Blood pressure screening in Mata Sector, a rural area of Rwanda.

In rural sub-Saharan Africa, knowledge of non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure (BP) is rather limited. This report provides information about a BP screening in Mata Sector, a rural region in Southern Province of Rwanda. Community-based, house-to-house screening was performed between February and July 2020 on more than 7000 inhabitants.

Single-Pill, Triple Antihypertensive Therapy in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: Preliminary Experience.

Introduction: Worldwide, arterial hypertension is the foremost preventable and modifiable cardiovascular risk factor. In addition to lifestyle changes, recent international guidelines recommend single-pill, low-dose combinations as initial treatment strategy. We investigated whether this approach is feasible in a rural sub-Saharan Africa setting.

Impact of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on Arterial Stiffness in a Countryside Area of Switzerland: Insights from the Swiss Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Besides traditional cardiovascular risk factors, arterial stiffness is a recognized predictor of cardiovascular risk.

Methods: We investigated the relationship between traditional cardiovascular risk factors, sex, and aortic pulse wave velocity in subjects living in a countryside area of Southern Switzerland.

A Comparative Study of Nine SARS-CoV-2 IgG Lateral Flow Assays Using Both Post-Infection and Post-Vaccination Samples.

Background: Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, lateral flow assays (LFA) detecting specific antibodies have entered the market in abundance. Despite being CE-IVD-labeled, the antigenic compounds of the assays are often unknown, the performance characteristics provided by the manufacturer are often incomplete, and the samples used to obtain the data are not detailed.

Objective: To perform a comparative evaluation of nine lateral flow assays to detect IgG responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Swiss general internal medicine board examination: quantitative effects of publicly available and unavailable questions on question difficulty and test performance.

Background: Formerly, a substantial number of the 120 multiple-choice questions of the Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine (SSGIM) board examination were derived from publicly available MKSAP questions (Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program®). The possibility to memorise publicly available questions may unduly influence the candidates' examination performance. Therefore, the examination board raised concerns that the examination did not meet the objective of evaluating the application of knowledge.

HPV vaccine awareness, knowledge and information sources among youth in Switzerland: a mixed methods study.

Objectives: We aimed to provide a detailed characterisation of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine awareness, knowledge and information sources in the HPV vaccine decision-making process of youth, both male and female, in Switzerland.

Design: With a mixed-method study design, we conducted quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews, which lasted 20-45 min.

Setting And Participants: We recruited participants, 15-26 years of age, in physicians' offices, in a local sexual health clinic, and during military enlistment.

The Youth Attitudes about Vaccines (YAV-5) scale: adapting the parent attitudes about childhood vaccines short scale for use with youth in German, French, and Italian in Switzerland, exploratory factor analysis and mokken scaling analysis.

No validated measures of vaccine hesitancy (VH) for youth vaccination currently exist. We adapted the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines survey (PACV-15) for use in youth to create the version Youth Attitudes about Vaccines survey (YAV-14 and YAV-5), then translated it into three languages (German, French, and Italian). We administered the YAV-14 to 1,003 youth aged 15-26 years in Switzerland.

Prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health in a community-based population - results from the Swiss Longitudinal Cohort Study (SWICOS).

Aims Of The Study: The American Heart Association (AHA) developed a concept to measure cardiovascular health in populations. We aimed to analyse participants in the Swiss Longitudinal Cohort Study (SWICOS) according to the AHA concept.

Methods: We analysed cardiovascular health according to the AHA concept in all 474 participants of the prospective, population-based SWICOS study who were 18 years or older.

Vitamin D Status in Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study.

Vitamin D has been claimed to be effective in the response to infections, including the respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is supposed that lockdown measures and fear of SARS-CoV-2 infection might reduce vitamin D levels through the modification of lifestyle. However, very few data exist on the association between lockdown measures and vitamin D status in humans.

SARS-CoV-2 Ig G among Healthcare Workers and the General Population.

It is assumed that healthcare workers are at the highest risk to be infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, few data from healthcare workers who do not primarily take care of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection support this assumption. We investigated the prevalence of immunoglobulin G (Ig G) against SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers who do not primarily take care of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and the general population in a well-defined geographical area.

Age-Dependency of Cardiometabolic Risk and Protective Factors in Females Living in a Countryside Area of Switzerland.

We investigated the effect of age on cardiometabolic risk and protective factors in females living in a countryside area of Switzerland. For this cross-sectional analysis, data from 268 female adults, who live in two neighboring countryside villages in Italian-speaking Switzerland were retained. 89 study participants were premenopausal, 82 climacteric and 97 postmenopausal.

Seasonal variability of the vitamin D effect on physical fitness in adolescents.

Studies investigating the relationship between vitamin D and physical fitness in youth have provided inconsistent findings. Recent evidence indicates that the expression of receptors and vitamin D-modulated genes in young subjects has a seasonal profile. Therefore, we investigated the role of vitamin D on physical fitness across seasons in a total of 977 male adolescents.

Vitamin D Status Among Male Late Adolescents Living in Southern Switzerland: Role of Body Composition and Lifestyle.

Background: Poor vitamin D status is a worldwide health problem. Yet, knowledge about vitamin D status among adolescents in Southern Europe is limited. This study investigated concentrations and modulating factors of vitamin D in a healthy population of male late adolescents living in Southern Switzerland.

Associations of sodium, potassium and protein intake with blood pressure and hypertension in Switzerland.

Background: Nutritional factors play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and in the development of hypertension. In this analysis, we explored the associations of 24-hour urinary Na+, K+ and urea excretion with blood pressure levels and the risk of hypertension in the Swiss population, taking regional linguistic differences into account.

Methods: The Swiss Survey on Salt is a population based cross-sectional study that included 1336 subjects from the three main linguistic regions (French, German and Italian) of Switzerland.

Protocol of the Swiss Longitudinal Cohort Study (SWICOS) in rural Switzerland.

Introduction: Increased longevity and consequent major changes in demographics and population lifestyles necessitate new approaches to reduce the burden of ageing-related diseases (including cardiovascular disease) and maintain an optimal quality of life. This study aims to examine and longitudinally follow health status and disease risk factors in a Swiss rural cohort, evaluating all health-related research and practice disciplines to assure development of new implementable and successful preventive strategies for healthy ageing.

Methods And Objectives: Small Swiss villages with low migration rates will be selected for this study.

Clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors among male youths in Southern Switzerland: preliminary study.

Principles: The distribution of cardiovascular disease risk factors among youths in Southern Switzerland is poorly understood. The aim of this preliminary study was therefore to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in 18- to 20-year-old males undergoing medical examination to assess fitness for recruitment into the army.

Methods: Between 2009 and 2013, 1541 (21%) out of 7310 conscripts volunteered for answering a structured questionnaire addressing smoking behaviour, sedentariness and familial cardiovascular risk factors, as well as for measurement of blood pressure, lipidaemia and waist circumference.

Prevalence and determinants of chronic kidney disease in the Swiss population.

Questions Under Study: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing worldwide, corresponding to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The latest study on prevalence of CKD involving the three linguistic regions of Switzerland dates back to 2002-2003 and definitions have changed since then. We aimed to assess the current prevalence and determinants of CKD in the Swiss general population.

Unresolved issues in the management of chronic stable angina.

Chronic stable angina is a common and progressive disease which has a major impact on patient quality of life and imposes a high financial and medical burden on society. Given the range of agents now available, optimal medical therapy - which according to guidelines is the preferred option in the majority of patients with low-risk disease - offers the opportunity for effective control. However, recent studies suggest that management remains suboptimal in up to a third of patients and that physicians often underestimate the extent to which angina continues to limit patients' lives.

Association of urinary calcium excretion with serum calcium and vitamin D levels.

Background And Objectives: Population-based data on urinary calcium excretion are scarce. The association of serum calcium and circulating levels of vitamin D [25(OH)D2 or D3] with urinary calcium excretion in men and women from a population-based study was explored.

Design, Settings, Participants, & Measurements: Multivariable linear regression was used to explore factors associated with square root-transformed 24-hour urinary calcium excretion (milligrams per 24 hours) taken as the dependent variable with a focus on month-specific vitamin D tertiles and serum calcium in the Swiss Survey on Salt Study.

[How to deal with preoperative hypertension].

Although there only limited supportive evidence it is suggested that in the setting of elective surgery whenever possible one should aim for a normal preoperative blood pressure in hypertensive patients. If preoperative pressure is >180 mmHg (adequate and correct blood pressure measurement technique, whenever needed 24 h-ABPM) an elective surgical intervention should be postponed and blood pressure control should be optimized. Blood pressure of <180 mmHg is regarded as no contraindication for an elective surgical intervention.

[Practical guide for interpretation and comprehension of ambulatory blood pressure measurement].

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a more accurate method than office blood pressure measurements and allows a better evaluation of cardio-vascular risk. The indications to perform this test are reviewed here, and the results can considerably help in treatment decision. A good quality recording gives information about the presence or the absence of an arterial hypertension, of white coat and masked hypertension, blood pressure variability and circadian rhythm.

Reasons for not intensifying antihypertensive treatment (RIAT): a primary care antihypertensive intervention study.

Objective: Hypertension is often poorly controlled, despite its importance and despite the availability of very effective treatments. An under-recognized problem is the failure of consensus guidelines to acknowledge the important difference between efficacy in clinical trials and effectiveness in clinical practice. The present survey was designed to prospectively assess what is the target blood pressure (BP) goal defined by a general practitioner (GP) for an individual patient, and what are the reasons for not modifying an antihypertensive drug regimen, when pre-defined individual BP goals are not achieved.