Development of a diet quality score and adherence to the Swiss dietary recommendations for vegans.

BACKGROUND: Vegan diets have recently gained popularity in Switzerland as well as globally. The aim of the present study was to develop a diet quality score for vegans (DQS-V) based on the Swiss dietary recommendations for vegans. METHODS: The dataset included 52 healthy vegan adults. Dietary intake data were assessed by three-day weighed food records. Body weight and height were measured, and a venous blood sample for the analysis of vitamin and mineral status was collected. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used due to not-normally distributed data. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis (PCA). RESULTS: The DQS-V score (mean ± SD) was 48.9 ± 14.7. Most vegans adhered to the recommended portions of vegetables, vitamin C-rich vegetables, fruits, omega-3-rich nuts, fats and oils, and iodized salt. However, the intake of green leafy vegetables, vitamin C-rich fruits, wholegrains, legumes, nuts and seeds, selenium-rich nuts, zero caloric liquid, and calcium-fortified foods was suboptimal. The sample overconsumed sweet-, salty-, fried foods, and alcohol. The DQS-V had a significantly positive correlation with intakes of fibre, polyunsaturated fatty acids, potassium, zinc, and phosphorus intakes (p's < 0.05) but was negatively correlated with vitamin B12 and niacin intakes (p's < 0.05). Two dietary patterns were derived from PCA: 1) refined grains and sweets and 2) wholegrains and nuts. The correlation between the DQS-V and the first dietary pattern was negative (- 0.41, p = 0.004) and positive for the second dietary pattern (0.37, p = 0.01). The refined grains and sweets dietary pattern was inversely correlated with beta-carotene status (- 0.41, p = 0.004) and vitamin C status (r = - 0.51, p = 0.0002). CONCLUSION: The newly developed DQS-V provides a single score for estimating diet quality among vegan adults. Further validation studies examining the DQS-V in relation to an independent dietary assessment method and to biomarkers of nutritional intake and status are still needed before the general application of the DQS-V.

Infections of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices: 14 years of experience in an Italian hospital.

The aim of the study was to describe the microbial aetiology of infections from cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) between 2001 and 2014 at The Centro Cuore Morgagni Hospital (Catania, Italy). In this 14-year retrospective study on pacemaker isolates 1,366 patients were evaluated and clinical data were collected. CIEDs were analyzed and isolates tested by routine microbiological techniques. The presence of bacterial biofilm was assessed by means of scanning electron microscopy. Of the patients, fifty-three had catheter-related infections (3.9%), mainly resulting from Staphylococci (4 S. aureus, 32 S. epidermidis, 15 S. hominis, 3 S. haemolyticus, 1 S. warnerii, 1 S. schleiferi, 1 S. lentus and 1 S. capitis) that covered the cardiac catheter with biofilm. Overall, oxacillin-resistance was 55.1%, especially among S. epidermidis, while all isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, teicoplanin, tigecyclin, rifampin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, linezolid, moxifloxacin, tobramycin and gentamicin. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most frequently isolated and S. epidermidis was largely the main single agent. Only four Gram negatives caused polymicrobial infections with Staphylococci. Despite improvements in CIED design and implantation techniques, infection of cardiac devices remains a serious problem.

Adlerian parental counseling in eating disorders: preliminary data of a controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Counseling interventions for parents with a daughter affected by an eating disorder (ED) may represent a useful and cost-effective tool to improve patients' compliance to treatment and overall outcome. The present study evaluates the outcome of Adlerian Parental Counseling (APC) on individuals affected by ED and their parents. METHODS: We assessed 114 patients whose parents underwent APC and 44 individuals whose parents did not receive this intervention. All patients received multimodal treatment and were assessed at intake and at a 6-month follow-up. Patients were assessed using: the first scale and the improvement scale (GI) of the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Parents underwent APC and completed several psychometric tests: Attachment Style Questionnaire, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, Symptom Questionnaire, and Family Assessment Device. RESULTS: The GI of the ED group whose parents received APC significantly improved when compared with baseline. Moreover, the improvement was significantly greater for the APC group with respect to the non-APC group if the initial CGI score was considered. After counseling, mothers displayed poorer FAD scores, but their sense of inadequacy, their anxiety symptoms and their preoccupation with relationships improved. Fathers improved their social trust and reduced introverted anger. APC reduced the differences as regards family functioning perception among family members. CONCLUSION: Parents reported a subjective improvement in psychopathology scales and a better fine-tuning of their perception of family dynamics with those of their daughters and husband. The improvement in family dynamics along with the motivational effect of parents' participation in counseling may have positively influenced the outcome of the multimodal treatment. Moreover, this intervention could also have been helpful for those with a severe ED.