[Descriptive study of cancer incidence in the area around the Ispra Joint Research Centre (JCR)].

Objective: to assess the effects of radioactive emissions from the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) (nuclear) at Ispra, the Local Health Authority (ASL) of Varese carried out an ecological study to measure any excess incidence of cancer in the surrounding population.

Design And Setting: after estimation of historical exposure levels in the surrounding population, the incidence rates of leukaemia and other exposure-related tumours were calculated from data in the population based Lombardy Cancer Registry (Varese Province). By indirect standardization, the expected cases (based on incidence rate in the Province) were compared with observed cases in the close-by municipality of Ispra, in municipalities within a 5 km radius of the JRC (5kmArea) and in the area covered by the District of Sesto Calende (DistrictArea).

[Use of healthcare services by elderly people in a local health authority in Varese (Italy)].

Older people use more healthcare than younger people and aging of the population is considered to be one of the main factors leading to consumption of healthcare resources. The aim of this study was to evaluate rates of hospitalization, use of out-patient services and medicine confections among the elderly population (>65 years) in the local health authority of Varese (Italy), in the three-year period from 2003-2005, and to calculate the trend for the years 2006 and 2007. Rates of hospitalization and drug use remained stable while use of out-patient services showed an increasing trend.