Towards stronger tobacco control policies to curb the smoking epidemic in Spain.

Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke pose a significant risk to the health of populations. Although this evidence is not new, the commitment of countries to implement laws aimed at controlling consumption and eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke is uneven. Thus, in North America or in Europe, locations like California or Ireland, are pioneers in establishing policies aimed at protecting the population against smoking and secondhand smoke. Identifying measures that have worked would help control this important Public Health problem in other countries that are further behind in tobacco control policies. In Spain, there has been almost 15 years of little political action in legislation oriented to control the tobacco epidemic. If we want to achieve the tobacco endgame, new legislative measures must be implemented. In this paper, we have elucidated tobacco control policies that could be implemented and show how different countries have done so.

An overview on the relationship between residential radon and lung cancer: what we know and future research.

We aim to provide an overview of the research available on indoor radon and lung cancer, with a special focus on Spanish investigations. Early studies on underground miners established the link between radon and lung cancer, which was later confirmed for the general population by residential case-control studies. Spain contributed with extensive evidence, including 5 multicentric, hospital-based, case-control studies in the last 30 years, exploring diverse aspects, such as radon's effect on never-smokers, molecular pathways linking radon exposure to lung cancer risk, survival rates, mortality burden, and occupational exposure. There is a well-established causal association between radon with lung cancer. Despite pioneering research performed in our country by the Galician Radon Laboratory, particularly on driver genes, the evidence on the potential molecular pathways which makes radon a carcinogen is sparse. Also, relevant questions on the potential association of radon exposure with the induction of other diseases are still pending.

[Attributable mortality to tobacco consumption in Brazil, 1996-2019]. / Mortalidad atribuida al consumo de tabaco en Brasil, 1996-2019.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the burden of tobacco consumption on mortality and years of life expectancy lost in population ≥35 years in Brazil in the period 1996-2019 and to identify trend changes in smoking-attributable mortality. METHOD: An independent prevalence method using the lung cancer mortality rate as a proxy for cumulative smoking risk was used to estimate smoking-attributable mortality. Smoking-attributable mortality is estimated from the lung cancer mortality rate and applying relative risks from 5 US cohorts. Smoking-attributable mortality, crude and standardized attributed mortality rates are presented overall, by sex, age and causes of death. Trend analysis was performed by applying joinpoint regression models. Years of life expectancy lost due to tobacco were calculated. RESULTS: Tobacco consumption caused 2,389,831 deaths in Brazil between 1996-2019. Cardiometabolic diseases were the leading cause of death in women throughout the period and in men until 2015. Since 2006, smoking-attributable mortality rates in men, regardless of age, show a decreasing trend while in females the evolution is different. The years of life expectancy lost show a slight decrease since the first triennia and are higher in men. CONCLUSIONS: In Brazil, the 8.5% of total mortality between 1996-2019 is attributed to tobacco consumption. It is important to monitor the burden of the tobacco consumption on mortality in order to strengthen or implement interventions against smoking in Brazil.

Evolution and characterization of health sciences paper retractions in Brazil and Portugal.

The retraction of health sciences publications is a growing concern. To understand the patterns in a particular country-context and design specific measures to address the problem, it is important to describe and characterize retractions. We aimed to assess the evolution of health science retractions in Brazil and Portugal and to describe their features. We conducted a cross-sectional study including all health sciences retracted articles with at least one author affiliated to a Portuguese or Brazilian institution identified through Retraction Watch database. A total of 182 retracted articles were identified. The number of retractions increased over time, but the proportion related to the whole of publications remained stable. A total of 50.0% and 60.8% of the Portuguese and Brazilian retracted articles, respectively, were published in first and second quartile journals. Scientific misconduct accounted for 60.1% and 55.9% of retractions in Brazil and Portugal. In both countries, the most frequent cause of misconduct was plagiarism. The time from publication to retraction decreases as the journal quartile increases. The retraction of health sciences articles did not decrease over time in Brazil and Portugal. There is a need to develop strategies aimed at preventing, monitoring and managing scientific misconduct according to the country context.

[Lung cancer mortality trends in Colombia, 1985-2018Tendências na mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia de 1985 a 2018]. / Tendencias en la mortalidad por cáncer de pulmón en Colombia, 1985-2018.

Objective: To determine lung cancer mortality trends in Colombia during the period 1985-2018 in the population aged 35 years and over and identify changes in the trend. Methods: Analysis of mortality time series. The specific standardized rates by sex and age group were calculated. Using joinpoint regression, the annual percentage change in the rates was estimated and points of change were identified. Results: During the period 1985-2018, 105 553 deaths from lung cancer were reported in the population aged 35 and over. The standardized rates exhibit a downward trend during the period 1985-2005, except in people over the age of 64. Conclusions: Lung cancer death rates in Colombia are trending downward. Primary and secondary prevention measures with respect to tobacco use need to be enhanced and other risk factors, such as residential radon or occupation, monitored.

Objetivo: Determinar a evolução da mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia no período de 1985 a 2018, na população com 35 anos de idade ou mais, e identificar mudanças na tendência. Métodos: Análise de séries temporais de mortalidade. Foram calculadas taxas específicas e padronizadas por sexo e faixa etária. Por meio da regressão joinpoint, estimou-se o percentual de variação anual das taxas e foram identificados os pontos de variação. Resultados: No período de 1985 a 2018, foram registradas 105.553 mortes por câncer de pulmão na população com 35 anos de idade ou mais. As taxas padronizadas demonstram tendência decrescente no período de 1985 a 2005, exceto para maiores de 64 anos. Conclusões: A tendência das taxas de mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia é descendente. É necessário promover medidas de prevenção primária e secundária acerca do consumo de tabaco e monitorar outros fatores de risco, como a exposição ao radônio residencial ou a ocupação.

Tendencias en la mortalidad por cáncer de pulmón en Colombia, 1985-2018

[RESUMEN]. Objetivo. Determinar la evolución de la mortalidad por cáncer de pulmón en Colombia en el período 1985- 2018 en la población de 35 años y más e identificar cambios en la tendencia. Métodos. Análisis de series temporales de mortalidad. Se calcularon las tasas específicas y estandarizadas por sexo y grupos de edad. Mediante la regresión joinpoint se estimó el porcentaje de cambio anual de las tasas y se identificaron puntos de cambio. Resultados. En el período 1985-2018 se registraron 105 553 muertes por cáncer de pulmón en la población de 35 años y más. Las tasas estandarizadas muestran una tendencia decreciente en el período 1985-2005, excepto en mayores de 64 años. Conclusiones. La tendencia de las tasas de mortalidad por cáncer de pulmón es decreciente en Colombia. Es necesario potenciar medidas de prevención primaria y secundaria sobre el consumo de tabaco y vigilar otros factores de riesgo como el radón residencial o la ocupación.

[ABSTRACT]. Objective. To determine lung cancer mortality trends in Colombia during the period 1985-2018 in the popula- tion aged 35 years and over and identify changes in the trend. Methods. Analysis of mortality time series. The specific standardized rates by sex and age group were cal- culated. Using joinpoint regression, the annual percentage change in the rates was estimated and points of change were identified. Results. During the period 1985-2018, 105 553 deaths from lung cancer were reported in the population aged 35 and over. The standardized rates exhibit a downward trend during the period 1985-2005, except in people over the age of 64. Conclusions. Lung cancer death rates in Colombia are trending downward. Primary and secondary preven- tion measures with respect to tobacco use need to be enhanced and other risk factors, such as residential radon or occupation, monitored.

[RESUMO]. Objetivo. Determinar a evolução da mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia no período de 1985 a 2018, na população com 35 anos de idade ou mais, e identificar mudanças na tendência. Métodos. Análise de séries temporais de mortalidade. Foram calculadas taxas específicas e padronizadas por sexo e faixa etária. Por meio da regressão joinpoint, estimou-se o percentual de variação anual das taxas e foram identificados os pontos de variação. Resultados. No período de 1985 a 2018, foram registradas 105.553 mortes por câncer de pulmão na popu- lação com 35 anos de idade ou mais. As taxas padronizadas demonstram tendência decrescente no período de 1985 a 2005, exceto para maiores de 64 anos. Conclusões. A tendência das taxas de mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia é descendente. É necessário promover medidas de prevenção primária e secundária acerca do consumo de tabaco e monito- rar outros fatores de risco, como a exposição ao radônio residencial ou a ocupação.

Tendencias en la mortalidad por cáncer de pulmón en Colombia, 1985-2018 / Lung cancer mortality trends in Colombia, 1985-2018 / Tendências na mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia de 1985 a 2018

RESUMEN Objetivo. Determinar la evolución de la mortalidad por cáncer de pulmón en Colombia en el período 1985-2018 en la población de 35 años y más e identificar cambios en la tendencia. Métodos. Análisis de series temporales de mortalidad. Se calcularon las tasas específicas y estandarizadas por sexo y grupos de edad. Mediante la regresión joinpoint se estimó el porcentaje de cambio anual de las tasas y se identificaron puntos de cambio. Resultados. En el período 1985-2018 se registraron 105 553 muertes por cáncer de pulmón en la población de 35 años y más. Las tasas estandarizadas muestran una tendencia decreciente en el período 1985-2005, excepto en mayores de 64 años. Conclusiones. La tendencia de las tasas de mortalidad por cáncer de pulmón es decreciente en Colombia. Es necesario potenciar medidas de prevención primaria y secundaria sobre el consumo de tabaco y vigilar otros factores de riesgo como el radón residencial o la ocupación.

ABSTRACT Objective. To determine lung cancer mortality trends in Colombia during the period 1985-2018 in the population aged 35 years and over and identify changes in the trend. Methods. Analysis of mortality time series. The specific standardized rates by sex and age group were calculated. Using joinpoint regression, the annual percentage change in the rates was estimated and points of change were identified. Results. During the period 1985-2018, 105 553 deaths from lung cancer were reported in the population aged 35 and over. The standardized rates exhibit a downward trend during the period 1985-2005, except in people over the age of 64. Conclusions. Lung cancer death rates in Colombia are trending downward. Primary and secondary prevention measures with respect to tobacco use need to be enhanced and other risk factors, such as residential radon or occupation, monitored.

RESUMO Objetivo. Determinar a evolução da mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia no período de 1985 a 2018, na população com 35 anos de idade ou mais, e identificar mudanças na tendência. Métodos. Análise de séries temporais de mortalidade. Foram calculadas taxas específicas e padronizadas por sexo e faixa etária. Por meio da regressão joinpoint, estimou-se o percentual de variação anual das taxas e foram identificados os pontos de variação. Resultados. No período de 1985 a 2018, foram registradas 105.553 mortes por câncer de pulmão na população com 35 anos de idade ou mais. As taxas padronizadas demonstram tendência decrescente no período de 1985 a 2005, exceto para maiores de 64 anos. Conclusões. A tendência das taxas de mortalidade por câncer de pulmão na Colômbia é descendente. É necessário promover medidas de prevenção primária e secundária acerca do consumo de tabaco e monitorar outros fatores de risco, como a exposição ao radônio residencial ou a ocupação.

Smoking-attributable mortality in South America: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Dating from the 1920s and linked to the increase in mortality among smokers, tobacco has become one of the most studied health risk factors. Tobacco-use series, whether for the general population or for specific groups, are unavailable for most South American countries, something that hinders the characterisation of this risk factor. OBJECTIVES: To identify and analyse studies that estimate smoking-attributable mortality (SAM) in South America and provide an overview of the impact of smoking habit on mortality in the region. METHODS: Systematic review using PubMed, Embase, LILACS, Biblioteca Virtual en Salud, Google Scholar and Google, and including all papers published until June 2020 reporting studies in which SAM was estimated. RESULTS: The search yielded 140 papers, 17 of which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There were SAM estimates for all South American countries, with Argentina having the most. The first estimate covered 1981 and the latest, 2013. The method most used was prevalence-based. Regardless of the country and point in time covered by the estimate, the highest figures were recorded for men in all cases. The burden of attributable vs observed mortality varied among countries, reaching a figure of 20.3% in Argentina in 1986. The highest SAM burden was registered for the group of cardiovascular diseases. CONCLUSIONS: SAM estimates are available for all South American countries but the respective study periods differ and the frequency of the estimates is unclear. For 4 countries, the only estimates available are drawn from reports, something that does not allow for a detailed assessment of the estimates obtained. To help with decision-making targeted at evaluating and enhancing the impact of smoking control policies, further studies are needed in order to update the impact of smoking on all countries across South America.