Plasma Aromatase Activity Index, Gonadotropins and Estrone Are Associated with Frailty Syndrome in Post-Menopausal Women with Breast Cancer.

Frailty syndrome is associated with poor outcomes, morbidity and premature mortality. We performed a cross-sectional study to evaluate the presence of frailty syndrome based on Fried's frailty phenotype in post-menopausal women with breast cancer. We further analyzed the association between frailty syndrome with geriatric assessments and the association with the concentration of gonadotropins LH and FSH, estrogens, androgens and the aromatase activity index in the blood. We enrolled 47 post-menopausal women with localized breast cancer (mean age 66.8 ± 1.3 years (range 52−83)) prior to the starting of adjuvant endocrine therapy. Patients were identified as "non-frail" (robust) or "prefrail/frail" if they fulfilled at least one frailty criteria. In order to determine associations among variables and to control for other variables potentially affecting frailty syndrome (age, comorbidity index and previous chemotherapy treatment), we performed a logistic regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve was performed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the hormonal concentration to discriminate prefrail/frail versus non-frail individuals. Significant positive associations were observed between the severity of frailty syndrome and estrone, FSH and LH concentrations and the aromatase activity index in the blood (p < 0.05). Further research into the role of hormonal biomarkers should be evaluated in follow-up studies in order to recommend their use as suitable biomarkers of frailty syndrome in breast cancer patients.

Alcohol and Cannabis Intake in Nursing Students.

Background and objectives: Drug misuse among young people has become a major worldwide health concern. The present study analyzes substance misuse and its social and personal consequences in young university students. Materials and Methods: Screening of alcohol misuse was based on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), while screening of substance-related risks and problems was performed with the Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble (CRAFFT) score. Results: The population was composed of nursing students at the University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain) (n = 185). More than 50% of the surveyed students reported alcohol intake based on the CRAFFT scale; 31.4% were classified as having "risky alcohol use", and 19.5% met the criterion for hazardous drinking based on the AUDIT score. In turn, 34.1% of the sample reported marijuana/hashish intake based on the CRAFFT scale. A gender effect was only observed for marijuana/hashish use, which was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in male students. No other gender differences were observed. In the logistic regression analysis, only age was identified as a protective factor for obtaining a reduced risk score with both the AUDIT and the CRAFFT. Among the social and personal consequences of drug misuse, the inability to "stop drinking once you have started" or the inability to "remember what happened while consuming" was significantly associated with an increased frequency of alcohol consumption (OR 20.93, p < 0.0001 and OR 13.68, p < 0.05, respectively). Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with emerging social concerns about drug misuse in the university population, including nursing students as future healthcare professionals.