1,720,975 research outputs found
Influnet, the new epidemiological and virological influenza surveillance network in Italy
No full textthe article describes the results obtained in the first year of activity of the national network Influnet for epidemiological surveillance of influenz
How many patients need statin treatment in a low-cardiovascular-risk country? Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol target and distance from target distribution in an Italian cohort
No full textBACKGROUND AND AIM: To assess cardiovascular risk distribution, distribution of individual low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol target and distance of LDL cholesterol from the target in a representative sample of the Italian population.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Cross-sectional, population-based study of a representative sample of the Italian adult population, comprising 5458 individuals (from 40 to 79 years of age, both sexes) from general practices in Italy. Of the subjects, 65.2% were in the low-cardiovascular-risk class, whereas 10.5%, 18.3% and 6.0% had moderate, high, and very high cardiovascular risk profiles, respectively; 8.2% of the subjects were treated with statins at enrolment. Of the cohort, 68.3% displayed LDL-cholesterol values below their LDL target, as calculated according to their individual risk profile. Among the 31.7% 'not at target', 42.3% were ≤15%, 44.3% were between 15% and 40% and 13.4% were >40% over their LDL target.
CONCLUSIONS: About two-thirds of adults in a low-cardiovascular-risk country, such as Italy, have LDL-cholesterol levels 'at target', as defined in current guidelines. Accordingly, the remaining subjects require a lifestyle or pharmacological intervention to reach their target; 24% of the total cohort, in detail, need to be treated with a statin (or to continue the prescribed statin treatment) to reach the proper LDL target. This type of data analysis might help to optimise resource allocation in preventive medicine
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
Blood pressure and antihypertensive therapy according to the global cardiovascular risk level in Italy : the CHECK Study
No full textBACKGROUND: Elevated blood pressure (BP) is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. In this study we assessed the excess of cardiovascular risk attributable to high BP and antihypertensive treatment in a sample of Italian patients enrolled by the 'Cholesterol and Health: Education, Control and Knowledge' (CHECK) study.
METHODS: CHECK is a large, cross-sectional epidemiological study, which randomly enrolled patients aged 40-79 years from 425 Italian General Practices from March 2002 to April 2004. Among 5731 patients enrolled in the study [49.6% men, mean age (standard deviation) 57.7 (10.3) years], 723 (12.6%) had 'optimal' BP, 1496 (26.1%) had 'high normal' BP, and 1942 (33.9%) were hypertensive.
RESULTS: According to the European Guidelines stratification of the cardiovascular risk-excess attributable to high BP, 34.7% of the sample had a low added risk and 53.2% had a moderate-to-very high added risk. The pharmacological therapy was prescribed in 22.3, 43.9, 61.4, and 76.9% of the patients with low, moderate, high, and very high added risk, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Overall dietary and drug therapies are under prescribed, as most of the treated patients would require two additional antihypertensive drugs to meet the recommended BP target. This effort could provide significant individual benefit to moderate/high-risk patients
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
C-reactive protein distribution and correlation with traditional cardiovascular risk factors in the Italian population
No full textBackground: C-reactive protein (CRP) increases during an inflammatory response; its plasma levels are believed to be an independent predictor of future atherosclerotic disease. We report the distribution of plasma levels of CRP and its possible relationship with other cardiovascular risk factors in an Italian cohort. Methods: CRP was assessed in frozen plasma samples of 1949 participants in the CHECK study (2001-2005), which collected clinical and biochemical data from randomly selected subjects (40-79 years) in the setting of Italian general practice. Results: Median CRP (interquartile range) was higher in women (1.42 [0.58-2.86] vs 1.28 [0.58-2.50]; p =.163), in people aged ≥ 65 years (1.74 [0.89-3.34] vs 1.11 [0.52-2.45]; p <.001), in patients with obesity (2.37 [1.27-4.15] vs 1.16 [0.52-2.41]; p <.001), metabolic syndrome (2.12 [1.16-3.72] vs 1.10 [0.50-2.38]; p <.001), or higher cardiovascular risk (2.03 [1.01-3.42] vs 1.19 [0.53-2.50]; p <.001). Stepwise regression analysis showed significant associations (R2 =.264) of circulating logeCRP with body mass index, fibrinogen, apoB, age, gender, smoking habits, physical inactivity, creatinine levels, and systolic blood pressure. Conclusion: This study provides epidemiological data of CRP in the Italian population and reinforces the existing evidences about the close correlation between CRP and markers of inflammation and adiposity
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
Cholesterol control in stroke prevention in Italy : a cross-sectional study in family practice
No full textBackground: Stroke represents worldwide the second and seventh cause of death and invalidity, respectively. Patients with ischaemic stroke or transitory ischaemic attack (TIA) are at high risk of recurrence, therefore requiring intensive treatment. Hypercholesterolaemia is a modifiable risk factor for stroke. The general practitioners attitude towards detection and treatment of dyslipidaemia among patients with stroke or TIA in Italy is unknown; we therefore aimed to address this issue taking advantage of the database of The Italian College of General Practitioners. Methods: Prevalence of the monitored factors (lipid levels, statin prescription, and lipid level control with hypolipidaemic agents prescription) were analysed on a patient population of 465 061. Results: A total of 2555 (49% women and 51 % men) patients with a diagnosis of stroke and 2755 patients (52% women and 48% men) with a diagnosis of TIA were included in the study. Total plasma cholesterol (TC) was reported in more than 60% of the patients and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) in less than half. Total plasma cholesterol and LDLc were controlled in 70.3 and 72.8% of the patients, respectively. The percentage of controlled patients decreased to 64% when both LDLc and TC were considered. Statins and fibrates were prescribed in a small proportion of patients (16.9 and 3.5%, respectively). An acceptable control of blood lipids was achieved in a majority of those patients (60.2%). However a relatively large number of patients (646) with high plasma lipids remained untreated. Conclusions: Monitoring and intervention strategies on plasma lipid levels in patients with a diagnosis of stroke or TIA need to be improved
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