The health benefits of physical activities for children and adolescents are numerous and widely documented. While the World Health Organization recommendations for physical activity are clear, only 27 to 33% of children and adolescents worldwide achieve them. Belgium is no exception, with a very low percentage of children and adolescents having adequate levels of physical activity. In addition to various mental and physical health benefits of nature, the outside environment can play a role in promoting physical activities. Children and adolescents in contact with green spaces reportedly have higher levels of physical activity and less sedentary habits. In the outdoor environment, children exercise more intensively and spontaneously. Outdoor physical activities are likely to have a positive impact on young people’s health and general physical activity levels. Getting children outside more often and reconnecting them to nature can play an interesting role in the health of future generations.
This seminar summary is partly based on the work of Prof. Senn from the University Center for General Medicine and the research team from the University Center for General Medicine, University of Lausanne. Its purpose is to develop the notion of co-benefit for health and the environment. The latter is defined as the simultaneous impact on health and the environment of everyday choices and changes that people can undertake in their own lives (e.g. dietary or mobility choices). Rather than being a theoretical, abstract notion, it can be integrated into our daily practice, as illustrated by the clinical vignette presented in this article.
Three great challenges are having a huge impact on health: major health inequalities, insufficient recognition of the socio-economic determinants of health, and an ageing population. Despite these well-known realities, our institutions remain focused on curative care based on a negative definition of health (absence of disease). The concept of positive health defines health as the ability to adapt and gain control when facing life’s social, physical, and emotional challenges. With its six dimensions (physical function, mental well-being, meaning of life, quality of life, social participation, and daily functioning), it offers an alternative, global vision of health. This unifying concept encourages the commitment of all players (schools, local authorities, town planners, social services, associations, healthcare professionals, etc.) in concrete projects, some of which have already proved their worth. A few examples are described here.
The ecological transition is underway: This movement supporting the evolution towards a new model of society that embraces sustainability and solidarity calls into question our current healthcare system in particular. General medicine is also called upon to make this transition. This article highlights the concrete initiatives that have been put in place to educate, inform, and act in favor of planetary health at the front-line level. This article was presented during the “Teach the Teacher: Challenges and Perspectives” program on October 3, 2022, as part of the “University in Transition”.
Global crises related to environmental changes are undermining healthcare structures. Yet, the medical practice itself contributes to this situation by responding to a logic of consumption and by indiscriminately generating pollution. To what extent are these behaviors counterproductive by contributing to a global evil? A medical ethic for the future, which would integrate environmental care into the prerogatives of medical practice, seems necessary.
This ethic already exists and is embodied in what for decades has been referred to as “bioethics”. Van Rensselaer Potter considered this discipline to be a necessary wisdom for the use of techniques and knowledge specific to the life sciences, and Fritz Jahr saw it as a moral obligation towards all living beings. However, it is the most pragmatic but also the most individualistic application proposed by André Helleghers and, following him, Beauchamp and Childress that has been retained and widely applicated.
Venous thrombotic events (deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) represent a major complication among hospitalized patients. For a long time, venous thromboembolism (VTE) was the focus of attention during surgical procedures. Today, however, it is among patients admitted for acute or chronic medical conditions that VTE is increasingly raising concerns and interest.
The incidence of VTE in medical patients, its lack of consideration, and insufficient prevention cannot be ignored. Systematic and rigorous assessment of the thrombotic risk in all admitted medical patients and consequent monitoring during their stay is a priority.
While low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) have established themselves as the reference preventive antithrombotic agents, including in medical patients, the pentasaccharide fondaparinux (Arixtra®) represents an attractive alternative.
The properties of this synthetic molecule and its validation in clinical studies should make this anticoagulant a preferred alternative or a first-line agent for VTE prevention in medical patients.
Several new vaccines have recently been developed, some of which are now available on the Belgian market. This article presents an overview of new vaccines against pneumococcus, respiratory syncitial virus, influenza, shingles and dengue fever.
Vaccine advances against malaria are also discussed.
Caroline Vincent (1), Thalia de Ruffi (1), Wolfgang Schuller (2), Denis Hers (3), Anne Toussaint (3)Published in the journal : December 2023Category : Psychiatrie
We hereby report on the case of a 40-year-old patient who used elemental mercury for suicidal purposes by voluntary ingestion of approximately 100 mL. We describe this unusual form of suicide attempt and present the different short- and long-term consequences. We emphasize the need for caretakers to anticipate the collection of disposed mercury, in order to avoid environmental polluting and associated consequences. We also mention the importance of collaboration between somatic physicians and psychiatrists to limit institutional consequences.
Claire Mairiaux (1), Sylvain Dal (2)Published in the journal : December 2023Category : Psychiatrie
Despite the popularization of the mechanisms of psychological trauma and vulgarization of related concepts, this article suggests a form of invisibilization of post-traumatic pathologies and the secondary insufficiency of their management. This article presents different explanations for this invisibilization, as well as concrete avenues for treatment.
Bastien Tossens (1)*, Romane Ponthot (1)*, Sofia Maldonado Slootjes (2), Damien Gruson (1), Vincent Haufroid (1), Joseph P. Dewulf (1), Kevin-Alexandre Delongie (1), Guillaume Grzych (3), Lidvine Boland (1)Published in the journal : December 2023Category : Biochimie médicale
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an anesthetic gas, also consumed for its euphoric properties, which can cause serious health problems. In this report, we present the case of a 23-year-old man who has been regularly consuming this gas since 2018, with a progressive intensification of his consumption, leading to subacute myeloneuropathy. Given a similar context, a previous diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome in 2021 is questioned. We review the laboratory tests to be performed in the management of a patient presenting motor and sensory neuropathies associated with N2O consumption, namely homocysteine and methylmalonic acid (MMA) assays.
