New insights into the paradox between smoking and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19): Insufficient evidence for a causal association.

Aims: Previous studies have reported a 'smoker's paradox', where people who smoke appear to be protected against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (COVID-19). This conflicts with well-established evidence that people who smoke are generally more vulnerable to respiratory infections. In this study, we aimed to validate the association between smoking and SARS-CoV-2 infection in a general Dutch population, and to evaluate the evidence underlying the possible causal relationship between smoking and SARS-CoV-2 infection by applying a modern adaptation of the Bradford Hill criteria.

Risk of death due to COVID-19 among current and former smokers in the Netherlands: a population-based quasi-cohort study.

Background: Research on smoking as a risk factor for death due to COVID-19 remains inconclusive, with different studies demonstrating either an increased or decreased risk of COVID-19 death among smokers. To investigate this controversy, this study uses data from the Netherlands to assess the relationship between smoking and death due to COVID-19.

Methods: In this population-based quasi-cohort study, we linked pseudonymized individual data on smoking status from the 2016 and 2020 'Health Monitor Adults and Elderly' in the Netherlands (n = 914 494) to data from the cause-of-death registry (n = 2962).

Incarceration history is associated with HIV infection among community-recruited people who inject drugs in Europe: A propensity-score matched analysis of cross-sectional studies.

Aims: We measured the association between a history of incarceration and HIV positivity among people who inject drugs (PWID) across Europe.

Design, Setting And Participants: This was a cross-sectional, multi-site, multi-year propensity-score matched analysis conducted in Europe. Participants comprised community-recruited PWID who reported a recent injection (within the last 12 months).

[Chemsex: health risks and the gap between healthcare needs and services among MSM].

Chemsex refers to the use of drugs, including ecstasy, GHB, cocaine and methamphetamine, by Males who have Sex with Males (MSM) and transgenders with the specific intention to perform sexual activities due to the drugs' facilitating influence on sexual performance and experience. Chemsex is predominantly situated in a private setting. Multiple routes of drug administration are applied, including 'slamming' and 'bootybumping'.

Social media use as a risk factor for depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Background: Accumulating research has shown associations between excessive social media use (SMU) with depressive symptoms. Depression is common during pregnancy, but it is not known whether SMU plays a role in the etiology and clinical course of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Methods: The current study is a prospective cohort study with Dutch-speaking pregnant women recruited at the first antenatal appointment (N = 697).

The delivery of Ask-Advise-Connect for smoking cessation in Dutch general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of a pre-post implementation study.

Background: The Ask-Advise-Connect approach can help primary care providers to increase the number of smokers that attempt to quit smoking and enrol into cessation counselling. The approach has not yet been implemented in general practice in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a comprehensive implementation strategy on the delivery of Ask-Advise-Connect for smoking cessation within Dutch general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation of ask-advise-connect for smoking cessation in Dutch general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods evaluation using the CFIR framework.

Background: The Ask-Advise-Connect (AAC) approach can help primary care providers to increase the number of people who attempt to quit smoking and enrol into cessation counselling. We implemented AAC in Dutch general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study we describe how AAC was received in Dutch general practice and assess which factors played a role in the implementation.

Case report on postmortem fentanyl measurement after overdose with more than 67 fentanyl patches.

Purpose: Fentanyl is an analgesic that is frequently prescribed, which resulted in non-intentional as well as intentional misuse and deaths. Here, we present a postmortem case of a patient who clearly died of a fentanyl overdose due to an extensive number of fentanyl patches combined with oral intake of fentanyl and cocaine. We aimed to show how postmortem analysis can be used to interpret postmortem fentanyl concentrations in unique cases like the one we present.

Proactive Referral to Behavioral Smoking Cessation Programs by Healthcare Staff: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Behavioral smoking cessation programs are an effective tool for quitting smoking, yet remain underused by smokers. Proactive referral may be a promising strategy for healthcare staff to connect smokers to such programs.

Aims And Methods: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the effectiveness and implementability of proactive referral of smokers to behavioral smoking cessation programs by healthcare staff.

The in vitro effect of lactose on Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin production and the implications of lactose consumption for in vivo anti-alpha toxin antibody production.

Necro-hemorrhagic enteritis in calves, caused by Clostridium perfringens type A, is a fatal disease, mostly affecting calves in intensive rearing systems. The lack of development of active immunity against α toxin, an essential virulence factor in the pathogenesis, has been proposed as a main trigger. In this experimental study, the effect of a set of milk replacer components on α toxin production, and the effect of lactose on in vivo antibody production, were investigated.

Mentioning smoking cessation assistance during healthcare consultations matters: findings from Dutch survey research.

Background: Smoking cessation assistance (SCA) can help smokers to successfully quit smoking. It is unclear to what extent hearing about SCA from a healthcare professional is associated with using SCA during a quit attempt.

Methods: We used pooled survey data from the 2016, 2018 and 2020 'Module Substance Use' survey in the Netherlands (N = 5928).

[Crucial role for healthcare providers in the PURE smoke-free campaign].

Smoking is still one of the leading causes of death in the Netherlands and worldwide. The current pandemic has made the importance of smoking cessation even more visible. With the smoking cessation campaign PURE smoke-free (in Dutch: PUUR rookvrij), the Dutch government aims to encourage smokers to quit smoking.

[Complications of contaminated drugs: how to reduce the number of future victims?].

Serious complications of drug abuse are frequently seen in acute care. When the clinical signs and symptoms of drug use are discordant with the expected clinical features of the intended substance used, it may involve misleading, contaminated and therefore dangerous illicit drugs. In 2014 and 2015, multiple young patients presented to several Dutch emergency departments in Amsterdam with an opioid toxidrome after supposed use of cocaine.

[Patients who smoke: should we ignore the addiction or take care of the patient?].

Smoking cessation yields large health gains, especially in times of COVID-19. Compared to measures to stop COVID-19, tobacco control is lagging behind. We studied smoking-cessation-care in the Netherlands, using qualitative interviews with physicians (N=55) and questionnaires among physicians and other healthcare providers (HCPs; N=883) in 2017.

The referral of patients to smoking cessation counselling: perceptions and experiences of healthcare providers in general practice.

Background: Few European smokers receive professional counselling when attempting to quit smoking, resulting in suboptimal success rates and poor health outcomes. Healthcare providers in general practice play an important role in referring smokers to smoking cessation counselling. We chose the Netherlands as a case study to qualitatively explore which factors play a role among healthcare providers in general practice with regard to referral for smoking cessation counselling organised both inside and outside general practice.

Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth.

A number of recent studies have found low percentages of smokers among COVID-19 patients, causing scientists to conclude that smokers may be protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection. National and international media were interested in this story and we soon began receiving questions about this topic in general practice. In this article, we shed light on the process that resulted in the misinterpretation of observational research by scientists and the media.

The double-edged relationship between COVID-19 stress and smoking: Implications for smoking cessation.

Introduction: Although recent research shows that smokers respond differently to the COVID-19 pandemic, it offers little explanation of why some have increased their smoking, while others decreased it. In this study, we examined a possible explanation for these different responses: pandemic-related stress.

Methods: We conducted an online survey among a representative sample of Dutch current smokers from 11-18 May 2020 (n=957).

Introducing hepatitis C virus healthcare pathways in addiction care in the Netherlands with a Breakthrough project: a mixed method study.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionally affected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In the Netherlands, active HCV transmission in PWID has practically been halted but uptake of HCV testing and linkage to care remains insufficient in this risk group. A national HCV in Addiction Care (HAC) quality improvement project based on the Breakthrough methodology (i.

Social attraction in video-mediated communication: The role of nonverbal affiliative behavior.

The first aim of this study was to analyze video-mediated communication (VMC), in comparison to face-to-face (FTF) communication, and the effect it has on how communicators express nonverbal affiliative behaviors relevant for social attraction. Second, this study aimed to discover whether these nonverbal expressions relate to communicators' social attraction. An experiment with 93 cross-sex dyads was conducted, with a get-acquainted exercise in a VMC or a FTF condition.

Chronic hepatitis B and C infections in the Netherlands: estimated prevalence in risk groups and the general population.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are usually asymptomatic for decades, thus targeted screening can prevent liver disease by timely diagnosis and linkage to care. More robust estimates of chronic HBV and HCV infections in the general population and risk groups are needed. Using a modified workbook method, the total number of ever chronically infected individuals in the Netherlands in 2016 was determined using population size and prevalence estimates from studies in the general and high-risk population.

Strategies for achieving viral hepatitis C micro-elimination in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is striving to achieve national elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) as one of the first countries worldwide. The favorable HCV epidemiology with both low prevalence and incidence, together with access to care and treatment, present excellent conditions to further build on towards this objective. The Dutch national plan on viral hepatitis, introduced in 2016, defines targets in the HCV healthcare cascade and provides a structural framework for the development of elimination activities.

Information exchange between patients with Lynch syndrome and their genetic and non-genetic health professionals: whose responsibility?

Individuals at high risk for Lynch syndrome (LS) should be offered genetic counselling, since preventive options are available. However, uptake of genetic services and follow-up care are currently suboptimal, possibly caused by inadequate exchange of information. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to gain insight in the process of information exchange between patients diagnosed with LS and their non-genetic (i.

Haemorrhagic stroke related to the use of 4-fluoroamphetamine.

Introduction: The use of the new psychoactive substance 4-fluoroamphetamine (4-FA) and the number of 4-FA-related intoxications substantially increased in The Netherlands in recent years. We describe two patients with severe 4-FA-related complications and the characteristics of a large sample of 4-FA-intoxicated patients.

Methods: Information on patients with 4-FA-related intoxications between January 2009 and June 2017 was available from the Monitor Drug-related Incidents.

[Leading cause of death in young Dutch people: the cigarette].

Objective: To investigate the impact of smoking on premature death in the Netherlands and the difference between causes of death for smokers and non-smokers.

Design: Observational cohort study.

Method: Data on smoking behaviour were obtained from 40,000 people who participated in the CBS (Statistics Netherlands) health survey between 2001-2006.