Objective:
The epidemiology of hypoparathyroidism (HP) is largely unknown. We aimed to determine prevalence, etiologies, health related quality of life (HRQOL) and treatment pattern of HP.
Methods:
...Patients with HP and 22q11 deletion syndrome (DiGeorge syndrome) were identified in electronic hospital registries. All identified patients were invited to participate in a survey. Among patients who responded, HRQOL was determined by Short Form 36 and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Autoantibodies were measured and candidate genes (CaSR, AIRE, GATA3, and 22q11-deletion) were sequenced for classification of etiology.
Results:
We identified 522 patients (511 alive) and estimated overall prevalence at 102 per million divided among postsurgical HP (64 per million), nonsurgical HP (30 per million), and pseudo-HP (8 per million). Nonsurgical HP comprised autosomal dominant hypocalcemia (21%), autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (17%), DiGeorge/22q11 deletion syndrome (15%), idiopathic HP (44%), and others (4%). Among the 283 respondents (median age, 53 years range, 9–89, 75% females), seven formerly classified as idiopathic were reclassified after genetic and immunological analyses, whereas 26 (37% of nonsurgical HP) remained idiopathic. Most were treated with vitamin D (94%) and calcium (70%), and 10 received PTH. HP patients scored significantly worse than the normative population on Short Form 36 and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale; patients with postsurgical scored worse than those with nonsurgical HP and pseudo-HP, especially on physical health.
Conclusions:
We found higher prevalence of nonsurgical HP in Norway than reported elsewhere. Genetic testing and autoimmunity screening of idiopathic HP identified a specific cause in 21%. Further research is necessary to unravel the causes of idiopathic HP and to improve the reduced HRQOL reported by HP patients.
A Norwegian national survey revealed higher prevalence of non-surgical and lower prevalence of post-surgical hypoparathyroidism than expected. Patients with hypoparathyroidism have reduced HRQoL.
The objective was to investigate the association between self-reported sleep problems and risk of chronic pain in the low back and neck/shoulders, and whether physical exercise and body mass index ...(BMI) alter this association.
The study comprised data on 26 896 women and men in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (Norway) without chronic pain or physical impairment at baseline in 1984-86. Occurrence of chronic pain was assessed at follow-up in 1995-97. A generalized linear model was used to calculate adjusted risk ratios.
Sleep problems were dose-dependently associated with risk of pain in the low back and neck/shoulders in both women and men (P < 0.001 both genders). Women and men who reported sleep problems 'sometimes' and 'often/always' had a higher risk of chronic pain of 23-32% and 51-66%, respectively, than those who reported sleep problems 'never'. Combined analyses showed that persons with sleep problems 'sometimes' and who exercised ≥1 hour per week had lower risk of chronic pain in the low back (P < 0.04) and neck/shoulders (P < 0.001) than inactive persons with a similar level of sleep problems (P < 0.04). Likewise, persons with BMI <25 kg/cm(2) and sleep problems 'sometimes' had lower risk of chronic pain in the low back (P < 0.001) and neck/shoulders (P < 0.001) than persons with BMI ≥25 kg/cm(2) and a similar level of sleep problems.
Sleep problems are associated with an increased risk of chronic pain in the low back and neck/shoulders. Regular exercise and maintenance of normal body weight may reduce the adverse effect of mild sleep problems on risk of chronic pain.
The timing of breeding is a life-history trait that can greatly affect fitness, because successful reproduction depends on the match between the food requirements for raising young and the seasonal ...peak in food availability. We analysed phenology (hatch dates) in relation to climate change for 2 seabird species breeding in the high-Arctic, little auksAlle alleand black-legged kittiwakesRissa tridactyla, for the periods 1963–2008 and 1970–2008, respectively. We show that spring climate has changed during the study period, with a strong increase in both air temperature (TEMP) and sea surface temperature (SST) and a decrease in sea ice concentration. Little auks showed a trend for earlier breeding over the study period, while kittiwakes showed a non-significant trend for later breeding, demonstrating different phenological responses in these 2 species. Little auks and kittiwakes adjusted their timing of breeding to different environmental signals. Spring TEMP was the best predictor of little auk phenology, with a significant negative effect. Spring SST was the strongest predictor of kittiwake phenology, with a non-significant negative effect. Spring sea ice concentration and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) winter index had a low relative variable importance. Furthermore, in kittiwakes, years with late breeding were associated with low clutch size and mean annual breeding success, indicating poor investment and food availability. This study identifies some spring environmental factors important for regulating the timing of breeding in the high-Arctic, most likely through effects on snow cover limiting access to nest sites and the development of the polar marine food web. It remains to be investigated whether environmental factors are reliable predictors of marine prey phenology, and whether the decision to start breeding is constrained by food availability.
Studies of genetic variation in metabolic traits have so far not focused on birds. In our study population of captive zebra finches we found evidence for a significant heritable genetic component in ...basal metabolic rate (BMR). Heritability of all morphological traits investigated (body mass, head length, tars length and wing length) was significantly larger than zero. All traits were positively phenotypically correlated. Eight of 10 genetic correlations presented in this study differed significantly from zero, all being positive, suggesting the possibility of correlated responses to any selection acting on the traits. When conditioned on the genetic variance in body mass, the heritability of BMR was reduced from 25% to 4%. Hence, our results indicate that genetic changes in BMR through directional selection are possible, but the potential for adaptation independent of body mass may be limited.
Carry-over effects, i.e. when processes in one season influence processes in the next, are believed to have important effects on behavior and fitness in animals. Despite an increasing interest in the ...identification of carry-over effects, there are few experimental studies of the underlying mechanisms. We investigated how a short-term experimental elevation of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) during breeding influences the migratory behavior of black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla. We exposed chick-rearing kittiwakes to a 3 d elevation of CORT, which is usually secreted in response to food shortages. The migratory behavior of CORT-treated kittiwakes and a control group was then tracked using geolocators. We found that CORT treatment affected subsequent autumn migration in a sex-specific manner. CORT-treated females left the breeding grounds earlier and spent a longer period at the wintering grounds than control birds and CORT-treated males. The CORT treatment did not affect the timing of spring arrival or total length of migration. Our findings indicated that physiological stress incurred during breeding can carry over to affect key parameters of migratory behavior in autumn. Identifying carry-over mechanisms, such as those described here, is important to understand how performance and fitness in animals are determined by interactions between different parts of their life cycle.
Extratropical cyclones (ETCs) play a primary role in determining the variation in local weather and marine conditions in the mid-latitudes. ETCs have a broad range of intensities, from benign to ...extreme, and their paths, frequency, and intensity may change with global warming. However, how ETCs, and cyclones in general, currently affect marine wildlife is poorly studied and remains substantially unexplored. To understand how winter ETCs affect the inter-annual variability of adult seabird survival, we used capture-mark-recapture datasets collected in 2 arctic (northern Canada and Svalbard) and 1 subarctic (northern Norway) breeding populations of common eider Somateria mollissima over periods of 19, 16 and 30 yr, respectively. We found significant negative correlations between winter ETC activity and female eider survival, but different mechanisms appear to be involved in the different studied populations. The number of winter ETCs, extreme or not, was linked to survival without lags in the Canadian population, whereas amplitude and duration of extreme winter ETCs (with time lags) impacted female adult survival in the Svalbard and northern Norway eider breeding populations. We hypothesise that fjords in the wintering grounds of some populations act as climatic shelters and provide natural protection, and hence could partly explain inter-population heterogeneity in the response to ETCs. We suggest that ETCs represent a likely mechanism behind the frequently reported relationship between North Atlantic Oscillation and seabird survival in the North Atlantic.
The role of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on exposure-related endocrine effects has been poorly investigated in wild birds. This is the case for stress hormones including corticosterone (CORT). ...Some studies have suggested that environmental exposure to PCBs and altered CORT secretion might be associated. Here we investigated the relationships between blood PCB concentrations and circulating CORT levels in seven free-ranging polar seabird species occupying different trophic positions, and hence covering a wide range of PCB exposure. Blood ∑7PCB concentrations (range: 61–115,632 ng/g lw) were positively associated to baseline or stress-induced CORT levels in three species and negatively associated to stress-induced CORT levels in one species. Global analysis suggests that in males, baseline CORT levels generally increase with increasing blood ∑7PCB concentrations, whereas stress-induced CORT levels decrease when reaching high blood ∑7PCB concentrations. This study suggests that the nature of the PCB-CORT relationships may depend on the level of PCB exposure.
•Relationships between PCBs and stress hormones (CORT) are not well known in birds.•We measured blood PCBs, baseline and stress-induced CORT in seven seabird species.•∑PCB was positively associated to baseline or stress-induced CORT in three species.•∑PCBs was negatively linked to stress-induced CORT in the most contaminated species.•The nature of the PCB-CORT relationships may depend on the level of PCB exposure.
In polar seabird species, the relationship between PCB and CORT concentrations may be related to the levels of contamination.
The Arctic experiences a rapid retreat of sea-ice, particularly in spring and summer, which may dramatically affect pagophilic species. In recent years, the decline of many Arctic seabird populations ...has raised concerns about the potential role of sea-ice habitats on their demography. Spring sea-ice drives the dynamics of phytoplankton blooms, the basis of Arctic food webs, and changes in spring sea-ice have the potential to affect the demographic parameters of seabirds through bottom-up processes. To better understand the effects of spring sea-ice on Arctic seabirds, we investigated the influence of spring sea-ice concentration on the survival and breeding success of three seabird species with contrasted foraging strategies in two Svalbard fjords in the high Arctic. We examined these relationships using long-term demographic data (2005–2021) from black-legged kittiwakes (
Rissa tridactyla
), Brünnich guillemots (
Uria lomvia
), and little auks (
Alle alle
). Spring sea-ice concentration was positively related to both the survival and breeding success of little auks, suggesting a higher sensitivity of this species to spring sea-ice. By contrast, the two other species were not particularly sensitive to changes in spring sea-ice, even though a potentially spurious negative effect on the breeding success of black-legged kittiwakes was observed. Overall, the study suggests that spring sea-ice may be involved in the demography of Arctic seabirds, but probably does not play a major role.
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