Exploring the multiple dimensions of perceived food access in the local food environment in Flanders: Perceptions of adults in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations.

Persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations are more susceptible and disproportionally exposed to unhealthy food environments, which results in limited access to healthy foods and poorer dietary outcomes. This qualitative paper examines the various dimensions of perceived food access to healthy and unhealthy foods (i.e.

Determinants of food insecurity among adults residing in peri-urban municipal settings in Flanders, Belgium.

Food insecurity is a global public health issue associated with noncommunicable diseases. Individual factors are strongly associated with food insecurity, but there is limited literature on the broader impact of both the social and food environments on food insecurity in non-English speaking European countries, given that the research was predominantly conducted in Anglophone settings. In addition, these studies have mostly been conducted in urban areas.

Anxiety and depression in people with post-COVID condition: a Belgian population-based cohort study three months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Purpose: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most research has focused on the management of the acute symptoms of the disease. Yet some people tend to experience symptoms beyond the acute phase, defined as Post-COVID-19 Condition (PCC). This study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 and PCC on anxiety and depression.

Associations between the objective and perceived food environment and eating behavior in relation to socioeconomic status among adults in peri-urban settings: results from the CIVISANO study in Flanders, Belgium.

Obesity, a significant public health concern, disproportionately affects people with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Food environments have been identified as part of the causal chain of this disparity. This study investigated variations in the food environment across groups with different SES profiles residing in peri-urban municipal settings.

Linking health survey data with health insurance data: methodology, challenges, opportunities and recommendations for public health research. An experience from the HISlink project in Belgium.

In recent years, the linkage of survey data to health administrative data has increased. This offers new opportunities for research into the use of health services and public health. Building on the HISlink use case, the linkage of Belgian Health Interview Survey (BHIS) data and Belgian Compulsory Health Insurance (BCHI) data, this paper provides an overview of the practical implementation of linking data, the outcomes in terms of a linked dataset and of the studies conducted as well as the lessons learned and recommendations for future links.

Association between SARS-CoV-2 variants and post COVID-19 condition: findings from a longitudinal cohort study in the Belgian adult population.

Background: While many studies on the determinants of post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC) have been conducted, little is known about the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 variants and PCC. This study aimed to assess the association between different SARS-CoV-2 variants and the probability of having PCC three months after the infection.

Methods: This study was a longitudinal cohort study conducted between April 2021 and September 2022 in Belgium.

Classification of post COVID-19 condition symptoms: a longitudinal study in the Belgian population.

Objectives: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most research has focused on its acute pathophysiology, yet some people tend to experience persisting symptoms beyond the acute phase of infection, referred to as post COVID-19 condition (PCC). However, evidence on PCC is still scarce. This study aimed to assess the distribution, classification of symptoms and associated factors of PCC in adults.

The role of the perceived environment for recreational walking among adults in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations: A study using walk-along interviews.

Background: Persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations (PSEDS) are generally less likely to engage in recreational walking (RW) compared to higher socioeconomic groups and are often more dependent on their local environment. Studies on RW have primarily focused on the role of the built environment for the general adult population and the older population in urban areas. The aim of this study is to qualitatively identify the perceived environmental factors affecting RW among PSEDS in peri-urban areas.

Post COVID-19 condition and health-related quality of life: a longitudinal cohort study in the Belgian adult population.

Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most research has focused on the acute phase of COVID-19, yet some people experience symptoms beyond, referred to as post COVID-19 conditions (PCC). However, evidence on PCC and its impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is still scarce. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 and PCC on HRQoL.

Trends in adults' energy imbalance gaps over two decades in Belgium using system dynamics modelling.

Background: The energy imbalance gap (EIG) represents the average daily difference between energy intake and energy expenditure. The maintenance energy gap (MEG) captures the increased energy intake needed to maintain a higher average bodyweight compared with an initial distribution of bodyweight. This study quantified the dynamics of the EIG and MEG over time and across different genders/regions/BMI groups for Belgian adults.

The health and economic burden of musculoskeletal disorders in Belgium from 2013 to 2018.

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP), neck pain (NKP), osteoarthritis (OST) and rheumatoid arthritis (RHE) are among the musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders causing the greatest disability in terms of Years Lived with Disability. The current study aims to analyze the health and economic impact of these MSK disorders in Belgium, providing a summary of morbidity and mortality outcomes from 2013 to 2018, as well as direct and indirect costs from 2013 to 2017.

Methods: The health burden of LBP, NKP, OST and RHE in Belgium from 2013 to 2018 was summarized in terms of prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) using data from the Belgian health interview surveys (BHIS), the INTEGO database (Belgian registration network for general practitioners) and the Global Burden of Diseases study 2019.

Predictors of nursing home admission in the older population in Belgium: a longitudinal follow-up of health interview survey participants.

Background: This study examines predictors of nursing home admission (NHA) in Belgium in order to contribute to a better planning of the future demand for nursing home (NH) services and health care resources.

Methods: Data derived from the Belgian 2013 health interview survey were linked at individual level with health insurance data (2012 tot 2018). Only community dwelling participants, aged ≥65 years at the time of the survey were included in this study (n = 1930).

The CIVISANO protocol: a mixed-method study about the role of objective and perceived environmental factors on physical activity and eating behavior among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults.

Background: Overweight and obesity have a strong socioeconomic profile. Unhealthy behaviors like insufficient physical activity and an unbalanced diet, which are causal factors of overweight and obesity, tend to be more pronounced in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups in high income countries. The CIVISANO project aims to identify objective and perceived environmental factors among different socioeconomic population groups that impede or facilitate physical activity and healthy eating behavior in the local context of two peri-urban Flemish municipalities in Belgium.

Health care costs and lost productivity costs related to excess weight in Belgium.

Background: This study aimed to estimate annual health care and lost productivity costs associated with excess weight among the adult population in Belgium, using national health data.

Methods: Health care costs and costs of absenteeism were estimated using data from the Belgian national health interview survey (BHIS) 2013 linked with individual health insurance data (2013-2017). Average yearly health care costs and costs of absenteeism were assessed by body mass index (BMI) categories - i.

Opportunities for a population-based cohort in Belgium.

Population-based cohorts allow providing answers to a wide range of policy-relevant research questions. In Belgium, existing cohort-like initiatives are limited by their focus on specific population groups or specific topics, or they lack a true longitudinal design. Since 2016, consultations and deliberative processes have been set up to explore the opportunities for a population-based cohort in Belgium.

Estimating national and subnational nutrient intake distributions of global diets.

Background: Access to high-quality dietary intake data is central to many nutrition, epidemiology, economic, environmental, and policy applications. When data on individual nutrient intakes are available, they have not been consistently disaggregated by sex and age groups, and their parameters and full distributions are often not publicly available.

Objectives: We sought to derive usual intake distributions for as many nutrients and population subgroups as possible, use these distributions to estimate nutrient intake inadequacy, compare these distributions and evaluate the implications of their shapes on the estimation of inadequacy, and make these distributions publicly available.

Post COVID-19 condition and its physical, mental and social implications: protocol of a 2-year longitudinal cohort study in the Belgian adult population.

Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most research has focused on the pathophysiology and management of the acute symptoms of COVID-19, yet some people tend to experience symptoms beyond the acute phase of infection, that is, Post COVID-19 condition (PCC). However, evidence on the long-term health impacts of a COVID-19 infection are still scarce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the COVIMPACT study, which aims to set up a cohort of people who have been tested positive for COVID-19 and study the evolution of their physical, mental and social health over the medium (3 months) and long term (two years), and the factors associated with an (un)favorable evolution.

Anxiety and Depression in Belgium during the First 15 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic and policy measures enacted to contain the spread of the coronavirus have had nationwide psychological effects. This study aimed to assess the impact of the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of anxiety (GAD-7 scale) and depression (PHQ-9 scale) of the Belgian adult population. A longitudinal study was conducted from April 2020 to June 2021, with 1838 respondents participating in 6 online surveys.

Targeting the tsetse-trypanosome interplay using genetically engineered Sodalis glossinidius.

Sodalis glossinidius, a secondary bacterial symbiont of the tsetse fly, is currently considered as a potential delivery system for anti-trypanosomal components interfering with African trypanosome transmission (i.e. paratransgenesis).

Domestic violence during the COVID-19 confinement: do victims feel more socially isolated?

Background: Since March 13th 2020, confinement measures have been introduced in Belgium to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). These measures also have an impact on people's daily life (closure of school/businesses, teleworking, recommendation to stay at home). This can cause stress on social, economic and psychological levels and thereby can trigger domestic violence.

Physical activity, sugar-sweetened beverages, whole grain bread and insomnia among adolescents and psychological distress in adulthood: prospective data from the population-based HUNT study.

Background: In this study, we examined the relationship between low levels of physical activity, high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and low consumption of whole grain bread and experiencing insomnia in adolescence and psychological distress in young adults.

Methods: This prospective study was based on information retrieved from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) in Norway and included adolescents (age 13-19) participating in Young-HUNT3 (2006-2008) and in HUNT4 (2017-2019) 11 years later (age 23-31). The study sample consisted of 2,230 participants (1,287 females and 943 males).

COVID-19 and people who use drugs: Impact of the pandemic on general anxiety and depressive disorders among adults in Belgium.

Background: During previous pandemics people who use drugs (PWUD) were categorized among the most vulnerable. In the current study, firstly, we wanted to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders among PWUD. Furthermore, we wanted to compare the prevalence of these disorders with that of members from the general population who did not use drugs.

Vaccine effectiveness against infection and onwards transmission of COVID-19: Analysis of Belgian contact tracing data, January-June 2021.

In Belgium, high-risk contacts of an infected person were offered PCR-testing irrespective of their vaccination status. We estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and onwards transmission, controlling for previous infections, household-exposure and temporal trends. We included 301,741 tests from 25 January to 24 June 2021.

Identifying Belgian protein consumption typologies by means of clustering and classification to move towards personalized advices for sustainable and nutritious food choices.

Protein sources are determinant for the environmental impact and nutritiousness of our food consumption patterns. Dietary advices, in terms of nutritional values and, more recently, the associated environmental impacts, are mostly formulated at nationwide level. However, actual food consumption patterns are variable between individuals within nations, leading to a need for more personalized dietary advices to ensure the feasibility of potential dietary changes.