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Background Sarcopenia, obesity, and sarcopenic obesity are various features of the ageing process that can cause important health issues. The present study was undertaken to investigate the interrelationship between those body composition changes, including their clinical components and the quality-of-life variables. Methods A total of 423 individuals aged 65 years or older was included in this cross-sectional study. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People criteria. Body composition parameters were measured with a bioelectrical impedance analyser, and Turkish population-based cut-off points were preferred for diagnosis of sarcopenia. Comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed on all patients. A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify important factors for sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity. Results The prevalence of sarcopenic, obese and sarcopenic obese subjects was 14%, 35% and 11% respectively. The lowest mean gait speed and hand grip strength values were seen in the sarcopenic obese group (0.6 ± 0.3 m/s and 19.7 ± 9.8 kg respectively). Sarcopenic obese participants were associated with the highest rate for fall risk. The scores for domains of health-related quality of life were worse in both obesity and sarcopenic obesity when compared to others. Body mass index (BMI), number of drugs used, total body fat ratio and geriatric depression scale-short form scores were negatively correlated with all dimensions of SF-36 quality-of-life scale. Conclusions Sarcopenia, obesity and sarcopenic obesity are associated with many negative health outcomes, such as high fall risk and low health-related quality of life in geriatric population.

Aim The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of delayed diagnosis on mortality rates, and evaluate the role of delayed diagnosis as a new prognostic factor in patients with oesophageal atresia (OA), especially in developing countries. Methods The records of 80 consecutive patients with OA (2008–2013) were reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the time of diagnosis. As we demonstrated the effect of delayed diagnosis on mortality, we decided to develop a new classification that will be utilised to predict the prognosis of OA. The discrimination ability of the new prognostic classification was compared with those of the Waterston, Montreal and Spitz classifications using the area under the curve. Results The parameters of the new prognostic classification were birth weight less than 2000 g, the presence of major cardiac/life-threatening anomalies and delay in diagnosis. Class I consisted of patients with none or one of these parameters. Class II consisted of patients with two or three of these parameters. The area under the curve of the new classification was better than those of the other classifications in determining the prognosis of patients with OA. Conclusions Delayed diagnosis of OA significantly led to morbidity and mortality. Although delayed diagnosis is not a characteristic of newborn or a marker of severity for OA and is a health care system issue in developing countries, we here point out that it is a prognostic factor in its own right. Our new classification has a superior discriminatory ability compared to the above-mentioned classifications.

Aim: To evaluate endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphisms in preeclampsia with or without eclampsia in a Turkish population. Material and Methods: Fifty-seven preeclamptic and 60 normotensive women were enrolled in the present study. The study focused on two functional variants: a variant in exon 7—G to T conversion at nucleotide position 894 resulting in the replacement of glutamic acid with aspartic acid at codon 298 (Glu298Asp) and a variant variable number of 27 bp tandem repeats in intron 4 (VNTR intron 4). Two polymorphisms in the maternal eNOS gene were characterized by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Preeclamptic pregnant women were evaluated into two subgroups according to the presence of eclampsia. Results: We demonstrated a significant difference in patients with preeclampsia in terms of Glu298Asp/eNOS genotype frequency. G/G homozygotes of Glu298Asp among healthy pregnancies were significantly frequent when T/T homozygotes were significantly frequent among preeclamptic pregnancies. We showed that G/T heterozygotes of Glu298Asp/eNOS gene were significantly frequent among preeclamptic pregnant women who did not develop eclampsia than in preeclamptic pregnant women with eclampsia. Conclusion: Glu298Asp polymorphism in the eNOS gene could be an individual's risk factor and may modulate progression to an eclampsia complication of preeclampsia in the Turkish population.

Aim: To evaluate whether fasting during Ramadan has any significant effects on maternal oxidative stress or fetal health in healthy, pregnant women with an uncomplicated, second-trimester, singleton pregnancy. Methods: During the month of Ramadan, 1–29 September 2008, 42 fasting and 30 non-fasting pregnant women were enrolled in this prospective controlled study. Total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and the oxidative stress index (OSI) were measured from maternal serum samples taken on a fasting day during Ramadan. The two groups underwent routine follow-up examinations. At the end of the pregnancy, maternal complications, birth weight and maternal weight gain during the entire pregnancy were noted. To evaluate whether the duration of fasting days (≥10 or ≥15 days) had any significant effects on maternal oxidative stress, pregnant women who observed Ramadan for more than nine days or those who fasted for more than 14 days were compared with the control group in terms of TAS, TOS and OSI. Results: No significant differences were observed between the groups studied in terms of TAS, TOS, OSI, maternal age, gestational age, parity, birth weight or weight gain during the pregnancy. The TAS level was evaluated as significantly higher (P = 0.027) in the ≥10 fasting days group compared to the non-fasting control group, while there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to TOS and OSI. Conclusion: Maternal fasting during Ramadan during the second trimester does not have a significant effect on maternal oxidative stress, fetal development or fetal birth weight.

Activation of the local renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is an independent risk factor for the development of proteinuria and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) more commonly seen in masked hypertensives. It has been reported that urinary angiotensinogen (UAGT) level provides a specific index of the intrarenal RAS status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between UAGT and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) with masked hypertension (HT). A total of 116 non-diabetic-treated hypertensive RTRs were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: masked hypertensives and controlled hypertensives. Forty-two (36.2%) of RTRs had masked HT. Mean UACR and LVMI levels were higher in RTRs with masked HT than in RTRs with controlled HT (P