Sleep disturbances, circadian activity, and nocturnal light exposure characterize high risk for and current depression in adolescence.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescence is associated with irregularities in circadian rhythms and sleep. The characterization of such impairment may be critical to design effective interventions to prevent development of depression among adolescents. This study aimed to examine self-reported and actimetry-based circadian rhythms and sleep-wake behavior associated with current MDD and high risk (HR) for MDD among adolescents. METHODS: Ninety-six adolescents who took part in the IDEA-RiSCo study were recruited using an empirically developed depression-risk stratification method: 26 classified as low risk (LR), 31 as HR, and 39 as a current depressive episode (MDD). We collected self-report data on insomnia, chronotype, sleep schedule, sleep hygiene as well as objective data on sleep, rest-activity, and light exposure rhythms using actimetry for 10 days. RESULTS: Adolescents with MDD exhibited more severe insomnia, shorter sleep duration, higher social jetlag (SJL), lower relative amplitude (RA) of activity, and higher exposure to artificial light at night (ALAN) compared with the other groups. They also presented poorer sleep hygiene compared with the LR group. The HR group also showed higher insomnia, lower RA, higher exposure to ALAN, and higher SJL compared with the LR group. CONCLUSIONS: HR adolescents shared sleep and rhythm alterations with the MDD group, which may constitute early signs of depression, suggesting that preventive strategies targeting sleep should be examined in future studies. Furthermore, we highlight that actimetry-based parameters of motor activity (particularly RA) and light exposure are promising constructs to be explored as tools for assessment of depression in adolescence.

Effects of lighting patterns in pubertal development and metabolism of female wistar rats.

Modern lifestyle is characterized by constant exposure to artificial light, which is associated with alterations in biological rhythms, abnormalities to reproductive cycles and metabolic changes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of four different lighting patterns on puberty timing and on possible metabolic changes in female Wistar rats. Additionally, we developed a machine learning algorithm to automatically classify the stages of the estrous cycle. Adult Wistar rats mated during a week at a photoperiod station where they were exposed to combined red-green-blue lights (RGB) during the photoperiod that varied its spectral composition (i.e., variable color temperature) during the day (RGB-v; N = 14), RGB during the photoperiod with a fixed light color temperature (RGB-f; N = 13) during the whole photoperiod; constant darkness (DD; N = 13) and constant fixed light (LL; N = 15). Experiments were performed only on female litters from postnatal day (PND) 22 to 50. Body weight, puberty onset, estrous cyclicity and serum metabolic parameters were measured. We also collected pictures of vaginal smears to create a dataset of 15,936 images to construct an automatic classifier based on convolutional neural networks. No significant differences were found in the age of vaginal opening; however, the RGB-v group showed a significantly lower number of complete and consecutives cycles. Also, the RGB-f group showed the first complete estrous cycle significantly earlier than the RGB-v group. Female rats housed in LL condition presented significantly lower mean body weight from PND 33 to PDN 47 compared to the other groups. Furthermore, higher levels of plasma triglycerides were found in the DD group compared to RGB-f and RGB-v. HDL levels were significantly lower in RGB-v compared to RGB-f and LL groups. Total cholesterol was significantly lower in RGB-v compared to all groups. Visceral fat was significantly higher in RGB-f compared to the LL group. These results suggest that both changes in photoperiod and lighting quality affect pubertal development and alter lipid profiles and visceral fat accumulation.

Relationship Between Circadian Strain, Light Exposure, and Body Mass Index in Rural and Urban Quilombola Communities.

Industrialization has greatly changed human lifestyle; work and leisure activities have been moved indoors, and artificial light has been used to illuminate the night. As cyclic environmental cues such as light and feeding become weak and/or irregular, endogenous circadian systems are increasingly being disrupted. These disruptions are associated with metabolic dysfunction, possibly contributing to increased rates of overweight and obesity worldwide. Here, we aimed to investigate how activity-rest rhythms, patterns of light exposure, and levels of urbanization may be associated with body mass index (BMI) in a sample of rural and urban Quilombola communities in southern Brazil. These are characterized as remaining social groups who resisted the slavery regime that prevailed in Brazil. Quilombola communities were classified into five groups according to their stage of urbanization: from rural areas with no access to electricity to highly urbanized communities. We collected anthropometric data to calculate BMI, which was categorized as follows: from ≥ 18.5 kg/m2 to < 25 kg/m2 = normal weight; from ≥ 25 kg/m2 to < 30 kg/m2 = overweight; and ≥ 30 kg/m2 = obese. Subjects were asked about their sleep routines and light exposure on workdays and work-free days using the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (N = 244 included). In addition, we analyzed actimetry data from 121 participants with seven consecutive days of recordings. Living in more urbanized areas and higher intradaily variability (IV) of activity-rest rhythms were associated with an increased risk of belonging to the overweight or obese group, when controlling for age and sex. These findings are consistent with preclinical data and point to potential strategies in obesity prevention and promotion of healthy metabolic profiles.

Prevalência de fibrilação atrial, indicação de anticoagulação oral e fatores associados em idosos brasileiros / Prevalence of atrial fibrillation, oral anticoagulation prescription and associated factors in Brazilian older adults

INTRODUÇÃO: A fibrilação atrial aumenta o risco de eventos cerebrovasculares em cinco vezes. A anticoagulação reduz a incidência e a gravidade desses eventos, entretanto muitos pacientes deixam de receber tromboprofilaxia. OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a prevalência de fibrilação atrial em pacientes idosos acompanhados em um hospital universitário e identificar o percentual desses pacientes com prescrição de anticoagulantes. Os objetivos secundários foram identificar as opções terapêuticas, as justificativas para não indicar o uso e os fatores associados à ineficácia e/ou ausência de tratamento. METODOLOGIA: Em estudo transversal, uma amostra consecutiva de 1.630 pacientes do Hospital de Clínicas O de Porto Alegre foi rastreada entre abril e junho de 2017. Fibrilação atrial foi identificada em 220 (13,50%) indivíduos, dos quais 145 foram avaliados com base na revisão de prontuários e questionário telefônico. A associação entre as variáveis e os desfechos foi analisada por meio do Teste U de Mann-Whitney e do teste do qui-quadrado. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de fibrilação atrial foi de 13,50%. Em 77,93%, havia i-r anticoagulante prescrito. Em 76,11% dos anticoagulados, a opção foi varfarina. Houve tendência de não prescrição para idosos com histórico de sangramento (risco relativo ­ RR = 2,32; índice de confiança de 95% - IC95% 0,95 - 5,64; p = 0,06) e quedas (RR = 2,02; IC95% 0,82 - 5,03; p = 0,08). Houve associação significativa entre maior grau de limitação funcional e maior índice de tratamento no alvo terapêutico (razão de prevalência ­ RP = 022; IC95% 0,06 - 0,87; p = 0,04). CONCLUSÃO: A prevalência de fibrilação atrial foi de 13,5% e, em 77,93% dos casos, havia prescrição de anticoagulante. Houve associação entre incapacidade funcional e melhor índice de anticoagulação no alvo terapêutico.

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation increases five times the risk of stroke. Anticoagulation reduces the incidence of cerebrovascular events. However, many patients do not receive thromboprophylaxis. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the older patients at a Brazilian university hospital and the proportion of anticoagulation prescription. Secondary objectives were to identify the therapeutic options, the main reasons for non-prescription and the factors associated with ineffectiveness or lack of treatment. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with a consecutive sample of 1,630 outpatients selected at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre between April and June of 2017. Atrial fibrillation was identified in 220 (13.50%) individuals. t Medical records from 145 patients were accessed, followed by a telephone interview. The association between variables and " outcomes was checked using the Mann-Whitney's U Test and a chi-squared test. RESULTS: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation was 13.50%. Anticoagulation therapy was prescribed in 77.93% of cases. In 76.11% of patients, warfarin was the chosen drug. < There was a tendency towards no prescription in patients with previous bleeding (RR = 2.32; 95%CI 0.95 - 5.64; p = 0.06) and falls (RR = 2.02; 95%CI 0.82 - 5.03; p = 0.08). We found an association between reduced functional capacity (Barthel's Activities of Daily Living Score < 80) and higher rate of anticoagulation in therapeutic target (RR = 0.22; 95%CI 0.06 - 0.87; p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in this population was 13.50% and in 77.93% of cases anticoagulant were prescribed. Functional impairment was associated with a higher rate of anticoagulation in therapeutic target.

The Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI): validity, reliability and association with depressive symptoms and sleep-related outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To translate the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) to Brazilian Portuguese, to describe its psychometric properties and to show its association with sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, risk for sleep apnea and depressive symptoms. METHODS: Thirty subjects participated in the cultural adaptation and the item clarity evaluation. Twenty subjects answered the instrument in three different time-points for test-retest reliability. Eighty adult workers completed the SHI, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the STOP-BANG (S-B). RESULTS: SHI shows an acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.75), as well as a high reproducibility (intraclass correlation=0.972, p<0.01). The three final factors of confirmatory factor analysis extract an average of 48.22% of the total sample variance. Worse sleep hygiene (higher SHI score) correlated with poor sleep quality (r=0.398, p<0.001), excessive daytime sleepiness (r=0.406, p<0.001) and depressive symptoms (r=0.324, p=0.003). No correlations with S-B were found. CONCLUSIONS: SHI presents satisfactory-to-optimal psychometric properties. This instrument is useful for treatment planning and management of sleep hygiene practices. Thus, it represents a reliable way of assessing sleep hygiene quantitatively in both research and clinical settings.