Association between family divorce and children's BMI and meal patterns: the GENDAI Study.

The aim of this work was to explore the associations between family factors, including divorce, and children's overweight as well as eating and physical activity patterns in a population-based sample of healthy school-aged children. In this cross-sectional study, 1,138 children (53% girls; age: 11.2 +/- 0.7 years) from elementary schools in the Attica region participated. Their parents provided sociodemographic information, including their marital status. Overweight status classification was based on weight and height measurements and BMI evaluation. Children completed a physical activity checklist and a questionnaire on meal patterns and eating behaviors. The Eating Style score was calculated: the higher the score, the more frequent a child was engaged in less-structured feeding practices promoting food intake for reasons other than hunger. Analysis revealed significant association between family divorce and children's overweight: compared with children of married parents, those of divorced had significantly higher BMI levels (20.0 +/- 3.6 kg/m(2) vs. 21.3 +/- 3.4 kg/m(2), respectively, P = 0.007). Controlling for socioeconomic and physical activity factors, divorce remains a significant predictor of a higher BMI, along with older age, higher father's and mother's BMI, less children in the family, and more minutes of daily screen time. Children who had experienced a divorce in their family also reported higher Eating Style score, even after adjusting for potential confounders. In conclusion, in this sample of fifth and sixth graders, unfavorable family circumstances have been associated with children's overweight, as well as with aspects of their eating behavior, namely eating style in relation to conditions around food consumption and hunger, independent of other socioeconomic factors.

Comparison of angiogenic activities after urethral reconstruction using free grafts in rabbits.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the most suitable type of graft-free penile skin grafts or mucosal grafts from bladder or buccal regions - for urethral reconstruction in an animal model, as evaluated on the basis of angiogenic activity. METHODS: Twenty-two male White New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into four groups. In the control group (group O, n=4) a simple urethrotomy and closure was performed, whereas a ventral urethral defect was created in groups A, B, and C and then bridged using the following onlay patches: free penile skin (group A, n=6), buccal mucosal graft (group B, n=6), and bladder mucosal graft (group C, n=6). On the 21st postoperative day, the animals were sacrificed and the retrieved implants were subjected to macroscopic and microscopic analysis. The angiogenic activity was assessed with immunohistochemistry, using the anti-CD31 MoAb and the phosphatase antialkaline phosphatase procedure. The native vascularity of penile skin as well as buccal and bladder mucosa was assessed in rabbits from group O (n=3). Statistical analysis was performed using the one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: The angiogenesis in a magnification of x200 in groups O, A, B, and C was 34.1+/-4.1 (mean+/-SD), 61.7+/-6.4, 94.3+/-6.4, and 91.5+/-7.2 vessels per optical field, respectively. There were, statistically significant differences (p<0.001) between groups A and B and between groups A and C, but not (p>0.05) between groups B and C. The native vascularity of penile skin, buccal mucosa and bladder mucosa was 23.3+/-3.0, 24.6+/-3.7 and 17.0+/-2.6 vessels per optical field, respectively. CONCLUSION: The viability of mucosal grafts from bladder or buccal regions is better than that of a free penile graft because of higher angiogenic activity. Although the mucosal grafts showed the same angiogenic activity, the buccal mucosa graft is preferable because of its easier harvesting.