Index for Volume 32

Abstract

College students with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus often ignore the care of their illness. Faced with managing this illness independently for the first time, they lack the knowledge and experience to do so effectively. Their need to establish autonomy often prevents them from seeking the advice of health professionals. In view of this, the author undertook a pilot study to investigate the role of a peer support group on a college campus as a means of improving the diabetic students' management of their illness.

Three closed-membership groups met for 10 weekly sessions. Hemoglobin A_1c (the measure of average blood sugar over the preceding 3-month interval) determinations prior to participation in the group ranged from 4.0 to 11.7, with a mean of 8.16; after participation in the group, the mean hemoglobin A_1c levels of group members dropped to 6.10 (p < .001). (Hemoglobin A_1c measures lower than 6.2 reflect physiologic blood sugar measures of someone without diabetes.)

These results suggest that the peer-group approach may be a viable way to improve the metabolic control of young adults with diabetes at the time in their lives when they are learning to manage their illness independently.     

线粒体与胰岛素抵抗和糖尿病关系的研究进展

2型糖尿病以胰岛素抵抗为病理基础。虽然膳食、生活方式等环境因素仍被认为是糖尿病的发病中的重要决定因素,但是糖尿病具有明显的家族遗传学基础,而线粒体基因组某些位点的点突变、缺失突变和重复突变均被证明与糖尿病发生密切相关。     

Sleep quality and stress in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension and gestational diabetes mellitus

BackgroundPregnant women with complications including pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) often experience disrupted sleep patterns because of activation of the sympathetic nervous system. These pathologies are aggravated by sympathetic nervous system activation and may be related to stress. The present study aimed to clarify the characteristics of and changes in sleep quality and stress in pregnant women with PIH and GDM during the second and third trimesters.MethodsWe enrolled 56 women in their second or third trimesters who were diagnosed with PIH or GDM. Participants completed questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Secretory immunoglobulin A (SlgA) concentrations were measured as a biological indicator of stress.ResultsPSS scores and subjective stress parameters were significantly higher than those reported from previous studies of healthy pregnant women (15.2 points and 15.1 points for the second and third trimesters, respectively).Mean one-day values for SIgA were 168.3 and 205.7 μg/mL for the second and third trimesters, respectively. During the second and third trimesters, SIgA scores were higher than those reported for healthy pregnant women in previous studies. The PSQI component scores sleep disturbance (C5) and sleep duration (C3) in follow up case were significantly higher in the third trimester than in the second trimester.DiscussionThis investigation suggests that pregnant women with PIH and GDM experience higher stress levels than do non-pregnant women and healthy pregnant women. Further, our results indicate that sleep quality worsens during the third trimester compared with the second trimester.     

Involvement of advanced glycation end products in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications: the protective role of regular physical activity

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) may play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic diabetic complications and in the natural process of biological aging. In fact, maintained hyperglycaemia favours the formation of AGEs at the tissue level in diabetic patients, which may influence the triggering of different chronic pathologies of diabetes such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy and macro- and micro-vascular diseases. Moreover, the literature has also demonstrated the involvement of AGEs in biological aging, which may explain the accelerated process of aging in diabetic patients. The practice of regular physical activity appears to positively influence glycaemic control, particularly in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. This occurs through the diminution of fasting glycaemia, with a consequent reduction of glycation of plasmatic components suggested by the normalisation of HbA1c plasmatic levels. This exercise-induced positive effect is evident in the blood of diabetic patients and may also reach the endothelium and connective tissues of different organs, such as the kidneys and eyes, and systems, such as the cardiovascular and nervous systems, with a local reduction of AGEs production and further deceleration of organ dysfunction. The aim of this paper was to review the literature concerning this topic to coherently describe the harmful effects of AGEs in organ dysfunction induced by diabetes in advanced age as well as the mechanisms behind the apparent protection given by the practice of regular physical activity.     

2型糖尿病血糖水平与IL-6和TNF-α的相关性研究

目的探讨2型糖尿病（T2DM）血糖水平与IL-6和TNF-α相关性。方法采用酶联免疫分析法检测35例初诊T2DM患者27例血糖控制良好（HbA1c〈7%）T2DM患者及20例糖耐量正常的健康对照者的IL-6和TNF-α水平,同时监测空腹血糖（FPG）、胰岛素、C反应蛋白（CRP）水平及体重指数（BMI）等。结果初诊T2DM组血清胰岛素、各炎症因子及血糖水平均高于健康对照组（P〈0.01）,而血糖控制良好T2DM组TNF-α和IL-6浓度与健康对照组无差异。相关分析显示IL-6和TNF-α与性别、BMI和空腹胰岛素等均不相关,但与空腹血糖（r=0.38,P=0.03）呈显著正相关,与总胆固醇呈显著负相关（r=-0.19,P=0.04）。结论人类空腹血清IL-6和TNF-α水平在T2DM病人中明显升高,其与血糖浓度有关,与肥胖关系不明显。     

冠心病合并2型糖尿病临床表现与冠状动脉造影结果的临床研究

目的探讨冠心病（CHD）合并2型糖尿病（NIDDM）患者的临床表现和冠状动脉病变特点。方法对80例冠心病合并2型糖尿病患者及与之配对的非糖尿病冠心病患者进行临床表现和血管造影资料对照分析。结果冠心病合并2型糖尿病组与配对组比较，有高血压病史者分别占71．5％和45.3％（P〈0．05），有高血脂者分别占68．7％和42．2％（P〈0．05），冠心病合并2型糖尿病组与配对组的3支病变比例分别为35．0％和12．5％（P〈0．05），病变血管比例分别为68．3％和55．8％（P〈0．05），弥漫性病变血管比例分别为15．0％和5．8％（P〈0．05）。两组的冠状动脉狭窄程度差异不明显（P〉0．05）。结论冠心病合并2型糖尿病患者的高血压、高血脂患病率较高，其冠状动脉血管的病变特点有别于无糖尿病的冠心病患者，3支病变比例和弥漫性病变血管比例高，血管受累支数多，在对冠心病合并2型糖尿病患者的诊疗过程中要充分考虑其病变特点。     

Religion,spirituality, coping,and resilience among African Americans with diabetes

Study aims were to explore how religion and spirituality impacted attitudes about self-management practices among African Americans with homelessness histories and to understand resilience in diabetes care practices. Qualitative semistructured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 42 African Americans older than 18 years. All audio-taped interviews lasted between 1–1.5 hr, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using ATLAS.ti (version 7.0). Five resilience themes emerged. While participants recognized diabetes as an illness requiring professional treatment, the context of balancing treatment with religion and spiritual practices mattered. The study findings highlight the importance of spirituality, religious beliefs, and coping strategies in diabetes self-care activities.     

Negotiating disability and colonisation: the lived experience of Indigenous Australians with a disability

Disability among Indigenous Australians lies at a nexus between the ongoing impact of European settlement from 1788 and the social effects of living with a disability. Colonisation, with its political, social, economic and cultural concomitants, continues to impact on Indigenous experience, extending to the institutions and services concerned with disability. There is little attention paid to Indigenous Australian disability in general, and the need to decolonise disability has recently been emphasised. Ethnographic research in Brisbane, Australia among Indigenous people with a disability (mostly related to diabetes) confirms the ongoing impact of colonisation. While this experience pervades all aspects of their lives, it also moderates their experience of living with a disability in positive ways. However, while individuals can negotiate their personal experience of disability, the decolonisation of disability services presents challenges that need to be addressed.     

Surrogacy: The experience of Greek commissioning women

BackgroundAvailable studies on surrogacy are extremely limited. Findings suggest that surrogacy is experienced as problem free, with a significant number of commissioning mothers maintaining contact with the surrogates over time.AimTo explore the experiences of Greek commissioning women regarding the surrogacy arrangement and birth of a child through surrogacy.MethodsThe data of this study were collected from 7 intended mothers who had either a long history of infertility or serious health problems. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed employing content analysis.FindingsThe analysis of the women's accounts revealed three themes: (a) a shared journey, (b) the birth of a long-awaited child, and (c) the surrogacy disclosure. The surrogacy process became the women's affairs, with their partners offering backstage support. A very close bond was developed with the surrogates, characterised by daily contacts and care-giving behaviours. While this bond was abruptly discontinued after the child's birth, it was interiorised with all participants being grateful to their surrogate. The timing and content of the surrogacy disclosure to family and child(ren) were carefully chosen by participants, who avoided providing information when egg donation was involved.ConclusionFindings are reassuring for women who want to parent a child through a surrogate arrangement, and suggest that the availability of counselling services may help intended mothers to cope with disclosure issues.     

老年糖尿病患者急诊行胆道手术后心律失常的分析

目的通过对老年糖尿病患者急诊行胆道手术后心律失常的分析,找出老年糖尿病患者急诊行胆道手术后心律失常的原因,从而有效地避免心律失常的 .发生.方法443例老年糖尿病患者急诊行胆道手术,心律失常的统计时间范围是从手术结束到手术后24h内.电解质、血红蛋白的数据为急诊入院时或急诊入院后术前3h内所采集的数据,采集的数据经统计学处理.结果本组443例中发生心律失常113例(25.5%),其中有心血管病史发生心律失常为92例,高血钾或低血钾发生心律失常为73例,手术时间大于2h为58例,低血红蛋白发生心律失常为57例,连续硬膜外94例.经过统计学处理发生心律失常分别与有无心血管病史、血钾和血红蛋白值、麻醉方式密切相关.有心血管病史、血钾不正常、血红蛋白偏低、手术时间大于2h、连续硬膜外是引起老年人急诊行胆道手术后致心律失常的主要因素.结论发现主要与原有心血管疾病、高血钾或低血钾、低血红蛋白、手术时间、麻醉方式关系密切.