Endoglin is involved in the regulation of endothelial function, but there are no studies concerning its relation with hypertension- and diabetes-associated pathologies. Thus, we studied the ...relationship between plasma levels of soluble endoglin and cardiovascular alterations associated with hypertension and diabetes.
We analyzed 288 patients: 64 with type 2 diabetes, 159 with hypertension and 65 healthy patients. We assessed the relationship of soluble endoglin plasma levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with basal glycemia, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction (assessed by pressure wave velocity), hypertensive retinopathy (by Keith-Wagener classification), left ventricular hypertrophy (by Cornell and Sokolow indexes), cardiovascular risk and target organ (heart, vascular, kidney) damage.
There are significant correlations between endoglin and glycemia, systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, pressure wave velocity and electrocardiographically assessed left ventricular hypertrophy. Endoglin levels were significantly higher in patients with diabetes who had nondipper and extreme dipper circadian blood pressure patterns than in dipper circadian patterns, in patients with hypertension and diabetes who had riser pattern than in the other patients, and in patients with diabetes but not hypertension who had extreme dipper pattern than in dipper, nondipper and riser groups. There was also a significant correlation between plasma-soluble endoglin and lower levels of systolic night-day ratio. Higher endoglin levels were found in patients with diabetes who had retinopathy, in patients with diabetes who had a high probability of 10-year cardiovascular risk, and in patients with diabetes and hypertension who had three or more damaged target organs (heart, vessels, kidney) than in those with no organs affected.
This study shows that endoglin is an indicator of hypertension- and diabetes-associated vascular pathologies as endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular damage.
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A balanced diet can help in the prevention of chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an mHealth intervention on the distribution of macronutrients and the intake of ...food groups. A total of 650 participants were included in this multi-center, clinical, randomized, controlled trial (Evident 3 study). All participants were given brief advice about diet and exercise. The intervention group received, in addition, an app (Evident 3) for the self-recording of their diet and an activity tracker wristband for 3 months. Follow-up visits were performed at 3 and 12 months to collect the diet composition using the Food Frequency Questionnaire. There were decreases in the intake of total calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates in both groups throughout the study, without significant differences between them. The intervention group reduced the intake of cholesterol (-30.8; 95% CI -59.9, -1.7) and full-fat dairies (-23.3; 95% CI -42.8, -3.8) and increased the intake of wholemeal bread (3.3; 95% CI -6.7, 13.3) and whole-grain cereals (3.4; 95% CI -6.8, 13.7) with respect to the control group. No differences were found in the rest of the nutritional parameters. The brief advice is useful to promote a healthier diet, and the app can be a support tool to obtain changes in relevant foods, such as integral foods, and the intake of cholesterol. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov with identifier NCT03175614.
Aim: We assessed whether there is an association between the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) score and the carotid intima media thickness (IMT), the pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the central ...augmentation index (CAIx) that is independent of the subject's cardiovascular risk and pharmacological treatment. Methods: The CAVI score was measured in 500 subjects using a VaSera device and the brachial ankle PWV (ba-PWV) was calculated. A carotid ultrasound was used to measure the IMT. A Mobil-O-Graph device was used to measure the carotid femoral PWV (cf-PWV) and the CAIx. The Framingham-D'Agostino and SCORE scales were used to measure the subject's cardiovascular risk. Results: The mean value of the CAVI score was 8.59±1.1. IMT, CAIx and PWV maintained a positive association with the CAVI score (p＜0.01) in a multiple linear regression analysis, after adjusting for the subject's cardiovascular risk, body mass index and pharmacological treatment. The cut-off level that gave the maxima sensitivity and specificity to detect a mean IMT of ＞0.90 mm was 8.95 (AUC=0.67) for the CAVI score, 8.85 (AUC=0.66) for cf-PWV and 15.10 (AUC=0.66) for ba-PWV. The cut-off to detect a maxima IMT of ＞0.90 mm was 8.60 (AUC=0.62) for the CAVI score, 8.85 (AUC=0.64) for cf-PWV and 15.75 (AUC=0.70) for ba-PWV. Conclusion: There was a positive association of the CAVI score with vascular structure and function parameters that was independent of cardiovascular risk and any medications being used by the subject. The ability of the CAVI score to predict carotid atherosclerosis is similar to that of cf-PWV and ba-PWV in Caucasian adults.
Our aim was to investigate the effects of an intervention that comprised a brief counseling session on lifestyle habits together with the use of the EVIDENT (Lifestyles and arterial aging) ...application on the modification of markers that indicated different hemodynamic functions, such as arterial stiffness, blood pressure or wave reflections. The EVIDENT II study (Lifestyles and arterial aging) is a randomized clinical trial with two parallel groups. Each participant had an initial visit and two follow-up visits at 3 and 12 months where the peripheral augmentation index-PAIx75 was measured by tonometry, while an oscillometric method was used for the cardio-ankle vascular index-CAVI and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity-baPWV. Both groups (intervention-IG and control-CG) were briefly counseled on diet and exercise. The IG also received instructions on the use of the EVIDENT II application during the 3 months. The sample (N = 597; 52 ± 11 years; 64% women) was randomized into IG = 291 and CG = 306. Comparing groups, there was a decrease in the PAIx75 favorable to the IG at 3 months (-4.9%, 95% CI: -7.7 to -2.1) and 12 months (-3.9%, 95% CI: -6.8 to -1.0). There was also a nonsignificant reduction of the CAVI at 3 months in the IG. A group effect was observed in the measurement of the PAIx75 over the 12-month follow-up (p = 0.003). This interaction was only observed in women (p = 0.017). In conclusion, the use of the EVIDENT II application achieved a modification of the PAIx75, a marker of wave reflection and vascular tone, in women through lifestyle improvements (physical activity and adherence to the Mediterranean diet). No significant results were found regarding blood pressure or arterial stiffness markers.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The Mediterranean diet (MD) is recognized as one of the healthiest dietary patterns and has benefits such as improving glycaemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Our aim is to ...assess the effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention to improve adherence to the MD, diet quality and biomedical parameters. The EMID study is a randomized and controlled clinical trial with two parallel groups and a 12-month follow-up period. The study included 204 subjects between 25⁻70 years with T2DM. The participants were randomized into intervention group (IG) and control group (CG). Both groups received brief advice about healthy eating and physical activity. The IG participants additionally took part in a food workshop, five walks and received a smartphone application for three months. The population studied had a mean age of 60.6 years. At the 3-month follow-up visit, there were improvements in adherence to the MD and diet quality of 2.2 and 2.5 points, compared to the baseline visit, respectively, in favour of the IG. This tendency of the improvement was maintained, in favour of the IG, at the 12-month follow-up visit. In conclusion, the multifactorial intervention performed could improve adherence to the MD and diet quality among patients with T2DM.
New technologies could facilitate changes in lifestyle and improve public health. However, no large randomized, controlled studies providing scientific evidence of the benefits of their use have been ...made. The aims of this study are to develop and validate a smartphone application, and to evaluate the effect of adding this tool to a standardized intervention designed to improve adherence to the Mediterranean diet and to physical activity. An evaluation is also made of the effect of modifying habits upon vascular structure and function, and therefore on arterial aging.
A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, parallel group clinical trial will be carried out. A total of 1215 subjects under 70 years of age from the EVIDENT trial will be included. Counseling common to both groups (control and intervention) will be provided on adaptation to the Mediterranean diet and on physical activity. The intervention group moreover will receive training on the use of a smartphone application designed to promote a healthy diet and increased physical activity, and will use the application for three months. The main study endpoints will be the changes in physical activity, assessed by accelerometer and the 7-day Physical Activity Recall (PAR) interview, and adaptation to the Mediterranean diet, as evaluated by an adherence questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Evaluation also will be made of vascular structure and function based on central arterial pressure, the radial augmentation index, pulse velocity, the cardio-ankle vascular index, and carotid intima-media thickness.
Confirmation that the new technologies are useful for promoting healthier lifestyles and that their effects are beneficial in terms of arterial aging will have important clinical implications, and may contribute to generalize their application in favor of improved population health.
Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT02016014.
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Abstract Objective To evaluate the effects on healthy eating or the Mediterranean diet adherence achieved by interventions suitable for implementation in primary care settings. Methods Medline ...(PubMed) and The Cochrane Library bibliographic searches retrieved randomized controlled trials published in English or Spanish, January 1990–January 2013. The inclusion criteria were adult population, > 3 months follow-up, and interventions suitable for primary care settings. Exclusion resulted if studies focused exclusively on weight loss or did not analyze food intake (fats, fruits and vegetables — F&V, fiber) or Mediterranean diet adherence. Validity (risk of bias) was independently evaluated by two researchers; discrepancies were reviewed until a consensus was reached. Results Of the 15 included articles (14 studies), only 3 studies surpassed 12-months follow-up. Ten interventions emphasized healthy nutrition (n = 9948); 4 added activity levels (n = 3816). Six trials included participants with cardiovascular risk; 7 were community-based; 1 focused on women with cancer. Eleven studies showed 9.7% to 59.3% increased F&V intake with counseling interventions, compared to baseline (− 13.3% to 27.8% in controls). Seven studies reported significant differences between intervention and control groups. Conclusion Nutritional counseling moderately improves nutrition, increases intake of fiber, F&V, reduces dietary saturated fats, and increases physical activity. Studies with longer follow-up are needed to determine long-term effects, cardiovascular morbidity, and mortality.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a) a Multiple Health Behaviour Change (MHBC) intervention on reducing smoking, increasing physical activity and adherence to a Mediterranean dietary ...pattern in people aged 45-75 years compared to usual care; and b) an implementation strategy.
A cluster randomised effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial-type 2 with two parallel groups was conducted in 25 Spanish Primary Health Care (PHC) centres (3062 participants): 12 centres (1481 participants) were randomised to the intervention and 13 (1581 participants) to the control group (usual care). The intervention was based on the Transtheoretical Model and focused on all target behaviours using individual, group and community approaches. PHC professionals made it during routine care. The implementation strategy was based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Data were analysed using generalised linear mixed models, accounting for clustering. A mixed-methods data analysis was used to evaluate implementation outcomes (adoption, acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility and fidelity) and determinants of implementation success.
14.5% of participants in the intervention group and 8.9% in the usual care group showed a positive change in two or all the target behaviours. Intervention was more effective in promoting dietary behaviour change (31.9% vs 21.4%). The overall adoption rate by professionals was 48.7%. Early and final appropriateness were perceived by professionals as moderate. Early acceptability was high, whereas final acceptability was only moderate. Initial and final acceptability as perceived by the participants was high, and appropriateness moderate. Consent and recruitment rates were 82.0% and 65.5%, respectively, intervention uptake was 89.5% and completion rate 74.7%. The global value of the percentage of approaches with fidelity ≥50% was 16.7%. Eight CFIR constructs distinguished between high and low implementation, five corresponding to the Inner Setting domain.
Compared to usual care, the EIRA intervention was more effective in promoting MHBC and dietary behaviour change. Implementation outcomes were satisfactory except for the fidelity to the planned intervention, which was low. The organisational and structural contexts of the centres proved to be significant determinants of implementation effectiveness.
ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03136211 . Registered 2 May 2017, "retrospectively registered".
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Some social networks, such as Twitter (now known as X), have proven to be very useful for sharing and discussing multiple aspects related to the healthcare field. However, the use of Twitter as a ...method of communication and knowledge transfer to nursing students has been limited.
To evaluate the usability and effect of an educational intervention for monitoring additional content, through the social network Twitter, of various subjects of nursing studies (clinical nursing, community nursing, and nursing fundamentals).
An exploratory experimental study was carried out through an educational intervention during the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 academic years.
Faculty of Nursing at the University of Salamanca, Spain.
Participants were 308 students.
Students used Twitter to receive tweets about news or links to subject-related content. They also completed a pre-post questionnaire.
A high degree of visualization and interaction of the study's Twitter account stands out, mainly in the subject clinical nursing. In relation to usability, the participants stated that they strongly agreed with aspects such as “thinking that it was easy to use the account” (59.4 %) as well as “imagining that the majority of colleagues would learn very quickly to use said account” (46.5 %).
Students who used the account at least once a day obtained higher scores on the post-study knowledge questionnaire than those who used it less than once a day (p < 0.05), or those who used it 2 or 3 times during the study (p = 0.010).
The group of participants who used the Twitter account at least once a day stated that using the account was easy and that they would like to use it more frequently. Likewise, greater use of this tool was associated with a better score on a post-study knowledge questionnaire.
•Twitter/X as a supplemental teaching tool in multiple areas of nursing knowledge.•Greater interactions were achieved especially in the area of clinical nursing.•Greater knowledge about the published content among those who used the most.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
We investigated the relationship between leukocyte subtype counts and vascular structure and function based on carotid intima-media thickness, pulse wave velocity, central augmentation index and ...cardio-ankle vascular index by gender in intermediate cardiovascular risk patients.
This study analyzed 500 subjects who were included in the MARK study, aged 35 to 74 years (mean: 60.3±8.4), 45.6% women.
Brachial ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (ba-PWV) estimate by equation, Cardio-AnkleVascular Index (CAVI) using the VaSera device and Carotid ultrasound was used to measure carotid Intima Media Thickness (IMT). The Mobil-O-Graph was used to measure the Central Augmentation Index (CAIx).
Total leukocyte, neutrophil and monocyte counts were positively correlated with IMT (p < 0.01) in men. Monocyte count was positively correlated with CAIx in women (p < 0.01). In a multiple linear regression analysis, the IMT mean maintained a positive association with the neutrophil count (β = 1.500, p = 0.007) in men. CAIx maintained a positive association with the monocyte count (β = 2.445, p = 0.022) in women.
The results of this study suggest that the relationship between subtype circulating leukocyte counts and vascular structure and function, although small, may be different by gender. In men, the neutrophil count was positively correlated with IMT and in women, the monocyte count with CAIx, in a large sample of intermediate-risk patients. These association were maintained after adjusting for age and other confounders.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01428934.
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