The aim of this study was to assess the synergistic effect of non-adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and lifestyle habits on the occurrence of breast cancer (BC).
A case-control study was ...carried out from September 2018 to February 2019 at the Teaching Hospital "Umberto I" in Rome. A Food Frequency Questionnaire was used for assessing the level of adherence to MD, the IPAQ Questionnaire to measure physical activity, and AUDIT-C to estimate alcohol consumption. The possible interaction between risk factors was tested using the synergism index.
A total of 94 cases and 88 controls were enrolled (median age 55.8 for cases and 57.9 for controls). The MD Score over 6 was associated with low odds of having breast cancer (OR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.12-0.69). There is a clear indication for the additivity and synergism between non-adherence to MD and many risk factors on the occurrence of BC: current smoker (S = 2.02; 95% CI 0.62-8.07), physical inactivity (S = 2.14; 95% CI 0.71 2-8.28) and alcohol consumption (S = 3.02; 95% CI 0.91-12.95).
Primary prevention of BC can benefit from intervention targeting nutritional and lifestyle factors that act synergistically.
Since the nineteenth century, the mud snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray 1843), native to New Zealand, has been introduced into several European countries, Italy included. As a first step to ...contain its spread and establishment, it seems necessary to understand the characteristics of the environment that are more favourable for this species' invasion. To this aim, we analysed a number of physico-chemical and biotic parameters of four streams, two invaded and two not yet invaded, in the National Park of the Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna (Central Italy), where the species was first recorded in 2008. The two categories of streams, invaded and non-invaded, differ in only three of the 20 analysed characteristics of the habitat; that is, availability of crevices, width stream, and maximum water depth. This suggests that, despite P. antipodarum's documented tolerance to pollution, the high-quality waters of the park are highly susceptible to its invasion, if its vectors and pathways are not identified and adequately monitored. Most of the environmental parameters analysed in the studied streams were shown to be similar to those reported in the literature as preferred/tolerated by the species. Our findings pinpoint the vulnerability of nature reserves to species invasions, and call for more effective preventative measures.
Researches on phreatic hydrobiids carried in Campania and Basilicata (southern Italy) have led to the discovery of 3 new species: Alzoniella tanagrensis, Alzoniella calorensis, and Islamia selensis, ...all endemic taxa spread only in the Sele river basin. These are the first findings of hydrobiids living only in phreatic habitat in rivers of southern Italy. Moreover, other aquatic species collected in the same basin are reported with some brief comments, especially those belonging to the genus Belgrandia, which present a very complex taxonomic and nomenclatural status; in fact these taxa require a deeper study. Finally, the updated checklist of the freshwater aquatic molluscs from Campania region is given.
Alcohol, drug consumption and polysubstance use are some of the most important causes of illnesses and mortality among adolescents, who have been identified as common users of these substances. Aim ...of this study was to assess and describe the current scenery of alcohol and other drugs consumption habits among a wide sample of Italian high school and university students.
A cross-sectional study was carried out using an online survey. The questionnaire was developed and administered via an internet forum for middle school, high school and university students named "Skuola.net". The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analysis. Additive interactions were assessed by calculating the synergy index.
A total of 11,379 Italian students answered the questionnaire. The prevalence of alcohol drinkers was 34.2%; among these, 17.8% of the individuals showed unhealthy drinking behaviors (frequency of alcohol use of four times or more per week); 10.3% of individuals declared daily assumption of six or more glasses of alcohol. Concerning drugs, 15.7% of the responders classified themselves as illicit drug users, with cannabis getting the highest prevalence rates (6.9%). Finally, concerning alcohol, a synergistic effect was recorded for male and adult individuals (SI = 1.04); while concerning illicit drugs, a synergistic effect was found between male gender and older age (SI = 1.42), and between university students and male gender (SI = 1.10).
This study gives an overview about the attitudes of a wide sample of Italian students concerning alcohol and drugs habits. These results are in line with evidences from the scientific literature and will be helpful for developing future prevention strategies towards this target population.
Abstract
Due to the increase of life expectancy for cancer patients, it has become necessary to implement complete and economically sustainable clinical care pathways that integrate different ...professional competences. The Comprehensive Cancer Care Network (CCCN) model consists of multiple specialized structures that cooperate for cancer patients care. Quality Indicators (QIs) represent valid and reliable tools of evaluation that allow a standardized comparison among different structures. The aim of this systematic review was to highlight a wide and complete description of the implemented QIs within the CCCNs and to identify and analyze methodologies used for the development of QIs. The literature was performed investigating two databases (PubMed and Scopus) and the search identified 7342 studies. After duplicate removal, title and abstract screening, and full text evaluation, 46 studies were included in the study. Most QIs were implemented in USA, Germany and Italy where the CCCN approach seems to be well defined. Eighty -two QIs concerned diagnosis, 260 concerned treatment, 7 concerned prevention, 29 about follow up, 71 about palliative care, 12 concerned rehabilitation and 7 research. The majority of the identified QIs belonged to the process domain, followed by the structure ones. Excluding QIs related to the management of cancer in general, the most represented organs resulted breast, colorectum and lung. Overall, it can be stated that the most represented categories of QIs concerned diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, also the palliative care domain appeared very represented. Regarding the methodology of the QIs development, a consensus approach among experts and the Delphi method were the most frequently used methodologies. Only a few studies included the participation of patients for the implementation of the QIs. This systematic review provides a synthesis of existing QIs related to the setting of integrated oncological care
Key messages
The CCCN has been recognized as an ideal model for structuring the process of care that guarantees a complete and integrated approach for the management of oncological patients.
Quality Indicators represent valid and reliable tools that should be used to perform a standardized comparison among different healthcare systems and to guarantee a homogeneous quality of care.
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