Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene最新文献

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. This disease is the fourth most common malignancy in Iran. Since knowing the trend of this cancer is necessary for planning; this study aimed to compare the trend of colorectal cancer before and after implementing the Population-Based National Cancer Registry.

Methods: In this time series analysis using secondary data, the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) was used to predict the future trend. An Interrupted Time Series (ITS) regression model was also used to compare the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer before and after the setting up of the Iranian National Population-Based Cancer Registry (INPCR).

Results: Among Iranian men, an increasing trend in the incidence (from 16.8 in 2019 to 19.5 per 100,000 in 2027) and deaths of colorectal cancer for the coming years was predicted (from 10.2 in 2019 to 11.2 per 100,000 in 2027). A similar pattern was also observed for the incidence of this cancer among females (from 11 in 2019 to 12.3 per 100,000 in 2027), but a reverse pattern was predicted for the trend of deaths among women (from 2.06 in 2019 to 1.93 per 100,000 in 2027). During the years after the implementation of the INPCR, the trend of cases (β: 0.33, p < 0.001) as well as deaths due to colorectal cancer was significantly increasing (β: 0.08, p < 0.001) among the Iranian population.

Conclusions: Probably, part of the increase in the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer could be due to the improvement of the registration and reporting system of new cancer cases.

Background: Colorectal cancer poses a major global health threat, with increasing incidence and mortality rates worldwide. This study examined the incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer globally in 2020 and explored the relationship with the Human Development Index (HDI).

Material and methods: This research utilizes data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) GLOBOCAN 2020 project, an esteemed source of up-to-date international cancer statistics. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASIR) and age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) per 100,000 individuals were calculated. The association between ASIR, ASMR, and the HDI was analyzed using Pearson correlation, considering a statistical significance threshold of p < 0.05.

Results: In 2020, a total of 1,931,590 new colorectal cancer cases were recorded globally, with a male predominance of 55.18%. The global colorectal cancer ASIR was 19.5 per 100,000 (23.4 in males, 16.2 in females). Furthermore, there were 935,173 colorectal cancer-related mortality, with males accounting for 55.13%. The overall colorectal cancer ASMR was 9 (11 in males, 7.2 in females). A strong positive correlation emerged between ASIR and ASMR (0.895, p ≤ 0.001), HDI (0.794, p ≤ 0.001), life expectancy (0.724, p ≤ 0.001), education (0.743, p ≤ 0.001), and income (0.706, p ≤ 0.001). Similarly, positive correlations were also found between ASMR and HDI (0.638, p ≤ 0.001), life expectancy (0.569, p ≤ 0.001), education (0.631, p ≤ 0.001), and income (0.512, p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusions: This global analysis highlights rising colorectal cancer incidence and mortality as a major public health threat worldwide. The findings reveal a positive association between a country's development level, as measured by HDI, and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality.

Introduction: Dengue is a vector-borne viral disease that causes a million of cases every year (including deaths). A tetravalent live-attenuated virus vaccine is available for this infection. The aim of our work was to study vaccine acceptance, attitudes and behaviors among travelers heading to areas with risk of dengue.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in February-April 2024 at the Travel Medicine Clinic of Rozzano (Italy), focusing on travelers directed to areas with risk of dengue. We collected the following information anonymously: travel destination, reason for travel, date/month of departure, length of stay, and accepted/refused vaccinations.

Results: 58 travelers were included in our study and they chose 23 countries for their travel with a mean length of stay of 16.98 days. Five (8.62%) refused dengue vaccination because they considered the vaccination not necessary (80%), or for its cost (20%). There was no statistically significant difference between men and women in vaccination acceptance. Age and length of stay did not influence the percentage of refusals.

Conclusions: Although the results are limited by the small number of travelers, they highlighted the problem of vaccine hesitancy among travelers, and further efforts are needed to address this phenomenon.

Introduction: Tobacco consumption is one of the most significant avoidable health risks and cause of premature death globally. Smoking in the workplace represents a potential combination of health risks due to the interactions of tobacco use and professional exposure. Occupational Health Professionals can aid in health promotion of workers and improvement of workplace environment. This study aims to analyze the prevalence of smoking and its determinants among healthcare workers and equated subjects at the Ospedale Policlinico San Martino IRCCS of Genoa, Italy.

Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was performed using demographic and clinical data. It involved a total workforce of 1561 Health Care Workers (HCW), medical residents and healthcare students. We focused on the medical visits performed from July 1 to December 31, 2023. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software vers. 26.0 (IBM Corp.).

Results: In the studied population, 24.7% of participants reported being current smokers. The univariate analysis showed an association between smoking and several demographic and occupational variables such as different professional categories and occupational risks. At the multivariate analysis physicians (OR 0.39, 95 CI 0.24-0.61, p < 0.001) and professions with exposure to chemical hazards (OR 0.26, 95 CI 0.09-0.80, p = 0.018) showed reduced odds of smoking, while increases in alcohol consumption were associated with increased probability of smoking (OR 1.79, 95 CI 1.19-2.71, p = 0.006).

Conclusions: These results highlight a concerning prevalence of smokers among HCW. An up-to-date epidemiological picture on health habits and behaviors may provide a baseline on which targeted interventions can be implemented, considering not only modifiable lifestyle factors but also work-related risk factors to effectively tackle the magnitude of the phenomenon.

Introduction: This retrospective analysis aims to follow the course of SARS-CoV-2 infections in pediatric population residing in Liguria, North-west Italy, from March 2020 to December 2022 and to relate it to the regional and national containment measures adopted, to assess the representativeness of the infection rate observed at the national level and to analyze the vaccination rates in different pediatric groups.

Methods: First episodes of SARS-CoV-2 infections registered in the national surveillance system were extracted and further anonymously analyzed for subjects aging ≤ 19 years. The absolute number of cases diagnosed daily during each year was compared to the number of residents in the region and graphical representations were used to visualize the trends in infection rates both annually and weekly in each year. Through narrative analysis, the relationship between changes in IR and key social events was analyzed.Applying the direct standardization method, the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric population was compared with that observed in the same age group in Italy.All analyses were performed using Stata and Microsoft Excel.

Results: In the study period, 106,537 (17.4%) cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were registered in subjects ≤ 19 years, out of a total of 610,404 cases reported in Liguria during that period. In the summer of 2020 the IR was close to zero, while later we observed increases and decreases in the IR in relation to activities and social restrictions adopted. Direct standardization showed an almost perfect coincidence between the expected cases in Italy, based on the Liguria incidence, and the observed cases.

Conclusions: Our results show that, in absence of effective therapies and vaccines, strict non-medical interventions (e.g. use of masks, improving indoor ventilation, physical social distancing, general lockdown) can be the only actions to counter the spread of a respiratory infection.

This policy brief highlights the critical shortage of healthcare workers in Iran, which hinders access, quality, and patient outcomes. The growing demand from population increases and chronic diseases, coupled with issues like geographic maldistribution, workforce migration, inadequate training, and limited support systems, exacerbates the crisis. Urban areas benefit disproportionately, leaving rural communities underserved and healthcare quality compromised. Evidence-based recommendations include incentivizing rural placements, improving workforce management systems, enhancing salaries and working conditions, expanding education and training, and leveraging digital health tools and task-shifting models. A phased implementation strategy is proposed, combining short-term pilot projects with long-term reforms to build a resilient healthcare workforce.

The present article summarises the historical and palaeopathological evidence of tetanus, an ineradicable yet vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Clostridium tetani. The antiquity of the disease is described thanks to historical written sources, artistic references and very recent palaeogenetic data. A recollection of now long-supplanted therapies is offered together with a focus on the introduction of an effective vaccine. Moreover, a potential identification of tetanus in the Bible is analysed and general considerations on the current health relevance of tetanus are presented.

Background: There is evidence supporting the efficacy of Sacubitril /Valsartan for improving left heart failure, but few studies have examined its effects on right ventricular (RV) dysfunction. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of Sacubitril /Valsartan on RV dysfunction in patients with right heart failure.

Methods: The current study was a randomized and parallel clinical trial study. Patients over 18 years with any degree of right heart failure regardless of Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were included. The included patients were assigned randomly to three study arms using simple random allocation, i.e. the intervention group (Sacubitril Valsartan recipients) and the control groups (Losartan and Captopril recipients). The SPSS software version 19 was used for data analysis.

Results: The changes in LVEF, RV FAC, RV diameter, DOE grade, and TAPSE in the Sacubitril/Valsartan group were significantly higher than the other two groups. The severity of RV dysfunction, as well as TR (Tricuspid Regurgitation) severity, decreased significantly three months after the intervention compared to the beginning of the intervention in all groups especially in the Sacubitril/Valsartan group (p: 0.006). The mortality rate in the Sacubitril/Valsartan, Losartan, and Captopril groups, were 2 (6.7%), 2 (11.2%), and 1 (7.7%) respectively (p: 0.83). Also, 27.6, 62.5, and 7.7% of cases in the Sacubitril/Valsartan, Losartan, and Captopril reached to optimum dose (p: 0.006).

Conclusions: Considering the results, it seems that Sacubitril/Valsartan has a positive effect on improving RV dysfunction in patients with right heart disorders.

The present article reviews the major historical plague epidemics that characterised human history by combining data derived from historical sources and biomedical evidence emerged in recent years thanks to advancements of palaeogenetics and palaeopathology. Notes are offered on the Plague of Athens, the Antonine Plague, the Plague of Cyprian, the Justinian Plague, the Black Death down to more recent centuries and presenting key aspects that continued to be preserved over time and would also partly characterise the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The beneficial role of physical activity on the cardiovascular system has been well established and appreciated. The aim of this narrative review was to present a summary of the latest recommendations for physical activity, and to evaluate the most recent scientific evidence regarding the role of aerobic and or resistance exercise in relation to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk.

Methods: Narrative review; searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar. The guidelines of major Organizations (i.e., European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology/ American Heart Association, American College of Sports Medicine, and World Heart Federation, World Heart Organization) were also retrieved and presented here.

Results: Engagement in regular aerobic exercise is strongly recommended for all people and by all scientific organizations for reducing ASCVD mortality and morbidity. Resistance exercise should be implemented in addition to aerobic, however, its individual effects on ASCVD risk are not well established.

Conclusions: A reduction of sedentary behavior at population level reduces the healthcare costs by multiple ways. Effective approaches should be implemented that include behavior theory-based interventions, e.g., goal-setting, re-evaluation of goals, self-monitoring, and feedback. Most important is to encourage activity that individuals enjoy and/or can be included in their daily life.