Background: an increased prevalence of gastro-duodenal ulceration was described almost sixty years ago as prodromal to idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, while duodenal ulcers have been rarely diagnosed in patients with schizophrenia. The cytoprotective role of dopamine in animal models of gastrointestinal ulcerations has also been described. Interestingly, Parkinson’s disease (PD) might share common pathophysiological links with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as epidemiological and genetic links already suggest. Thus, the aim of our study was to review the existing literature on the role of the gastrointestinal dopaminergic system in IBD pathogenesis and progression. Methods: a systematic search was conducted according to the PRISMA methodology. Results: twenty-four studies satisfied the predetermined criteria and were included in our qualitative analysis. Due to different observations (cross-sectional studies) as well as experimental setups and applied methodologies (in vivo and in vitro studies) a meta-analysis could not be performed. No ongoing clinical trials with dopaminergic compounds in IBD patients were found. Conclusions: the impairment of the dopaminergic system seems to be a significant, yet underestimated, feature of IBD, and more in-depth observational studies are needed to further support the existing preclinical data.

Background/Objectives Pharmacists may play an important role in disease prevention through the public education about dietary and lifestyle behaviors, however their expertise is constantly ignored. The study primarily aimed to identify nutrition knowledge and dietary habits among Polish pharmacists. Subjects A total sample screened consisted of 1412 respondents, yet 667 (573 females and 94 males) pharmacists finally participated in the study. A validated questionnaire for Polish population, the Dietary Habits and Nutrition Beliefs Questionnaire, was used for the evaluation. Results The majority of pharmacists (94%) were current non-smokers with BMI levels below 25 kg/m 2 (66.5%). Female pharmacists had higher the Pro-Healthy (pHDI-10) score ( p < 0.001) and lower the Non-Healthy (nHDI-14) score ( p = 0.004) compared to the males. In the self-assessment of nutritional habits, the pHDI-10 was significantly higher in the “very good” group compared to the “poor” ( p < 0.001) and the “very poor” ( p = 0.015) group, and the “poor group” had higher nHDI-14 when compared to “very good” ( p < 0.001) and “good” ( p < 0.001) groups. The nutrition knowledge test score was above average in over 72% of respondents, was correlated with the pHDI-10 ( r = 0.16), yet the score decreased with age ( r = −0.19). Conclusions We believe that our analysis justifies the inevitability to benefit from pharmacists’ expertise. Pharmacists with around-the-clock accessibility should be eligible partners, as members of an interdisciplinary team, in the process of advancing population-based nutrition.

Background pharmacists remain on the frontline of public health around the globe and their performance directly impacts patients’ safety. So far, to our knowledge, no European study has been dedicated to their heath-related quality of life (HQoL). Therefore, the primarily aim of our study was to evaluate HQoL of Polish pharmacists utilizing the SF-36 health survey with regard to anthropometric and lifestyle-related variables. Methods a total sample screened consisted of 1412 respondents, yet 765 pharmacists (mean age 40, 86.3% females) finally participated in the study. HQoL was assessed with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results the lowest median scores were noted for general health (GH, 50.0) and vitality (V, 60.0) domains. No gender differences regarding physical and mental summary scores were found. Significant difference of HQoL was found among the assessed age groups in several domains, especially physical functioning (PF) and GH (p < 0.001) scores, and especially in the group of 51-60-year-old-respondents. Correlations were found between PF (r=-0.29,p < 0.001), GH (r=-0.25,p < 0.001) and age as well PF (r=-0.27,p < 0.001), GH (r=-0.21,p < 0.001) and BMI. Self-assessed dietary habits were correlated with PF (r = 0.22,p < 0.001), mental health (r = 0.25,p < 0.001), GH (r = 0.27,p < 0.001) and V (r = 0.30, p < 0.001) scores. Conclusions our analysis indicates that pharmacists tend to have similar mental and physical burden according to SF-36, with age, BMI and dietary habits as predominant factors influencing their HQoL. The study presents unique values for future comparative analyses related, for instance, to the influence of the ongoing pandemic on HQoL of health-care providers.

A direct association between health-related quality of life (HQoL) and nutrition remains unclear, although lifestyle habits are known to impact on human health. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate an association between dietary habits, such as vegetable and fruit consumption, in particular, and HQoL. SF-36 (RAND-SF-36) and the Dietary Habits and Nutrition Beliefs Questionnaire (KomPAN) were addressed to Polish pharmacists with a valid professional license. After the preliminary verification, 667 pharmacists were included into the study, and altogether, 11 questions from the KomPAN questionnaire and all RAND-SF-36 multiple choice questions were processed for statistical analysis. All HQoL scores, excluding physical functioning and role-physical, were significantly higher in the group declaring fruit consumption ≥1 time per day (p < 0.005), while physical functioning (p = 0.008) and general health (p = 0.03) were significantly higher in the group declaring vegetable consumption ≥1 time per day. Thus, there is indeed a positive association between vegetable and fruit consumption and HQoL. Increased fruit intake could certainly impact on the health-related quality of life of Polish pharmacists, primarily in terms of mental functioning, while increased vegetable intake could impact in terms of physical functioning.

Purpose Sternal foramen is a perforation of the sternum that can be a source of misdiagnosis during radiographic imaging or life-threatening perforations during bone marrow sampling. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis on the prevalence, morphometrics, and location of foramen in the sternal body and xiphoid process, describe morphometric features of this phenomenon, and thus verify its clinical importance. Moreover, our secondary outcome was to compare effectiveness of various imaging methods in diagnosis of the sternal or xiphoid foramen. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted on major scientific databases to identify studies containing relevant information. Data on foramen’s prevalence, location, morphometrics, and accompanying findings were extracted and pooled into a meta-analysis using MetaXL 5.0. Results Thirty-five studies (n = 16,666 subjects) were included. The overall pooled prevalence of a foramen in the sternal body and/or a xiphoid process was 8.9% (95% CI 6.5–11.7) and it equaled 6.5% (95% CI 5.6–7.6) for sternal body alone and 2.9% (95% CI 0.5–6.9) for the xiphoid process. The foramen was more prevalent in males than in females (12.2% vs. 6.8%). The prevalence of sternal foramen was higher in South American [13.9% (95% CI 11.2–16.9)] and African [13.6% (95% CI 9.7–18.0)] studies compared to North American [6.2% (95% CI 5.0–7.5)] and European populations [8.6% (95% CI 3.1–16.3)]. Mean transverse and vertical diameter of foramen equaled 4.7 mm (95% CI 3.8–5.5), and 5.6 mm (95% CI 4.2–6.9), respectively. Conclusion Our analysis proves that the sternal foramina are structures of significant prevalence and size. Any physician should keep them in mind when performing punctures in this area.