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Front Psychiatry 2022 1;13:942692. Epub 2022 Aug 1.

Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.

Objectives: The consequences of long-lasting restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have become a topical question in the latest research. The present study aims to analyze longitudinal changes in adolescents' social emotional skills, resilience, and behavioral problems. Moreover, the study addresses the impact of adolescents' social emotional learning on changes in their resilience and behavioral problems over the course of seven months of the pandemic. Read More

BMC Neurol 2022 Aug 17;22(1):301. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland.

Background: Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) is a subtype of multiple sclerosis (MS), which is a chronic neurological disease, characterised by inflammation of the central nervous system. Most of MS patients eventually progress to SPMS. This study estimates the prevalence of SPMS in the United States of America, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Brazil. Read More

J Am Soc Nephrol 2022 Aug 17. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Section of Nephrology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.

Background: CKD is more prevalent in women, but more men receive kidney replacement therapy for kidney failure. This apparent contradiction is not well understood.

Methods: We investigated sex differences in the loss of kidney function and whether any sex disparities could be explained by comorbidity or CKD risk factors. Read More

JAMA Health Forum 2021 Jul 30;2(7):e211749. Epub 2021 Jul 30.

Transport, Health and Urban Design Research Lab (THUD), Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

Importance: Countries have varied enormously in how they have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from elimination strategies (eg, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan) to tight suppression (not aiming for elimination but rather to keep infection rates low [eg, South Korea]) to loose suppression (eg, Europe, United States) to virtually unmitigated (eg, Brazil, India). Weighing the best option, based on health and economic consequences due to lockdowns, is necessary.

Objective: To determine the optimal policy response, using a net monetary benefit (NMB) approach, for policies ranging from aggressive elimination and moderate elimination to tight suppression (aiming for 1-5 cases per million per day) and loose suppression (5-25 cases per million per day). Read More

PLoS One 2022 17;17(8):e0268332. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States of America.

Motivated by several possible differences in Covid-19 virus strains, age demographics, and face mask wearing between continents and countries, we focussed on changes in Covid death rates in 2020. We have extended our Covid-19 multicompartment model (Khan et al., 2020) to fit cumulative case and death data for 49 European countries and 52 US states and territories during the recent pandemic, and found that the case mortality rate had decreased by at least 80% in most of the US and at least 90% in most of Europe. Read More

Acta Microbiol Immunol Hung 2022 Aug 16. Epub 2022 Aug 16.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.

In this study, the age-related seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection was investigated in the population in South-Transdanubia, Southwest Hungary (Central Europe) between years 2010 and 2020. Up to the age of 40, the HAV seropositivity was less than 18% in all age groups indicating a low level of HAV endemicity in this part of the country in the covered study period. The HAV seropositivity started to increase at the age group 41-45 years, reaching the ∼50% at age group 56-60, and 75-80% at age group 66-70, respectively. Read More

Praxis (Bern 1994) 2022 Aug;111(11):612-617

Pfyn, Schweiz.

Polypharmacy and Neuroleptics in Swiss Nursing Homes in the Years 2019 and 2020 We present data from 92404 clinical assessments from 619 Swiss nursing homes . The data were collected in 2019 and 2020 from over 65-year-old residents. Two-thirds of those studied had severe cognitive limitations, one quarter had significant behavioral disorders and just over half of the assessed patients showed signs of emotional instability or depression. Read More

Transp Policy (Oxf) 2022 Sep 20;126:188-198. Epub 2022 Jul 20.

Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818, Warsaw, Poland.

The purpose of the paper is to show how the national border closures within the EU-27 have an impact on changes in potential accessibility in individual transport at the NUTS3 level. We are referring to the situation that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Europe in March 2020. The study distinguishes between long and short trips, comparing the situation before the pandemic with that after the complete closure of national borders by all EU countries, thus showing which areas of the EU will suffer from accessibility losses for both long and short trips. Read More

BMC Med Res Methodol 2022 Aug 16;22(1):229. Epub 2022 Aug 16.

Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

An increasing number of large-scale multi-modal research initiatives has been conducted in the typically developing population, e.g. Dev. Read More

Eur J Surg Oncol 2022 Aug 11. Epub 2022 Aug 11.

Department of Urology, Hôpital Erasme, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Urology, Institut Jules Bordet, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; Urology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, Tor Vergata University Hospital, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.

Background: Robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) with intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) is surging worldwide. Aim of the study was to perform a multicentric cost-analysis of RARC by comparing the gross cost of the intervention across hospitals in four different European countries.

Methods: Patients who underwent RARC + ICUD were recruited from eleven European centers in four European countries (Belgium, France, Netherlands, and UK) between 2015 and 2020. Read More

PLoS One 2022 15;17(8):e0270263. Epub 2022 Aug 15.

Department of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Drug-related problems (DRPs) in a pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinic (AC) have not been extensively studied. We aimed to characterize the DRPs in a pharmacist-managed AC, identify the factors associated with the solved status of DRPs, and analyze the secondary outcomes, including the safety and efficacy of AC service. The patients receiving services at a pharmacist-managed AC in a medical center for the first time from March 2019 to August 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. Read More

JMIR Form Res 2022 Aug 15. Epub 2022 Aug 15.

Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, BOSTON, US.

Background: With the increased popularity of mobile menstrual tracking applications and boosted Facebook posts, there is a unique opportunity to recruit research study participants from across the globe via these modalities to evaluate women's health. However, no studies to date have assessed the feasibility of using these recruitment sources for epidemiological research on ovulation and menstruation.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of recruiting a diverse sample of women into an epidemiological study of ovulation and menstruation health (OM Global Health Study) using digital recruitment sources. Read More

Front Public Health 2022 28;10:856825. Epub 2022 Jul 28.

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.

Background: Social distancing has been implemented by many countries to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding public support for this policy calls for effective and efficient methods of monitoring public opinion on social distancing. Twitter analysis has been suggested as a cheaper and faster-responding alternative to traditional survey methods. Read More

J Prev Med Hyg 2022 Jun 31;63(2):E201-E207. Epub 2022 Jul 31.

Center for Health Economics, Social and Health Care Management, Università Carlo Cattaneo - LIUC, Castellanza, Italy.

Introduction: The objective of the analysis is to investigate whether there is a correlation between deaths occurred within nursing homes in Lombardy Region and those related to the whole elderly population residing in the municipalities of their location at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The analysis considered a sample of 17 nursing homes belonging to the same legal entity (with a total of 2,197 beds). The changes occurred in the trend of deaths in 2020 between January the 1 and February the 20, and between February the 21 and April the 4, compared with the average number of deaths occurred in the same time intervals of the previous three-year period (2017-2019) were investigated. Read More

J Prev Med Hyg 2022 Jun 31;63(2):E270-E281. Epub 2022 Jul 31.

Sezione di Igiene, Dipartimento Universitario di Scienze della Vita e Sanità Pubblica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italia.

Introduction: Preconception health is a public health issue, concerning aspects that could have repercussions on pregnancy outcomes. Despite the importance, often there is a lack of knowledge, particularly among young women. This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and health status of young women regarding preconception health in the Italian context. Read More

J Prev Med Hyg 2022 Jun 31;63(2):E331-E343. Epub 2022 Jul 31.

Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy.

Introduction: Due to the impact on the public health systems of the ageing and the increasing frailty of the population, the European Union and the World Health Organisation have emphasised how family and community nurses (FCNs) could play an important role in supporting the ageing process through prevention, promotion, and protection in the territory.

Methods: This study describes the first experience in Italy of a one-year postgraduate blended-learning master course divided into 5 modules for FCNs piloted as part of the EuropeaN curriculum for fAmily aNd Community nursE (ENhANCE) 2018-2020 project, funded by the European Commission. The 5 modules focused on: Epidemiology and Prevention (14 ECTS); Fundamentals of care (19 ECTS); Organisational Models and Priority Health Problems (12 ECTS); Communication Models and Continuity of Care (5 ECTS); and Nursing Research (10 ECTS). Read More

Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022 9;13(2):2105577. Epub 2022 Aug 9.

Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been reported to be experiencing a deterioration in their mental health due to COVID-19. In addition, ethnic minority populations in the United Kingdom are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. It is imperative that HCWs are appropriately supported and protected from mental harm during the pandemic. Read More

Int J Disaster Risk Reduct 2022 Aug 8:103206. Epub 2022 Aug 8.

Department of Geography & Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK.

Do partisan preferences, the electoral system, checks on government, political fragmentation, civil liberties and trust contribute to explaining the stringency of containment policies in European countries? Empirical studies suggest that political science theories have helped very little in understanding European democracies' political response to the pandemic's first wave. We argue in this article that the negligible effect of politics, broadly defined, is confined to the first wave and that during subsequent waves over the autumn 2020 to spring 2021 season some of the above political factors contribute to our understanding of variation in countries' response. Employing a sample of 26 European democracies analyzing daily data on the stringency of adopted containment policies we provide evidence that politics does not matter during the first wave but is substantively important during later waves. Read More

Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2022 Oct 15;380(2233):20210302. Epub 2022 Aug 15.

The Big Data Institute and the Pandemic Sciences Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK.

One of the difficulties in monitoring an ongoing pandemic is deciding on the metric that best describes its status when multiple intercorrelated measurements are available. Having a single measure, such as the effective reproduction number [Formula: see text], has been a simple and useful metric for tracking the epidemic and for imposing policy interventions to curb the increase when [Formula: see text]. While [Formula: see text] is easy to interpret in a fully susceptible population, it is more difficult to interpret for a population with heterogeneous prior immunity, e. Read More

Mol Ecol 2022 Jul 29. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Büsum, Germany.

Long-lived top predators shape biodiversity structure in their ecosystems and predator-prey interactions are critical in decoding how communities function. Studies on the foraging ecology of seals and Eurasian otters in Western Europe are outdated and most studies solely performed traditional hard part analysis. Molecular metabarcoding can be used as an innovative noninvasive diet analysis tool, which has proven efficient and complementary to hard part analysis, however, lacking application in the wider North Sea area. Read More

Genome Med 2022 Aug 12;14(1):90. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Armenise/Harvard Laboratory of Integrative Genomics, Pozzuoli, Italy.

Background: Genomic surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the only approach to rapidly monitor and tackle emerging variants of concern (VOC) of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such scrutiny is crucial to limit the spread of VOC that might escape the immune protection conferred by vaccination strategies or previous virus exposure. It is also becoming clear now that efficient genomic surveillance would require monitoring of the host gene expression to identify prognostic biomarkers of treatment efficacy and disease progression. Read More

Br Dent J 2022 08 12;233(3):232-233. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

Professor, Oral Diagnostic Sciences, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Buffalo, New York, USA.

In January 2019, the United States National Academy of Medicine initiated a comprehensive study of the status of current knowledge and clinical practices associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). The National Academy of Sciences, which includes the National Academy of Medicine, was chartered by the US Government in the late 1800s as a non-profit institution working outside of government in order to provide unbiased, objective opinions on matters including healthcare. In this brief paper, we will discuss the open access 2020 report Temporomandibular disorders: priorities for research and care, available online. Read More

JMIR Res Protoc 2022 Aug 10. Epub 2022 Aug 10.

University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Eagle HouseWalton Well Road, Oxford, GB.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) commonly causes lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and hospitalisation in children. In 2019-2020, the Europe-wide RSV ComNet standardised study protocol was developed to measure the clinical and socio-economic disease burden of RSV infections amongst children <5 years of age in primary care. RSV has a recognised seasonality in England. Read More

PLoS One 2022 12;17(8):e0272518. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

Private Practice, Pully, Switzerland.

Aims Of The Study: Since 2014, the Swiss Hepatitis Strategy (SHS) has targeted the elimination of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in Switzerland. The epidemiology of HCV is diverse across Swiss cantons, therefore cantonal-level screening and treatment strategies should be developed. This study aimed to identify scenarios to achieve HCV elimination in the canton of Bern by 2030. Read More

Probl Sotsialnoi Gig Zdravookhranenniiai Istor Med 2022 Jul;30(4):543-547

N. A. Semashko National Research Institute of Public Health, 105064, Moscow, Russia.

The actuality of demographic research is permanently at high level both in Russia and in the world. The purpose of the study is to establish placement of studies and researchers in Russia on the world map of demographic science. The scientometric analysis was applied to the base of international quoting Scopus (Elsevier). Read More

Dan Med J 2022 Jul 6;69(8). Epub 2022 Jul 6.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Odense University Hospital, Denmark.

Introduction: During the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark in March 2020, the trauma Accidents and Emergency (A and E) Department of Odense University Hospital, Denmark, experienced a marked decline in visits. We had the impression that the decline in visits for non-severe injuries was larger than that for severe injuries.

Methods: We analysed the incident rate ratio (IRR) between the first month of the lockdown with the IRR recorded in the month leading up to the lockdown. Read More

Euro Surveill 2022 Aug;27(32)

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.

BackgroundInfections with seasonally spreading coronaviruses are common among young children during winter months in the northern hemisphere; the immunological response lasts around a year. However, it is not clear if living with young children changes the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among adults.AimOur aim was to investigate the association between living in a household with younger children and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections and hospitalisation. Read More

East Mediterr Health J 2022 Jul 31;28(7):469-477. Epub 2022 Jul 31.

World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the delivery of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) services globally as health systems are overwhelmed by the response to the pandemic.

Aims: The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean conducted an assessment to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on NCD-related services, programmes, funding and consideration of NCDs in COVID-19 response.

Methods: Data were collected from countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) in mid-2020 through a web-based questionnaire on NCD services-related infrastructure, policies and plans, staffing, funding, NCD services disruptions and their causes, disruption mitigation strategies, data collection on comorbidity, surveillance, and suggestions for WHO technical guidance. Read More

Int J Technol Assess Health Care 2022 Jun 23;38(1):e52. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Department of Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Health technology assessment (HTA) aims, through empirical analysis, to shed light on the value of health technologies (O'Rourke et al. [2020, 36, 187-90]). HTA is, then, where facts and values meet. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022 22;13:948716. Epub 2022 Jul 22.

Obstetric Service, Department Woman-Mother-Child, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with worsened metabolic and mental health in the general and perinatal population. The postpartum is a critical moment regarding these outcomes particularly in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We investigated the cardio-metabolic and mental health outcomes before and during the pandemic in this population. Read More