Reflective capacity and context of reflections: qualitative study of second-year medical students' learning diaries related to a general practice course.

Background: Reflective capacity is a prerequisite for transformative learning. It is regarded as an essential skill in professional competence in the field of medicine. Our aim was to investigate the reflective capacity and the objects of action (themes) which revealed reflective writing of medical students during a general practice/family medicine course.

Expression of stathmin in asbestos-like fibers-induced mesothelioma: A preliminary report.

Background: Mesothelioma is strongly associated with exposure to asbestos fibers, however, recent studies have also linked exposure to "naturally occurring asbestos" fibers with this disease. Fluoro-edenite, a silicate mineral found in the southeast of Biancavilla (Sicily, Italy), has been identified as a potential risk factor for mesothelioma. Unfortunately, this cancer often has a poor prognosis, and current diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers are inadequate.

Recurrent prescription of sleep medication among primary care patients with type 2 diabetes: an observational study of real-world registry data.

Background: Little knowledge exists on the prevalence of recurrent sleep medication prescriptions among primary care patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Our aims were to examine the prevalence of recurrent sleep medication prescriptions and to elucidate the most often prescribed sleep medications in a Finnish primary care T2D population.

Methods: The study examined 4,508 T2D patients who consulted a primary health care center between 2011 and 2019 in Rovaniemi, Finland.

Chronic disease clusters are associated with prolonged, bothersome, and multisite musculoskeletal pain: a population-based study on Northern Finns.

Background: Chronic diseases often accumulate with musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. However, less evidence is available on idiosyncratic patterns of chronic diseases and their relationships with the severity of MSK pain in general MSK pain populations.

Material And Methods: Questionnaire-based data on physician-diagnosed chronic diseases, MSK pain and its dimensions (frequency, intensity, bothersomeness, and the number of pain sites), and confounders were collected from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 at the age of 46.

Accumulation of long-term diseases is associated with musculoskeletal pain dimensions among middle-aged individuals with musculoskeletal pain.

Background: Long-term diseases often co-occur with musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. In middle-aged individuals with MSK pain, it remains unclear whether an accumulation (two or more) of long-term diseases is associated with MSK pain dimensions, including pain frequency, bothersomeness of pain, pain intensity and number of pain sites.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 collected in 2012-2014 when the participants were 46 years of age.

Eveningness is Associated With Persistent Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain: A 15-Year Follow-up Study of Northern Finns.

Chronotype, a phenotype representing a person's 24-hour circadian rhythm, has been increasingly acknowledged as playing a role in musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. Most prior research on chronotype and MSK pain have been based on cross-sectional data, and no study has explored multisite MSK pain (2 or more pain locations) as the outcome. We drew the study sample from the 31- and 46-year data collections (baseline and follow-up, respectively) of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 and collected self-reported data on chronotype at follow-up (morning [M]-type, intermediate [I]-type, and evening [E]-type) and longitudinal multisite MSK pain trajectories (n = 3,294).

Association of renal function screening frequency with renal function decline in patients with type 2 diabetes: a real-world study in primary health care.

Aims: To examine the association of the screening frequency of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with the substantial reduction in eGFR (≥ 25%) among type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with normal (eGFR≥60 ml/min/1.73 m) and impaired kidney function (eGFR< 60 ml/min/1.73 m).

Association between mitochondrial DNA haplogroups J and K, serum branched-chain amino acids and lowered capability for endurance exercise.

Background: Endurance exercise training promotes the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in skeletal muscles. We have previously shown that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups J and K are markers of low responders in endurance training. In this paper, we hypothesize that BCAA catabolism is a surrogate marker of lower respiratory chain activity attributed to these haplogroups.

Association of musculoskeletal pain with the achievement of treatment targets for type 2 diabetes among primary care patients.

Aims: To assess the association of diagnosed musculoskeletal (MS) pain (low back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain; and the number of pain sites) with the achievement of targets for glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and systolic blood pressure (SBP) among primary care patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: The cross-sectional study population consisted of 3478 patients with a registry-based T2D diagnosis and available registry-based data on MS pain diagnoses, covariates, and outcomes between 2016 and 2019. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the study aims.

Chronotypes and disabling musculoskeletal pain: A Finnish birth cohort study.

Background: It has been suggested that chronotype, the individual preference for 24-h circadian rhythms, influences health. Sleep problems and mental distress are amongst the greatest risk factors for musculoskeletal (MS) pain. The aims of this study were first, to explore the associations between chronotypes and MS pain, with special reference to disabling MS pain and second, to test whether mental distress and insomnia have a modifying role in the associations between chronotypes and MS pain.

Association Between Family History of Surgically Treated Low Back Pain and Adolescent Low Back Pain.

Study Design: Cross-sectional.

Objective: To study the associations between a family history of surgically treated low back pain (LBP) and adolescent LBP.

Summary Of Background Data: A family history of LBP is related to adolescent LBP, but whether a family history of back surgery is relevant to adolescent LBP is not known.

Eveningness intensifies the association between musculoskeletal pain and health-related quality of life: a Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study 1966.

People with an evening (E)-type preference (ie, chronotype) experience musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) more often than morning (M) types. Musculoskeletal pain is a well-established contributor to reduced HRQoL. This study aimed to evaluate whether eveningness amplifies the association between MSK pain and HRQoL in contrast to morningness.

Factors associated with time delay to angiography in acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction - A retrospective cohort study in Northern Finland.

Background: The delay of percutaneous coronary intervention increases the risk of heart failure and mortality in STEMI. The aim of this study was to examine the time intervals of EMS and the factors associated with the time delay to angiography in patients with STEMI.

Methods: The present study was conducted in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland in 2014-2016.

Multimorbidity and achievement of treatment goals among patients with type 2 diabetes: a primary care, real-world study.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D), with its prevalence and disability-causing nature, is a challenge for primary health care. Most patients with T2D are multimorbid, i.e.

Measures of empathy and the capacity for self-reflection in dental and medical students.

Background: Empathy and self-reflection have been studied among medical students, but fewer studies have examined the presence of these attributes among dental students and investigated the correlation between empathy and self-reflection.

Methods: First-year dental and medical students (n = 198) beginning their studies at the University of Oulu, Finland in August 2017 participated in this study, which was conducted via an internet-based questionnaire. Data were collected on personal characteristics and scores on Davis's Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and Roberts's Self Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS).

Association of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups J and K with low response in exercise training among Finnish military conscripts.

Background: We have previously suggested that some of the mutations defining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups J and K produce an uncoupling effect on oxidative phosphorylation and thus are detrimental for elite endurance performance. Here, the association between haplogroups J and K and physical performance was determined in a population-based cohort of 1036 Finnish military conscripts.

Results: Following a standard-dose training period, excellence in endurance performance was less frequent among subjects with haplogroups J or K than among subjects with non-JK haplogroups (p = 0.

Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Metabolically Healthy Obesity: Role of Insulin Sensitivity.

Obesity represents a major risk factor for metabolic disorders, but some individuals, "metabolically healthy" (MHO), show less clinical evidence of these complications, in contrast to "metabolically unhealthy" (MUO) individuals. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the prevalence of the MHO phenotype in a cohort of 246 overweight/obese Italian children and adolescents, and to evaluate their characteristics and the role of insulin resistance. Homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), insulin sensitivity index (ISI), insulinogenic index (IGI) and disposition index (DI) were all calculated from the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT).

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease and screening of renal function in type 2 diabetic patients in Finnish primary healthcare.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Finnish primary healthcare, and to evaluate the screening for CKD and the proportions of patients receiving antihyperglycemic and cardiovascular preventive medication.

Material And Methods: T2D patients treated at the Rovaniemi Health Center, Finland during the years 2015-2019. Data included patient characteristics, blood pressure, HbA1c, lipid levels, kidney function and albuminuria, and medications prescribed.

Accumulated unhealthy behaviors and psychosocial problems in adolescence are associated with labor market exclusion in early adulthood - a northern Finland birth cohort 1986 study.

Background: The relevance of health-related behaviors to exclusion from the labor market in early adulthood remains poorly studied in relation to the magnitude of the problem. We explored whether adolescents' accumulated unhealthy behaviors and psychosocial problems are associated with later labor market exclusion, and whether multisite musculoskeletal pain (MMSP) impacts these relations.

Methods: We gathered questionnaire data on unhealthy behaviors and psychosocial problems and MMSP among adolescents aged 15 to 16 belonging to the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986.

Implementation of a Personalized Care Plan for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Is Associated With Improvements in Clinical Outcomes: An Observational Real-World Study.

To analyze the clinical outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) before and after implementation of a personalized care plan in the primary health care setting. Observational, retrospective, real-world study. All T2D patients with a care plan in Rovaniemi Health Center, Rovaniemi, Finland, for whom data were available from a baseline visit (in 2013-2015 during which the care plan was written) and from a follow-up visit, including an updated care plan by the year 2017.

Influence of the Mediterranean and Ketogenic Diets on Cognitive Status and Decline: A Narrative Review.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of senile dementia, accounting for up to 70% of dementia cases. AD is a slowly progressive disease, which causes global mental deterioration by affecting various cognitive areas. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that lifestyle habits and nutritional patterns could delay the natural course of the neurodegeneration process.

Associations of co-occurring psychosocial and lifestyle factors with multisite musculoskeletal pain during late adolescence-A birth cohort study.

Background: Musculoskeletal (MS) pain is common. It often exists in several sites and is recurrent. Psychosocial difficulties and unhealthy behaviours have been related to multisite MS pain, but no literature has assessed the impact of accumulated psychosocial and lifestyle factors on recurrent multiple MS pain.

Associations of increased physical performance and change in body composition with molecular pathways of heart disease and diabetes risk.

Higher physical activity is associated with a reduced hazard for a plethora of diseases. It has remained unknown how the two primary physical activity-associated health effects, improved physical performance and change in body composition, independently modulate metabolic profiles toward a reduced risk for adverse outcomes. Here, we utilized a prospective cohort of 664 young men undergoing military service.

Alcohol Consumption and Binge Drinking in Young Men as Predictors of Body Composition Changes During Military Service.

Aims: To evaluate the influences of alcohol consumption frequency and binge drinking on changes in the body composition, lifestyle habits and physical fitness of healthy young men during military service.

Methods: A population-based study of men performing their military service in the Sodankylä Jaeger Brigade, Finland in 2005. Body composition, fitness and lifestyle habits were evaluated at baseline and 6-12 months follow-up.