Biosocial Studies

This study investigates the intricate interplay between social class, sex, and self-reported health (SRH) using data from the European Health Survey of Spain 2020 (EESE2020). Employing a cross-sectional design and a representative sample of 22,072 individuals, the analysis explores the persistence of disparities after adjusting for covariates, focusing on health-related variables. The study employs logistic regression models and directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) to delineate the direct effects of social class and sex on SRH, identifying a minimum adjustment set to control for confounding variables. Results reveal a gradient effect of social class on SRH, emphasizing the enduring impact of socioeconomic factors. Sex-based disparities in SRH diminish after considering additional health-related variables, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach. DAGs serve as transparent tools in disentangling complex relationships, guiding the identification of essential covariates. The study concludes that addressing health inequalities requires comprehensive strategies considering both individual health behaviours and socio-economic contexts. While recognizing limitations, such as the cross-sectional design, the findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of health disparities, informing evidence-based interventions and policies for a more equitable healthcare system. Full article

Sensation seeking (SS) is a psychobiological personality trait characterized by an individual’s propensity to engage in various forms of risk-taking behavior. The Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS-8) is a widely used instrument for assessing SS that has been translated into several languages. However, only outdated and non-validated questionnaires have been used to measure SS in the Slovenian population. The aim of this study was to translate and psychometrically validate the Slovenian version of the BSSS-8. A total of 363 participants aged between 14 and 65 years completed the translated BSSS-8 and the questionnaire on drug abuse. The scale demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach’s $\alpha =0.81$) and a unidimensional factorial structure as revealed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The multigroup CFA showed gender-specific measurement invariance. In the nomological network, SS was positively associated with drug-related variables. The Slovenian version of the BSSS-8 scale is a short and simple instrument to assess SS for research and epidemiological purposes. Full article

Aging can induce changes in social behaviors among humans and nonhuman primates (NHPs). Therefore, investigating the aging process in primate species can provide valuable evidence regarding age-related concerns in humans. However, the link between aging and behavioral patterns in nonhuman primates remains poorly comprehended. To address this gap, the present research examined aging-related behaviors exhibited by Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) in their natural habitat in Huangshan, China, during the period from October 2020 to June 2021. We collected behavioral data from 25 adult macaques using different data collection methods, including focal animal sampling and ad libitum sampling methods. We found that among adult female macaques, the frequency of being attacked decreased with their age, and that the frequency of approaching other monkeys also decreased as age increased. In males, however, this was not the case. Our findings demonstrate that older female macaques exhibit active conflict avoidance, potentially attributed to a reduction in the frequency of approaching conspecifics and a decreased likelihood of engaging in conflict behaviors. This study provides some important data for investigating aging in NHPs and confirms that Macaca can exhibit a preference for social partners under aging-related contexts similar to humans. Full article

Background: Gambling disorder is an emerging problem among young adults and must be researched to provide the necessary support. This study aims to characterise gambling disorders in Porto’s university students. Methods: A cross-sectional study distributed an online questionnaire to Porto’s university students. The authors developed a self-administered questionnaire that included the South Oaks Gambling Screen questionnaire—Portuguese Version (SOGS-PV). Results: A total of 1123 responses were included. The participants’ average age was 22.4 years (SD = 6.2), and 60.9% were women. Gambling activities were performed by 66.4% of the students, most commonly online or video games, “scratch card” games, skill games, lotteries, and sports bets. The final scores of the SOGS-PV suggested 19.7% (95% CI: 17.4–22.0) of students may have a gambling disorder, with 16.6% (95% CI: 14.4–18.8) being “probable pathological gamblers” and 3.1% (95% CI: 2.1–4.1) being “problem gamblers”. Gambling in the stocks/commodities market/virtual coins, sports bets, playing cards for money, and the numbers or betting on lotteries presents a higher risk of gambling disorder. The age (OR: 0.953; 95% CI: 0.922–0.986), being male (OR: 2.756; 95% CI: 1.899–4.000), the highest daily gambling amount (OR: 3.938; 95% CI: 2.580–6.012), the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (OR: 0.129; 95% CI: 0.087–0.191), a mother with gambling disorder (OR: 5.284; 95% CI: 1.038–26.902), the personal services education area (OR: 2.858; 95% CI: 1.179–6.929), and the linguistics education area (OR: 2.984; 95% CI: 1.538–5.788) stand out as contributing factors to the development of this disorder. Conclusions: This study reveals a high level of possible gambling disorder among university students and emphasises the importance of this problem in the academic community. Physician awareness and prevention programmes are needed in this population. Full article

Genetic factors in the HIV-background may play a significant role in the susceptibility to secondary diseases, like tuberculosis, which is the leading cause in mortality of HIV-positive people. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are considered to be receptors for adaptive immunity, and polymorphisms in TLR genes can influence the activity of the immune response to infection. We conducted a case–control study of the association of TLR gene polymorphisms with the risk of tuberculosis coinfection in a multi-country sample of HIV-positive participants. Our study revealed certain associations between TLR4 and TLR6 polymorphisms and HIV–tuberculosis coinfection. We also found that the analyzed TLR1 and TLR4 polymorphisms were linked with the decline in CD4+ cell count, which is a predictor of disease progression in HIV-infected individuals. Our findings confirm that TLR gene polymorphisms are factors that may contribute to development of HIV–tuberculosis coinfection. However, the essence of the observed associations remains unclear, since it can also include both environmental factors and epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression regulation. Full article

Wolfram syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease usually of autosomal recessive origin. There is limited research about sensorineural hearing loss, despite it being a fundamental entity. It is important to broaden the study of this disease and specify a set of tests required for an adequate assessment of patients for efficient monitoring and control. The fundamental objective of this research is to understand WS from a biomedical perspective in order to help in its diagnosis, follow-up, and control. Pure tones audiometry, tympanometry, speech perception, the speech intelligibility index without aid, and testing at high frequencies were among the audiological measurements utilised since they were deemed suitable for standardised follow-up. Mixed linear models were used to examine the effects of age, time, or mean interaction in pure-tone (IPT), the average of high frequencies (HFA), auditory brainstem response (ABR), and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP). The genetic analysis allowed mutations to be classified into three phenotype-genotype groups, where the phenotype indicated the severity of the hearing loss. Patients with homozygous gene changes had a more severe neurosensory phenotype. The early discovery of sensorineural hearing loss and WS is crucial since it allows intensive follow-up and treatment of the person affected from the start. Full article

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used for multiple reasons such as treatment of diseases and their symptoms, empowerment, self-care, disease prevention, dissatisfaction, adverse effects or cost of conventional medicine, perception of compatibility with beliefs, and idiosyncrasy. This study investigated CAM use in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with 240 eligible patients with CKD in the PD program. By applying the I-CAM-Q-questionnaire, the frequency, level of satisfaction, and reasons for CAM use were explored, and the demographic and clinical data of users and non-users were analyzed. Data analysis included descriptive analysis, Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney U, chi-square, and Fisher tests. Results: The main types of CAM used were herbal medicine, and chamomile was the most commonly used. To improve the state of well-being was the main reason for use, the attributable benefit of CAM was high, and only a low percentage of users reported side effects. Only 31.8% of the users informed their physicians. Conclusion: The use of CAM is popular among renal patients, and physicians are not adequately informed; in particular, the CAM type ingested represents a risk for drug interactions and toxicity. Full article

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability, content and readability of the information available on the Internet related to limb lengthening surgeries, which have recently been progressively in fashion. Methods: The three most commonly used browsers on the Internet were determined and a search term for “Limb Lengthening Surgery” was typed for each browser. The websites were categorized by their type, and the content and the quality of them was evaluated using the DISCERN score, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark and the Global Quality Score (GQS). The Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FKRS) were used to evaluate the readability. Each website also assessed the presence (or absence) of the Health on Net (HON) code. Results: The academic category was found to be significantly higher than the medical and commercial categories. Mean FKGL and FCRS scores, DISCERN score values, JAMA, GQS and LLCS score values of Websites with HON code were significantly higher than those without. Conclusions: The quality of online information related to limb lengthening was of low quality. Although some websites, especially academic resources, were of higher quality, the readability of their content is just about 2.5 degrees higher than the sixth-grade reading level. Full article