To examine whether lifestyle-related factors and resilience predict health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of early adolescents. Methods: A total of 611 eighth grade pupils (response rate: 79%) participated in this crosssectional study. The variables measured were physical activity (accelerometer), cardiorespiratory fitness (Andersen test) and a questionnaire assessing dietary habits, sleep disturbance, resilience (Resilience Scale for Adolescents) and HRQoL (KIDSCREEN-27). Results: A total of 36% of the sample met the official recommendations of 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Univariate analysis identified physical activity, dietary habits, sleep disturbances, body mass index (BMI), cardiorespiratory fitness and resilience, but not sedentary time, as predictors of HRQoL. Multivariate regression analysis identified resilience as a positive predictor (b 0.18 to 0.27) of all HRQoL domains and sleep disturbance as a negative predictor (b À0.65 to À0.24) of four HRQoL domains. BMI (b ¼ À0.27) and cardiorespiratory fitness (b ¼ 0.021) were predictors of the HRQoL domain physical well-being. Adherence to dietary recommendations was both a positive and a negative predictor of HRQoL (b À0.45 to 0.59). Conclusion: Resilience and sleep disturbances were the main predictors of HRQoL.

No abstract

Inhibition of growth of Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli in urine in response to fasting and vegetarian diet. APMIS 103: 818-822, 1995. It has recently been shown that serum antibody levels against Proteus mirabilis decreased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who improved clinically during treatment with 7-10 days of fasting followed by a one-year vegetarian diet. As P. mirabilis is commonly implicated in urinary tract infections, this study was carried out to examine whether fasting and vegetarian diet may influence the growth of P. mirabilis and Escherichia coli in urine. Urine samples were collected from 22 patients who were referred to a health farm for various reasons. The dietary regimen recommended by the health farm consisted of fasting for 7 to 10 days followed by a vegan diet. The growth of both bacteria in urine samples collected after 8 days was significantly slower than in samples collected at baseline. In urine samples collected after 18 days growth was also reduced, although not significantly for E. coli. Our results show that dietary manipulation may reduce the ability of urine to support the growth of P. mirabilis and E. coli.