Publications by authors named "Giulio Castelpietra"

Background: Several countries are currently revising or have already revised their mental health laws to align with the global movement to reduce the use of coercive care. No government has yet fully implemented the recommendation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) to eliminate the use of coercion in mental healthcare. Consequently, the international field of mental health law and policy is in a degree of flux.

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Introduction: Alcohol remains a significant contributor to mortality and morbidity in Finland and the Baltic countries, particularly among men. This study aimed to assess alcohol policy restrictiveness in this region from 1995 to 2019 using a modified version of the Bridging the Gap (BtG-M) policy scale and examine its association with alcohol-related disease burden.

Methods: The study utilised national laws to score policy restrictiveness (higher BtG-M scores mean stricter policies) and age-standardised rates of disability-adjusted life years (DALY), years of life lost, years lived with disability and deaths per 100,000 from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD).

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Purpose: A rise in affective and anxiety disorders and in antidepressant (AD) treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic has been extensively described, but few studies were provided at the individual level, further considering COVID-19 severity and vaccination status.

Methods: Case-control study evaluating the association between the new use of ADs and a previous COVID-19 infection, in Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Italy, from March 1, 2020, to July 19, 2022. Multiple conditional logistic regressions assess the association between a new AD use and a COVID-19 infection previous to the index date, stratified by gender, age and anti-COVID-19 vaccination status.

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Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been concerns over the mental health impact of COVID-19. This is a review of the utilization of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared on March the 11th 2020. A number of reports so far have been based on large prescription databases for administrative use at the national or regional level, but mainly in high-income countries.

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As little is known about the burden of type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in adolescents in Western Europe (WE), we aimed to explore their epidemiology among 10-24 year-olds. Estimates were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases Study (GBD) 2019. We reported counts, rates per 100,000 population, and percentage changes from 1990 to 2019 for prevalence, incidence and years lived with disability (YLDs) of T1DM and T2DM, and the burden of T2DM in YLDs attributable to high body mass index (HBMI), for 24 WE countries.

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We explored temporal variations in disease burden of ambient particulate matter 2.5 μm or less in diameter (PM) and ozone in Italy using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. We compared temporal changes and percent variations (95% Uncertainty Intervals [95% UI]) in rates of disability adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost, years lived with disability and mortality from 1990 to 2019, and variations in pollutant-attributable burden with those in the overall burden of each PM- and ozone-related disease.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Individual Health Budget (IHB) aims to enhance social and health integration in healthcare, especially in mental health settings, but its effectiveness for severe mental disorders has not been widely studied.
  • A study conducted in Friuli Venezia Giulia involved 383 IHB beneficiaries, examining their demographics, clinical variables, and health outcomes over 24 months using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS).
  • Results showed a decrease in hospitalizations and healthcare interventions within the first year, with some improvement in clinical functioning, although over 60% of participants maintained the same severity category throughout the study.
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Although endeavours to protect mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic were taken at national and regional levels, e.g., mental support in school, a COVID-19 emergency toll-free number for psychological support, these were sporadic conjunctural financing interventions.

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Unlabelled: Personal budgets (PBs) may improve the lives of people with mental health conditions and people with intellectual disability (ID). However, a clear definition of PB, benefits, and challenges is still faded. This work aims to systematically review evidence on PB use in mental health and ID contexts, from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective, and summarize the recent research on interventions, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of PBs in beneficiaries with mental health conditions and/or ID.

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Background: Few studies investigated the impact of the pandemic on antidepressant (AD) use.

Methods: The Social and Health Information System of Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy, provided data on AD use. Sex, age, AD class and month used the amount of AD prescriptions, measured by defined daily doses (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day, to compare AD use in 2020 with the period 2015-2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • Injury is a significant public health concern in Europe, with notable differences in injury death rates and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) across sub-regions and countries, particularly between Eastern, Central, and Western Europe.
  • The study analyzed GBD 2019 data from 44 European countries over 20 years, focusing on injury mortality and DALY rates by cause and sex while assessing inequalities based on country comparisons.
  • Findings reveal that Eastern Europe has the highest injury death rates (80 deaths per 100,000), while Italy has the lowest injury DALY rate, indicating that males experience greater disparities in injury impact than females.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study highlights that mental health issues are a significant public health concern for young people in Europe, with varying levels of resources allocated to tackle these problems across different countries.
  • - Data from 31 European countries reveals alarming statistics for mental disorders, substance use disorders, and self-harm, showing trends in disability and premature death over a 30-year period.
  • - The findings suggest that improving national policies on mental health is crucial, particularly for younger populations, to address the increasing burden of these conditions highlighted in the research.
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Background: Disability and mortality burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have risen worldwide; however, the NCD burden among adolescents remains poorly described in the EU.

Methods: Estimates were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. Causes of NCDs were analysed at three different levels of the GBD 2019 hierarchy, for which mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) were extracted.

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Purpose: The aim of our study is to evaluate the number and the features of admissions to the emergency room (ER) requiring psychiatric consultation, in the period between May 4th and August 31st 2020.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective longitudinal observational study examining the 4 months following the initial lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 outbreak (May 4th and August 31st 2020). More specifically, the ER admissions leading to psychiatric referral were reviewed at all seven public hospitals of AUSL Romagna (Emilia Romagna region, Italy).

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An observation of the Emergency Room (ER) admissions during the lockdown. We monitored admissions to the ER requiring psychiatric evaluation during the 2020 lockdown (March 9-May 3, 2020) compared to the same period of 2019, in four sites of Northern Italy (ASST Lariana, AUSL Modena, ASU Friuli Centrale and AUSL Romagna). Number of admissions, baseline demographic and clinical variables were extracted from the clinical databases.

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Background: Neurological conditions are highly prevalent and disabling, in particular in the elderly. The Italian population has witnessed sharp ageing and we can thus expect a rising trend in the incidence, prevalence and disability of these conditions.

Methods: We relied on the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study to extract Italian data on incidence, prevalence and years lived with a disability (YLDs) referred to a broad set of neurological disorders including, brain and nervous system cancers, stroke, encephalitis, meningitis, tetanus, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study compared characteristics and outcomes of compulsory admissions (CAs) versus voluntary admissions (VAs) in a psychiatric unit in Udine, Italy, with a focus on recovery through community mental health services.
  • Results indicated that while CAs initially showed lower psychological performance at admission, both groups experienced similar improvements in mental health during their hospital stay and follow-up, particularly in social functioning.
  • The research suggests that a continuous, community-based care model can support long-term recovery for psychiatric patients, emphasizing the need for future studies to explore patient experiences and long-term outcomes.
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The aim was to analyse the psychiatric consultations in nine Italian hospital emergency departments, by comparing the lockdown and post-lockdown periods of 2020 with the equivalent periods of 2019. Characteristics of psychiatric consultations, patients, and drug prescriptions were analyzed. Joinpoint models were used to identify changes in the weekly trend of consultations.

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Objectives: to assess the changes in prevalence, incidence and hospitalisation rates during the first four months of 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, in Friuli Venezia Giulia Mental Health Departments (MHDs); to analyse the features of MHDs patients tested for Sars-Cov-2, and to monitor whether MHDs applied and adhered to regional recommendations.

Methods: Observational study using MHDs' administrative data and individual data on suspected and positive cases of Sars-Cov-2. Adherence to recommentations was assessed using 21 indicators.

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Objectives: An observation of the admissions to the emergency room (ER) requiring psychiatric evaluation during the lockdown and investigation of the demographic and clinical variables.

Methods: Retrospective longitudinal observational study of ER accesses for psychiatric evaluation was performed, comparing two periods (9 March-3 May 2020 vs. 9 March-3 May 2019).

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Social and clinical determinants of 30 compulsory admissions (CAs) to a psychiatric ward during a six-month period were compared to 134 voluntary admissions (VAs), and outcomes of hospitalisation were assessed in relation to its types. Psychosocial and clinical characteristics at admission and discharge were measured using 5 scales. Unemployment, hospitalisations >7 days and continuing hospitalisation in Community Mental Health Centres were positively associated with CA.

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