Physical Support Research Articles

Synthetic Protein-to-DNA Input Exchange for Protease Activity Detection Using CRISPR-Cas12a.

We present a novel activity-based detection strategy for matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), a critical cancer protease biomarker, leveraging a mechanism responsive to the proteolytic activity of MMP2 and its integration with CRISPR-Cas12a-assisted signal amplification. We designed a chemical translator comprising two functional units─a peptide and a peptide nucleic acid (PNA), fused together. The peptide presents the substrate of MMP2, while the PNA serves as a nucleic acid output for subsequent processing. This chemical translator was immobilized on micrometer magnetic beads as a physical support for an activity-based assay. We incorporated into our design a single-stranded DNA partially hybridized with the PNA sequence and bearing a region complementary to the RNA guide of CRISPR-Cas12a. The target-induced nuclease activity of Cas12a results in the degradation of FRET-labeled DNA reporters and amplified fluorescence signal, enabling the detection of MMP2 in the low picomolar range, showing a limit of detection of 72 pg/mL. This study provides new design principles for a broader applicability of CRISPR-Cas-based biosensing.

Development of a Physiotherapist-Coordinated Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Intervention for People with Suspected Axial Spondyloarthritis: The SPINCODE Rehabilitation Intervention

Background: People with early axial spondyloarthritis experience a diagnostic delay and a similar disease burden as people with axial spondyloarthritis at a later stage of the disease. In many European countries, patients with early axial spondyloarthritis do not have access to an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team. The objective of this study was to develop a new evidence-based physiotherapist-coordinated interdisciplinary rehabilitation intervention for individuals suspected of axial spondyloarthritis. This development of the rehabilitation intervention is part of the SPINCODE project which focusses on early diagnosis and treatment for people with axial spondyloarthritis. Methods: The development of the intervention encompasses: (i) identifying the evidence base and program theories; (ii) modeling and remodeling the intervention; and (iii) describing the developed intervention. Results: The six-month SPINCODE rehabilitation intervention is a physiotherapist-coordinated, interdisciplinary, outpatient rehabilitation intervention at a specialized rheumatology hospital. The intervention consists of: (i) individual physiotherapist-coordinated consultations with assessment, goal setting, tailored physical activity support, and the defined goals, and coordination across the interdisciplinary team at the hospital and across primary and secondary healthcare levels; (ii) group sessions, encompassing patient education and peer support; and (iii) optional individual support from the interdisciplinary team. Physiotherapists from private care working with the patient enrolled in the SPINCODE study are offered digital support from the hospital-based physiotherapists. Conclusions: The developed physiotherapist-led interdisciplinary SPINCODE rehabilitation intervention is ready for feasibility testing.

Investigating resilience in patients with IBD: preliminary insights for understanding disease-specific resilience skills

IntroductionInflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) significantly impact patients’ quality of life. While research highlights the potential role of psychological resilience to enhance overall health and well-being in patients with chronic conditions, its specific role in the context of IBD remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify key components of resilience, while serving as a precursor to the development of a disease-specific Resilience Scale for IBD (RISE-IBD).MethodsIn semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews, fifteen patients with IBD discussed their perspectives on the construct of resilience, particularly in terms of the diverse strategies they employed to overcome IBD-related challenges. Patients also deliberated on the relevance of themes identified in two widely used and validated resilience measures. Four analysts coded the transcripts using MAXQDA. Selected items for the drafted measure were refined based on constructive feedback from an additional focus group with study participants and six multidisciplinary IBD professionals, thus establishing face and content validity.ResultsThe qualitative analysis revealed critical themes of resilience for IBD including: (1) seeking physical and emotional support from others, (2) developing personal coping mechanisms to manage stress, and (3) employing strategic disease-management techniques. These themes led to the identification of 17 items, which were categorized into three domains: interpersonal fortitude, individual character strengths, and logistical strategies.DiscussionThis study highlights the critical role of resilience, a core concept in positive psychology, in the effective self-management of IBD. The findings underscore the importance of building upon resilience strategies to help patients bolster the psychological potencies needed to manage their condition more effectively. Future research will focus on the psychometric validation of items identified for the scale. By incorporating resilience-building strategies into IBD care, we can support patients in developing a more positive outlook and improved life satisfaction.

QOL-04. THE UNDER-UTILIZATION OF PALLIATIVE CARE SERVICES BY PATIENTS WITH GLIOBLASTOMA HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCUSSIONS AROUND PALLIATIVE CARE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WITH CARE PARTNERS OF PATIENTS WITH GBM RECRUITED FROM FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUPS

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) is a terminal brain cancer that has a rapid onset and results in symptoms such as headaches, vomiting, seizures, anxiety, depression, agitation, speech impairment, memory impairment, infections, brain bleeds, mobility changes, changes in sleep patterns, and cognitive changes. Palliative care helps patients diagnosed with an incurable or chronic disease manage physical, social, and psychological symptoms and has been shown to increase survival for patients with cancer. Previous data of former care partners of patients with GBM indicated only 30% of patients used palliative care whereas 90% used hospice. To better understand the reasons for underutilization of palliative care patients with GBM, 38-question survey about the use of palliative care, type of medical center where treatment occurred, and discussions with care team members about palliative care was given to current care partners recruited from Facebook support groups in February 2024. Inclusion criteria: current primary care partner of a patient with GBM, over the age of 18, and willing to participate (IRB exempt; H24-0393). The care partner was excluded if their patient was no longer living. Of the 77 current care partners, 56 reported they did not use palliative care as part of their care team. The use of palliative care was similar among care facilities (community hospital, major medical center, university hospital, brain tumor center). When care team members discussed palliative care with patients and their care partners (n=21), 71% of the dyads used palliative care. When care team members did not discuss palliative care (n=56), the use of palliative care was much lower at 7%. Interestingly, 55% of respondents reported they would benefit from knowing more about ways to increase physical and emotional support. This data suggests discussions around palliative care increase the use of palliative care services among patients with GBM and their care partners.

COMPLIANCE OF EXERCISE IN PATIENTS WITH ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS IN LOWER MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY

Exercise adherence is crucial for the management of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), particularly in reducing symptoms and improving quality of life. However, barriers to exercise adherence in this patient population remain poorly studied, especially in resource-poor settings. This study focused on assessing exercise adherence among AS patients in Quetta, Pakistan, identifying both challenges and facilitators of adherence. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess exercise adherence among AS patients in Quetta, Pakistan, and explore key factors influencing their adherence to prescribed exercise programs, including barriers such as physical limitations, financial constraints, and social and support systems. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in several rheumatology outpatient clinics in Quetta from January to July 2024. A purposive sample of 20 AS patients was recruited and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect clinical and demographic data. Thematic analysis was performed to identify key themes related to exercise adherence, including facilitators and barriers. Results: Of the 20 participants, 60% were male and 40% were female, with a mean age of 45 years. Thematic analysis revealed four key themes: physical barriers (including chronic pain and fatigue), financial challenges (such as not being able to afford a gym membership or transportation), social factors (including stigma and lack of support), and motivational influences. Despite these barriers, social support and personalized exercise prescriptions emerged as key facilitators of adherence. Participants who received personalized exercise programs and education on the benefits of physical activity had higher adherence rates. Conclusion: Exercise adherence among AS patients in Quetta is influenced by a complex interaction of physical, social, and financial factors. Eliminating these barriers through patient-centred strategies, including personalized exercise programs and increased social support, can significantly improve adherence. These findings highlight the need for personalized approaches to promote physical activity among patients with AS, especially in resource-poor settings such as Quetta.

Perceived social support impacts on exercise adherence in patients with chronic low back pain.

Initiating and maintaining physical activity is particularly difficult for at-risk groups such as those with chronic low back pain (LBP). This study aimed to assess whether there is a relationship between perceived social support (e.g., emotional and physical support) in individuals recently discharged from treatment for chronic LBP and the number of exercise sessions and total amount of exercise they perform over a 6-month period. This study also aimed to investigate a possible mediation effect of exercise self-efficacy on the relationship between perceived social support and exercise adherence (number of exercise sessions and total amount of exercise). This prognostic study employed a secondary analysis of data collected for The Buddy Study; Data was collected through online weekly diaries over a 6-month period. Poisson regression analyses were used to quantify the relationship between social support at baseline and total number of exercise sessions, and total amount of exercise performed (frequency and duration) in the 6-month follow-up period. Where a relationship was observed, the Stata SEM command was used for the mediation analysis. A positive relationship was found between participants' perceived levels of social support at baseline and the total number of exercise sessions they performed (IRR = 1.56, 95%CI: 1.18 to 2.06) and the total amount of exercise they performed (IRR = 1.57, 95%CI: 1.05 to 2.35) during the 6-month follow-up period. No mediating relationship was found between exercise self-efficacy at 3-months and the total number of exercise sessions performed (β 3.96, 95% CI: -4.91 to 12.84), or the total amount of exercise performed (β 243.96, 95% CI: -258.08 to 746.01). Social support is potentially an important aspect of exercise adherence, following discharge from treatment, for those with chronic LBP. People's self-efficacy to exercise does not appear to mediate this relationship. Harnessing social support following physiotherapy treatment may increase exercise adherence and may therefore improve long term outcomes for those with chronic LBP.

Hybrid genetic algorithm with Wiener process for multi-scale colored balanced traveling salesman problem

Colored traveling salesman problem (CTSP) can be applied to Multi-machine Engineering Systems (MES) in industry, colored balanced traveling salesman problem (CBTSP) is a variant of CTSP, which can be used to model the optimization problems with partially overlapped workspace such as the planning optimization (For example, process planning, assembly planning, productions scheduling). The traditional algorithms have been used to solve CBTSP, however, they are limited both in solution quality and solving speed, and the scale of CBTSP is also restricted. Moreover, the traditional algorithms still have the problems such as lacking theoretical support of mathematical physics. In order to improve these, this paper proposes a novel hybrid genetic algorithm (NHGA) based on Wiener process (ITÖ process) and generating neighborhood solution (GNS) to solve multi-scale CBTSP problem. NHGA firstly uses dual-chromosome coding to construct the solutions of CBTSP, then they are updated by the crossover operator, mutation operator and GNS. The crossover length of the crossover operator and the city number of the mutation operator are controlled by activity intensity based on ITÖ process, while the city keeping probability of GNS can be learned or obtained by Wiener process. The experiments show that NHGA can demonstrate an improvement over the state-of-art algorithms for multi-scale CBTSP in term of solution quality.

Persuasive software features as antecedents to perceived compliance within physical activity behavior change support systems

ABSTRACT Although behavior change support systems (BCSS) have the potential to improve compliance using persuasive software features, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on how these features impact perceived compliance. This study aimed to investigate how and to what extent the persuasiv systems design (PSD) principles in physical activity BCSS influence perceived compliance. Quantitative data from 403 participants (165 users and 238 prospective users of BCSS designed for PA) was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results revealed differences in how the PSD principles impact perceived compliance between users and prospective users. Perceptions of dialogue support, credibility support, and social support were more relevant to prospective users than to users. Thus, designers should pay more attention to these principles to attract and engage prospective users of BCSS. Conversely, primary task support was more relevant to users than to prospective users. This indicates that once prospective users transition to active users, the focus should shift towards providing persuasive features that facilitate the performance of the primary task. These findings underscore the importance of developing intelligent BCSS that can adapt to the evolving needs and preferences of users at different stages of their interactions with a system.

Translating primary care to telehealth: analysis of in-person paediatric consultations and role of the carers.

The usage of telehealth in general practice (GP) has risen substantially ever since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over this timeframe, telehealth has provided care for all patient demographics, including the paediatric population (aged<18). However, the translatability of telehealth (ie, whether in-person tasks can be supported remotely via telehealth) rarely considers the paediatric population or their carers. To examine the degree of translatability to telehealth for in-person GP consultations on paediatric patients with consideration of the carers' roles. This study screened 281 videos of in-person GP consultations set within UK general practices, and 20 of them were eligible for analysis. Secondary analysis of in-person GP consultations to examine tasks, physical artefacts, examinations and the interaction between carer, patient and GP. A novel scoring method revolving around two key metrics, taking into consideration the carer, was designed to analyse whether the tasks performed can be supported via telehealth. Analysis of 20 eligible consultations revealed 13 distinct physical examinations, 19 physical artefacts and 17 clinical tasks. Of these 17 clinical tasks, 41% were deemed 'definitely or easily translatable to telehealth,' ' 29% 'somewhat translatable with patient-provided equipment,' 12% 'potentially translatable,' and 18% 'currently untranslatable.' The average telehealth translatability score was 6.1/10, which suggests possible challenges with telehealth support. Regarding carer involvement, 90% of consultations involved collecting patient history, 70% placation of child, and 40% had physical support during examinations. Tasks performed during paediatric in-person GP consultations may not be easily translatable to telehealth and caution should be exercised when considering its translatability to telehealth.

Improving psychological and social support needs after traumatic birth: A qualitative study

IntroductionEmergency deliveries increase maternal risk for postpartum depression (PPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One in three women describe their birth experience as traumatic, but patient-centered support needs are unclear. We conducted a qualitative study of women with traumatic birth to identify patient-centered priorities to optimize mental health support. MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with women who experienced an emergency during birth, and who self-identified as experiencing traumatic birth. The Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire and PTSD Checklist were completed. Interviews included open-ended questions about birth events that improved or worsened their delivery experience, perceptions of mental, physical, and emotional support provided by staff, and patient perspectives about psychological and social support referrals after emergent deliveries. ResultsA majority of participants met positive screening criteria for PTSD at the time of interviews. Birth experiences were affected by prenatal expectations, as well as the style and quality of clinical staff communication during and after delivery. There were four key themes central to their experiences and perceptions: (1) Emotional Impact and Intensity, (2) Factors Influencing Birth Experience, (3) Perceived Lack of Emotional Support, and (4) Desire for Post-Birth Follow-Up and Support. Participants almost unanimously desired to be offered psychosocial services after birth trauma. ConclusionThere are significant gaps in emotional support and communication for patients experiencing traumatic births. Offering structured, in-hospital mental health referrals may address immediate psychological needs, aid in trauma recovery, and potentially mitigate long-term mental health consequences. These findings advocate for a more holistic approach to postpartum care that prioritizes both physical and emotional well-being.

Experiences of caregivers of patients with traumatic brain injury during hospitalization in western China: A qualitative study

ABSTRACT Family members frequently provide both physical and emotional support to patients. Previous studies have focused primarily on the experiences of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their caregivers during home care and the transition from hospital care to the community, with less emphasis on their experiences during acute hospital care immediately after TBI. This study aimed to explore the experiences of caregivers of patients with TBI during acute hospitalizations. A qualitative descriptive study using individual semistructured interviews was conducted at the trauma center of a tertiary hospital in western China. A purposive sample of 21 caregivers of patients with TBI were recruited. The interviews were conducted face to face in the inpatient ward from July to September 2023. Conventional content analysis was used to conduct the framework analysis. The experiences of caregivers were identified within three key themes: TBI consequences in patients (physical impairments, psychological distress, and cognitive dysfunctions), challenges of caregivers (physiological/emotional/economic burdens, conflicts, and concerns regarding recovery), and needs of caregivers (health information, medical services, and recovery expectations). This study highlights the experiences of caregivers of patients with TBI during hospital stays in western China. The challenges faced by caregivers and the needs of caregivers are multidimensional. Appropriate support should be provided to alleviate the burden of caregiving.

Factors Associated with Supportive Care Needs Among Palestinian Women with Breast Cancer in the West Bank: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women in Palestine, where the need for supportive care frequently goes unmet. Therefore, this study aims to assess the supportive care services provided at the governmental hospitals in the southern area of the West Bank and to determine the factors associated with the unmet needs of these services. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 362 women with BC. Data were collected using a face-to-face questionnaire that included the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34), patients' sociodemographic, economic, and clinical characteristics, as well as familial history of cancer and social support. Results: The study revealed that 61% of participants had unmet supportive care needs, with health system information, physical support, and psychological support being the most unmet needs. Factors contributing to unmet needs included age, marital status, familial support, and a family history of cancer. Chemotherapy and surgery increased the probability of physical care needs by fivefold, while hormone therapy reduced the probability of psychological needs (AOR = 0.36, p < 0.001) and patient care and support needs (AOR = 0.49, p = 0.01). Additionally, radiotherapy reduced sexual care needs by 58% and biological therapy by 60%. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for enhanced supportive care services for BC patients in the West Bank, especially regarding health system information, physical care, and psychological support. Addressing these needs through targeted interventions could significantly improve patients' quality of life.

Reported roles of care partners in a specialized weaning centre-perspectives of patients, care partners, and health care providers.

Care partners are individuals chosen by a person with an illness to support their care during hospitalization. Patients with persistent critical illness have longer than average critical care admission and often other conditions including dysphagia, communication vulnerability, severe physical deconditioning, the need for an artificial airway, and difficulty weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation. Family presence has been identified as important for patients experiencing persistent critical illness in specialized weaning centers. Despite this, the role of care partners in clinical settings for patients with persistent critical illness has not been fully characterized, particularly from the perspectives of patients, care partners, and health care providers. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the roles of care partners during persistent critical illness from the perspectives of patients, care partners, and health care providers. We used qualitative descriptive methodology including semi-structured interviews and content analysis. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Included participants (n = 30) were patient survivors (n = 7), care partners of patient survivors (n = 9), and professionally diverse health care providers (n = 14) of adult patients with persistent critical illness from two specialized units in one community academic hospital in Toronto, Canada. Participants across all groups described care partner roles that included physical, mental health, cognitive, social, and spiritual support of the patient, including the perceived role of safeguarding the multiple dimensions of care for the patient who is experiencing persistent critical care in specialized care settings. The results of this study are being used to co-design, implement, and evaluate a sustainable care partner program that is acceptable, appropriate, and feasible to implement in clinical settings where the care of patients with persistent critical illness occurs. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ).

Factors associated with physical activity in individuals with metastatic cancer: a UK cross-sectional survey.

Physical activity is safe and feasible for individuals with metastatic cancer and may support symptom management. We investigated the extent to which individuals with metastatic cancer are meeting the World Health Organisation (WHO) moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guideline, factors associated with meeting the guideline, and perceptions about physical activity and receiving physical activity advice. Data were from UK adults with metastatic breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer who completed the Healthy Lifestyle After Cancer survey (N = 588). Self-reported clinical, demographic, and physical activity (Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire) data were collected. Logistic regression models assessed whether clinical and demographic factors were associated with meeting the MVPA guideline. Most (59%) individuals with metastatic cancer were not meeting the WHO guideline of 150min of MVPA per week. Adjusting for cancer type, the odds of meeting the MVPA guideline were lower for unemployed individuals (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.23-0.77) and ethnic minorities (OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.22-0.89), but higher for those with a university education (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.0-3.57). Most (63.5%) participants felt they should be doing more physical activity. However, 70.1% did not receive any physical activity advice or support, despite 73.6% wanting to receive it. People with metastatic cancer may need further support to address inadequate levels of physical activity. The differences observed between demographic sub-groups suggest this may be more beneficial for those less likely to engage in physical activity. Individuals with metastatic cancer are likely to benefit from increased physical activity support, which considers the needs of diverse demographic groups.

Nursing care for HIV/AIDS patients according to the Virginia Henderson model

Introduction: the nursing professional plays the role of providing or assisting with care and needs. There are several theories or models that govern nursing care. Virginia Henderson introduces a holistic humanistic model that can be applied to special groups such as patients with HIV/AIDS. The objective of the research was to characterize nursing care for HIV/AIDS patients according to the Virginia Henderson model.Methods: a literature review was conducted, where 25 articles in Spanish and English were selected, published in the last five years on the subject, in databases such as: Scopus, Pbmed, Springer.Results: assuming the care of people with HIV/AIDS is opting for the care of an incurable and life-limiting condition. Nurses must assist the person in procedures or in their treatment and create a bond of therapeutic help; guaranteeing professional confidentiality of the diagnosis, focusing on addressing the pathology and opportunistic infections, providing the means that contribute to achieving patient independence; as well as preventing stigma and social rejection of the patient.Conclusions: care for patients with HIV/AIDS requires professionals prepared to guarantee the necessary care for this specialized group. The required psychological, physical and emotional support must be provided, avoiding rejection or overprotection of the position, seeking solutions by providing patients with humane treatment; preventing social stigma, rejection and demoralization

College/University Instructional Physical Activity Program Support: History, Advocacy and Wellbeing Promotion Enhancement Through Inaugural National Summit

College/University Instructional Physical Activity Programs (IPAP) have a long history in higher education and can effectively promote wellbeing among a large number of students. Despite IPAP benefits, prevalence has declined over the last few decades. Quality assurance, support, advocacy, innovation, and assessment are needed to strengthen IPAP. However, organizational support and resources for IPAP are lacking; thus, an inaugural National IPAP Summit was hosted in the Fall of 2023 to bring together IPAP professionals. Education, networking, support, resources, and innovative ideas were offered at the summit. Participants had unanimous positive feedback and support of future endeavors for IPAP professionals. Professional organization endorsement is needed to continue to offer opportunities, education, and support for IPAP professionals to maximize the wellbeing promotion potential and sustainability of IPAP.

Dadnet: dual-attention detection network for crack segmentation on tomb murals

Many tomb murals have punctate losses, cracks, and craquelure due to underground subsidence and changes in their physical support. Visual non-destructive detection techniques enable rapid assessment of how much tomb murals are affected by cracking, providing suggestions for their conservation. However, tomb murals are typically created by sketching outlines and then colored. Detailed sketches can easily interfere with crack detection work, requiring the use of deep learning network to better learn crack features and improve detection accuracy. At the same time the limited data of tomb mural presents a challenge to build a deep learning network. To address these issues, this paper introduces a novel dual-attention detection network (DADNet) for crack segmentation of tomb murals. In this work, a customized dataset is first constructed by collecting mural images from the Tang Dynasty tombs. Then the ConvNeXt framework serves as the basis for feature extraction, enhancing the process. Lastly, a dual-attention module utilizing neighborhood attention and biaxial attention is employed to accurately identify the crack regions. Neighborhood attention performs a local self-attention operation around the pixel point, addressing the limitations of self-attention. This approach significantly reduces computational demands as the image size increases. Biaxial attention performs attention calculations in the horizontal and vertical directions. This compensates for the limitation of neighborhood attention in capturing global dependencies. Our DADNet outperformed the competing methods, achieving the highest recorded scores of 78.95% for MIoU and 61.05% for the Jaccard index.

Characteristics of Individuals Losing Autism Diagnosis: A Comparative Study With Typically Developing and Autism Spectrum Disorder Individuals.

This study aims to reveal the characteristics of individuals who have lost an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and to evaluate their current psychiatric diagnoses. Additionally, the study aims to compare individuals who have lost ASD with typically developing (TD) individuals and those with ASD in terms of current psychopathology, functionality and sociodemographic and clinical variables. The study included a total of 85 participants aged between 5 and 18, comprising 30 individuals who no longer meet the criteria for ASD (loss of autism diagnosis or LAD), 32 individuals with ASD and 23 TD individuals. While the sociodemographic data form and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) were completed by the clinician, the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) were completed by the parents. It was found that the LAD group acquired speaking skills earlier, started special education sooner, received preschool education and physical exercise support for a longer duration and exhibited higher mental capacity and lower symptom severity compared to the ASD group. Moreover, 80% of the LAD group had at least one DSM-5 diagnosis. Scores on the ABC and SRS indicated a significant difference, with ASD > LAD > TD. Even if ASD regresses, individuals may still experience residual difficulties and remain at risk for other psychopathologies. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain monitoring and support processes.

Health Benefits Beyond the Scale: The Role of Diet and Nutrition During Weight Loss Programmes.

Obesity management strategies such as caloric restriction, very-low-calorie diets (VLCDs), and meal replacements can lead to moderate short-term weight loss. However, many patients face significant challenges in maintaining these results. Personalized interventions, including behavioral counseling and physical activity, have been shown to improve long-term adherence and success. Current clinical guidelines emphasize the pivotal role of dietitians in enhancing patient outcomes through nutritional therapy. When combined with pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery, the focus shifts from mere weight loss to broader health improvements. This review explores the evolving role of dietitians in obesity management, advocating for a shift from a weight-centric approach to a more holistic model that prioritizes overall health gains. Key areas of interest include dietetic interventions' impact on metabolic health, cardiovascular function, gut microbiome balance, inflammation, and psychological well-being. Dietetic interventions have been shown to provide significant health improvements beyond weight loss. These include enhanced metabolic and cardiovascular health, better gut microbiome balance, reduced inflammation, improved sleep quality, mental well-being, and overall quality of life. By focusing on non-scale victories such as improved insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles, and mental health, dietitians play a crucial role in driving long-term success in obesity management. These outcomes highlight the need to shift the focus from short-term weight loss to a more comprehensive view of health gains. The role of dietitians in obesity management is expanding to encompass a more comprehensive and individualized approach. Moving beyond a focus on weight reduction, this paradigm promotes long-term, patient-centered strategies that address the multifactorial nature of obesity. By combining dietary changes with regular physical activity and behavioral support, dietitians can contribute to sustained health improvements, treating obesity as a chronic, complex disease.

Assessing the Impact of the Prostate Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (PC-PEP) on Relationship Satisfaction, Quality of Life, and Support Group Participation: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background/Objectives: The Prostate Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (PC-PEP) is a 6-month, home-based intervention aimed at enhancing mental health in men undergoing curative prostate cancer treatment. This exploratory secondary analysis evaluates PC-PEP's impact on relationship satisfaction, quality of life, and support group attendance among partnered participants. Methods: In a crossover randomized clinical trial ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03660085) of 128 men aged 50-82 scheduled for curative prostate cancer surgery or radiotherapy, 119 participants in relationships were included. Of these, 59 received the 6-month PC-PEP intervention, while 60 were randomized to a waitlist-control arm, receiving standard care for 6 months before starting PC-PEP. The intervention included daily emails with video instructions on mental and physical health, diet, social support, fitness, stress reduction, and intimacy. Outcomes were assessed using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P). Results: While relationship satisfaction remained stable, a significant improvement in emotional well-being was observed at 12 months in participants undergoing radiation therapy (p = 0.045). The PC-PEP intervention also led to significantly higher support group attendance at both 6 months (p = 0.001) and 12 months (p = 0.003), emphasizing its role in fostering social support and community engagement. Conclusions: The PC-PEP program effectively maintains relationship satisfaction and enhances emotional well-being, particularly in patients with fewer physical side effects. Its design promotes comprehensive care by integrating physical, psychological, and social support, making it a valuable resource for improving the quality of life in prostate cancer patients and potentially applicable to other cancer types.