Author: Nevin Manimala

BMC Psychol. 2025 May 7;13(1):482. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02784-z.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The relationship between maladaptive personality traits and other mental disorders, such as depression, has been underexplored, especially in medical students. Moreover, the prevalence of depression among medical students is greater than that among the general population, increasing their susceptibility to associated psychopathologies. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the relationship between depression and maladaptive personality trait domains on the basis of Criterion B of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (DSM-5 AMPD) among medical students while also highlighting relevant sociodemographic factors.

METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to September 2024, with participants surveyed through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included three sections: sociodemographic characteristics, assessment of depression via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and maladaptive personality traits via the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF). Statistical analysis was conducted in R via various packages for data cleaning, analysis, and visualization, employing descriptive statistics, regression models, correlation analysis, and reliability tests.

RESULTS: A total of 2,203 students participated in this study, with a marginal female dominance of 1,230 (55.8%). The mean (SD) overall maladaptive trait score was 1.11 (0.54), and that for the PHQ-9 was 11.7 (6.0). Statistical analysis revealed that higher depression scores were more strongly associated with females than with males, whereas maladaptive trait scores revealed no significant sex differences. The linear regression model for maladaptive trait domains revealed a significant association between total PHQ-9 scores and overall personality trait scores (B = 0.05 [0.05, 0.06]; β = 0.61 [0.58, 0.64]; p < 0.001). Similarly, another regression model confirmed this association, with overall personality trait scores being statistically significant (B = 7.0 [6.6, 7.3]; β = 0.62 [0.59, 0.65]; p < 0.001)”.

CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed a significant correlation between maladaptive personality traits and depression in medical students. Moreover, the strong correlation between depression and negative affect suggests that negative affect may be closely linked to depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between maladaptive trait domains and depression and how that relationship affects vulnerable groups such as medical students.

PMID:40336124 | DOI:10.1186/s40359-025-02784-z

Arch Public Health. 2025 May 7;83(1):124. doi: 10.1186/s13690-025-01606-3.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Self-reporting is a common approach in observational epidemiological studies. However, information can be biased by several causes and can, therefore, affect the outcomes of the investigations. This analysis aimed to evaluate the agreement between self-reported data from a population-based cohort study with data from two large German health insurance companies.

METHODS: Participants with available self-reported diagnoses of a history of stroke, atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF), and myocardial infarction (MI) from the baseline and the follow-up (after six years) surveys of the prospective population-based LIFE-Adult study were included in this study. Two health insurance companies provided ICD-10-GM codes. The agreement between the self-reports and health insurance data (HID) was examined by calculating sensitivity, specificity, Cohen`s Kappa, positive and negative predictive values. We used multivariable logistic regression models to examine whether odds ratios (OR) for the association between risk factors and the certain disease changed, depending on whether self-reports or HID was used as the dependent variable.

RESULTS: One thousand seven hundred eighty four individuals with complete data were included in this interim analysis. Mean age was 58 (SD±12) years and 984 (55%) were female. 52 (2.9%) subjects reported a history of stroke, 99 (5.6%) AF, 63 (3.5%) HF, and 46 (2.6%) MI. Compared with the HID, a high specificity was found for all four diagnoses (stroke: 99% [95% CI 99.3-99.9]; AF: 99% [95% CI 98.1-99.2], HF: 98% [95% CI 97.6-98.9], and MI: 99% [95% CI 98.9-99.7]). Sensitivity ranged from 58% (95% CI 47.4-69.5) for stroke over 61% (95% CI 48.8-74.0) for MI, to 65% (95% CI 56.6-73.9) for AF. Sensitivity in HF was the lowest (20% [95% CI 14.4-26.5]).

CONCLUSION: The use of German health insurance data is a feasible method for verifying population-based self-reported diagnoses. The sensitivity varied among the self-reported diseases compared with the health insurance data, whereas the specificity was continuously high. The verification of self-reported diagnoses using health insurance data as an additional data source may be considered in future population-based assessments to reduce misclassification error of self-reported data.

PMID:40336119 | DOI:10.1186/s13690-025-01606-3

J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2025 May 7;16(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s40104-025-01199-5.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Insect meals have been identified as innovative and sustainable feedstuffs that could be used in ruminant nutrition. However, current research on the effects that their processing may have on rumen digestibility and fatty acid (FA) biohydrogenation is scant. This trial aims to investigate the effects (i) of drying temperature of full-fat Hermetia illucens (HI) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) meals, and (ii) of residual ether extract (EE) content of defatted HI and TM meals, on their fermentation characteristics and FA of rumen digesta after 24-h in vitro rumen incubation.

METHODS: The tested full-fat meals included four HI and four TM meals obtained applying drying temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 70 °C, while the tested defatted meals consisted of five HI and two TM meals containing a residual EE content ranging from 4.7 to 19.7 g EE/100 g dry matter (DM). The applied statistical models (GLM ANOVA) tested the effects of insect species, drying temperature (full-fat meals) or EE content (defatted meals), and their interaction.

RESULTS: Drying temperature had minor effects on in vitro ruminal digestibility and FA profile of rumen digesta. Irrespective of insect species, increasing the drying temperature led to a reduction of in vitro degradation of proteins from insect meals, as outlined by the significant decrease in ammonia production (-0.009 mmol/g DM and -0.126 g/100 g total N for each additional 1 °C). Irrespective of insect species, defatting increased total gas, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and CH₄ productions, and the proportions of total saturated and branched-chain FA in rumen digesta (+0.038 mmol/g DM, +0.063 mmol/g DM, +12.9 µmol/g DM, +0.18 g/100 g FA, and +0.19 g/100 g FA for each reduced 1 g EE/100 g DM, respectively), and reduced the proportion of total PUFA (-0.12 g/100 g FA).

CONCLUSIONS: The applied drying temperatures of full-fat insect meals are too low to exert impactful effects on rumen digestibility and FA biohydrogenation. Fat lowered fermentation activity, probably because of an inhibitory effect on rumen microbiota. The increased ruminal digestibility of defatted insect meals suggests that they can be more suitable to be used in ruminant nutrition than full-fat ones.

PMID:40336112 | DOI:10.1186/s40104-025-01199-5

Arch Public Health. 2025 May 7;83(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s13690-025-01605-4.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: This study used Thai Cohort Study (TCS) data to investigate the spatial and sociodemographic determinants of multimorbidity (two or more chronic conditions coexistence on one person) prevalence in Thailand in 2013.

METHODS: Crude and age-adjusted prevalence were calculated for each province. Hotspot analysis was conducted to identify regions with statistically significant hotspots and cold spots, including areas without significant clustering. Then, ordinal logistic regression was used to identify sociodemographic background variables that predict hotpots.

RESULTS: The highest age-adjusted provincial level prevalence of multimorbidity was in Sing Buri (18.26%). Sak Lek District in Phichit Province also had the highest age-adjusted district level prevalence of multimorbidity at 37.13%. The cold spots region in crude and age-adjusted prevalence of multimorbidity were clustered in Southern Thailand. Forty-eight districts were identified as hotspots in both crude and age-adjusted multimorbidity prevalence, 19 of which are in Bangkok (the capital). Population density (person/km², odd ratio, provincial level: OR:1.00, 95% CI: 1.00-1.01; district level: OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.01), Aging index (provincial level: OR:1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04; district level: OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.01), and average educational years (provincial level: OR:1.92, 95% CI: 1.07-3.48; district level: OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.02-2.26) were greater in hot spots areas.

CONCLUSION: This study shows that the prevalence of multimorbidity in Thailand is positively correlated with the degree of development of the region. Spatial cluster analysis provides new evidence for policymakers to design tailored interventions to target multimorbidity and allocate health resources to areas of unmet need.

PMID:40336103 | DOI:10.1186/s13690-025-01605-4

BMC Med Educ. 2025 May 7;25(1):670. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07042-9.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Approximately half of all adverse events occur in the operating room, highlighting the critical role of non-technical skills in operating rooms. Effective non-technical skills among operating room nurses can significantly reduce the occurrence of such events. Moreover, self-efficacy in non-technical skills may directly impact professional performance and patient safety. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of intraoperative non-technical skills training on scrub practitioners’ self-efficacy.

METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 30 scrub practitioners were assigned to the intervention group and 30 to the control group through random allocation. The intervention group underwent training in non-technical skills using a combined technique of lectures and simulated video scenarios delivered in two two-hour training sessions. Meanwhile, the control group received no training. The data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire. The first part collected demographic data (age, gender, work experience, and educational level), while the second part assessed scrub practitioners’ self-efficacy in intraoperative non-technical skills. The questionnaire was administered online in two phases, with a one-month interval between them, through the Telegram application to the participants in both groups. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and paired t-tests.

RESULTS: The demographic variables of the intervention group did not show significant differences compared to the control group. The independent t-test revealed no significant difference in overall self-efficacy between the intervention and control groups before the training (P = 0.513). However, after the training, a statistically significant difference was observed (P = 0.025). There were no significant differences among the self-efficacy components between the intervention and control groups before the training (P > 0.05). However, after the training, self-efficacy in the two skills of situation awareness and communication and teamwork showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Non-technical skills are crucial for scrub practitioners to perform their tasks safely and efficiently. Training can enhance the self-efficacy of scrub practitioners in their non-technical skills. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate non-technical skills training into the educational curriculum and continuing education programs for scrub practitioners.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: The IRCT code (IRCT20150715023216N15) was obtained from the Iranian Clinical Trials Registry website on 2023/08/05 before sampling.

PMID:40336089 | DOI:10.1186/s12909-025-07042-9

Ital J Pediatr. 2025 May 7;51(1):134. doi: 10.1186/s13052-025-01971-3.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: WITKOS is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by heterozygous loss-of-function variants in the 15q24.1 – q24.2 region, includeing switch-insensitive 3 transcription regulator family member A (SIN3 A). Its incidence rate is extremely low. According to the current limited global data statistics, only a few cases occur per million population. Most cases concentrate in childhood and adolescence. During this stage, the rapid physiological changes of the body seem to be closely related to the triggering of the disease. Its characteristics include unique facial features, intellectual and motor developmental delay, and short stature. This paper reports a case of WITKOS in a 4-month-old infant caused by large-fragment copy number variation in the 15q24.1 – q24.2 region of the chromosome that encompasses the SIN3 A gene. Gene mutations lead to abnormal functions of key proteins, which subsequently disrupt the normal development and operation of multiple body systems., By summarizing its gene phenotype characteristics, it provides diagnostic and treatment ideas for clinicians to screen for developmentally deviated young children. It is expected to provide more effective treatment options for WITKOS to improve the prognosis of patients.

CASE PRESENTATION: This infant was diagnosed with WITKOS at 4 months of age. Subsequently, the manifestations included a wide forehead, a low nasal bridge, low-set ears, growth and intellectual developmental delay, low muscle tone in the limbs, and feeding difficulties. After early rehabilitation training, the language and motor abilities of this infant have been effectively improved, and currently, the infant can walk and run independently and can say short sentences independently.

CONCLUSIONS: For children with WITKOS, early diagnosis of the clinical symptoms they exhibit and rehabilitation intervention should be carried out, which can effectively improve the quality of life of the children. This report is the first case of WITKOS caused by a large – fragment deletion, further enriching the case data of WITKOS and highlighting the necessity of strengthening clinical management and monitoring.

PMID:40336075 | DOI:10.1186/s13052-025-01971-3

BMC Med. 2025 May 7;23(1):269. doi: 10.1186/s12916-025-04045-7.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Plant-based diets are gaining popularity due to their well-documented cardiometabolic benefits and environmental sustainability. However, these diets are often lower in specific micronutrients such as iodine, raising concerns about their potential impact on thyroid health. Therefore, we examined the associations between plant-based diets and the risk of hypothyroidism.

METHODS: We analysed data from the UK (United Kingdom) Biobank cohort. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for incident hypothyroidism across vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, poultry-eaters, low meat-eaters, and high meat-eaters aged 40-69 years. Ancillary to this, we carried out logistic regression analyses to evaluate associations between the diet groups and prevalent hypothyroidism according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes at baseline.

RESULTS: We included 466,362 individuals from the UK Biobank, of which 220,514 followed a high meat, 221,554 a low meat, 5242 a poultry-based, 10,598 a pescatarian, 8057 a vegetarian, and 397 a vegan diet. During a median SD (Standard Deviation) follow-up of 12.7 (± 3.2) years, 10,831 participants developed hypothyroidism. In multivariable Cox regression models without adjustment for body mass index (BMI), none of the diets were significantly associated with the risk of hypothyroidism. However, there was a tendency for a higher risk of hypothyroidism among vegetarians compared to people following a high meat diet (HR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.98-1.30). After controlling for BMI, a potential collider, the association for vegetarians (HR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.07-1.42) became stronger and statistically significant. Furthermore, we observed a positive association between low meat-eaters (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.08), poultry-eaters (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.04-1.28), pescatarians (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.19) and vegetarian (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.15-1.38) with hypothyroidism prevalence.

CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we found a moderately higher risk of hypothyroidism among vegetarians, after controlling for BMI, a potential collider. This slightly higher risk of hypothyroidism among vegetarians requires further investigation, taking iodine status and thyroid hormone levels into account.

PMID:40336074 | DOI:10.1186/s12916-025-04045-7

BMC Glob Public Health. 2025 May 7;3(1):42. doi: 10.1186/s44263-025-00160-y.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The overall quantity of screen time has been associated with short sleep duration and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, leading to adiposity. The aim of this research was to explore which components of screen time usage are shared determinants of poor sleep and higher adiposity in adolescents, using data from the Teen Sleep Well Study.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study of adolescents aged 11-14 years in Fife, Scotland was conducted. Sleep was measured objectively using the Actigraph GT3X-BT and subjectively using validated questionnaires. Adiposity was assessed using body fat percentage (BF%) and obesity was measured using body mass index percentile (BMIp). Four components of screen time were addressed using questionnaires: the timing of screen time, quantity of screen time, location of screen time, and screen time addiction. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests such as Pearson correlation tables, and adjusted regression analyses were used. Mediation analyses explored wellbeing as a factor in the association between screen time and sleep and obesity.

RESULTS: Sixty-two participants (33 female/29 male, mean age 12.2 ± 1.1 years, mean BMIp 60.3 ± 32.1) completed the study. Excessive screen time pre-sleep (30 min before sleep) and post-sleep (first 30 min after waking), excessive screen time on a weekend, and screen time addiction were shared determinants of higher adiposity, a later chronotype (evening-preference) and poor sleep outcomes: poor sleep habits, increased insomnia symptoms (IS) and increased sleep onset variability. Mediation analyses confirmed that adolescent wellbeing mediated the association between pre-sleep screen time and IS (36.3%) and BF% (21.9%), post-sleep screen time and IS (37.7%) and BF% (30.4%), videogaming addiction and IS (31.9%) and BF% (34.6%), social media addiction and IS (35.0%) and BF% (17.4%), mobile phone addiction and IS (34.0%) and BF% (10.6%), weekday screen time and IS (58.1%) and BF% (39.8%), and weekend screen time and IS (51.4%) and BF% (38.0%).

CONCLUSIONS: These screen time behaviours, alongside wellbeing should be considered in multi-component health-promoting interventions aimed at improving adolescent sleep and reducing obesity risk. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to clarify the directionality of these associations and determine the effectiveness of interventions that target both screen time behaviours and wellbeing.

PMID:40336068 | DOI:10.1186/s44263-025-00160-y

Global Health. 2025 May 7;21(1):26. doi: 10.1186/s12992-025-01121-8.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Obesity is recognized as a significant health challenge in Africa, contributing to the double burden of malnutrition and elevating the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Existing studies on the Obesity Kuznets Curve (OKC) assessment overlook Africa’s unique socio-economic and gender-specific dynamics. In light of the claim that different socioeconomic characteristics significantly influence the prevalence of obesity in different nations, this study examines the nonlinear relationship between economic growth and each of the obesity prevalence in males, females, and both sexes, respectively, while accounting for the effects of urbanization, trade, and food production.

METHODS: The study employs a panel data design to analyse the OKC hypothesis in a multivariate non-linear framework. The study focusses on Africa, with the study units consisting of African countries analysed within the framework of regional groupings and differentiated by obesity prevalence in males, females and both sexes correspondingly. Specifically, the study utilised panel data of 45 African nations sub-panelled into Eastern, Western, Central and Southern regions during the period from 2000 to 2020. The primary outcome variable is obesity prevalence, while the key exposure variable is economic growth. The study also considers trade openness, urbanization and food production as additional covariates influencing obesity prevalence to provide a nuanced analysis. Considering the existence of residual cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity issue in the panel data, we applied the novel Biased Comment Method of Method estimator using the dynamic fixed-effect model as the main method to ensure robust and reliable estimates. This novel approach allows the study to address unobserved heterogeneity and interdependencies across regional economies.

RESULTS: The principal findings demonstrated a distinct pattern of the OKC (non-linear relationship between the country’s economic growth and obesity) when analysing prevalence of obesity in both sexes collectively and also when considering obesity prevalence in males and females separately across the geographical panels used. The results further showed that trade openness is positively associated with obesity prevalence in males and females separately together with both sexes collectively across all regional classifications. However, the effect of urbanization, and food production on obesity prevalence in males, obesity prevalence in females and obesity prevalence in both sexes correspondingly varied across the regional classifications.

CONCLUSION: Our analysis leads to specific policy recommendations, including the development of robust, regionally tailored health policies aimed at preventing obesity across Africa. These include promoting healthy diets through subsidies on nutritious foods, regulating trade polices to limit unhealthy food imports and integrating urban planning to encourage active lifestyles. Considering the rapid economic expansion, urbanization, trade liberalization and food production in many African nation, these strategies ought to address regional and gender-specific dynamics while aligning with global development goals such as SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG2 (zero hunger), to effectively mitigate the rising prevalence of obesity.

PMID:40336067 | DOI:10.1186/s12992-025-01121-8

Mob DNA. 2025 May 7;16(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s13100-025-00359-8.

ABSTRACT

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) occupy 8% of the human genome. Although most HERV integrations are severely degenerated by mutations, the most recently integrated proviruses, such as members of the HERV-K HML-2 subfamily, partially retain regulatory and protein-coding capacity. The precise number of HML-2 proviral copies in the modern human population is constantly changing in literature, as new integrations are being uncovered. The first comprehensive list of HML-2 proviral loci was compiled in 2011, including a total of 91 proviruses. Since then, multiple articles published additions and modifications to that list, mainly in the form of new polymorphic proviral sites, updated chromosomal band characterizations or the correspondence of coordinates in the new version of the published human reference genome. In the present study, we systematically searched the literature for lists of HML-2 proviruses and their coordinates and cross-examined every proviral locus information, also against the human genome. We gathered all available data about all HML-2 proviral integrations identified to date and updated, corrected and refined the coordinates in both human genome assemblies currently used in research, to incorporate the whole provirus in each case. Thereby we present an exhaustive (to date) catalogue of all known HML-2 proviruses and their respective coordinates, as a powerful tool for studies aiming to decipher HERV role in health and disease, especially for high-throughput data analyses, which could lead to the discovery of links between specific HERV integrations and biological mechanisms or medical disorders.

PMID:40336055 | DOI:10.1186/s13100-025-00359-8