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Purpose: Assess the influence of anxiety symptoms on oral health related-quality of life in young women from a cohort study in Southern Brazil.Methods: A sample of 535 young mothers were analyzed. Interviews and psychological evaluations were carried out by trained psychologists. The Brazilian version of the Corah's dental anxiety scale and the Beck anxiety inventory were used to evaluate dental anxiety and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) was assessed by the Oral Impacts on Daily Performance instrument. Dental examinations were performed by trained dentists to assess oral health status (DMFT). The effect of anxiety symptoms on oral health-related quality of life was estimated using the parametric g-formula.Results: The prevalence of negative impact on OHRQoL was of 46.3 and 28% of the women presented anxiety symptoms. Unadjusted analysis showed that women with anxiety symptoms had 2.5 higher impact on OHRQoL (OR 2.55; CI 95% 1.72-3.79). The parametric g-formula revealed that anxiety had a direct effect on oral health perception (OR 1.16; CI 95% 1.04-1.30), not mediated by dental anxiety.Conclusion: Oral health-related quality of life is influenced by anxiety symptoms, regardless of dental anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The diagnosis of alcohol use disorder is based on clinical signs and on the measurement of biological markers. However, these markers are neither sufficiently sensitive, nor specific enough, for determining the effects of alcohol abuse on the central nervous system. Serum neurotrophins are important regulators of neural survival, development, function, and plasticity and have been found to be reduced in alcohol use disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate the alterations in serum neurotrophin levels (brain-derived neurotrophic factor [ BDNF], glial-derived neurotrophic factor [ GDNF], and nerve growth factor [ NGF]) in alcohol use disorder in a young population, and thus possibly representing the early stages of the illness. Methods This is a cross-sectional study, nested in a population-based study of people aged 18 to 35, involving 795 participants. The participants responded to the CAGE questionnaire, and a CAGE score of ≥2 was considered to be a positive screen for the abuse/dependence or moderate to severe alcohol use disorder. Serum BDNF, GDNF, and NGF levels were measured by ELISA. Results In the CAGE ≥ 2 group, GDNF ( p ≤ 0.001) and NGF ( p ≤ 0.001) serum levels were significantly increased, and the BDNF elevation was near a statistical significance ( p = 0.068) when compared to the CAGE < 2 group. A significantly positive correlation was observed only in the CAGE ≥ 2 group for BDNF/ GDNF ( r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and GDNF/ NGF ( r = 0.84, p < 0.001) levels. The correlation between the NGF and BDNF levels was significantly positive in both groups ( r = 0.28, p < 0.001 for the CAGE < 2 group, and r = 0.30, p = 0.008 for the CAGE ≥ 2 group). Conclusions These results suggest that elevated neurotrophins are candidate markers for the early stages of alcohol misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Our work was sought to investigate possible changes in peripheral levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) according to the diagnosis of major depression (MD) and bipolar disorder (BD) and in different mood episodes. This is a cross-sectional nested in a population-based study comparing 240 young adults (80 controls, 80 MD and 80 BD), balanced for age and gender. Serum levels of IL-1β were significantly higher in MD when compared to control or BD subjects. In addition, when divided by current mood episode, MD subjects in current depression presented higher IL-1β levels than controls. No differences in IL-1β levels were found between different episodes of BD (euthymic, depressed, mania or mixed). Moreover, the use of psychiatric medication was very low in our sample and not associated with changes in IL-1β levels. In conclusion, increased peripheral IL-1β might be a useful marker associated with a depressive episode in the context of MD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]