1,720,999 research outputs found
Non-communicable diseases, socio-economic status, lifestyle and well-being in Italy: An additive Bayesian network model
No full textThe aim of the paper is to investigate the statistical association, on a sample
of Italian subjects, extracted by Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe
(SHARE) dataset, between chronic diseases (occurrence or number of chronic
diseases) and socio-economic and behavioural determinants (lifestyle indicators,
QoL indicators, cognitive functioning variables). To this aim, additive Bayesian
network (ABN) analysis was used. The resulting ABN model shows that better educated
individuals have better health outcomes, age is direct and gender is an
indirect determinant of the number of chronic diseases. Furthermore, self-perceived
health is associated with lower number of chronic diseases, lower physical limitations
and higher quality of life and these indicators can be considered within a
unitary vision to represent well-being of elderly people, as they share a similar distribution
by gender and age
Social networks and social activities promote cognitive functioning in both concurrent and prospective time: evidence from the SHARE survey
No full textThe study aimed to investigate the role of social activities, social networks as well as socioeconomic status (SES) in influ-encing some aspects of cognitive functioning (immediate and delayed verbal recall tests and semantic verbal fluency) in elderly people over time. This analysis was conducted on a sample of 31,954 healthy elderly people (58% female, mean age 65.54 ± 9.74) interviewed in both the fourth and sixth waves of the Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), in 2011 and 2015. A structural equation model with measurement component was used to assess the relation-ship between cognitive function, social life and SES over time. Multilevel ordinal logistic regression was applied to explain satisfaction with social network in relation to different types of social network across countries. Being equipped with good cognitive skills did not seem to be predictive of their maintenance over time (latent coefficient = 0.24, p value = 0.34). On the contrary, the subject’s social and participatory life, understood as satisfying one’s social network and engaging in diversi-fied non-professional social activities, seemed to play a crucial role in the maintenance of cognitive functions in the elderly (latent coefficient = 3.5, p value = 0.03). This research suggests that a socially active and participatory lifestyle mitigates the effects of the physiological process of brain aging
Caries Severity, Decayed First Permanent Molars and Associated Factors in 6-7 Years Old Schoolchildren Living in Palermo (Southern Italy).
Full text linkTo date, there are very few epidemiologic studies on caries disease in 6-7 year old children living in Sicily (Southern Italy). The first permanent molar (FPM) is the most commonly affected tooth in this target population, and a one-unit increase in the number of decayed FPMs is predictive of caries in other teeth and in adulthood. The primary aim of this research is to estimate the prevalence of caries in 6-7 year old schoolchildren living in Palermo and, as a secondary aim, to estimate the prevalence of affected FPMs. It was designed as a cluster cross-sectional survey on 995 children from 16 schools, selected based on their geographical location, in one of the eight city districts. Caries data were recorded using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System for each tooth surface. The relation between socio-economic status, behavioural determinants, and clinical information and the number of teeth with initial caries (IC), moderate caries (MC), or extensive caries (SC) was analysed through the ordinal logistic regression. Among the 995 schoolchildren, 662 (66.5%) had at least one lesion and 742 (74.6%) had FPMs. Of the latter, 238 (32.0%) were affected by IC, 86 (11.6%) were affected by MC, and only 3 (0.4%) were affected by SC. During multivariable analysis, there was evidence of an increased risk of MC and SC related to the deprivation of the district in which the children lived and went to school, as well as to the protective role of parental education and employment. The same significant determinants were found for IC and MC FPMs. The study showed the important role of socio-economic determinants, unhealthy behaviours, and social deprivation related to the increased risk of moderate and extensive caries in 6-7 year old schoolchildren. Investigating this target population is very important, as early development of caries in FPMs may have serious consequences in the prognostics of oral health in an adult
Knowledge and attitudes towards smoking cessation counselling: an Italian cross-sectional survey on tertiary care nursing staff
Full text linkBackground: One of the most effective smoking cessation strategies involves care
and advice from nurses due to their role in the front line of treatment. Lack of
education on smoking cessation counselling may be detrimental, and adequate
smoking cessation training during healthcare studies is needed.
Objectives: The study aimed to examine nurses’ attitudes, belief, and knowledge of
smoking cessation counselling; knowledge of the health risks associated with
smoking was also assessed.
Design: A cross-sectional survey on 77 nurses from the nursing staff of Cardiology,
Cardiac Intensive Care and Surgical Oncology Units of two tertiary hospitals.
Methods: Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess the questionnaire’s internal
consistency, and three composite indicators were computed to assess the three
dimensions of the questionnaire (knowledge, attitude, belief). Furthermore, a
stepwise linear regression model was used to predict the attitude to be engaged in
smoking cessation counselling, related to demographic and behavioural variables,
as well as knowledge and belief indicators. The analysis was stratified by Unit.
Results: Nurses from three Units had a significantly different attitude score (2.55 ±
0.93 for Cardiology, 2.49 ± 0.72 for Cardiac Intensive Care and 2.09 ± 0.59 for
Surgical Oncology Unit) (P-value = 0.0493). Analogously, knowledge of smoking
cessation counselling was reported to be higher for Cardiac Intensive Care
Unit nurses (3.19 ± 0.70) compared to Surgical Oncology nurses (2.73 ± 0.74)
(P-value = 0.021). At the multivariable analysis, attitude towards smoking cessation
counselling was significantly related to the nurse’s belief about counselling, for
Cardiology staff (coeff = 0.74, 95% CI [0.32–1.16], P-value = 0.002) and for Surgical
Oncology staff (coeff = 0.37, 95% CI [0.01–0.72], P-value = 0.042).
Conclusions: Incorporation of smoking cessation interventions in nurses’ and
nursing managers’ education could improve the nursing staff’s attitude, belief, and
knowledge regarding smoking cessation counselling, which would lead to the
inclusion of tobacco prevention and cessation as an integral part of patient care
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
The Impact of a Change in Employment on Three Work-Related Diseases: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study of 10,530 Belgian Employees
Full text linkBACKGROUND: The literature that has investigated to what extent a change in employment contributes to good health is contradictory or shows inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to investigate whether an association exists between a change in employment and cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and neuropsychological diseases in a sample of 10,530 Belgian workers in a seven-year follow-up study period. METHODS: The following factors were analysed: Demographic variables, a change in employment and the work-related risks. Individuals being on medication for cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and neuropsychological diseases were used as proxies for the three health issues. Logistic regression models for autocorrelated data with repeated measures were used to examine each medication type. RESULTS: A change in employment and psychosocial load can have an important effect on the health of cardiovascular employees. Demographic variables, such as BMI and age, are risk factors for all three medications. Repetitive, manual tasks, handling static, exposure to noise levels of 87 dB, mechanical and/or manual handling with loads, and shift work were found to be positively associated with medications taken for musculoskeletal diseases. Exposure to noise 80 dB(A), managing physical loads and night work were found to be associated with being on medication for neuropsychological diseases. Physical activity and skill levels were considered to be protective factors for being on medication for neuropsychological diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Change in employment and psychosocial load were found as two important risk factors for being on medication for cardiovascular (CVD). Dealing with loads, doing shift work and being daily exposed to the noise of 87 dB correlated with being on medication for musculoskeletal (MSD). Dealing with physical loads, doing night work and being exposed to the noise of 80 dB were risk factors for being on medication for neuropsychological (NPD). While doing physical activity and reporting higher skill levels were found to be protective factors for NPD.status: Publishe
Oral Health Status in Subjects with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: Data from the Zabút Aging Project
Full text linkBackground: The relationship between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and periodontitis has been recently investigated with heterogenous results.
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the oral health status and its relationship with cognitive impairment of participants, enrolled in the Zabút Aging Project, a community-based cohort study performed in rural community in Sicily, Italy.
Methods: A case-control study (20 subjects with AD, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 20 controls) was conducted. The protocol included a comprehensive medical and cognitive-behavioral examination. Full-mouth evaluation, microbial analysis of subgingival plaque samples (by RT-PCR analysis), and oral health-related quality of life (OHR-QoL) were evaluated.
Results: The decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) total score of AD subjects was significantly higher than for aMCI (p = 0.009) and controls (p = 0.001). Furthermore, the "M" component of DMFT (i.e., the number of missing teeth) was significantly higher in AD than in aMCI (p < 0.001) and controls (p < 0.001). A Poisson regression model revealed that age (p < 0.001), male gender (p = 0.001), and AD (p = 0.001) were positively correlated with DMFT. Concerning oral microbial load, the presence of Fusobacterium nucleatum was significantly higher in AD than in controls (p = 0.02), and a higher load of Treponema denticola was found in aMCI than with AD (p = 0.004). OHR-QoL scores did not differ among the groups.
Conclusion: The current research suggests that AD is associated with chronic periodontitis, which is capable of determining tooth loss due to the pathogenicity of Fusobacterium nucleatum. These data remain to be confirmed in larger population-based cohorts
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