[Psychological variables and alcohol consumption in a sample of students of medicine: gender differences]. / Variabili psicologiche e consumo di alcol in un campione di studenti di medicina: differenze di genere.

AIM: To evaluate in a sample of college students alcohol consumption in relation with socio-demographic and psychopathological variables. METHODS: The psychopathological variables have been investigated through the Self-Report Symptom Inventory-Revised (SCL-90-R), the levels of alcohol consumption through the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The total score, as well as the scores of the subscales and of the indices of the SCL-90-R, General Symptomatic Index (GSI) in particular, have been analysed also considering gender differences. A multivariate analysis have been performed adjusting for age and variables resulted to be statistically significant at the univariate analysis when comparing males vs. females. The correlations between AUDIT and psychopathological variables have been investigated. RESULTS: The sample was composed by 200 subjects (105 women, 95 men), average age of 21.85 ± 3.09. The 27% and 13% had values worthy of clinical attention (above the cut-off) of GSI and AUDIT. Women had higher values of total SCL-90-R and of the subscales somatization, obsessive-compulsive, depression and anxiety. In addition, they presented significantly higher scores of GSI. Conversely, men had higher scores at the AUDIT. With the increase of the age the alcohol consumption increased; the latter was positively correlated with the variables sensitivity, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive. The consumption of alcohol negatively correlated with somatization and phobic anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The psychopathological variables seem to have a great impact on the consumption of alcohol. The abuser of alcohol often tends to minimize his problem, so it is important to pay attention to the "alarm bells". It would therefore be desirable to adopt strategies of counseling and prevention dedicated to the university students.

Cytological aspects of the nasal respiratory epithelium in reproductive-age women taking oral contraceptives.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of monophasic oral contraceptives on the nasal respiratory epithelium in premenopausal women. DESIGN: Prospective open clinical trial. SETTING: Outpatient Family Planning Centre. PATIENT(S): Eighty-eight premenopausal women, with ovulatory cycle, who were planning to take oral contraceptives. INTERVENTION(S): Baseline endovaginal ultrasound examination and blood test to measure serum progesterone to confirm ovulatory cycle. Thirty-eight women on pill containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol (EE) plus 75 microg gestodene, and 35 women on pill containing 15 microg ethinylestradiol plus 60 microg gestodene. MAIN OUTCOMES/MEASURE(S): Cytological changes on the nasal respiratory epithelium evaluated with the maturation index performed during the follicular, periovular, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle, and on the sixth cycle of pill intake. RESULT(S): Hematoxylin-eosin staining for the maturation index showed similar trophic cytological aspects between the nasal and vaginal epithelium during the menstrual cycle and pill usage. Both the nasal and vaginal cytological samples showed higher maturation indexes during both the follicular and the periovular phases than during the luteal phase. Women on pill containing 15 microg EE showed lower trophic aspects in the nasal cytological samples compared with those on pill with 30 microg EE. CONCLUSION(S): Along with the vaginal cells, the nasal respiratory epithelium is an ovarian steroid target. The maturation index of the nasal respiratory epithelium seems to depend on the variation of the ovarian steroids during the menstrual cycle and on the iatrogenic effects of oral contraceptives.