Beyond the surface: Understanding obsessive symptoms and body perceptions, from shape concerns to fear of blushing.

INTRODUCTION: Recent reclassifications have expanded the understanding of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCDs), now incorporated into a broader category known as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Related Disorders (OCRDs). This study sought to assess obsessive-compulsive symptoms and body uneasiness among outpatients seeking treatment for Eating Disorders (ED). Additionally, we aimed to explore associations and potential mediation effects between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and body uneasiness. This investigation extended beyond concerns related solely to body shape and weight, encompassing fears associated with specific body components (such as facial features, abdominal region, and limbs) or functions (including sweating, blushing, emitting noises, and releasing odors). METHODS: Psychometric assessments included the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) and the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT). Statistical analyses involved bivariate correlations, linear regression, and mediation analysis to explore the associations and potential mediation effects between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and different manifestations of body uneasiness. RESULTS: The sample (N = 210) demonstrated substantial obsessive-compulsive symptoms and notable body discomfort. OCI-R scores positively correlated with various dimensions of body dissatisfaction, including shape, weight, and specific body components or functions. Linear regression revealed significant associations between OCI-R scores and overall body uneasiness (BUT-A) as well as concerns about body components or functions (BUTB). Mediation analysis indicated that BUT-A mediated the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and BUTB. CONCLUSION: This study offers new insights into the comprehensive landscape of OCRDs. It specifically emphasizes the association between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and body uneasiness, embracing not only concerns about body shape and weight but also extending to body components and functions.

Testing evolutionary stasis and trends in first lower molar shape of extinct Italian populations of Terricola savii (Arvicolidae, Rodentia) by means of geometric morphometrics.

Extinct populations of Terricola savii have been investigated in order to analyse evolutionary stasis and correlation of first lower molar shape with climatic proxies by means of geometric morphometrics. Evolutionary stasis, its recognition and explanation are central topics in evolutionary paleobiology. In this study, tooth shape variation of the arvicolid T. savii has been analysed through time. In addition to explicit multivariate tests of stasis based on landmark and semi-landmark geometric morphometrics, first lower molar M(1) shape has been decomposed in orthogonal axes of variation and tested for correlation with climate changes. Multivariate tests were consistent with evolutionary stasis. Yet, according to univariate tests, the dominant dimension of shape variation shows a temporal trend well correlated with a climatic proxy, i.e. delta(18)O. The remaining variation does not show any trend. Adaptation to current climatic condition might occur even without affecting shape as a whole. Phenotypic plasticity of this species could be invoked to explain evolutionary stasis, as a long time pattern.

An economic evaluation of home-care assistance for AIDS patients: a pilot study in a town in northern Italy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the costs and cost-effectiveness of home-care assistance (HCA) as an alternative to hospital-based care only for patients with AIDS (PWA). DESIGN: A 6-month prospective study. Use of resources by a control group of PWA receiving ordinary hospital-based care (OC group) was compared with that by a random group of PWA who, in addition to hospital care, were also receiving home care (HC group). SETTING: Home- and hospital-based care for PWA in Vicenza, Italy. PATIENTS: HC group selection was based on eligibility criteria for severity of illness, home location and economic and family support. Ten of the PWA satisfying all eligibility criteria were randomly allocated to the HC group. The control group consisted of 32 PWA lacking one or more of the eligibility criteria. INTERVENTION: HCA involved the provision of palliative care for PWA by a multidisciplinary team of caregivers. Hospital-based services covered inpatient and outpatient services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The health benefits for HC and OC groups using a quantitative quality of life measure (the Quality of Well-Being Scale). RESULTS: Overall health-care cost savings of 6-7%, relative to the OC group, were predicted for the HC group. Costs per well week were estimated at US$482 for the HC group and US$791 for the OC group. CONCLUSION: Home-care assistance appears to be a cost-effective strategy for the treatment and care of PWA if strict eligibility criteria are adhered to.

Computer assisted laboratory diagnosis: a ten-year experience.

An automated procedure to help general practitioners in clinical diagnosis and decision making is presented. The computer-based program is conceived to process results from laboratory tests performed on outpatients, providing general practitioners with possible causes of abnormal results. When only one or two abnormal tests are observed, a series of suggestions pertinent to each abnormality is printed. When there are more abnormal test results, the program performs a more complex procedure ending with the output of some diagnostic hypotheses. Messages are also printed to focus the physician's attention to particular aspects of patient pathology that were sometimes missed or disregarded and to suggest new investigations the laboratory can perform to improve diagnostic efficiency. Moreover some advice is supplied to allow a better evaluation of particular risk conditions, as those associated with the development of coronary heart disease. The program has been recently extended with the calculation of intraindividual reference intervals. The system described has been working since 1976 and appears particularly useful when the general practitioner is faced with a number of pathological results of difficult interpretation.