Air pollution and children's mental health in rural areas: compositional spatio-temporal model.

Air pollution stands as an environmental risk to child mental health, with proven relationships hitherto observed only in urban areas. Understanding the impact of pollution in rural settings is equally crucial. The novelty of this article lies in the study of the relationship between air pollution and behavioural and developmental disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and eating disorders in children below 15 living in a rural area.

Paediatric teams in front of childhood obesity: A qualitative study within the STOP project.

Introduction: Understanding the underlying factors that influence the approach to overweight and obesity in children is basic to best support families searching a solution to this important public health problem.

Objective: To assess attitudes and feelings of paediatric staff in addressing overweight and childhood obesity to parents, exploring perceived barriers and facilitators, for an effective care.

Participants And Method: Qualitative study by means of individual semi-structured questionnaires of paediatric staff (paediatricians and paediatrician nurses; n = 57; 68% female) of primary health care centres and hospitals in Mallorca.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Health of the General and More Vulnerable Population and Its Determinants: Health Care and Social Survey-ESSOC, Study Protocol.

This manuscript describes the rationale and protocol of a real-world data (RWD) study entitled Health Care and Social Survey (ESSOC, Encuesta Sanitaria y Social). The study's objective is to determine the magnitude, characteristics, and evolution of the COVID-19 impact on overall health as well as the socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioural, occupational, environmental, and clinical determinants of both the general and more vulnerable population. The study integrates observational data collected through a survey using a probabilistic, overlapping panel design, and data from clinical, epidemiological, demographic, and environmental registries.

Effectiveness of the measures to flatten the epidemic curve of COVID-19. The case of Spain.

After the cases of COVID-19 skyrocketed, showing that it was no longer possible to contain the spread of the disease, the governments of many countries launched mitigation strategies, trying to slow the spread of the epidemic and flatten its curve. The Spanish Government adopted physical distancing measures on March 14; 13 days after the epidemic outbreak started its exponential growth. Our objective in this paper was to evaluate ex-ante (before the flattening of the curve) the effectiveness of the measures adopted by the Spanish Government to mitigate the COVID-19 epidemic.

Analysis of the location of retinal lesions in central retinographies of patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Purpose: To describe the distribution of Type 2 DM retinal lesions and determine whether it is symmetrical between the two eyes, is random or follows a certain pattern.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of Type 2 DM patients who had been referred for an outpatients' ophthalmology visit for diabetic retinopathy screening in primary health care. Retinal photographic images were taken using central projection non-mydriatic retinography.

Evaluation of the Biases in the Studies that Assess the Effects of the Great Recession on Health. A Systematic Review.

Background: Our main objective was to evaluate the fundamental biases detected in studies assessing the effects the Great Recession had on health for the case of Spain. As secondary objectives we presented methods to control these biases and to discuss the results of the studies in question if they had controlled for them.

Methods: We carried out a systematic review of the literature published up to June 2018.

Prediabetes is associated with glomerular hyperfiltration in a European Mediterranean cohort study.

Background: Glomerular hyperfiltration is well recognized as an early renal alteration in subjects with diabetes mellitus. However, what is not well-known is whether hyperfiltration also occurs in the early stages of hyperglycaemia, for instance in prediabetes. Identifying subjects with glomerular hyperfiltration from among those with prediabetes might be helpful to implement preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Spatial Assessment of the Association between Long-Term Exposure to Environmental Factors and the Occurrence of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Catalonia, Spain: A Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study.

Background: It is believed that an interaction between genetic and non-genetic factors may be involved in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With the exception of exposure to agricultural chemicals like pesticides, evidence of an association between environmental risk factors and ALS is inconsistent. Our objective here was to investigate the association between long-term exposure to environmental factors and the occurrence of ALS in Catalonia, Spain, and to provide evidence that spatial clusters of ALS related to these environmental factors exist.

Discontinuation, Efficacy, and Safety of Cholinesterase Inhibitors for Alzheimer's Disease: a Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of 43 Randomized Clinical Trials Enrolling 16 106 Patients.

Background: We investigated the effect of cholinesterase inhibitors on all-cause discontinuation, efficacy and safety, and the effects of study design-, intervention-, and patient-related covariates on the risk-benefit of cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials comparing cholinesterase inhibitors and placebo was performed. The effect of covariates on study outcomes was analysed by means of meta-regression using a Bayesian framework.

Treatment efficacy of anti-hypertensive drugs in monotherapy or combination: ATOM systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials according to PRISMA statement.

Background: The relative efficacy of antihypertensive drugs/combinations is not well known. Identifying the most effective ones and the patients' characteristics associated with best performance of the drugs will improve management of hypertensive patients.

Objective: To assess the blood pressure (BP) reduction attributed to antihypertensive drugs and identify characteristics associated with BP decrease.

Long term effects of traffic noise on mortality in the city of Barcelona, 2004-2007.

Numerous studies showing statistically significant associations between environmental noise and adverse health effects already exist for short-term (over one day at most) and long-term (over a year or more) noise exposure, both for morbidity and (albeit to a lesser extent) mortality. Recently, several studies have shown this association to be independent from confounders, mainly those of air pollutants. However, what has not been addressed is the problem of misalignment (i.

Retinal arteriole-to-venule ratio changes and target organ disease evolution in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients at 1-year follow-up.

There is no agreement on the systematic exploration of the fundus oculi (FO) in hypertensive patients, and it is unknown whether the evolution of retinal microcirculatory alterations has prognostic value or not. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the evolution of the arteriole-to-venule ratio (AVR) in newly-diagnosed hypertensive patients is associated with better or worse evolution of target organ damage (TOD) during 1 year. A cohort of 133 patients with newly-diagnosed untreated hypertension was followed for 1 year.

Development of an automated system to classify retinal vessels into arteries and veins.

There are some evidence of the association between the calibre of the retinal blood vessels and hypertension. Computer-assisted procedures have been proposed to measure the calibre of retinal blood vessels from high-resolution photopraphs. Most of them are in fact semi-automatic.

[TRAMOMTANA (Multidisciplinary treatment of morbid obesity: medication, behavioral therapy, nutritional support, and physical activity). From question to reality in an investigator-initiated clinical trial (II)].

Implementation of an intensive, multidisciplinary weight loss program in patients with morbid obesity is reported. This program is based on behavioral changes, lifestyle intervention, medication, and group therapy sessions. Our objective is to show that the results achieved with this two-year weight loss program will be at least similar to those achieved with bariatric surgery in patients with morbid obesity.

Effects of deprivation on the geographical variability of larynx cancer incidence in men, Girona (Spain) 1994-2004.

Objective: To assess the association between the incidence of larynx cancer and socioeconomic conditions in the province of Girona from a spatial viewpoint.

Materials And Methods: Incidence cases of larynx cancer (CL) in 1994-2004 were provided by the Girona Cancer Registry. A census tract (CT) was assigned to all patients.

Accurately estimating breast cancer survival in Spain: cross-matching local cancer registries with the National Death Index.

Objectives: To assess the impact of using data from the National Death Index (NDI) of Spain to estimate breast cancer survival rates among residents of Girona and Zaragoza diagnosed in 1995-1999.

Methods: This was an observational, longitudinal epidemiologic study, using two population-based cancer registries. Data collected were of female residents of Girona or Zaragoza who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995-1999.

Individual socioeconomic factors conditioning cardiovascular disease risk.

Background: Our objective is to ascertain whether the socioeconomic situation of individuals has an influence on the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimation.

Methods: The subjects were part of VAMPAHICA study and had been recently diagnosed as hypertensive. The study subjects were seen in primary care centers, were aged between 15 and 75 years and have never been treated for hypertension (HT).

Spatial variability in mortality inequalities, socioeconomic deprivation, and air pollution in small areas of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, Spain.

Background: There is evidence that geographic variability of social health inequalities continues to exist even after individual risk factors have been taken into account. However, relatively few studies have examined the contribution of exposure to air pollutants to those inequalities.

Objectives: To study the geographic variability of inequalities in mortality and their associations with socioeconomic and environmental inequalities in small areas of the metropolitan of Barcelona during the period 1994 to 2003.

Gender, socio-economic variables and target organ damage in new-diagnosed hypertensive patients.

The aim of the study as to ascertain whether gender and socio-economic variables can explain differences in the degree of severity of hypertension (HT) at the time of diagnosis. Patients were recently diagnosed and never-treated hypertensives, seen in primary care sites and aged 15-75. This study also included a cohort of normotensive patients.

A selection-bias free method to estimate the prevalence of hypertension from an administrative primary health care database in the Girona Health Region, Spain.

The prevalence of common illnesses could be estimated using general practice databases, providing certain advantages when compared to other alternative sources of information, in particular being relatively more cost-effective. The main limitation is that it is a threat of selection bias. Some individuals have a higher probability of having used primary health care, implying that the potential result, 'contact registration', is overrepresented in the sample observed.

Assessment of self-monitoring of blood pressure in the diagnosis of isolated clinic hypertension.

Background: There are no studies assessing cardiovascular morbidity, morality in patients with isolated clinical hypertension (ICH) with self-blood pressure monitoring (SBPM).

Objectives: To determine the value of SBPM in the diagnosis of ICH.

Methods: Cohort study.

[Research protocol for the mortality atlas of the provincial capitals of Andalusia and Catalonia (AMCAC Project)].

The aim of this work is to make known the multicentric project AMCAC, whose objective is to describe the geographical distribution of mortality from all causes in census groups of the provincial capitals of Andalusia and Catalonia during 1992-2002 and 1994-2000 respectively, and to study the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics of the census groups and mortality. This is an ecological study in which the analytical unit is the census group. The data correspond to 298,731 individuals (152,913 men and 145,818 women) who died during the study periods in the towns of Almeria, Barcelona, Cadiz, Cordoba, Girona, Granada, Huelva, Jaen, Lleida, Malaga, Seville and Tarragona during the study periods.

A combined analysis of the short-term effects of photochemical air pollutants on mortality within the EMECAM project.

In recent years, some epidemiologic studies have attributed adverse effects of air pollutants on health not only to particles and sulfur dioxide but also to photochemical air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and ozone). The effects are usually small, leading to some inconsistencies in the results of the studies. Furthermore, the different methodologic approaches of the studies used has made it difficult to derive generic conclusions.