Characterization of metabolically healthy obese people and metabolically unhealthy normal-weight people in a general population cohort of the ABCD Study

There is actually no consensus about the possibility that in some instances, obesity may be a benign metabolically healthy (MH) condition as opposed to a normal-weight but metabolically unhealthy (MUH) state. The aim of this study was to characterize MH condition and to investigate possible associations with metabolic and cardiovascular complications. One thousand nineteen people (range of age 18-90 years) of the cohort of the ABCD-2 study were investigated. Participants were classified as normal weight (BMI < 24.9 kg/m2) or overweight-obese (BMI \ue2\u89\ua525 kg/m2); they were also classified as MH in the presence of 0-1 among the following conditions: (a) prediabetes/type 2 diabetes, (b) hypertension, (c) hypertriglyceridemia or low HDL cholesterolemia, and (d) hypercholesterolemia. MUH condition was diagnosed if \ue2\u89\ua52 of the conditions listed were found. The prevalence of overweight/obese people was 71.1%, of whom 27.4% were found to be MH. In addition, 36.7% of the normal-weight participants were MUH. HOMA-IR, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and the carotid intima-media thickness were significantly different in the 4 subgroups (P < 0.001), with higher values observed in the MUH normal-weight and obese groups. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of identifying a MH condition in normal-weight and in obese people in order to offer better treatment

Obesity and Circulating Levels of Vitamin D before and after Weight Loss Induced by a Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet

Background: Vitamin D plays a pivotal role in calcium and phosphorus metabolism, also influencing bone tissue. Several studies have reported that vitamin D blood levels were significantly lower in people with obesity, probably due to its uptake by the adipose tissue. Clinical studies that investigated the changes of circulating levels of vitamin D following weight loss reported controversial data. A very low-calorie ketogenic diet is acknowledged as a reliable treatment to achieve a rapid weight loss. Therefore, we investigated the effect of weight loss, consequent to a very low-calorie ketogenic diet, on vitamin D blood concentrations. Methods: A cohort of 31 people with obesity underwent a very low-calorie ketogenic diet for 10-12 weeks. The serum concentrations of vitamin D, parathormone, calcium and phosphorous were measured before and after weight loss; they were compared to a control group of 20 non-obese, non-diabetic, age- and gender-matched persons. Results: Patients with obesity had a higher habitual intake of vitamin D than the control group (p &lt; 0.05). However, the vitamin D blood levels of the obese group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p &lt; 0.005) and they increased after weight loss (p &lt; 0.001). At baseline, vitamin D blood concentrations of the persons with obesity were significantly correlated with both fat mass-kg (r = -0.40; p &lt; 0.05) and body mass index (r = -0.47; p &lt; 0.01). Following very low-calorie ketogenic diet, the change in vitamin D serum concentrations was correlated only with the change in fat mass-kg (r = -0.43; p &lt; 0.01). Conclusion: This study confirmed that patients with obesity have lower vitamin D levels that normalize after significant weight loss, supporting the hypothesis that vitamin D is stored in the adipose tissue and released following weight loss

Influence of habitual dairy food intake on LDL cholesterol in a population-based cohort

Background: Cholesterol has a pivotal role in human physiology, exerting both structural and functional activity. However, higher blood cholesterol levels, especially low-density lipopro-tein cholesterol (LDL-C), are a major cardiovascular risk factor. Therefore, special attention has been given to the effect of dietary factors in influencing LDL-C blood levels. In particular, much research has focused on dairy products, since they are a main component of different dietary patterns world-wide. A large body of evidence did not support the hypothesis that dairy products significantly increase circulating LDL-C, but no definitive data are available. Hence, we aimed to assess the rela-tionships among LDL-C, habitual dairy food intake and anthropometric variables in a cohort representative of the general population in a Mediterranean area. Methods: We evaluated 802 healthy adults included in the ABCD_2 (Alimentazione, Benessere Cardiovascolare e Diabete) study (ISRCTN15840340), a longitudinal observational single-center study of a cohort representative of the general population of Palermo, Sicily. The habitual intake of dairy products was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire, and LDL-C serum levels and several anthropometric pa-rameters were measured. Results: The group with high LDL-C serum concentrations (≥130 vs. &lt;130 mg/dL) exhibited higher age, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body fat percent-age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, carotid intima-media thickness and glycated hemoglobin. The habitual diet was not different between the groups in terms of macronutrient, cholesterol, egg and dairy food intake, with the exception of the weekly number of portions of milk (higher in the low LDL-C group vs. the high LDL-C group) and ricotta cheese (higher in the high LDL-C group vs. the LDL-C group). No significant correlation was found between LDL-C blood levels and the habitual intake of dairy products or the dietary intake of cholesterol and fats. The multivariate regression analyses (R2 = 0.94) showed that LDL-C blood levels were significantly associated with the habitual intake of milk (p &lt; 0.005) and ricotta cheese (p &lt; 0.001) and with BMI (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Our study reported that total dairy food consumption was not correlated with LDL-C blood levels. However, multivariate analyses showed an inverse association between serum LDL-C and milk intake as well as a positive association between ricotta cheese intake and LDL-C concentrations. More studies are needed to better characterize the relationship between dairy products and circulating LDL-C

Valutazione del test di soppressione overnight con desametasone in una coorte di pazienti con sovrappeso/obesità: risultati di uno studio preliminare.

Nei pazienti con obesità vi è una cronica iperattivazione dell'asse ipotalamo-ipofisi-surrene che può determinare una minor sensibilità alla soppressione indotta dal desametasone con un rischio di porre erroneamente diagnosi di sindrome di Cushing. Lo scopo del lavoro è quello di valutare l'accuratezza del test di soppressione overnight con desametasone in una coorte di pazienti con sovrappeso/obesità. Abbiamo analizzato un campione di 989 pazienti sottoposti a test con desametasone, confrontandoli con un gruppo di 100 controlli normopeso e 75 pazienti con sindrome di Cushing. La mediana del cortisolo dopo soppressione nel gruppo di sovrappeso/obesi è risultata significativamente inferiore rispetto ai controlli sani. All'analisi di regressione lineare multivariata si evidenzia una correlazione significativa, seppur debole, con l'età ma non con i parametri antropometrici. L'analisi mediante curva ROC ha individuato un valore di 2,1 mcg/dL come il cut-off dotato di più alta sensibilità e specificità

Storia della enfiteusi dei terreni ecclesiastici di Sicilia ...

Mode of access: Internet

I servizi di Placement per un'efficace transizione dall'università al mondo del lavoro

The job is not found but created. If this is truly the case, it is the responsibility of institutions to remove obstacles so that employment can be created and guaranteed. However, not only to them. The first urgency is to eliminate the obstacles that continue to hinder those who can create (good) work today; it is necessary to overcome the mentality that fuels the race to the bottom on labor costs. In this paper the experience of the University of Palermo is described through the Placement Office, aware of playing a role that will become increasingly important in the near future within the challenging yet stimulating activity of intermediation between job demand and supply, bridging the gap between the productive world and the realm of young graduate

Risk Factors for COVID-19: Diabetes, Hypertension, and Obesity

Introduction: The recent global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has involved more than 7 million people worldwide and been associated with more than 400,000 deaths. No clear information is known about all the potential risk factors for COVID-19 or what factors adversely influence its clinical course and mortality. Therefore, we analyzed the role of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension as risk factors for COVID-19. Methods: We identified articles for inclusion by searching PubMed and Google Scholar (last accessed 15 June 2020). Retrospective review of literature. Analysis of epidemiological data concerning obesity prevalence and COVID-19 incidence, particularly in Italy and the USA. Results: Data from several retrospective studies of prevalence showed that patients with hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity may have more severe COVID-19, intensive care unit admission, and higher mortality rates, but it is not definitively clear if this is an independent association. In general, the prevalence of obesity in patients with COVID-19 seems to bethe same as that of the general population throughout the world; however, obesity seems to be associated with more severe disease and mortality in younger (&lt; 60 years) patients. Similar effects seem to occur in patients with diabetes and/or hypertension but at older ages (&gt; 60 years). In strict connection, it has been proposed that the use of drugs inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) or dipeptidyl dipeptidase 4 (DPP-4) might influence viral activity and disease severity since ACE-2 and DPP-4 receptors mediate SARS-CoV- 2 entry into the host cells; however, no evidence exists to date that shows that this may be the case. Conclusion: Overall, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity seem to negatively affect the clinical course and disease outcome in patients with COVID-19. However, these data need further confirmation by studies with more accurate data registration

La mediazione domanda offerta di lavoro ai tempi del Covid

In this paper we face the trade off between labour demand and supply for graduates in the Covid Era

Lessons Drawn from the in-Field Experience

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe