Ayşe Nur Topuz

We aimed to investigate factors associated with post-earthquake coping strategies and to examine the relationship between coping styles and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom levels. This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals presenting to 22 primary health centers in the Adana and Osmaniye provinces of Türkiye between 13 and 17 March 2023. Data were collected using a structured sociodemographic form, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and the Coping with Earthquake Stress Scale. The mean age of the participants (n = 434) was 38.27 ± 13.84 years, and 63.4% were female. The prevalence of probable PTSD was 32.95%. A weak negative correlation was found between PCL-5 scores and positive reappraisal scores (r = −0.192, p < 0.01), whereas no significant associations were observed between PTSD symptom scores and other coping strategies. Positive reappraisal scores were positively correlated with both religious coping (r = 0.248) and seeking social support (r = 0.316) (p < 0.01). Individuals who experienced family-related losses reported higher religious coping scores. These findings suggest that positive reappraisal may be associated with lower PTSD symptom levels in the early post-disaster period, highlighting the potential importance of adaptive cognitive coping strategies in primary care settings.

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a prevalent condition, with vasculogenic ED being the most common subtype, primarily related to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular risk factors. Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (Li-ESWT) has emerged as a promising non-invasive treatment option. However, predictors of treatment response remain poorly defined. Aim: To identify clinical and vascular predictors of treatment success following Li-ESWT in patients with vasculogenic ED and to develop a novel, practical, and non-invasive scoring system to predict therapeutic response. Methods: This prospective study included 219 men aged 18-80 years with vasculogenic ED between January 2024 and January 2025. All patients underwent Li-ESWT (18 000 pulses over 3 weeks). Clinical and vascular parameters, including age, ED duration, body mass index, presence of cardiovascular risk factors, diabetes mellitus (DM), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), flow-mediated dilation rate (FMD), and prior phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) response, were recorded. Treatment success at 6 months was defined as an increase of ≥1 point in the erection hardness score or ≥5 points in the International Index of Erectile Function-5 EF. Outcomes: The primary outcome was treatment success at 6 months after Li-ESWT. Secondary outcomes included the development and validation of a predictive scoring system. Results: Treatment success rate was 66.2% (145/219). Independent predictors of treatment success were absence of DM (odds ratio [OR] = 2.67, P = .012), ED duration <36 months (OR = 2.23, P = .026), cIMT <0.8 mm (OR = 2.04, P = .042), prior PDE5i benefit (OR = 2.47, P = .016), FMD ≥5% (OR = 2.57, P = .012), age <65 years (OR = 2.28, P = .032), and presence of cardiovascular risk factors (OR = 2.23, P = .036). A scoring system incorporating these 7 variables achieved an area under the curve of 0.819 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.762-0.877). Using a cut-off of 4.5 points, the sensitivity was 73% and the specificity was 77% (P < .001). Clinical Implications: This scoring system may help clinicians identify patients most likely to benefit from Li-ESWT, optimize patient selection, and improve individualized treatment strategies in vasculogenic ED. Strengths & Limitations: The study is strengthened by its prospective design, relatively large sample size, and inclusion of vascular function parameters (FMD, cIMT). Limitations include the lack of external validation and the absence of penile Doppler ultrasound confirmation in all patients. Conclusion: This study identified key demographic and vascular predictors of Li-ESWT response and introduces a novel, non-invasive clinical scoring system with strong predictive accuracy. This tool may enhance treatment personalization and support clinical decision-making in the management of ED.

Purpose: The iam of this study was to assess the cardiovascular knowledge level of an educated and healthy population and determine how much they transferred it to daily life. In the current study, we first determined Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Factors Knowledge Level and Framingham score and investigated their relationship between pulse wave velocity (PWV) and laboratory parameters of healthy personal working for Cukurova University. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted via 192 participants who were selected from the study sample among healthy personnel working for Cukurova University. All participants' knowledge level was determined with the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Knowledge Level (CARRF-KL) scale and the 10-year risk for development of CVD determined by the Framingham risk score. PWV was also determined non-invasively by using an arteriography device. Blood samples were collected from all participants. Results: The mean age of all participants was 45.3 ± 8.0 years (53.6% woman). The mean CARRF-KL score of the participants was found as 20.4 ± 4.0 and the mean Framingham score was found 6.9±5.6. The average PWV was found 7.9±1.5m/sn. In correlation analyses, PWV was well correlated with both the mean CARRF-KL score and Framingham score. Participants who had the highest CARRF-KL score had also the highest Framingham score and PWV . Conclusion: Despite the high level of education and knowledge, it is seen that this knowledge is not reflected in daily lives in terms of CVD risk factors. Further studies are needed whether there is a threshold level of CVD knowledge that must be attained for knowledge to influence behavior and risk factor levels. For effective prevention, knowledge should be supported by behavioral counseling interventions.

Aim: No-reflow phenomenon (NRP) is an undesirable result of coronary interventions, and usually occurred during the primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). On the other hand, there is gr...

Article: Epicardial adipose tissue thickness predicts non-dipper statue in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients - Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2021 March;180(3):80-6 - Minerva Medica - Journals

Purpose: Migraine is an episodic primary headache disorder, which affects approximately 10% of the adult population, predominantly females. Based on the changes detected in migraine and previous findings, arterial stiffness can be considered to be an important contributor to vascular events in patients with migraine. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between atherosclerosis and migraine through the evaluation of aortic stiffness in premenopausal migraine patients. Materials and Methods: The study included 68 female patients with migraine, and a control group of 39 healthy females. To reveal the association between migraine and arterial stiffness, echocardiography was applied and aortic stiffness was evaluated. Blood pressure measurements, basic biochemical tests and the 12 derivation-ECG recordings of each patient were taken simultaneously. Results: Basic echocardiographic findings were similar in patients and the control group. Systolic and diastolic diameters of the aorta, and the change in aortic diameter were also similar in both groups. Aortic distensibility, aortic strain and beta indices were also similar in both groups. No significant differences were determined between patients with and without aura migraine and the control group in respect of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure. Conclusion: As a marker of atherosclerosis, the aortic stiffness parameters didn't differ between migraine and control group.

Background: It is well known that erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) development. On the other hand, prolongation of the duration of atrial electromechanical delay (AEMD) is known to be a precursor for AF development. We aimed to evaluate AEMD in patients with ED patients without documented AF. Methods: Total of 68 outpatients with previously documented vascular ED and 44 participants without ED were enrolled to the current study. Sixty-eight patients with ED called as ED group and 44 participants without ED served as control group. We performed International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaire for all participants to determine the disease severity of ED groups and to diagnose ED in control groups. Patients with a IIEF-5 score ≥22 were defined as having normal erectile functions. Both intra- and inter-AEMD were measured with tissue Doppler imaging. P-wave dispersion (PWD) was measured on a 12-lead electrocardiogram. Results: Basal characteristics were similar between the two groups. PWD, inter- and right intra-AEMD were significantly prolonged in patients with ED, compared to the control group (p = .02, p < .001 and p < .001, respectively). In the correlation analysis, IIEF-5 score was significantly negative correlated with systolic blood pressure, right intra- and inter-AEMD (r = –0.37, p = .02; r= −0.27, p = .02; r = –0.39, p = .001, respectively). Conclusions: According to current study results, AEMD is significantly correlated with ED severity and may be useful to stratify ED patients to the high-risk group for future development of AF as a cheap and easy method.