F Granderath | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

[Obesity--an interdisciplinary task].

In industrial nations, over the last five decades conditions concerning nutrition and physical exercise as well as socio-economic circumstances have changed radically. One of the consequences following from this development has been a rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity. Studies have shown that currently 20 percent of the German adult population suffer from obesity. Investigations into the etiology of obesity have to address complex interactions between genetic, socio-economic and psychosocial factors. A year ago, at the University Hospital Tübingen different departments joined to set up the "Plattform Adipositas". Endocrinologists, obesity surgeons, professionals in sports medicine and psychosomatic medicine as well as dieticians are collaborating to develop scientifically based therapy programs and treatment pathways for obese patients. The following article gives an account of this exemplary interdisciplinary cooperation.

Germany↗

PubMed2003

Laparoscopic antireflux surgery: disease-related quality of life assessment before and after surgery in GERD patients with and without Barrett's esophagus.

BACKGROUND: Several findings suggest that gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. The aim of this prospective study was (a) to evaluate and compare quality-of-life data before and after laparoscopic antireflux surgery (LARS) in GERD patients with and without Barrett's esophagus (BE); and (b) to compare quality-of-life data of these patients to normative data for a comparable general population. METHODS: The Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) was administrated to 75 BE patients and to 174 patients with GERD without BE (Savary-Miller classification: grade 1: n = 49; grade 2: n = 69; grade 3: n = 56). The questionnaire was given to all patients preoperatively, 3months, 1 year, and 3 years after laparoscopic "floppy" Nissen fundoplication. RESULTS: Before surgery, BE patients (mean: 96.8 +/- 9.3 points) had a better but not significant (p<0.06) general score of the GIQLI when compared with patients without BE (mean: 86.4 +/- 10.1 points). This difference is solely based on the subdimension "gastrointestinal symptoms" which means that GERD symptoms are less intensively and frequently recognized in BE patients than in patients without BE. There are no other differences in the other four subdimensions of the GIQLI between both groups. Three months, 1 year, and 3 years after LARS, GIQLI was significantly (p<0.01) improved in both groups (BE patients mean after 3 years: 121.9 +/- 8.2 points; non-BE patients mean after 3 years: 122.8 +/- 9.3 points). This improvement was significantly better (p<0.05) in patients without BE than in BE patients. Before surgery, both groups scored significantly below average on all subscores of GIQLI compared to general population (mean: 122.6 +/- 8.5 points). After surgery, there are no differences detectable. CONCLUSION: As our data show, non-BE patients undergoing LARS achieve a better quality-of-life improvement than those patients with BE. However, after surgery GIQLI of both groups is comparable to the mean value of general population. This means that LARS is able to improve quality of life significantly in all GERD patients, with and without BE.

Barrett Esophagus↗