphics, stimulates the execution of this study. This study was approved by the ethics committee of our institution. The sample included 57 patients with psoriasis (27 male and 30 female) and 120 healthy controls (64 male and 56 female). All 10 fingers and right-hand palm prints of participants were taken by using standard ink and roller method than the results were analysed according to the Cummins and Midlo method. Finger patterns, palmar ridges and palmar atd angle were shown in Fig. 1. Chi-squared test, Student’s t-test and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) analyses were used to evaluate the findings. Ulnar loop was the most frequent fingertip pattern in both patient and control groups. There was a significant difference between patients and controls with respect to frequency of fingertip patterns (P 1⁄4 0.000). Analysis showed no statistically significant difference between male control group and male patients (P 1⁄4 0.07), while there was a statistically significant difference between female control group and female patients (P 1⁄4 0.000) in terms of fingertip patterns. Ulnar loop pattern was significantly higher in female patients than that of controls (58% and 50%, respectively; P 1⁄4 0.015), while whorl pattern was significantly lower (28% and 42%, respectively; P 1⁄4 0.000). In a case of female group, a statistically significant difference from the control group was confirmed for second and fourth fingers of the right hand and third, fourth and fifth fingers of the left hand. MANOVA showed that there were significant differences in six variables according to the dermatoglyphic differences by sexes (Table 1). The cause of the difference was the presence of the female patients. There was no difference on variables when both sexes and groups were considered (P > 0.05). No statistical significance was found between patients and controls according to total finger ridge counts (P > 0.05). There were no differences between patients and con-

An evaluation of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of employees of a university hospital in an H1N1 influenza pandemic.

INTRODUCTION In this study, we aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning the transmission routes of an H1N1 pandemic and the protective measures of health professionals at a university hospital in Turkey. METHODOLOGY A stratified systematic sampling method was used to select the sample size of the study group. A total of 22 professors, 29 researchers, and 26 nurses were included in the study. RESULTS The mean scores of the individuals were 8.4±2.5 (over 20) for knowledge about H1N1 transmission, 27.6±4.0 (over 60) for knowledge about protection against H1N1, 25.8±4.2 (over 45) for correct or appropriate attitudes, and 33.6±8.9 (over 60) for correct behaviors. A negative correlation between total knowledge and behavior was found (p < 0.001, r = -0.543). CONCLUSIONS In epidemics, standard protection measures should be known and applied. Regarding this topic, the web page of the Ministry of Health comes to the forefront as a reliable source of information in addition to scientific explanations.

Does transcutaneous nerve stimulation have effect on sympathetic skin response

OBJECTIVE This study examined the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the sympathetic nerve system by sympathetic skin response test. METHODS Fifty-five healthy volunteers received either: (i) 30minutes TENS (25 participants) (ii) 30minutes sham TENS (30 participants) and SSR test was performed pre- and post-TENS. The mean values of latency and peak-to-peak amplitude of five consecutive SSRs were calculated. RESULTS A significant amplitude difference was found between TENS and sham TENS group both in right and left hand (p=0.04, p=0.01, respectively). However there was no significant latancy difference between two groups (p>0.05 ). CONCLUSION TENS has an inhibitory effect on elicited SNS responses when compared with sham TENS control group.

Knowledge, attitude and sources of information regarding aids of high school students in Antakya (Antioch) City

AimThe aim of the current study was to investigate the knowledge of senior High school students, sources of their knowledge, and the socio-economical facts acting on their knowledge about AIDS.MethodsA cross sectional, descriptive study, included a total of 2838 students (1368 females and 1470 males) from 16 high schools of 4 different types (State, Anatolian, Trade, and Private high schools). A questionnaire composed of 5 different sections was used to analyze the knowledge level separately “what kind of disease is AIDS”, “how AIDS can be transmitted”, “risk factors for AIDS”, “ways of protection from AIDS”, and “the sources of their knowledge about AIDS” in sections from 1 to 5 respectively. In the first 4 sections the right answers were graded with a score of 2, wrong answers were graded with a score of 0, and a score of 1was given when the student did not have an idea. The maximum score for the first 4 sections of the questionnaire were 12, 38, 14, and 14 respectively. In the 5th section the probable sources of knowledge of AIDS, such as school, friends, family, newspapers, books, and TV, were questioned.ResultsThe mean score received from the questionnaire were 49.50±6.50 (minimum: 27, maximum: 69). The mean score for the females was 49.69±6.46, it was 49.32±6.66 for the males (p>0.05). The mean score for the first 4 sections were 8.2±2.15, 24.7±4, 16, 9.70±2.30, and 6.90±1.79, respectively. Statistically, there was no significant difference observed between the 15–16, 17–18, and 19–20 age groups on knowledge about “risk factors for AIDS” (p>0.05). However, there were meaningful differences in “what kind of disease is AIDS”, “how AIDS can be transmitted”, and “ways of protection from AIDS” (p<0.05). In aspect of type of high school the knowledge levels of students about AIDS obtained from the questionnaire were statistically different. Concerning the total score of the questionnaire, the students from trade schools received the lowest score, while the highest score of “risk factors for AIDS.” were received by Anatolian high school students. The highest score for “what kind of illness is AIDS”, “how AIDS be can transmitted”, and “ways of protection from AIDS” were received by private high school students.ConclusionHigh school students in this region do not have enough knowledge on AIDS. They need education especially on ways of protection and spread of AIDS.