Publications by authors named "Graell M"

This study evaluated the effectiveness of 'ENTREN-F' -a multi-component, family system-based intervention-for managing paediatric obesity at National Health Primary Care. A 3-arm, parallel-design, single-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT), 165 families were randomized: Arm 1) ENTREN-F(n = 62) is a 12-week cognitive-behavioural intervention (CBT) family system-based programme, addressing lifestyle changes, children's emotional and social development and the family system, Arm 2) 'ENTREN' (n = 52) is a CBT family-based programme for children and parents, not addressing the family system, and Arm 3) Control group (CG) (n = 51) covers individual behavioural monitoring. All children were clinical interviewed to assess a diagnosis.

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Background: With the aim of improving treatment retention in patients with the onset of alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD), we designed a blended intervention (brief motivational intervention + 'serious game' (SG)). We present the participatory design methodology and outcomes and the usability assessment of the intervention.

Methods: (1) The design of the SG was based on the outcomes of two 3-h co-creation sessions with 37 participants (healthcare and technology professionals, patients, and patients' relatives).

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Eating disorders (ED) and affective disorders (AD) in adolescent population and several investigations have pointed out that specific family dynamics play a major role in the onset, course, and maintenance of both disorders. The aim of this study was to extend the literature of this topic by exploring differences between parents' personality traits, coping strategies, and expressed emotion comparing groups of adolescents with different mental conditions (anorexia nervosa vs. affective disorder vs.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how body esteem (BE) mediates the link between obesity in childhood and depressive symptoms in adolescence, focusing on a 5-year follow-up from ages 8-12 to 13-18.
  • - Using data from a case-control study of 100 children matched by age, gender, and socioeconomic status, the research shows that low BE contributes to increased depressive symptoms among obese children.
  • - The results indicate that this mediation effect is consistent across genders, highlighting the importance of addressing body esteem in intervention programs to help prevent mental health issues in obese children.
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Context: Anorexia nervosa (AN) can cause severe undernutrition associated with alterations in the IGF axis. Pappalysins (PAPP-A, PAPP-A2) and stanniocalcins (STC-1, STC-2) modulate IGF binding-protein (IGFBP) cleavage and IGF bioavailability, but their implications in AN are unknown.

Objective: We determined serum levels of PAPP-As and STCs in relationship with classical IGF axis parameters in female adolescents with AN and their association with nutritional status and secondary amenorrhea.

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Childhood obesity and mental disorders often co-exist. To date, most of the studies are cross-sectional, involve the assessment of a specific disorder, and rely on self-report questionnaires. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive psychological assessment to examine the concurrent and prospective association between childhood obesity and mental health problems.

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Objective: To explore the feasibility and acceptability of a novel hospital-at-home (HaH) program for adolescent patients with a severe eating disorder (ED).

Method: Retrospective description of the program during its first year of activity. The feasibility construct is based on accessibility, recruitment, rate of retention, avoidance of hospital stays, and management of crisis situations.

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Unlabelled: Eating disorders (ED) are severe mental disorders that may result in significant functional impairment and disability. Neuropsychological studies have consistently found impaired executive function (EF) among ED patients. EF is particularly involved in fundamental skills of daily living and in behavioral and emotional regulation.

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Background: Pediatric obesity is a primary public health concern, and designing effective programs for managing it is of the utmost importance. The objective of this study was to describe the protocol study of a three-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial aimed at assessing the efficacy of a family-system-based intervention ("ENTREN-F" program) for managing childhood obesity, compared to the "ENTREN" program (no "F" - without specific family-system-based workshop) and a control group (behavioral monitoring).

Methods/design: The ENTREN-F program was a multicomponent family-system-based intervention carried out by a multidisciplinary team in the primary health care setting.

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Objective: This study was aimed to examine patient enrolment in the pre-intervention stage, family-reported barriers, attendance rates and underlying predictors of short-term attendance in a family-system-based randomised controlled trial for managing childhood obesity in children aged 8-12-years-old (ENTREN-F).

Method: Psychosocial and anthropometric measures were collected through primary health referral. The data were used for descriptive analyses of sample characteristics and linear regression analyses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Eating disorders (ED) are tricky to understand because they have many causes and factors.
  • Scientists face challenges when trying to study what makes people develop these disorders.
  • A study by Pike and others in 2008 suggested using a case-control design to help figure out the risk factors for eating disorders.
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Introduction: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decreed confinement in Spain from March until the end of term in June 2020, forcing an abrupt transition to exclusive distance learning in universities. We aimed to describe and analyze the perceptions and experiences of undergraduate medical students and faculty members as a consequence of this educational shift so as to identify the key elements for successful online medical learning.

Methods: A convergent mixed methods design was employed, using both quantitative and qualitative data collected successively through Phase 1: Online teaching follow-up program; Phase 2: Discussion groups (two focus groups and a nominal group with students and faculty, respectively) and a survey of students from first to fifth year; and Phase 3: Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data.

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Background: The COVID-19 lockdown has had a significant impact on mental health. Patients with eating disorders (ED) have been particularly vulnerable.

Aims: (1) To explore changes in eating-related symptoms and general psychopathology during lockdown in patients with an ED from various European and Asian countries; and (2) to assess differences related to diagnostic ED subtypes, age, and geography.

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Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a mental disorder characterized by an intense fear of weight gain that affects mainly young women. It courses with a negative body image leading to altered eating behaviors that have devastating physical, metabolic, and psychological consequences for the patients. Although its origin is postulated to be multifactorial, the etiology of AN remains unknown, and this increases the likelihood of chronification and relapsing.

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Background: Eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance that alters food intake and it is often accompanied by anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or reduced functional capacity and quality of life. Animal-assisted therapies (AAT) have shown benefits in these variables in children and adult populations. Thus, the present pilot study will aim to evaluate the effects of a dog-assisted therapy on the eating disorders symptoms, mental, psychosocial, and physical health, quality of life, and handgrip strength of adolescents suffering from eating disorders.

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Article Synopsis
  • Eating disorders (ED) are complicated problems caused by a mix of biology and the environment, and this study looked at what makes them start in teens.
  • Researchers studied 50 teens with ED and compared them to other groups of kids with different issues or no problems at all.
  • They found that specific hormone levels, personality traits like wanting to be perfect, and family issues like parents being overly involved are important clues to understanding why EDs develop.
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Cognitive maturation during adolescence is modulated by brain maturation. However, it is unknown how these processes intertwine in early onset psychosis (EOP). Studies examining longitudinal brain changes and cognitive performance in psychosis lend support for an altered development of high-order cognitive functions, which parallels progressive gray matter (GM) loss over time, particularly in fronto-parietal brain regions.

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Background: Some studies suggest that inflammatory signaling dysregulation may contribute to eating disorder (ED) pathophysiology. However, little is known about the influence of inflammatory response on altered processes seen among patients with ED, such as emotional processing and reactivity.

Objectives: The objectives were: (a) to investigate the systemic inflammatory response in ED women; and (b) to analyze the role of inflammatory markers in emotional reactivity.

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Early-onset psychosis (EOP) is a complex disorder characterized by a wide range of symptoms, including affective symptoms. Our aim was to (1) examine the dimensional structure of affective symptoms in EOP, (2) evaluate the predominance of the clinical dimensions and (3) assess the progression of the clinical dimensions over a 2-year period. STROBE-compliant prospective principal component factor analysis of Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-21 (HDRS-21) at baseline, 6-months, 1-year and 2-year follow-up.

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Background: The suspension of face-to-face teaching activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced an abrupt transition to distance learning in Spanish universities.

Aim: To know how medical students value distance learning in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

Material And Methods: Undergraduate medical students from first to fifth year in Barcelona (Spain) were invited to answer an anonymous online survey about their perceptions and level of satisfaction with virtual learning.

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Article Synopsis
  • Early exposure to stressful life events is linked to health issues in adulthood, and this study focuses on how these Psychosocial Stress Events (PSE) affect mental disorders and weight in children aged 8 to 12.
  • The research involved 200 children, categorized by weight status (obese, overweight, and normal-weight), assessing their psychological health and stressful experiences through questionnaires and interviews.
  • Findings indicate that obese children faced more PSE and psychiatric diagnoses, with a higher likelihood of psychological issues and greater weight status; stressing the need for monitoring these factors to combat childhood obesity, especially in disadvantaged backgrounds.
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Objective: A biopsychosocial approach has been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa (AN), despite only a few of the existing etiological models having received empirical support. The aim of this study was to empirically investigate Herpertz-Dahlmann, Seitz, and Konrad (2011, https://doi.org/10.

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This study aims to examine the differences in family environment, psychological distress, and disordered eating symptomatology between children classified by weight status with or without loss of control (LOC) eating and to test a model of the role of emotional regulation of LOC eating based on a dysfunctional family environment. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 239 families. The assessment measured family expressed emotion, family adaptability and cohesion, child levels of depression and anxiety, body esteem, and disordered eating attitudes.

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Purpose: The aim of this article was to validate the Spanish version of the Home Environment Survey (HES-S) and was divided in two studies: (1) to assess the reliability, convergent validity of HES-S in a survey of 145 parents of children with overweight/obesity; (2) to study the magnitude of the association between children's BMI status with the latent scores theoretically defined by the HES model.

Methods: To test the scale and the model, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a path analysis were carried out among a sample of 156 parents of preadolescents (106 overweight/obesity and 50 normal-weight children). No CFA or EFA were carried out in the validation of the original instrument.

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Objective: To present the adaptations to treatment protocols made in a child and adolescent eating disorders (ED) unit during the eight-week confinement period mandated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and examine clinical and treatment variables in the outpatient, day hospital, and inpatient care programs.

Method: Description of the implementation of a combined teletherapy program for outpatient and day-hospital patients and the adaptations made to the inpatient protocol. Retrospective review of medical records and analysis of general and specific variables related to the pandemic and confinement.

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