BackgroundIn this study, we describe the change in protein intake, nutritional status, bone markers, and bone mineral density (BMD) in older patients recovering from a hip fracture, from post-surgery till 3 months. Additionally, we explore the association between protein intake with bone markers, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and BMD, and nutritional status with QUS and BMD.MethodsA 3-month prospective study in 96 adults aged ≥70 years with an acute hip fracture was conducted. Assessments after surgery and 3 months included protein intake (questionnaire), nutritional status [Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF)], procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP), C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, QUS parameters, and BMD (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). Associations were assessed by adjusted linear mixed models.ResultsAt baseline, half of the patients (mean age 84 years, 63% females) had a low protein intake (<0.8 g/kg/d), which did not change over time. The patients had significant weight loss (median 3.6 kg) and the prevalence of (being at risk of) malnutrition increased from 20% to 64%. The PINP and IGF-1 levels increased over time, the CTX level remained stable, and the PTH level decreased. The protein intake was only associated with a QUS parameter in females (estimate 0.123, 95% CI 0.022–0.223). A higher pre-fracture MNA-SF status was associated with higher BMD in the total body (estimate 0.048, 95% CI 0.015–0.080), spine (estimate 0.085, 95% CI 0.025–0.144), total hip (estimate 0.055, 95% CI 0.018–0.093), and trochanter (estimate 0.057, 95% CI 0.018–0.096). IGF-1 was associated with PINP (estimate 1.215, 95% CI 0.363–2.066).ConclusionsA good nutritional status is associated with higher BMD in older hip fracture patients. The role of protein for bone health in these patients remains unclear. After a hip fracture, there is an increase in PINP.

Adolescence is a crucial developmental phase marked by major physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes that shape self-perception and relationships, with lasting effects on mental and physical health. Personality functioning, a core concept in modern diagnostic systems, such as the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), offers a dimensional framework that incorporates key developmental domains such as identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy. Early detection of impairments in these areas is essential to promote mental and physical well-being and to prevent the onset of mental disorders. In addition, an improvement in physical fitness (PF) appears to be associated with a significantly lower risk of developing mental disorders. Thus, this study aimed to examine associations between the dimensions of personality functioning, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and PF in adolescents. A total of 186 adolescents (48.3% girls; mean age 15.6 ± 0.6 years) completed the KIDSCREEN-10, the Levels of Personality Functioning Questionnaire (LoPF-Q) 12–18, and the standardized German motor fitness test (DMT 6–18). Significant negative moderate and large correlations were found between HRQoL and overall personality dysfunction, as well as the identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy development domains. Additionally, PF showed significant negative moderate correlations with overall personality dysfunction, particularly with intimacy. Multiple regression analyses revealed that self-direction and intimacy were significantly negatively associated with the HRQoL, while intimacy was negatively associated with PF. Impaired personality functioning, particularly in self-direction and intimacy, was strongly associated with reduced HRQoL and PF in adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing emerging personality difficulties early and providing timely support, as this can play a vital role in promoting both mental and physical health during adolescence and later in life.

Physical education (PE) is often considered an ideal setting for the promotion of physical activity (PA) among adolescents and for the encouragement of an active lifestyle in adulthood. In order to achieve this goal, however, it is necessary to foster a positive attitude towards PE. The present study examined attitudes towards and the perceived importance of PE among Austrian adolescents. A total of 3011 adolescents (47.5% female) between 10 and 17 years of age completed a standardized questionnaire during regular school hours. In addition, body weight and height were measured. Overall, 78.5% stated that PE is important to them and 84.3% believed that PE positively affects their health and well-being. PE also motivated 68.4% of the participants to engage in leisure time PA, and 69.9% would like to have daily PE. Further, 91.0% reported a good relationship with their PE teacher while 68.6% considered themselves to be good at sports. Nevertheless, there was a significant decline in the perceived value of PE with increasing age, and among girls, as well as those with excess body weight, perceived PE to be less important. As these groups are particularly vulnerable for low PA levels, it is important to provide challenging and enjoyable experiences that foster a positive attitude towards PE. Ensuring positive experiences throughout students' school careers could play a key role in promoting an active lifestyle later in life.

BackgroundIn 2024, North Carolina (NC) had a smoking rate of 17.2% and a higher-than-average rate of binge and heavy drinking. These behaviors often cluster with other health risks such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes, thus leading to significant disparities in cardiovascular, physical, and mental health outcomes across the state. However, limited research has examined these clustering patterns within North Carolina.ObjectiveThis study seeks to investigate the associations between latent class membership, defined by clustering of behavioral and chronic health risk factors, and cardiovascular disease, self-reported health status, physical health status, and mental health status.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis using the 2017, 2019, and 2021 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. A latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify distinct health risk profiles among adults based on smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and diabetes status. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations between latent class membership and four outcomes: cardiovascular disease (CVD), self-reported general health, physical health status, and mental health status. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic variables, and age-stratified analyses were conducted.ResultsThe LCA identified two distinct classes: “Moderate drinking overweight non-smokers” (Class 1) and “High behavioral and chronic risk profile” (Class 2). Class 1 was characterized by moderate alcohol consumption, overweight status, and low smoking prevalence, while Class 2 reflected a higher prevalence of smoking, binge drinking, hypertension, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol. Membership in Class 2 was significantly associated with increased odds of CVD (OR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.60–2.34), poor self-reported health (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.46–1.96), ≥14 days of poor physical health (OR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.55–2.15), and ≥14 days of poor mental health (OR = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.43–1.97). In age-stratified analyses, the strongest associations were observed among young adults (18–39 years), with significantly higher odds of CVD (OR = 6.84; 95% CI: 2.79–16.72), poor physical health (OR = 2.32; 95% CI: 1.58–3.40), and poor mental health (OR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.60–2.81). Similar but attenuated associations were observed among adults aged 40–59 and ≥60 years.ConclusionThese findings support the importance of targeted public health efforts in North Carolina that address the co-occurrence of behavioral and chronic health risk factors, especially among younger populations. Syndemic-informed interventions which focus on behavioral and proximal chronic disease risk factors may help reduce CVD burden and improve the population health.

Hispanic ethnicity is associated with an increased risk for severe disease in children with COVID-19. Identifying underlying contributors to this disparity can lead to improved health care utilization and prevention strategies. This is a retrospective cohort study of children 2-20 years of age with positive SARS-CoV-2 testing from March-October 2020. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to identify demographic, comorbid health conditions, and social vulnerabilities as predictors of severe COVID-19 (need for hospital admission or respiratory support). We included 1572 children with COVID-19, of whom 45% identified as Hispanic. Compared to non-Hispanic children, patients who identified as Hispanic were more often obese (28% vs. 14%, p < 0.0001), preferred a non-English language (31% vs. 3%, p < 0.0001), and had Medicaid or no insurance (79% vs. 33%, p < 0.0001). In univariable analyses, children who identified as Hispanic were more likely to require hospital admission (OR 2.4, CI: 1.57-3.80) and respiratory support (OR 2.4, CI: 1.38-4.14). In multivariable analyses, hospital admission was associated with obesity (OR 1.9, CI: 1.15-3.08), non-English language (OR 2.4, CI: 1.35-4.23), and Medicaid insurance (OR 2.0, CI: 1.10-3.71), but ethnicity was not a significant predictor of severe disease. The high rates of severe COVID-19 observed in Hispanic children early in the pandemic appeared to be secondary to underlying co-morbidities and social vulnerabilities that may have influenced access to care, such as language and insurance status. Pediatric providers and public health officials should tailor resource allocation to better target this underserved patient population.

This study presents an Electroencephalography (EEG) emotion recognition using a long short-term memory (LSTM)-based method. Our proposed method selects window sizes and overlaps to divide the EEG data into segments, which optimally captures subtle signal changes. A Bidirectional LSTM (BiLSTM) layer is added to standard LSTM layers to better detect forward and backward patterns in the data. By using this dual-layer setup, we aim to improve both the feature extraction and the classification accuracy. The model was tested on the Database for Emotion Analysis using Physiological signals (DEAP) dataset and showed acceptable accuracy across emotional dimensions: arousal (94.0%), liking (98.9%), dominance (95.3%), and valence (99.6%). Our results suggest that the model better supports emotion recognition and has potential for mental health monitoring and adaptive therapy.

Smoking cessation presents challenges influenced by neurological adaptations and psychological factors, potentially exacerbated by susceptibility to boredom and affective temperaments. This study enrolled 409 participants via an online survey distributed among the Italian population through mailing lists, social networks, and messaging apps. Specific questions assessed cigarette smoking, while the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego (TEMPS-A) and Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS) explored affective temperaments and susceptibility to boredom, respectively. Results indicated smokers exhibited higher cyclothymic temperament scores compared to no-smokers and ex-smokers, suggesting a connection between this temperament and smoking behavior. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated variable influences of specific temperaments on boredom proneness. These findings emphasize the significance of incorporating affective temperaments and boredom proneness into smoking cessation interventions. Understanding the interplay between affective temperaments and boredom proneness can guide the development of innovative and personalized cessation strategies. Further research is warranted to delve deeper into these relationships and their implications for intervention approaches.

&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Introduction&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;High workloads among nurses affect critical workplace outcomes, such as turnover intention, job burnout, and job satisfaction. However, there are no studies that measure the relationships between workload and these variables in the post-COVID-19 era.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Objective&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;To evaluate the effect of workload on quiet quitting, turnover intention, and job burnout.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Methods&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;We conducted a cross-sectional study using a sample of nurses in Greece. The NASA task load index was used to measure workloads among nurses. Also, we used valid scales to measure quiet quitting (quiet quitting scale), job burnout (single item burnout measure), and turnover intention (a six-point Likert scale).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Results&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;The mean workload score was 80.7, indicating high workloads in our sample. Moreover, most of the nurses belonged to the group of quiet quitters (74.3%). About half of the nurses reported a high level of turnover intention (50.2%). After controlling for confounders, data analysis showed that higher workloads were associated with higher levels of quiet quitting [beta = 0.009, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.006 to 0.012, p-value &amp;lt; 0.001], turnover intention (odds ratio = 1.046, 95% CI = 1.035 to 1.056, p-value &amp;lt; 0.001), and job burnout (beta = 0.072, 95% CI = 0.065 to 0.079, p-value &amp;lt; 0.001).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Conclusion&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;We found that workload was associated with quiet quitting, turnover intention, and job burnout in nurses. Thus, appropriate interventions should be applied to reduce nursing workloads to improve productivity and the healthcare provided to patients.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;