From the boom to the crisis: changes in employment conditions of immigrants in Spain and their effects on mental health

Background: Migrant workers have been one of the groups most affected by the economic crisis. This study evaluates the influence of changes in employment conditions on the incidence of poor mental health of immigrant workers in Spain, after a period of 3 years, in context of economic crisis. Methods: Follow-up survey was conducted at two time points, 2008 and 2011, with a reference population of 318 workers from Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco and Romania residing in Spain. Individuals from this population who reported good mental health in the 2008 survey (n = 214) were interviewed again in 2011 to evaluate their mental health status and the effects of their different employment situations since 2008 by calculating crude and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for sociodemographic and employment characteristics. Findings: There was an increased risk of poor mental health in workers who lost their jobs (aOR = 3.62, 95%CI: 1.64–7.96), whose number of working hours increased (aOR = 2.35, 95%CI: 1.02–5.44), whose monthly income decreased (aOR = 2.75, 95%CI: 1.08–7.00) or who remained within the low-income bracket. This was also the case for people whose legal status (permission for working and residing in Spain) was temporary or permanent compared with those with Spanish nationality (aOR = 3.32, 95%CI: 1.15–9.58) or illegal (aOR = 17.34, 95%CI: 1.96–153.23). In contrast, a decreased risk was observed among those who attained their registration under Spanish Social Security system (aOR = 0.10, 95%CI: 0.02–0.48). Conclusion: There was an increase in poor mental health among immigrant workers who experienced deterioration in their employment conditions, probably influenced by the economic crisis.

Effects of follicular versus luteal phase-based strength training in young women

Hormonal variations during the menstrual cycle (MC) may influence trainability of strength. We investigated the effects of a follicular phase-based strength training (FT) on muscle strength, muscle volume and microscopic parameters, comparing it to a luteal phase-based training (LT). Eumenorrheic women without oral contraception (OC) (N = 20, age: 25.9 ± 4.5 yr, height: 164.2 ± 5.5 cm, weight: 60.6 ± 7.8 kg) completed strength training on a leg press for three MC, and 9 of them participated in muscle biopsies. One leg had eight training sessions in the follicular phases (FP) and only two sessions in the luteal phases (LP) for follicular phase-based training (FT), while the other leg had eight training sessions in LP and only two sessions in FP for luteal phase-based training (LT). Estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), total testosterone (T), free testosterone (free T) and DHEA-s were analysed once during FP (around day 11) and once during LP (around day 25). Maximum isometric force (Fmax), muscle diameter (Mdm), muscle fibre composition (No), fibre diameter (Fdm) and cell nuclei-to-fibre ratio (N/F) were analysed before and after the training intervention. T and free T were higher in FP compared to LP prior to the training intervention (P < 0.05). The increase in Fmax after FT was higher compared to LT (P <0.05). FT also showed a higher increase in Mdm than LT (P < 0.05). Moreover, we found significant increases in Fdm of fibre type ΙΙ and in N/F only after FT; however, there was no significant difference from LT. With regard to change in fibre composition, no differences were observed between FT and LT. FT showed a higher gain in muscle strength and muscle diameter than LT. As a result, we recommend that eumenorrheic females without OC should base the periodization of their strength training on their individual MC.

Changes in the Photoreceptor Mosaic of P23H-1 Rats During Retinal Degeneration: Implications for Rod-Cone Dependent Survival

Purpose. To investigate the spatiotemporal relationship between rod and cone degeneration in the P23H-1 rat. Methods. Control Sprague-Dawley (SD) and P23H-1 rats of ages ranging from P30 to P365 were used. Retinas were processed for whole mounts or cross sections and rods and cones were immunodetected. We used newly developed image analysis techniques to quantify the total population of L/M cones (the most abundant cones in the rat) and analyzed the rings of rod-cone degeneration. Results. In P23H-1 rats, rod degeneration occurs rapidly: first the rod outer segment shortens, at P30 there is extensive rod loss, and by P180 rod loss is almost complete except for the most peripheral retina. The numbers of L/M cones are, at all postnatal ages, lower in P23H-1 rats than in control SD rats, and decrease significantly with age (by P180). Rod and cone degeneration is spatiotemporally related and occurs in rings that appear already at P90 and spread throughout the entire retina. At P180, the rings of rod-cone degeneration are more abundant in the equatorial retina and are larger in the dorsal retina. Conclusions. This work describes for the first time that in the P23H-1 rat, rod and cone degeneration is spatiotemporally related and occurs in rings. Cone loss follows rod loss and starts very soon, even before P30, the first age analyzed here. The characteristics of the rings suggest that secondary cone degeneration is influenced by retinal position and/or other intrinsic or extrinsic factors.