Health-related quality of life and psychological wellbeing of children with Specific Learning Disorders and their mothers.

Background: Literature suggests that Specific Learning Disorders (SpLD) can cause impairment of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and psychological well-being of children, and that this condition potentially affects parents' quality of life and well-being too.

Aims: This study aims first to explore HRQoL and psychological well-being among children with SpLD and second among mothers of children with SpLD.

Methods And Procedures: Thirty children aged 8-14 years diagnosed as having SpLD and their mothers completed a battery of scales to assess children's HRQoL and psychological well-being.

Grandparents providing childcare in Italy.

Research on the choices of childcare arrangements in Italy shows the fundamental role of grandparents in providing informal childcare. Therefore, it is important to understand how grandparents provide different types of childcare, especially in terms of differences in their socio-economic, demographic and physical status, jointly with the characteristics of their grandchildren. Grandparents aged 50 and over with at least one non-co-resident grandchild aged 13 years or less were selected from the 2009 Italian household survey.

What do we know about grandparents? Insights from current quantitative data and identification of future data needs.

Against the background of a 'new wave' of empirical studies investigating various aspects of grandparenthood across a broad range of regional contexts, this article aims to take stock of what has been achieved so far and which lessons we can learn from this for the future. Our focus is on the measurement of grandparenthood and grandparenting in quantitative social surveys and the implications this has for the substantive questions we can ask and the answers we can get out of such data. For several broader questions-who is a grandparent and when does this transition happen; what does it mean to be a grandparent; and what are the implications of grandparenthood for families?-we review previous questionnaire items from a variety of surveys as well as studies in which they were used.

[Skin lesions and other foot problems associated with safety footwear].

Objectives: The principal purpose of this epidemiological cross-sectional study was to evaluate the frequency of foot problems associated with the wearing of safety footwear (SFW).

Methods: We examined 509 workers from 12 separate metal-working factories, representing all workers employed in these factories. All subjects wore SFW on a daily basis.

Associations between conflictual relationships, psychopathology, and the use of psychotropic drugs among older people living in residential facilities.

Background: Psychiatric symptoms and conflictual relationships (CR) may negatively affect the delivery of care in residential facilities (RF). This study aims to analyze neuropsychiatric symptoms, their correlations with CR among older people living in RF, and their associations with the prescription of psychotropic drugs.

Methods: A total of 1215 RF residents in five Italian regions were selected for this cross-sectional study.

The effect of weight status, lifestyle, and body image perception on health-related quality of life in children: a quantile approach.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of excess weight, lifestyle factors, and body image on HRQoL in a sample of school-aged children.

Methods: Cross-sectional data of 4,338 thirteen-year-old children were collected in 2007 as part of the So.N.

Polymorphisms in OCTN1 and OCTN2 transporters genes are associated with prolonged time to progression in unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumours treated with imatinib therapy.

The two basic mainstays of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) treatment are surgery and imatinib, a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor that allows achieving a stable or responding disease in about 80% of patients with unresectable/metastatic GIST. Response to imatinib mainly depends from KIT and PDGFRα mutational status. Nevertheless, some patients with a potentially responsive genotype do not respond, and others develop a pattern of resistance to imatinib which is not associated with secondary mutations.

EQ-5D as a predictor of mortality and hospitalization in elderly people.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess whether the EQ-5D independently predicts all-cause mortality and first hospitalization in a generic elderly population and to evaluate the relationship between the EQ-5D "Class of problems," the EQ-5D index, the EQ-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS), and the number of hospitalizations occurring over a 2-year period.

Methods: The data were collected in a longitudinal study (over 5 years) conducted on 9,644 elderly people in northern Italy with 5,256 completed questionnaires returned. Multivariate Cox's proportional hazards models were used to assess the effect of the EQ-5D questionnaire on 12 and 24 month mortality and first hospitalization risk, controlling for sociodemographic and medical covariates.

Evaluating patient satisfaction through latent class factor analysis.

This paper introduces Health and Place readers interested in studying the latent concept of satisfaction to the methodology of latent variable analysis. In particular, some suitable methods for analyzing individual opinions expressed on ordinal scales are illustrated. The basic theory behind these methods is explained and a step by step description of how they should be used in practice is given.

Serum C3 is a stronger inflammatory marker of insulin resistance than C-reactive protein, leukocyte count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate: comparison study in an elderly population.

Objective: This study was performed to ascertain the relative relevance of some inflammatory markers in insulin resistance.

Research Design And Methods: Four inflammatory markers (leukocyte count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [CRP], and C3 complement) were assessed as possible determinants of the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index, together with the five elements of the metabolic syndrome (National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults [Adult Treatment Panel III] definition), total cholesterol, physical activity, and four indicators of adiposity (BMI, waist circumference, percent body fat, and hepatic steatosis) in an unselected population of 990 subjects aged 65-91 years (the Pianoro Study).

Results: In univariable analysis, C3, CRP, and leukocyte count, but not ESR, were significantly correlated with HOMA index.

A new priority policy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma awaiting liver transplantation within the model for end-stage liver disease system.

The best prioritization of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) waiting for liver transplantation under the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) allocation system is still being debated. We analyzed the impact of a MELD adjustment for HCC, which consisted of the addition of an extra score (based on the HCC stage and waiting time) to the native MELD score. The outcome was analyzed for 301 patients with chronic liver disease listed for liver transplantation between March 1, 2001 and February 28, 2003 [United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)-Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) era, 163 patients, 28.

Laboratory test variability and model for end-stage liver disease score calculation: effect on liver allocation and proposal for adjustment.

Background: The use of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score to prioritize patients on liver waiting lists must take the bias of different laboratories into account.

Methods: We evaluated the outcome of 418 patients listed during 1 year whose MELD score was computed by two laboratories (lab 1 and lab 2). The two labs had different normality ranges for bilirubin (maximal normal value [Vmax]: 1.

Residential facilities for older people in Italy: a five-region survey.

Background And Aims: To survey all Residential Facilities (RFs) for older people (more than 50% residents over 65 years of age) in five Italian regions (Calabria, Sardinia, Sicily, Umbria, Veneto), and to evaluate their logistic and organizational characteristics and staff and resident features.

Methods: Structured interviews with RF managers; selected RFs operating in five regions.

Results: A total of 853 RFs were operating in the five regions, with an average of 198.

[Cancer incidence in Modena: 2002-2006 projections].

Objective: Cancer incidence predictions for the period 2002-2006 in the Province of Modena applying a Bayesian APC (Age Period Cohort) model.

Design: Population based descriptive study.

Setting: Patients with cancer diagnosed between 1988 and 2001 recorded in Modena Cancer Registry.

[Residential facilities for the elderly in five Italian regions. The Progres-Anziani Project].

Objective: To survey all Residential Facilities (RFs) for the elderly in five Italian Regions (Calabria, Sardinia, Sicily. Umbria and Veneto), and to evaluate their logistic and organizational characteristics, staff and residents' features.

Design: Structured interviews were conducted with RF managers.

The MALVA (MAntova LongeVA) study: an investigation on people 98 years of age and over in a province of Northern Italy.

The MALVA (MAntova LongeVA) study aims at investigating the socio-demographic, clinical and genetic characteristics of all subjects over 98 years of age residing in the province of Mantova (Northern Italy). In this paper we present the study protocol and the main demographic results. Absolute number, prevalence ratio and female/male ratio of the subjects aged 98+ and of the centenarians in the Mantova province (370,645 inhabitants at 31st December 1997) were checked at the baseline of the study (31st March 1998) as well as in the two years preceding and following the study.

Low recurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation: better patient selection or lower immunosuppression?

Background: Liver transplantation is currently offered to a limited number of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because of strict criteria introduced in the past to avoid recurrence. Immunosuppression represents a risk factor for tumor growth; the schedules of the immunosuppressant drugs have been modified through the years, aiming to reduce their dosage to the effective minimum.

Methods: A series of 106 consecutive patients with HCC who underwent transplantation over a 15-year period at a single institution was retrospectively reviewed to ascertain whether tumor recurrence was influenced by the Milano criteria presently adopted in patient selection and whether the dosage of immunosuppressant agents administered was associated with tumor recurrence.

Relevance of biologic markers in colorectal carcinoma: a comparative study of a broad panel.

Background: Although pathologic stage is currently the main prognostic indicator for patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC), mounting evidence suggests that, in its current form, it is insufficient to predict clinical outcome. To assess biologic markers of primary CRC that may improve clinical staging and provide useful information for the application of novel therapeutic strategies, the authors investigated a panel of markers that included transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha), epithelial growth factor receptor (EGF-R; the protein product of the c-erb B2/HER-2 oncogene), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and angiogenesis, as evaluated by microvessel density (MVD).

Methods: Two groups of CRC were studied: 1) surgical samples from patients who achieved a disease free survival of at least 6 years (CRC-M0) and 2) surgical specimens of both primary tumors and synchronous or metachronous liver metastases (CRC-M1).