The World Health Organization recommends adjusting salt intake as a part of the nine global targets to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable chronic diseases as a priority and the most ...cost-effective intervention. In 2006, the main aim of the Croatian Action on Salt and Health was to decrease salt intake by 16% because of its critical intake and consequences on human health. We have organized educative activities to increase awareness on salt harmfulness, define food categories of prime interest, collaborate with industries and determine salt intake (24 h urine sodium excretion). It was determined that the proportion of salt in ready-to-eat baked bread should not exceed 1.4%. In the period 2014-2022, salt in semi-white bread was reduced by 14%, 22% in bakery and 25% in the largest meat industry. Awareness of the harmfulness of salt on health increased from 65.3% in 2008 to 96.9% in 2023 and salt intake was reduced by 15.9-1.8 g/day (22.8% men, 11.7% women). In the last 18 years, a significant decrease in salt intake was achieved in Croatia, awareness of its harmfulness increased, collaboration with the food industry was established and regulatory documents were launched. However, salt intake is still very high, underlying the need for continuation of efforts and even stronger activities.
The concentration of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the blood is higher in patients with active multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to those with inactive disease. The ...concentration of IL-6 and TNF-α in the blood is higher in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) compared to those with a healthy thyroid. The aim of the study was to assess whether serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels correlated with saliva in patients with inactive MS and whether there was a difference in these groups of patients depending of thyroid status. We also examined the correlation of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels with thyroid status. The study included 54 patients in the inactive phase of MS. The level of cytokines in the blood was determined by chemiluminescence, and in saliva by ELISA. Blood and saliva IL-6 levels showed positive correlation, while blood and saliva TNF-α levels were not correlated. There was a significantly higher TSH level in patients with inactive MS with positive thyroid antibodies, without therapy, compared with those with negative antibodies.
The use of routine blood tests has recently been shown to be promising in determining disease-free and overall survival in patients with various malignancies, and also in gynecologic malignancies. ...The aim of this study was to evaluate whether salivary and serum CA125 levels correlate and whether salivary and serum CA125, C-reactive protein and routine blood tests might serve as a prognostic factor in malignant ovarian tumors, and whether they might differentiate between benign and malignant ovarian tumors. A total of 98 women were included (48 with benign ovarian tumors and 50 with malignant ovarian tumors), in whom routine blood tests were made and salivary and serum CA125 levels were determined by use of ELISA. Increase in serum CA125 and amylase decreased overall survival, whereas increase in salivary CA125, potassium levels and hemoglobin increased overall survival. Significant correlation of serum CA125 and C-reactive protein was found in the group with malignant tumors. In conclusion, significant increase in the levels of serum CA125 and amylase correlated with decreased survival, whereas increased salivary CA125, hemoglobin and potassium levels significantly correlated with increased survival. Key words: Malignancies; CA125 antigen; Blood tests
Lactating women (LW) and infants have high dietary iodine requirements and are at risk of iodine deficiency. The aim of the study was to assess iodine status and thyroid function in LW and their ...breastfed infants in Zagreb, Croatia. The study included 133 LW and breastfed infant pairs. Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and thyroid function parameters were measured in all subjects. In LW, breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC) was measured and iodine and salt rich food frequency questionnaire data were collected. Results of analysis indicated that 99.2% of the LW used iodized salt in household and 20.4% used iodine-containing vitamin and mineral supplements. Median (IQR) UIC was 75 microg/L (19.0-180.5 microg/L) in LW and 234 microg/L (151.0-367.5 microg/L) in infants, whereas BMIC was 121 microg/kg (87.8-170.8 microg/kg). Multivariate regression analysis revealed BMIC to be a significant predictor of infant UIC (p<0.001). Positive correlation was recorded between LW and infant thyroid function. This was the first study in Croatia demonstrating BMIC to be a reliable biomarker of iodine status during lactation and predicting iodine intake in breastfed infants. The study confirmed that mandatory salt iodization in Croatia ensured sufficient dietary iodine for LW and optimal iodine intake for breastfed infants via breast milk. Key words: Breastfeeding; Infants; Iodine; Thyroglobulin; Thyroid hormones
Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a disorder which is described as burning sensation of the oral mucosa without pathological changes. Most of the patients have some underlying stressful conditions. ...Stress induces an increase in secretion of different endocrine glands resulting in higher levels of glucocorticoids. One of the options for treatment of BMS includes low level laser therapy (LLLT). The aim of this research was to determine salivary cortisol levels and intensity of burning symptoms in BMS patients before and after LLLT.
Twenty-three participants were allocated by randomization in two groups: 12 patients in the study group and 11 patients in the placebo group. Cortisol levels in all patients were analyzed from the sample of saliva collected without stimulation. In both groups, the LLLT was performed once a day for ten consecutive days (excluding weekend) with Ga-Al-As light-emitting diode type of laser, with a wavelength of 685nm. In the control group, LLLT was done with inactive laser probe which was only emitting audio signal. The intensity of burning symptoms was measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS). The VAS and unstimulated saliva were measured at baseline and on the last day of the LLLT. A quantitative analysis of saliva was performed using competitive commercial ELISA-kit.
VAS scores and salivary cortisol levels were significantly lower in both groups after LLLT.
LLLT can be useful in patients with BMS for reducing burning symptoms and salivary cortisol level. Future studies on a larger number of patients should clarify whether the positive results are an outcome of laser effectiveness or of placebo effect.
The objective of our study was to investigate salivary levels of estradiol, progesterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and quality of life, in female postmenopausal women with burning mouth ...syndrome. The study included new patients diagnosed with burning mouth syndrome and excluded local and systemic causes. Unstimulated saliva samples were taken in the morning from 9 AM and 11 AM and immediately frozen for hormone analysis. The patients filled out a self-perceived quality of life questionnaire Oral Health Impact Profile-14 and determined the intensity of mucosal symptoms according to the visual-analog scale grading 0 to 10. A total of 40 patients were included. The study group had significantly lower levels of salivary estradiol. No difference was observed in levels of progesterone and DHEA between the groups. The levels of salivary hormones did not exhibit a significant correlation according to the Spearman correlation test with a self-perceived quality of life questionnaire (OHIP-14) in the study group or in the control group. Further research on a larger number of patients is needed to verify these results. This information might help to enable more precise and efficient treatment.
It is known that cortisol level increases in stress situations. The aim of the study was to measure the levels of salivary cortisol in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and healthy controls. ...This was a case-control pilot study which included seven patients with reticular (non-symptomatic) OLP, eight patients with atrophic/erosive (symptomatic) OLP, and nine healthy controls. We hypothesized that patients with an atrophic/erosive type of OLP have higher levels of cortisol compared to patients with the reticular type of OLP and healthy controls. In each participant, unstimulated saliva was collected in order to determine cortisol levels by using commercially available ELISA kit. Our results have shown no differences between levels of salivary cortisol in OLP patients and healthy controls. We can conclude that further research with a larger number of OLP patients is needed to determine the correlation between OLP and stress.
The worldwide incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has increased in recent decades, likely due to frequent use of cervical ultrasonography (US) and US-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy ...(FNA)., US is performed during follow-up after thyroidectomy, and US-guided FNA with cytology is used if suspicious cervical lymph nodes (LN) or thyroid bed masses are detected. Knowing that serum anti-Tg antibodies (sTgAb) affect the use of serum Tg (sTg) as a tumor marker, the aim of our study was to assess the usefulness of Tg determination in needle aspirates (FNA-Tg) in presence of sTgAb. This retrospective study included 149 patients with DTC and 159 aspirations of suspicious LN and thyroid bed masses. As expected, there was a negative correlation between sTg and sTgAb levels (p<0.05), while FNA-Tg levels had a positive correlation with FNA-TgAb levels (p<0.05). Furthermore, we found a positive correlation between sTg and FNA-Tg levels (p<0.05), but not between sTgAb and FNA-TgAb or sTgAb and FNA-Tg. In conclusion, these results show that FNA-Tg values were not affected by sTgAb and that FNA-Tg measurement were highly effective in detecting cervical DTC metastases. However, combined use with cytology is suggested for neck evaluation because cytology could reveal metastases from other tumor sites.
The concentration of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in the blood is higher in patients with active multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to those with inactive disease. ...The concentration of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in the blood is higher in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) compared to those with a healthy thyroid. The aim of the study was to assess whether serum IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels correlated with saliva in patients with inactive MS and whether there was a difference in these groups of patients depending of thyroid status. We also examined the correlation of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels with thyroid status. The study included 54 patients in the inactive phase of MS. The level of cytokines in the blood was determined by chemiluminescence, and in saliva by ELISA. Blood and saliva IL-6 levels showed positive correlation, while blood and saliva TNF-alpha levels were not correlated. There was a significantly higher TSH level in patients with inactive MS with positive thyroid antibodies, without therapy, compared with those with negative antibodies. Key words: Interleukin-6; TNF-alpha, Multiple sclerosis; Hashimoto's thyroiditis; Saliva Koncentracija interleukina 6 (IL-6) i faktora tumorske nekroze alfa (TNF-alpha) u krvi je veca u bolesnika s aktivnom multiplom sklerozom (MS) u odnosu na one s neaktivnom bolescu. Koncentracija IL-6 i TNF-alpha u krvi je veca kod bolesnika s Hashimotovim tireoditisom (HT) u odnosu na one sa zdravom stitnjacom. Cilj istrazivanja bio je procijeniti koreliraju li serumske razine IL-6 i TNF-alpha s onima u slini kod bolesnika s neaktivnom MS i postoji li razlika medu navedenim skupinama bolesnika ovisno o statusu stitnjace. Takoder smo ispitali korelaciju razine tireoidnog stimulirajuceg hormona (TSH) sa statusom stitnjace kod svih bolesnika. U istrazivanje su ukljucena 54 bolesnika u neaktivnoj fazi MS. Razina citokina u krvi je odredena metodom kemiluminiscencije, a u slini metodom ELISA. Pozitivno je korelirala razina IL-6 u krvi i slini, dok razina TNF-alpha u krvi i slini nije korelirala. Znacajno je veca bila razina TSH u bolesnika s neaktivnom MS s pozitivnim protutijelima na stitnjacu, bez terapije, u odnosu na one s negativnim protutijelima. Kljucne rijeci: Interleukin-6; TNF-alpha; Multipla skleroza; Hashimotov tireoiditis; Slina
Testosterone levels in female athletes are increased due to their physical activity and correlate with their exercise volume. We therefore hypothesized that the reference intervals (RIs) derived from ...the general population are not applicable for female athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the given RIs for 6 commercially available testosterone immunoassays in a group of female athletes.
Our study included 121 female athletes from various sporting disciplines (water polo, handball, volleyball, football, and basketball). The physical activity score was assessed by the Short Form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Total testosterone was measured in serum samples by the reference LC–MS/MS method and six different immunoassays (Abbott Architect 2nd Generation Testosterone, Beckman Coulter Access Testosterone, Roche Elecsys Testosterone II, Siemens Atellica® IM Testosterone II (TSTII), Siemens IMMULITE 2000 Total Testosterone, and Snibe MAGLUMI™ Testosterone).
There were statistically significant differences in age (P = 0.042), weight (P = 0.001), height (P < 0.001), and BMI (P < 0.001) between athletes across different sports. Their quantitative measurements of physical activity and testosterone concentration did not differ significantly between subgroups of various sports, P = 0.167 and P = 0.181, respectively. All immunoassays had a positive absolute and relative bias, in comparison with the LC–MS/MS. The manufacturer’s RI was not verified for Abbott Architect, Beckman Coulter Access, and Roche Elecsys Testosterone methods, with the highest percentage of athletes above RI for Beckman Coulter (30%).
We demonstrated that the upper reference limit provided was too low for some young female athletes. Clinical laboratories should consider implementation of the new proposed RIs.
PDF
