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Study objective Different behaviors are considered important factors that may influence a healthy lifestyle. Given this fact, we aim to analyze the relationship between moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sleep time, and sedentary time, with cardiometabolic outcomes in adolescents. Methods Cross-sectional study, with 152 eutrophic and healthy adolescents. The behavioral variables were collected objectively and the arterial thickness was measured through ultrasound. Blood variables (LDL, TG, HDL, glucose, and insulin) were collected in a private laboratory. To analyze the data, the Student t test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the groups. All analyses adopted p < 0.05. Results Girls who demonstrated better combined behaviors, presented significant results for TG (p = 0.045), BP (p = 0.016), and cardiovascular score (p = 0.049) when compared to their peers. Furthermore, the practice of physical activity combined with sufficient sleep time was associated with lower values of arterial thickening (p = 0.017). Conclusions In view of the results presented, it is possible to state that the aggregation of behaviors was more consistent in females and that the practice of physical activity and adequate sleep time can reflect on cardiovascular health., Author(s): Andrea Wigna [sup.1] , Jacqueline B Urban [sup.1] , Wésley Torres [sup.1] , Lucas G Moraes-Chagas [sup.1] , Jefferson S Dias [sup.1] , David S Nunes [sup.1] , Veronica [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2006.05.015 Byline: Anita Palepu (a), Debbie M. Cheng (b), Theresa Kim (c), David Nunes (d), John Vidaver (e), Julie Alperen (b), Richard Saitz (b)(f), Jeffrey H. Samet (b)(g) Keywords: Substance abuse; Hepatitis C virus; Liver specialty care; Substance abuse treatment Abstract: We examined the association of substance abuse treatment with access to liver specialty care among 231 persons coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) with a history of alcohol problems who were recruited and followed up in the HIV-Longitudinal Interrelationships of Viruses and Ethanol cohort study from 2001 to 2004. Variables regarding demographics, substance use, health service use, clinical variables, and substance abuse treatment were from a standardized research questionnaire administered biannually. We defined substance abuse treatment services as any of the following in the previous 6 months: 12 weeks in a halfway house or residential facility, 12 visits to a substance abuse counselor or mental health professional, day treatment for at least 30 days, or any participation in a methadone maintenance program. Liver specialty care was defined as a visit to a liver doctor, a hepatologist, or a specialist in treating hepatitis C in the past 6 months. At study entry, most of the 231 subjects (89%, n = 205) had seen a primary care physician, 50% had been exposed to substance abuse treatment, and 50 subjects (22%) had received liver specialty care. An additional 33 subjects (14%) reported receiving liver specialty care during the follow-up period. In the multivariable model, we observed a clinically important although not statistically significant association between having been in substance abuse treatment and receiving liver specialty care (adjusted odds ratio = 1.38; 95% confidence interval = 0.9-2.11). Substance abuse treatment systems should give attention to the need of patients to receive care for prevalent treatable diseases such as HIV/HCV coinfection and facilitate its medical care to improve the quality of care for individuals with substance use disorders. The data illustrate the need for clinical care models that give explicit attention to the coordination of primary health care with addiction and hepatitis C specialty care while providing ongoing support to engage and retain these patients with complex health needs. Author Affiliation: (a) Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, St. Paul's Hospital, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6 (b) Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA (c) Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA (d) Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA (e) DM-STAT Inc., Malden, MA, USA (f) Youth Alcohol Prevention Center, and the Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA (g) Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA Article History: Received 25 October 2005; Revised 4 May 2006; Accepted 16 May 2006

We examined the association of substance abuse treatment with access to liver specialty care among 231 persons coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) with a history of alcohol problems who were recruited and followed up in the HIV-Longitudinal Interrelationships of Viruses and Ethanol cohort study from 2001 to 2004. Variables regarding demographics, substance use, health service use, clinical variables, and substance abuse treatment were from a standardized research questionnaire administered biannually. We defined substance abuse treatment services as any of the following in the previous 6 months: 12 weeks in a halfway house or residential facility, 12 visits to a substance abuse counselor or mental health professional, day treatment for at least 30 days, or any participation in a methadone maintenance program. Liver specialty care was defined as a visit to a liver doctor, a hepatologist, or a specialist in treating hepatitis C in the past 6 months. At study entry, most of the 231 subjects (89%, n = 205) had seen a primary care physician, 50% had been exposed to substance abuse treatment, and 50 subjects (22%) had received liver specialty care. An additional 33 subjects (14%) reported receiving liver specialty care during the follow-up period. In the multivariable model, we observed a clinically important although not statistically significant association between having been in substance abuse treatment and receiving liver specialty care (adjusted odds ratio = 1.38; 95% confidence interval = 0.9-2.11). Substance abuse treatment systems should give attention to the need of patients to receive care for prevalent treatable diseases such as HIV/HCV coinfection and facilitate its medical care to improve the quality of care for individuals with substance use disorders. The data illustrate the need for clinical care models that give explicit attention to the coordination of primary health care with addiction and hepatitis C specialty care while providing ongoing support to engage and retain these patients with complex health needs. Keywords: Substance abuse; Hepatitis C virus; Liver specialty care; Substance abuse treatment

A study was conducted to assess the diagnostic performance and characteristics of a number of noninvasive markers of hepatic fibrosis in populations of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients with and without HIV infection. It showed that the diagnostic performance of the evaluated noninvasive markers of liver fibrosis is equivalent in HCV/HIV-coinfected and HCV-infected subjects.

Virtual colonoscopy may be an effective and low-cost method of diagnosing colorectal cancer. During this procedure, helical computed tomography (CT) is used to create two-dimensional images which are then converted into three-dimensional images. The traditional way of examining the colon is to stick an endoscope up the rectum, which can be uncomfortable for the patient and expensive. In a study of 100 patients who received both procedures, virtual colonoscopy detected all the cancers and 90% of the adenomatous polyps larger than 6 millimeters. There were no false-positive findings of cancer.