Gender differences in negative mood states in secondary school students: health survey in Catalonia (Spain).

Objective: To determine the prevalence of negative mood states in adolescents according to gender, to analyze variability among schools, and to evaluate the associated factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with a cluster design was carried out. We administered the High-school students health survey to a sample of 9,340 students (aged 14-16 years) in the third and fourth year of Compulsory Secondary Education in Catalonia, Spain, during the 2005-6 academic year.

Risk perception among smokers: a qualitative study.

The aim of this qualitative study is to identify the dimensions people used to assess the risk of smoking and then compare them with those used by health professionals in primary healthcare. Five discussion groups were conducted. The field work was carried out in Barcelona (Spain), from February 2005 to January 2006.

Clinical characteristics of isolated clinic hypertension.

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with isolated clinic hypertension (ICH) compared with other hypertensive patients, and to evaluate the capacity of physicians to predict a diagnosis of ICH.

Methods: A cross-sectional, comparative multicenter descriptive study was made of 6176 hypertensive individuals without pharmacological treatment, subjected to ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). In 2611 cases, ABPM was prescribed due to suspected ICH.

[Ankle-brachial index to detect peripheral arterial disease: concordance and validation study between Doppler and an oscillometric device].

Background And Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of ankle-brachial index (ABI) determined by oscillometry, using a Doppler ultrasound probe as a gold standard. We also aimed to evaluate the agreement between both methods.

Patients And Method: Right and left ABI measurements (ABIr,ABIl) with oscillometric (OMRON-705-CP) and Doppler (DIADOP-50) devices in hypertensive patients without peripheral arterial disease.

[Measuring blood pressure in the forearm of obese patients: concordance with arm measurement].

Background And Objective: The occasional forearm blood pressure (BP) measurement has been accepted for some obese patients. However, few studies have compared the concordance between arm and forearm BP measurements. Our aim was to know whether the forearm BP measurement displays a good concordance with the arm BP measurement in obese patients.