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BACKGROUND: LIPA, situated on chromosome 10q23.2-q23.3, encodes the enzyme lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) (EC 3.1.1.13). Genetic alterations in LIPA lead to lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LALD), an inborn error causing lipid metabolism anomalies and impairing cholesterol and triacylglyceride degradation. Over 40 LIPA variants have been documented, yet this study focuses on just two. The rs1051338 variant (NM_000235:c.46A>C) affects the signal peptide in Exon 2, whereas rs116928232, located in Exon 8, alters the splice site (NM_000235:c.894G>A), impacting lysosomal acid lipase activity. Considering the diverse clinical manifestations of LALD and the rising hepatic steatosis prevalence in Mexican population, mainly due to diet, these variants were investigated within this demographic to uncover potential contributing factors. This study aimed to reveal the frequency of rs1051338 and rs116928232 among healthy mestizo individuals in Northwest Mexico, marking a significant genetic exploration in this demographic. METHODS: Three hundred ten healthy mestizo individuals underwent PCR-RFLP analysis for both variants, and Sanger sequencing was performed for variant rs116928232. Bioinformatic analysis was also performed to predict protein changes. RESULTS: Allele frequencies for rs1051338 (FA = 0.39, p value = 0.15) and rs116928232 (FA = 0.0016, p value = 0.49) aligned with reported data, while bioinformatic analysis allowed us to identify the protein alteration observed in both variants; finally, the variants showed no linkage between them (normalized D' = 1.03, p value = 0.56). CONCLUSIONS: Allelic frequencies closely matched reported data, and protein structure analysis confirmed variant impacts on LAL enzyme function. Notably, this study marks the first analysis of rs1051338 and rs116928232 in a healthy Mexican mestizo population.

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INTRODUCTION: To date, there are no sufficient studies aimed to determine a correlation between personal, academic, and psychological variables with academic achievement, measured with the grade point average (GPA) and intelligence in university students according to each sex. STUDY AIM: To determine the correlation between studying strategies, personal and psychological factors with GPA and intelligence in a sample of health sciences university students. METHODS: Health Sciences university students, were invited to participate, those who accepted were cited in a computer room where they signed an informed consent and filled an electronic questionnaire with sociodemographic, behavioral, psychological variables and studying strategies (from the MLSQ instrument) afterwards they performed a verbal and non-verbal intelligence test (Shipley-2). RESULTS: A total of 439 students were included, from which 297 (67.7%) were women. The mean of age was 20.34 ± 2.61 years old. We found that no differences in GPA where observed between sexes. We detected a higher correlation between combined intelligence and GPA in women than in men. In addition, most studying strategies showed a higher correlation with GPA than intelligence scores in men´s sample. All these findings coincide with the fact that preparatory GPA was the most correlated variable with university GPA in both sexes. Finally, women showed higher levels of the sum of diseases, somatization, anxiety, depression and academic stress than men, and all these variables showed low significant correlations with the combined intelligence score only in women´s sample. CONCLUSION: Verbal and non-verbal intelligence scores show a lower association to GPA in men than in women, while studying strategies showed a higher association with GPA in men than in women.

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Oxidative stress (OS) has been linked to cell damage and chronic disease development; however, the study of psychological factors related with OS has been limited, as has its relationship with biochemical and personal variables. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between a wide variety of personal, psychological, and biochemical factors with OS in a sample of healthy Mexican people. A total of 134 participants, from which 70 (52%) were women, without known chronic conditions were included in the study, and the molecule 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was also measured as a marker of OS. We observed in the multivariate analysis of the whole sample that depressive symptoms (measured with CES-D scale) were the only psychological variable significantly associated (positively) with 8-OHdG. In addition, the following sociodemographic variables were associated with 8-OHdG: age, schooling (positively correlated), and the frequency of vitamins/antioxidant consumption (negatively correlated). The biochemical variables of erythrocytes in urine and amylase were positively correlated with 8-OHdG, while glucose was negatively correlated with it. Additional biochemical variables were associated in the multivariate analysis of each sex, including the positive correlation of LDL-cholesterol, LDH enzyme, lymphocytes, and the negative correlation of phosphorus and eosinophils in women's samples, as well as the positive correlation of potassium, uric acid, and leucocytes in urine and the negative correlation of erythrocytes and lipase in the men's samples. In conclusion, depression was the only psychological variable positively correlated with 8-OHdG after adjusting for confounders, and new associations with biochemical variables were found with some differences between sexes.

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Hypertension is one of the main risk factors related to cardiovascular mortality, being the levels of blood pressure (BP) related to a variety of personal, anthropometric, biochemical and psychological variables; however, the study evaluating the association of all these factors in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in a sample of relatively healthy subjects has not been performed. The aim of the study was to determine the main variables associated with SBP and DPB in a sample of relatively healthy subjects. A total of 171 participants were included, in which personal, anthropometric, positive and negative psychological variables and biochemical variables were measured. We observed that men showed higher levels of SBP and DBP than women, with more differences for SBP. Among the biochemical factors and SBP, we found that albumin and monocytes were positively correlated with it, while potassium, phosphorus and eosinophils were negatively correlated with it. Additionally, schooling was a constant variable negatively correlated with SBP in all samples (global, men and women). Among psychological variables, we observed that emotional perception was negatively correlated with SBP in men's and women's samples, while autonomy was positively correlated with SBP in the men's sample; however, their association was less when compared with the personal and biochemical variables included in the multivariate model. With regard to DBP, we observed that the biochemical variables, hemoglobin, sodium, uric acid and glucose, were positively correlated with DBP in the global sample, while chloride and BUN were negatively correlated with it. In addition, many personal and behavioral variables, including BMI, age and smoking consumption frequency, also correlated with DBP in the global sample. In conclusion, BP is affected by different factors, and these affect each sex differently.

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Dyslipidemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality; however, the association of this variable with a wide range of personal and psychological variables has not been researched. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare lipid levels and anthropometric measures between sexes and to determine the association between personal and psychological variables with the atherogenic risk index (ARI). An adult population which auto-reported as healthy was invited to participate via social media and in person. They filled out a questionnaire with personal and psychological variables; in addition, the body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were measured, and a blood sample was obtained to determine serum lipids. A total of 172 participants were included, from which 92 (53.49%) were women; both sexes were comparable in age and most sociodemographic values. Men showed significantly higher levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, ARI, and lower levels of HDL cholesterol. The men also showed higher values of WHR than the women. In the bivariate analysis, ARI showed the highest correlation with WHR (r = 0.664) in the men and with BMI (r = 0.619) in the women. In the multivariate analysis, the quality of food intake was negatively correlated with ARI in the global and women's samples, and the psychological variables of assertiveness and positive relations with others were negatively correlated with ARI in women, while purpose in life was negatively correlated with ARI in men. In conclusion, the higher levels of serum lipids and ARI in men can be explained by the higher values of WHR in this sex. Behavioral and psychological variables could be protective factors for high ARI.

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In the last decades, it has been shown that inflammatory processes play a role in the development of mental and physical problems; although some studies have researched the relationship between inflammation and psychological variables, the inclusion of biochemical variables as possible confounders has been limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether psychological variables are associated with the inflammatory marker, highly sensitive CRP (hs-CRP), after controlling for personal and biochemical variables in the Mexican population. The study was performed at the University of Guadalajara facilities, during the second half of 2022. Healthy subjects were invited to participate in the study, which consisted of the measurement of personal, psychological, and biochemical variables. We included 172 participants, 92 (52.9%) of which were women; the median (range) of age of the whole sample was 22 (18-69) years old. In the bivariate analysis, significant positive correlations were observed between hs-CRP and body mass index (BMI) and waist/hip ratio (WHR) in both sexes, together with leukocytes, uric acid, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, and the liver enzymes gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). In the multivariate regression analysis of the global and men's samples, anxiety was positively associated with hs-CRP, while depression and positive relations with others were negatively associated with hs-CRP. In conclusion, psychological variables influence inflammation mainly in men, and anxiety was the main contributor; in addition, positive relation with others is a variable that should be further explored as a psychological protector of inflammation in both sexes.

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The factorial reduction of Brief COPE has not been successfully replicated by independent studies, and few have been performed in Spanish-speaking populations; therefore, the objective of this study was to perform a factorial reduction of the instrument in a large sample of the Mexican population and perform a convergent and divergent validity of the factors obtained. We distributed a questionnaire via social networks with sociodemographic and psychological variables, including the Brief COPE and the scales of the CPSS, GAD-7, and CES-D to measure stress, anxiety, and depression. A total of 1283 persons were included, most of whom (64.8%) were women and had a bachelor's degree (55.2%). After performing the exploratory factorial analysis, we did not find a model with an adequate fit and a reduced number of factors; therefore, we decided to reduce the number of items according to the most representative ones of adaptive, maladaptive, and emotional coping strategies. The resulting model with three factors showed good fit parameters and good internal consistency of the factors. In addition, the nature and naming of the factors were confirmed by convergent and divergent validity, with significant negative correlations between factor 1 (active/adaptive) and stress, depression, and anxiety, significant positive correlations between factor 2 (avoidant/maladaptive) and these three variables, and no significant correlation between factor 3 (emotional/neutral) and stress or depression. This shortened version of the brief COPE (Mini-COPE) is a good option to evaluate adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies in Spanish-speaking populations.

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Early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) is an autosomal dominantly inherited disease, in which a founder effect has been described for A431E mutation in the PSEN1 gene, with most of the affected patients being residents of a small town in the state of Jalisco in Mexico. To date, no studies have been performed in order to know the impact of the disease on this population. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the perceptions in the knowledge, the impact of the disease and the intention to take the predictive genetic testing in the population at genetic risk of Jalisco. For this objective, we performed a mixed study that included a qualitative methodology (semi-structured interviews), and, in addition, we measured suicidal ideation, stress and depression with quantitative instruments in order to compare them with a control group. Of the 28 invited individuals, 9 accepted to participate, from which, 5 (55.56%) participants did not know their genetic risk to develop the disease and 5 (55.56%) would want to take the predictive genetic testing in order to be prepared to face the disease; however, among those who did not want to know, 2 individuals (22.22%) mentioned that they would consider suicide if they were positive for the pathogenic variant. On the impact of the disease, we detected that the adaptation to the familiar's needs was the most frequent answer, including changes in their lifestyle (being responsible since very young, changes in social life and familiar dynamic), this being their main stressor, followed by changes in plans for the future and contemplating the possibility of being affected. Although no differences in stress and depression between groups were observed, we detected that suicidal ideation was significantly higher in the group of cases. These results highlight the importance to involve all the family in genetic counseling in order to clarify any doubts and also to attend to them psychologically to prevent suicidal ideation and attempts.

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Suicide is considered a public health problem that affects families worldwide. Family functioning is the capability of the family system to fulfill needs during the stages of its development. In this study, we focused on evaluating family cohesion and adaptability in a group of adolescents who had attempted suicide and were hospitalized at a hospital for mental health disorders, compared to a control group. Methods: based on Olson's circumplex model, we used the FACES III scale to gain insights into the family functioning of both suicidal and control groups. Results: The case group presented lower scores in cohesion and adaptability compared to the control group, with moderate effect-size for cohesion (Cohen's d/r test = 1.217/0.52) and low effect-size for adaptability (Cohen's d/r test = 0.746/0.35) (p < 0.001 for both variables), and also presented predominantly disengaged families (72.5% in the case group vs. 27.5% in the control group) and structured families (45% in the case group vs. 23.8% in the control group). The type of family described by the adolescents with a history of suicide attempts may explain the presence of low self-esteem and little emotional support usually present in this type of patient.

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We performed a cross-sectional study in order to determine the association between stress coping strategies and stress, depression, and anxiety, in which the Mexican population was invited to answer these variables by an electronic questionnaire. A total of 1283 people were included, of which 64.8% were women. Women presented higher levels of stress, depression, and anxiety than men; likewise, women showed a higher frequency of some maladaptive coping strategies (behavioral disengagement and denial) and lower levels of some adaptive ones (active coping and planning); additionally, maladaptive coping strategies were positively correlated with stress and depression in both sexes: self-blame, behavioral disengagement, denial, substance use, and self-distraction. Likewise, there were negative correlations between stress and depression and the adaptive strategies: planning, active coping, acceptance, and positive reframing. For women, religion presented negative correlations with stress, depression, and anxiety, and humor showed low positive correlations with stress, anxiety, and depression. In conclusion, most adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies are common in both sexes with the exception of religion, which seems to be adaptive in women and neutral in men, and humor, which seems to be adaptive in men and maladaptive in women. In addition, emotional and instrumental support seem to be neutral in both sexes.