Uptake of Gynecological Cancer Screening and Performance of Breast Self-Examination Among 50-Year-Old Migrant and Non-migrant Women in Germany: Results of a Cross-Sectional Study (InEMa).

Our aim was to provide data regarding uptake of gynecological early detection measures and performance of breast self-examinations among migrant women in Germany. Cross-sectional self-reported data were collected using paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Descriptive analyses, Chi square-tests, and logistic regression were applied.

Barriers to Physical Activity in Low Back Pain Patients following Rehabilitation: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Promoting health-enhancing physical activity following rehabilitation is a well-known challenge. This study analysed the barriers to leisure time activity among low back pain patients.

Methods: A subset of 192 low back pain patients who participated in a randomized controlled trial promoting physical activity was analysed.

Characteristics of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with atrial fibrillation and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Background: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) represents a common and highly relevant co-morbidity in patients with atrial fibrillation (Afib). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been identified as an independent risk factor for developing Afib and for Afib recurrence after treatment, but the role of central sleep apnea (CSA) is less clear. This study investigated characteristics of SDB in Afib patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (PEF).

Acculturation and health-related quality of life: results from the German National Cohort migrant feasibility study.

Objectives: We assessed the association between acculturation and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among persons with a Turkish migrant background in Germany.

Methods: 1226 adults of Turkish origin were recruited in four German cities. Acculturation was assessed using the Frankfurt Acculturation Scale resulting in four groups (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization).

Assessment of Public Health and Economic Impact of Intranasal Live-Attenuated Influenza Vaccination of Children in France Using a Dynamic Transmission Model.

Objectives: We estimated the epidemiological and economic impact of extending the French influenza vaccination programme from at-risk/elderly (≥65 years) only to healthy children (2-17 years).

Methods: A deterministic, age-structured, dynamic transmission model was used to simulate the transmission of influenza in the French population, using the current vaccination coverage with trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV) in at-risk/elderly individuals (current strategy) or gradually extending the vaccination to healthy children (aged 2-17 years) with intranasal, quadrivalent live-attenuated influenza vaccine (QLAIV) from current uptake up to 50% (evaluated strategy). Epidemiological, medical resource use and cost data were taken from international literature and country-specific information.

Determinants of dietary patterns and diet quality during pregnancy: a systematic review with narrative synthesis.

Objective: To identify determinants of diet in pregnancy, by detecting factors in our multiple-determinants life course framework that are associated with dietary patterns, quality or guideline adherence.

Design: A systematic review of observational studies, published in English or German, was conducted. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, environmental and pregnancy-related determinants were considered.

Data in longitudinal randomised controlled trials in cancer pain: is there any loss of the information available in the data? Results of a systematic literature review and guideline for reporting.

Background: Given the prevalence of untreated pain among cancer patients, there have been calls for more and better research in the domain. Increasingly, calls for less waste and more optimal use of trial data collected are being made. Waste of data includes non-optimal statistical analysis and non-presentation of interpretable effect size as a measure of effectiveness of an intervention which also enable comparisons across studies.

Why media representations of corporations matter for public health policy: a scoping review.

Background: Media representations play a crucial role in informing public and policy opinions about the causes of, and solutions to, ill-health. This paper reviews studies analysing media coverage of non-communicable disease (NCD) debates, focusing on how the industries marketing commodities that increase NCD risk are represented.

Methods: A scoping review identified 61 studies providing information on media representations of NCD risks, NCD policies and tobacco, alcohol, processed food and soft drinks industries.

Towards a pain free hospital: an in-depth qualitative analysis of the pain experiences of head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Background: Treatment for head and neck cancer can frequently be a painful experience with implications for patients in terms of quality of life, nutrition and ultimately treatment outcomes. Pain may arise for a number of reasons in this patient group including the influence of localised tissue damage from radiotherapy, the effects of chemotherapeutic agents as well as the disease process itself. Early identification of cancer pain, through screening and early analgesic and pain management are thought to be the most appropriate approaches to the problem.

A distributional approach to obtain adjusted comparisons of proportions of a population at risk.

Background: Dichotomisation of continuous data has statistical drawbacks such as loss of power but may be useful in epidemiological research to define high risk individuals.

Methods: We extend a methodology for the presentation of comparison of proportions derived from a comparison of means for a continuous outcome to reflect the relationship between a continuous outcome and covariates in a linear (mixed) model without losing statistical power. The so called "distributional method" is described and using perinatal data for illustration, results from the distributional method are compared to those of logistic regression and to quantile regression for three different outcomes.

The association of pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity with delivery outcomes: a comparison of immigrant and non-immigrant women in Berlin, Germany.

Objectives: To analyse the influence of maternal overweight/obesity on delivery outcomes among first- and second-generation immigrant women and non-immigrant women.

Methods: We used perinatal data from Berlin/Germany (n = 1987 first generation, n = 687 second generation, n = 2185 non-immigrants; gestational age: 24+ weeks; maternal age: 18+ years). Poisson models were fitted to estimate the effect of pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity (categorised according to WHO) on mode of delivery (vaginal vs.

Effect of Length of Stay on Smoking among Turkish and Eastern European Immigrants in Germany--Interpretation in the Light of the Smoking Epidemic Model and the Acculturation Theory.

Background: We analyzed changes in smoking by length of stay among immigrants in Germany and related them to the "smoking epidemic" model and the acculturation theory.

Methods: We used data from a longitudinal survey (German Socio-economic Panel). Immigrants were identified by country of birth (Turkey: respondents n = 828, observations n = 3871; Eastern Europe: respondents n = 2009, observations n = 7202; non-immigrants: respondents n = 34,011, observations n = 140,701).

Definitions of urban areas feasible for examining urban health in the European Union.

As part of the EU-funded project, European Urban Health Indicator System (EURO-URHIS), a definition of urban areas (UAs) and of urban populations was needed to be able to identify comparable UAs in all member states. A literature review on existing definitions, as well as those used by other relevant projects, was performed. A survey of national experts in public health or land planning was also conducted.

Systematic review of models assessing the economic value of routine varicella and herpes zoster vaccination in high-income countries.

Background: A systematic review was conducted to assess the cost-effectiveness of routine varicella and herpes zoster (HZ) vaccination in high-income countries estimated by modelling studies.

Methods: A PubMed search was performed to identify relevant studies published before October 2013. Studies were included in the review if they (i) evaluated the cost-effectiveness of routine childhood or adolescent varicella vaccination and/or HZ vaccination targeting the elderly, and if they (ii) reported results for high-income countries.

Factors associated with smoking in immigrants from non-western to western countries - what role does acculturation play? A systematic review.

Introduction: We aimed to identify factors associated with smoking among immigrants. In particular, we investigated the relationship between acculturation and smoking, taking into consideration the stage of the 'smoking epidemic' in the countries of origin and host countries of the immigrants.

Methods: We searched PubMed for peer-reviewed quantitative studies.

Contribution of overweight and obesity to adverse pregnancy outcomes among immigrant and non-immigrant women in Berlin, Germany.

Background: Maternal excessive weight and smoking are associated with an increased risk of pregnancy complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes. In Germany, immigrant women have a higher prevalence of pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity compared with autochthonous women. We compared the contribution of pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity to adverse pregnancy outcomes among immigrant and autochthonous women in Berlin/Germany.

Smoking during pregnancy among Turkish immigrants in Germany-are there associations with acculturation?

Introduction: We analyzed the association between different acculturation measures and smoking among pregnant immigrant women from Turkey and compared smoking rates between Turkish and German women.

Methods: Perinatal data from a project on the influence of migration and acculturation on pregnancy and birth in Berlin was analyzed. An acculturation index (FRAKK) and two proxy measures (German language proficiency, length of stay in Germany) were used.

How immigrants adapt their smoking behaviour: comparative analysis among Turkish immigrants in Germany and the Netherlands.

Background: Smoking behaviour among immigrants is assumed to converge to that of the host country's majority population with increasing duration of stay. We compared smoking prevalence among Turkish immigrants residing in two different countries (Germany (DE)/the Netherlands (NL)) between and within countries by time spent in Turkey and DE/NL.

Methods: The German 2009 micro-census and the Dutch POLS database (national survey, 1997-2004) were analysed.

Comparing sampling strategies to recruit migrants for an epidemiological study. Results from a German feasibility study.

Background: In 2011, almost 20.0% of the population of Germany had a migration background. Studies on their health tend to have low participation rates.

Public health impact and cost-effectiveness of intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccination of children in Germany.

In 2011, intranasally administered live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) was approved in the EU for prophylaxis of seasonal influenza in 2-17-year-old children. Our objective was to estimate the potential epidemiological impact and cost-effectiveness of an LAIV-based extension of the influenza vaccination programme to healthy children in Germany. An age-structured dynamic model of influenza transmission was developed and combined with a decision-tree to evaluate different vaccination strategies in the German health care system.

Assessing the effect of regional deprivation on mortality avoiding compositional bias: a natural experiment.

Background And Objective: We assessed the effect of regional deprivation on individual mortality by making use of a natural experiment: we followed up ethnic German resettlers from Former Soviet Union countries who were quasi-randomly distributed across the socioeconomically heterogeneous counties of Germany's federal state North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

Methods: We used data from the retrospective cohort study 'AMOR' on the mortality of resettlers in NRW (n=34 393). Based on the postcode of the last known residence we linked study participants to the 54 counties of NRW, which were aggregated in six deprivation clusters.