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Background: Binge drinking has been associated with higher risks of adverse physical health outcomes. Motivations behind binge drinking may involve seeking pleasure and social connectedness, which are important aspects of life that constitute well-being. However, studies that apply a holistic framework of well-being to understand binge drinking remain limited, especially in non-English speaking populations., Methods: Using longitudinal data from the "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" (SUN) Cohort (n = 2837 Spanish university graduates, 51% women, mean age [SD] = 54 [12] years, data collected from March 1999 to July 2022), this study examined the association of binge drinking with a wide range of subsequent psychological well-being, mental health, physical health, and health behaviour outcomes over a four-year follow-up period. A set of regression models were used, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, total alcohol consumption and pre-baseline values of the outcome variables., Results: Binge drinkers reported a higher mean level of positive relations with others (standardized β = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.24) than non-binge drinkers. However, binge drinking was associated with several adverse health outcomes such as higher risks of obesity (RR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.09 to 3.19), major cardiovascular events (RR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.04 to 5.82), and unfavourable health behaviours (e.g., a longer screen time by 2.85 hours/week, 95% CI: 0.46 to 5.23)., Conclusions: Our study provides novel insights into the complex and multifaceted relationship of binge drinking with health and well-being. Further research will enhance our understandings of binge drinking and inform culturally appropriate interventions that effectively mitigate its negative consequences., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Negative perceptions of mental health professionals can deter individuals from seeking mental healthcare. Given the high burden of mental health globally, it is essential to understand attitudes towards mental health professionals. Social media platforms like Twitter/X provide valuable insights into the views of the general population., Aims: This study aimed to use social media to investigate the (a) public perceptions (positive or negative) of mental health professionals, (b) changes in these perceptions over time and (c) engagement levels with tweets about mental health professionals over time., Method: We collected all tweets posted in English between 2007 and 2023, containing key terms such as 'mental health', 'psychology', 'psychologist', 'psychiatry', 'psychiatrist', 'neurology' and 'neurologist'. A total of 1500 tweets were manually classified into categories, which were used in conjunction with semi-supervised machine learning to categorise a large data-set., Results: For most key terms, there was a higher frequency of positive perceptions compared with negative, with this trend improving over time. However, tweets containing 'psychiatrist' exhibited a higher proportion of negative perceptions ( n = 4872, 39.52% negative v. n = 1972, 15.99% positive before 2020). After 2020, the gap narrowed, yet negative perceptions continued to dominate ( n = 5505, 36.10% negative v. n = 3472, 22.77% positive)., Conclusions: Overall, positive perceptions of mental health and mental health professionals increased over time. However, 'psychiatrist' had a consistently higher proportion of negative perceptions. This study underscores the need to improve public perception of psychiatrists, and demonstrates the potential of using Twitter/X to better understand public attitudes and reduce stigma associated with accessing mental health services.

Background: Cross-sectionally, older age and obesity are associated with increased coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) risk. We assessed the longitudinal associations of baseline and changes in adiposity parameters with COVID-19 incidence in older adults at high cardiovascular risk., Methods: This analysis included 6874 men and women (aged 55-75 years) with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome in the PREDIMED-Plus lifestyle intervention trial for cardiovascular risk reduction. Body weight, body-mass-index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and a body shape index (ABSI) were measured at baseline and annual follow-up visits. COVID-19 was ascertained by an independent Event Committee until 31 December 2021. Cox regression models were fitted to evaluate the risk of COVID-19 incidence based on baseline adiposity parameters measured 5-6 years before the pandemic and their changes at the visit prior to censoring., Results: At the time of censoring, 653 incident COVID-19 cases occurred. Higher baseline body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and WHtR were associated with increased COVID-19 risk. During the follow-up, every unit increase in body weight (HR adj (95%CI): 1.01 (1.00, 1.03)) and BMI (HR adj : 1.04 (1.003, 1.08)) was associated with increased COVID-19 risk., Conclusions: In older adults with overweight/obesity, clinically significant weight loss may protect against COVID-19., Trial Registration: This study is registered at the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial (ISRCT; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN89898870 )., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Binge-drinking is one of the alcohol drinking patterns with the worst health consequences. Nonetheless, binge-drinking is highly prevalent. The perceived benefits that motivate it are ultimately related to subjective well-being. In this context, we analyzed the relationship between binge-drinking and quality of life., Methods: We evaluated 8992 participants of the SUN cohort. We classified as binge-drinkers those who reported consuming six or more drinks on at least one occasion the year before recruitment ( n = 3075). We fitted multivariable logistic regression models to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) of a worse physical and mental quality of life, measured with the validated SF-36 questionnaire at 8 years of follow-up (cut-off point = P 75 or highest score)., Results: Binge-drinking was associated with greater odds of having a worse mental quality of life, even adjusting for quality of life at 4 years of follow-up, used as an approximation to a baseline measure (OR = 1.22 (1.07-1.38)). This value was mainly due to the effects on vitality (OR = 1.17 (1.01-1.34)) and mental health (OR = 1.22 (1.07-1.39))., Conclusions: Binge-drinking may lead to poorer mental quality of life; therefore, binge-drinking for enhancement purposes does not seem to be justified by this effect.

Objectives: We tested the effects of a weight-loss intervention encouraging energy-reduced MedDiet and physical activity (PA) in comparison to ad libitum MedDiet on COVID-19 incidence in older adults., Design: Secondary analysis of PREDIMED-Plus, a prospective, ongoing, multicentre randomized controlled trial., Setting: Community-dwelling, free-living participants in PREDIMED-Plus trial., Participants: 6,874 Spanish older adults (55-75 years, 49% women) with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome., Intervention: Participants were randomised to Intervention (IG) or Control (CG) Group. IG received intensive behavioural intervention for weight loss with an energy-reduced MedDiet intervention and PA promotion. CG was encouraged to consume ad libitum MedDiet without PA recommendations., Measurements: COVID-19 was ascertained by an independent Event Committee until December 31, 2021. COX regression models compared the effect of PREDIMED-Plus interventions on COVID-19 risk., Results: Overall, 653 COVID-19 incident cases were documented (IG:317; CG:336) over a median (IQR) follow-up of 5.8 (1.3) years (inclusive of 4.0 (1.2) years before community transmission of COVID-19) in both groups. A significantly lowered risk of COVID-19 incidence was not evident in IG, compared to CG (fully-adjusted HR (95% CI): 0.96 (0.81,1.12))., Conclusions: There was no evidence to show that an intensive weight-loss intervention encouraging energy-reduced MedDiet and PA significantly lowered COVID-19 risk in older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome in comparison to ad libitum MedDiet. Recommendations to improve adherence to MedDiet provided with or without lifestyle modification suggestions for weight loss may have similar effects in protecting against COVID-19 risk in older adults with high cardiovascular risks., Competing Interests: Fernandez-Aranda acknowledges consulting fees from Novo Nordisk and Wiley as EIC for the European Eat Dis Rev. He has also received honoraria for lectures and support for travel/meetings from Novo Nordisk. He discloses his honorary participation in the Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board of Sustain-Consortium-Germany. Emilio Ros has received honoraria for presentations and support for attending meetings/travel from the California Walnut Commission, Alexion and the Spanish Atherosclerosis Society. He has also received consulting fees from Alexion. He participates in the Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board of the PREDIMED-Plus Clinical Trial. Ramon Estruch has received research grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. He has received honoraria for presentations from Fundacion Cerveza y Salud, Spain; Instituto Cervantes, Albuquerque, USA; Instituto Cervantes, Milan, Italy; Instituto Cervantes, Tokyo, Japan; Fundacion Bosch i Gimpera, Spain; Wine and Culinary International Forum; Pernaud Richart; Mexico; Fundacion Dieta Mediterranea, Barcelona, Spain. He has received support for travel or meetings or conference organization from ERAB, Belgium, Brewers of Europe, Belgium, and Sociedad Española de Nutrición (SEN). He has served on the Advisory Board of Cerveza y Salud, Spain. Jordi Salas-Salvadó reported receiving consulting fees from Eroski Foundation. He has also received grants and support for attending meetings/travel from Nut and Dried Fruit Foundation. He is an honorary Member of the International Advisory Board of the Project “Effect of cashew nut supplementation on glycemic status and lipid profile in type 2 diabetes subjects”, Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the European PEGASO project (Personalized Guidance Services for Optimizing lifestyle management in teenagers through awareness, motivation and engagement) and Member of the Scientific Committee of Danone Institute International. He received personal fees for serving as a Member of the Institute Danone Advisory Board. Sangeetha Shyam has received consulting fees from Abbott Sdn Bhd. Stephanie K. Nishi is a volunteer member of Plant-Based Canada, a non-profit organization. Other authors (Jesús Francisco García-Gavilán, Indira Paz-Graniel, José J Gaforio4 Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, Dolores Corella, J. Alfredo Martínez, Ángel M. Alonso-Gómez, Julia Wärnberg, Jesús Vioque, Dora Romaguera, José López-Miranda, Francisco J Tinahones, José Lapetra, J. Luís Serra-Majem, Aurora Bueno-Cavanillas, Josep A. Tur, Vicente Martín Sánchez, Xavier Pintó, Pilar Matía-Martín, Josep Vidal, María del Mar Alcarria, Lidia Daimiel, Óscar García Regata, Rafael Perez Araluce, Eva M Asensio, Olga Castañer, Antonio Garcia-Rios, Alejandro Oncina-Cánovas, Cristina Bouzas, M. Angeles Zulet, Elena Rayó, Rosa Casas1,16,17, Sandra Martin-Pelaez, Lucas Tojal-Sierra, Bernal-López MR, Silvia Carlos, Jose V.Sorlí, Albert Goday, Patricia J. Peña-Orihuela, Ana Pastor-Morel, Sonia Eguaras, María Dolors Zomeño, Miguel Delgado-Rodríguez, Nancy Babio, and Montserrat Fitó) declared no potential conflict of interest.

Adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet has been customarily assessed with the Mediterranean diet score (MDS or Trichopolou Index), with values of 0 or 1 assigned to each of the nine elements, and with the use of the sex-specific median as the cutoff. The value of persons whose consumption of the six beneficial items (ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fatty acids, vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, cereal, and fish) is at or above the median and is assigned a value of 1. Otherwise they receive 0 points. For detrimental elements (meats and dairy products) persons whose consumption is below the median are assigned a value of 1. An additional ninth point is assigned to moderate ethanol intake. We assessed the effect of each of the nine components of the MDS (replacing the fats ratio with olive oil, the main source of monounsaturated fats in the Mediterranean diet) on the risk of COVID-19 infection, symptomatic and severe COVID-19. From March to December 2020, 9,699 participants of the "Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" (SUN) cohort answered a COVID-19 questionnaire. After excluding doctors and nurses, 5,194 participants were included in the main statistical analyses. Among them, we observed 382 cases of COVID-19 based on symptoms and clinical diagnosis; 167 of them with test confirmation. For the two COVID-19 definitions used, we found a significant decrease in risk for a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.42-0.98, p for trend = 0.040; and OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.22-0.88, p for trend = 0.020, for test-diagnosed cases). A protective effect was also found for symptomatic COVID-19 (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.41-1.00, p for trend = 0.050). Among the different individual food groups, only the consumption of whole dairy products showed a harmful direct association. The Mediterranean diet as a whole seems more important than each of its components in preventing the infection and symptoms of COVID-19., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Perez-Araluce, Martínez-González, Gea and Carlos.)