Eating Disorders: A Qualitative Exploration of Whether Lesbian and Bisexual Women Are ‘protected’ From Sociocultural Pressure to Be Thin.

A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are ‘protected’ from sociocultural pressure to be thin.

Filed under: Eating Disorders

J Health Psychol. 2013 Jan 7;
Huxley C, Clarke V, Halliwell E

Heterosexual women in Western cultures are known to experience body image concerns, dieting and disordered eating as a result of intense social pressures to be thin. However, it is theorised that lesbian and bisexual women belong to a subculture that is ‘protective’ of such demands. Fifteen non-heterosexual women were interviewed about their experiences of social pressure. Thematic analysis of their accounts suggests that such theorising may be inaccurate, because these lesbian and bisexual women did not feel ‘protected’ from social pressures and experienced body dissatisfaction. While they might attempt to resist thin idealisation, resistance is not centred around their sexuality.
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Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Oesophageal Cancer: Analysis at Different Steps of the Treatment Pathway.

Filed under: Eating Disorders

J Gastrointest Surg. 2013 Jan 8;
Scarpa M, Saadeh LM, Fasolo A, Alfieri R, Cagol M, Cavallin F, Pinto E, Zaninotto G, Ancona E, Castoro C

BACKGROUND: The main outcome parameters in oesophageal surgery have traditionally been morbidity and mortality, but quality of life (QL) has become an important consideration in view of the severity and persistence of postoperative symptoms. The aim of this study was to analyse QL before and after oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer and to explore possible association with patient’s and disease characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred twenty-six consecutive patients presenting with oesophageal cancer to the Oncological Surgery Unit of the Veneto Institute of Oncology between 2009 and 2011 were enrolled in this prospective study. The patients were asked to answer three QL questionnaires (the Italian versions of the QLQ-C30, the QLQ-OES18, and the IN-PATSAT32 modules developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer) at the time of disease diagnosis, after neoadjuvant therapy, immediately after surgery and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Global quality of life (QL2 item) seemed to improve after neoadjuvant therapy but it dropped markedly after surgery. It then rose to a value in between the one registered after neoadjuvant therapy and the one at diagnosis. Emotional function and dysphagia were associated to QL2 at diagnosis. After neoadjuvant therapy, age, oesophageal stenosis, emotional function and dysphagia were associated to good quality of life at that stage. After surgery, pain was associated to quality of life at that stage. During the early follow-up phase (1-3 months after surgery), role function and postoperative urinary complications were associated to QL2. In the long-term follow-up (6-12 months), adjuvant therapy, eating disorders and postoperative complications were associated to poor quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative complications are associated to long-term emotional and physical function impairment which can lead to a significantly impaired global quality of life. Postoperative pain relief plays a key role in achieving a good postoperative quality of life. Finally, HRQL after oesophagectomy seems to be a function of therapeutic efficacy rather than of the specific surgical procedure used.
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Optimizing Cosmesis with Conservative Surgical Excision in a Giant Rhinophyma.

Filed under: Eating Disorders

Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2013 Jan 8;
Lazzeri D, Agostini T, Spinelli G

Rhinophyma is considered the end stage in the development of rosacea, with a clinical aspect characterized by sebaceous hyperplasia, fibrosis, follicular plugging, and telangiectasia. Although the treatment of rhinophyma typically has an aesthetic purpose, in some cases it also can help with nasal obstruction and eating difficulties caused by rhinophyma beyond the abnormal physical appearance that can cause social seclusion. Very few giant rhinophymas have been reported in the literature. In most cases full-thickness excision of the rhinophymatous tissue down to perichondrium and periosteum of the nasal osteocartilaginous framework followed by coverage of the residual defect with a full-thickness skin graft or local flap has been described in patients affected by giant rhinophyma. The poor results of this approach encouraged us to manage conservatively a very severe form of rhinophyma. We describe the case of a 62-year-old man who presented with a 12-year history of a progressively growing mass on the nose and with a history of nasal obstruction and eating difficulties. We advocate a careful tangential excision of the rhinophymatous tissue which allows the residual deep pilosebaceous appendages to reepithelialize as a safe method and provides a good cosmetic result with minimal scarring. To our knowledge this is the first case of a giant rhinophyma treated with conservative excision followed by secondary healing. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
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Biogenetic explanations and public acceptance of people with eating disorders.

Filed under: Eating Disorders

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013 Jan 8;
Angermeyer MC, Mnich E, Daubmann A, Herich L, Wegscheider K, Kofahl C, von dem Knesebeck O

PURPOSE: It has been assumed that biogenetic causal models may improve public attitudes toward people with mental illnesses. The present study examines whether biogenetic attributions are positively associated with acceptance of people suffering from these disorders. METHODS: Population surveys were conducted in two large German cities. Respondents were presented with a vignette depicting a young female suffering from either anorexia nervosa (N = 680) or bulimia nervosa (N = 667), followed by a fully structured interview including questions on causal attributions, emotional reactions and desire for social distance. RESULTS: Attribution to hereditary factors showed hardly any relationship with attitudes toward people with symptoms of eating disorders. Respondents who endorsed brain disease as a cause tended more to hold those afflicted responsible for their condition, they also expressed more negative emotions and a stronger preference for social distance. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support the notion that promulgating biogenetic causal models of eating disorders helps decrease the stigma surrounding these illnesses; it may even entail the risk of increasing it.
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