Scoping review and quality of studies on the epidemiology of pickleball injuries

Pickleball is a sport that combines several elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is played on a court similar to the badminton court and the objective of the game is to hit the ball over a net similar to the tennis net. During these years, its popularity has grown substantially in the United States of America and it has been a sport played by people of different ages. It is important to know the different injuries that can occur in this sport in order to prevent and treat them. The aim is to perform a scoping review following the PRISMA-SCR guidelines to identify the main health problems and injury characteristics suffered in pickleball athletes. A total of 4 articles from different databases were found based on the keywords and boolean operators: ("Pickleball") AND ("injury" OR "injuries" OR "pathology*" OR "illness*" OR " disease*"). The most common injuries that occur are sprains and strains, and they tend to belong to the old age. However, more epidemiological studies about pickleball injuries are needed. Few studies have been found where the data sources show limitations to subsequently be able to carry out epidemiological studies with more precision. Even so, the scientific evidence is limited to provide applicable and conclusive results and more studies are needed on this topic in pickleball. (AU)

Análisis de situación de salud de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires: Año 2020 / Health situation analysis of the City of Buenos Aires: 2020

Realizar intervenciones sobre el proceso de salud-enfermedad-atención-cuidado representa un desafío constante en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, debido a la diversidad y a la complejidad de escenarios que en ella confluyen. Poder conocer en parte la situación de morbimortalidad y su caracterización, así como una descripción del ámbito donde se desarrollan, es el primer paso para pensar en futuras intervenciones que respondan a las realidades que acontecen a cada rincón de la Ciudad. En el ASIS 2020, al igual que en ediciones anteriores, se persigue el objetivo de poder caracterizar este proceso, incorporando la complejidad de analizar datos recolectados en el contexto de la pandemia de Covid-19. La prevalencia de algunas enfermedades, la respuesta del sistema de salud y el registro de datos sufrió alteraciones debido a las medidas de Aislamiento Social Preventivo y Obligatorio. Por ejemplo, con respecto a esto último el análisis de algunas variables no pudo desagregarse al nivel de comunas, como se hizo en años anteriores ya que, el dato se presentaba sólo a nivel zonal (norte, centro y sur) debido a la muestra recolectada. El presente informe se desarrolla y se coordina desde la Gerencia Operativa de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, en articulación con diversas áreas del Gobierno de la Ciudad. (AU)

Curso de Introducción a los principios y métodos epidemiológicos: Orientación Clínica y Orientación Crítica - Bloque de Formación Común 2022

Encuentro de presentación del curso, destinado a residentes de cualquier especialidad del Sistema de Residencias de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, cuyo fundamento es pensar a la epidemiología como "el estudio de la distribución y los determinantes de estados o eventos, (en particular de enfermedades) relacionados con la salud y la aplicación de esos estudios al control de enfermedades y otros problemas de salud". En este sentido y, a modo de introducción de la capacitación, Mario Rovere aborda los siguientes aspectos para la reflexión: dimensión individual - colectiva de la epidemiología, ¿por qué y para qué estudiamos epidemiología?, aportes a la clínica, vigilancia y pensamiento epidemiológico, su relevancia frente a los cambios constantes en los problemas de salud - pandemias visibles e invisibles. Luego, Alicia Lawrynowicz, coordinadora del curso, además de informar sobre cuestiones administrativas y formales de la capacitación, aclara que ésta constará de dos formaciones: Introducción a los Principios y Métodos Epidemiológicos: Orientación Epidemiología Clínica y una segunda con Orientación en Epidemiología Crítica. Sobre el primer curso los contenidos de los diferentes módulos serán: Módulo 0: Familiarización con la propuesta curso: Introducción a los principios y métodos epidemiológicos; Módulo 1: El enfoque epidemiológico de la salud y la enfermedad; Módulo 2: Descripción y búsqueda de las causas de la salud y enfermedad; Módulo 3: Principios básicos de la Epidemiología Clínica. El diagnóstico. En tanto que, en referencia a la Orientación en Epidemiología Crítica, su composición será: Módulo 0: Familiarización con la propuesta curso: Introducción a los principios y métodos epidemiológicos, Módulo 1: El enfoque epidemiológico de la salud y la enfermedad, Módulo 2: Descripción y búsqueda de las causas de la salud y enfermedad, Módulo 3: Bases conceptuales de la Epidemiología Crítica y Determinantes y determinaciones del P-S-E-A-C, Módulo 4: Desigualdades en salud. Espacio territorio.

Public Health and Epidemiology Informatics: Recent Research Trends.

OBJECTIVES: To introduce and analyse current trends in Public Health and Epidemiology Informatics. METHODS: PubMed search of 2020 literature on public health and epidemiology informatics was conducted and all retrieved references were reviewed by the two section editors. Then, 15 candidate best papers were selected among the 920 references. These papers were then peer-reviewed by the two section editors, two chief editors, and external reviewers, including at least two senior faculty, to allow the Editorial Committee of the 2021 International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Yearbook to make an informed decision regarding the selection of the best papers. RESULTS: Among the 920 references retrieved from PubMed, four were suggested as best papers and the first three were finally selected. The fourth paper was excluded because of reproducibility issues. The first best paper is a very public health focused paper with health informatics and biostatistics methods applied to stratify patients within a cohort in order to identify those at risk of suicide; the second paper describes the use of a randomized design to test the likely impact of fear-based messages, with and without empowering self-management elements, on patient consultations or antibiotic requests for influenza-like illnesses. The third selected paper evaluates the perception among communities of routine use of Whole Genome Sequencing and Big Data technologies to capture more detailed and specific personal information. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from the three studies suggest that using Public Health and Epidemiology Informatics methods could leverage, when combined with Deep Learning, early interventions and appropriate treatments to mitigate suicide risk. Further, they also demonstrate that well informing and empowering patients could help them to be involved more in their care process.

The epidemiology of social isolation and loneliness among older adults during the last years of life.

BACKGROUND: Social isolation and loneliness are critical to the health of older adults, but they have not been well-described at the end of life. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and correlates of social isolation and loneliness among older adults in the last years of life. DESIGN: Nationally representative, cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Health and Retirement Study, 2006-2016 data. PARTICIPANTS: Adults age > 50 interviewed once in the last 4 years of life (n = 3613). MEASUREMENTS: We defined social isolation using a 15-item scale measuring household contacts, social network interaction, and community engagement, and frequent loneliness using the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine their adjusted prevalence by time prior-to-death and by subgroups of interest. RESULTS: Approximately 19% experienced social isolation, 18% loneliness, and 5% both in the last 4 years of life (correlation = 0.11). The adjusted prevalence of social isolation was higher for individuals nearer to death (4 years: 18% vs 0-3 months: 27%, p = 0.05) and there was no significant change in loneliness (4 years: 19% vs 0-3 months: 23%, p = 0.13). Risk factors for both isolation and loneliness included (p < 0.01): low net-worth (Isolation: 34% vs 14%; Loneliness: 29% vs 13%), hearing impairment (Isolation: 26% vs 20%; Loneliness: 26% vs 17%), and difficulty preparing meals (Isolation: 27% vs 19%; Loneliness: 29% vs 15%). Factors associated with loneliness, but not social isolation, included being female, pain, incontinence, and cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Social isolation and loneliness are common at the end of life, affecting 1 in 4 older adults, but few experience both. Rates were higher for older adults who were poor and experienced functional or sensory impairments. Results can inform clinical efforts to identify and address end-of-life psychosocial suffering and health policies which prioritize social needs at the end of life.

COVID-19 and the future of clinical epidemiology.

Clinical epidemiology, the "basic science for clinical medicine"[1], has changed substantially over the last 50 years, moving its focus from clinician driven research and clinical settings to large cohorts and trials, NIH funding, and practice guidelines. The COVID-19 pandemic created major challenges for clinicians who needed to make urgent decisions about the management a new disease and for researchers who needed to understand the clinical syndrome and the questions of greatest importance to the pandemic response. Addressing these challenges reunited clinicians and researchers in collaborative efforts to inform decisions about disease risk, prevention, prognosis and treatment, at least in part because of the shared sense of the need to ration scarce resources, the rapid evolution of understanding of the clinical syndrome, the recognition of widespread uncertainty, and the emphasis on the common good over individual credit. Only time will tell whether the experience during COVID-19 will revive the original practice of clinical epidemiology as "the application by a physician who provides direct patient care, of epidemiologic and biometric methods to the study of diagnostic and therapeutic process in order to effect an improvement in health"[2].

Patterns and trends of cancer incidence in children and adolescents in China, 2011-2015: A population-based cancer registry study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a major concern for children and adolescents worldwide. This study aims to report on cancer incidence patterns at age 0-19 years in 2011-2015 and their trends in 2000-2015. METHODS: We collected data on malignancies in population of 0-19 years submitted by high-quality population-based cancer registries in China. Age-standardized rates by world standard population (WSR) and annual percent change (APC) were calculated. RESULTS: In total, 215 cancer registries from 30 provinces contributed datasets during 2011-2015. Twenty-two registries provided continuous data for trend analysis from 2000 to 2015. In total 16,954 malignancies occurred in 177,416,582 person-years. WSRs were 93.32 and 96.03 per million person-years in children aged 0-14 and 0-19 years. Incidence rates were higher in boys than in girls and were higher in urban area than in rural area. In children aged 0-14 years, the top three common diagnostic groups were leukemia, central nervous system (CNS) tumors, and lymphomas in both sexes. In adolescents aged 15-19 years, the top three common diagnostic groups were leukemia, epithelial tumors and melanoma, and CNS tumors in boys and epithelial tumors and melanoma, leukemia, and germ cell and gonadal tumors in girls. WSRs for cancers in 0-19 years of age increased significantly in boys from 2000 to 2005 (APC = 5.3%, 95% CI: 2.3%-8.3%) and in girls from 2000 to 2015 (APC = 1.2%, 95% CI: 0.1%-2.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Cancer incidence in children and adolescents is on the rise in China. The observed age, sex, and geographical variations in cancer incidence should be used to inform targeted prevention and control policies.

Epidemiology and reporting characteristics of preclinical systematic reviews.

In an effort to better utilize published evidence obtained from animal experiments, systematic reviews of preclinical studies are increasingly more common-along with the methods and tools to appraise them (e.g., SYstematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation [SYRCLE's] risk of bias tool). We performed a cross-sectional study of a sample of recent preclinical systematic reviews (2015-2018) and examined a range of epidemiological characteristics and used a 46-item checklist to assess reporting details. We identified 442 reviews published across 43 countries in 23 different disease domains that used 26 animal species. Reporting of key details to ensure transparency and reproducibility was inconsistent across reviews and within article sections. Items were most completely reported in the title, introduction, and results sections of the reviews, while least reported in the methods and discussion sections. Less than half of reviews reported that a risk of bias assessment for internal and external validity was undertaken, and none reported methods for evaluating construct validity. Our results demonstrate that a considerable number of preclinical systematic reviews investigating diverse topics have been conducted; however, their quality of reporting is inconsistent. Our study provides the justification and evidence to inform the development of guidelines for conducting and reporting preclinical systematic reviews.

The global burden of thyroid cancer and its attributable risk factor in 195 countries and territories: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancer is a growing threat to human health. Few studies have explored trends of thyroid cancer and relationships with social development factors. In this study, we explored the trend and relationship based on GBD. METHODS: By using GBD study, we obtained detailed data of thyroid cancer. Incidence, mortality and DALY were used to assess epidemiological characteristics. ASR and EAPC were used to estimate the trend. RESULTS: Globally, the incidence significantly increased from 1990 to 2017, especially in high-income regions. Males and middle SDI region demonstrated a higher increase of age-standardized incidence rates. Unlike incidence trend, mortality trend showed a minor increase, and even showed a decreasing trend in some regions such as Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, the DALY trend also demonstrated a slightly increase with an EAPC of 0.77 (95% CI 0.73-0.81). More significant increase of DALY was found in males, middle SDI region and high-income Asia Pacific. The incidence of thyroid cancer peaked in middle-aged people, while the mortality and DALY peaked in elder-aged. Moreover, the proportion of thyroid cancer deaths contributable to high BMI was highest in developed countries and middle-aged people. CONCLUSIONS: Thyroid cancer is a public health problem worldwide. Over-diagnosis might be partly responsible for its rising trend. It remains us to revise the guidelines to avoid unnecessary burdens. Moreover, we should pay attention to the risk factors of thyroid cancer. More targeted measures should be formulated to improve potential environmental and lifestyle-related factors which might contribute to rising trend of thyroid cancer.

Interpreting SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, deaths, and fatality rate - Making a case for standardized reporting to improve communication.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread across the world, testing each nation's ability to understand the state of the pandemic in their country and control it. As we looked into the epidemiological data to uncover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we discovered that critical metadata is missing which is meant to give context to epidemiological parameters. In this review, we identify key metadata for the COVID-19 fatality rate after a thorough analysis of mathematical models, serology-informed studies and determinants of causes of death for the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, we find reasons to establish a set of standard-based guidelines to record and report the data from epidemiological studies. Additionally, we discuss why standardizing nomenclature is be a necessary component of these guidelines to improve communication and reproducibility. The goal of establishing these guidelines is to facilitate the interpretation of COVID-19 epidemiological findings and data by the general public, health officials, policymakers and fellow researchers. Our suggestions may not address all aspects of this issue; rather, they are meant to be the foundation for which experts can establish and encourage future guidelines throughout the appropriate communities.

Spatiobehavioral Characteristics - Defining the Epidemiology of New Contagious Diseases at the Earliest Moment Possible.

Spatiobehavioral characteristics are stable for, and hence predictive of, most cases of contagious diseases. They should be acknowledged as a formal way of defining the epidemiology of new contagious diseases at the early stage, enabling health authorities to implement precision control and prevention of the disease at the first moment possible.

Point: Reconciling Epidemiology's Aspirations and Capabilities.

Interpreting the results of epidemiologic studies calls for objectivity and rigorous scrutiny, acknowledging the limitations that temper the applicability of the findings to public health action. Current trends have posed new challenges to balancing goals of scientific objectivity and validity with public health applications. The ongoing tension between epidemiology's aspirations and capability has several sources: the need to overpromise in research proposals, compromising methodological rigor because of public health importance, defending findings in the face of hostile critics, and appealing to core constituencies who have specific expectations from the research.

Epidemiological transition and double burden of diseases in low-income countries: the case of Mozambique

Epidemiological transition theory aims to describe changes in epidemiological scenarios at the global and national level. The assumption is the shift from infectious diseases (IDs) to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Some authors argue that this theory failed to describe epidemiology in subSaharan Africa. We considered the case of Mozambique, where is occurring a rapid demographic change, with dramatic growth of the population. According to the data, we concluded that NCDs are increasing in Mozambique, but due to the vast predominance of IDs, a double burden of disease model is more accurate to describe the actual epidemiological context of the country. Consequently, health funding focusing on IDs should take into account the concomitant epidemiological scenario and try to encompass other health challenges.

Epidemiologic Features of 135 Patients With Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Tianjin, China.

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the epidemiologic features of an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tianjin caused by a novel coronavirus and provides the scientific basis for prevention and control measures. METHODS: Data from COVID-19 cases were collected from daily notifications given to the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China and Tianjin Health Committee. All of the data were analyzed with SPSS, version 24.0 software (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). RESULTS: As of February 24, 2020, there have been 135 confirmed cases, 3 deaths, and 87 recoveries in Tianjin, China. The incidence of COVID-19 was 8.65/1 000 000 with a 2.22% case fatality rate. Regarding geographic distribution, the incidence was 8.82 per 1 000 000 in urban areas and 8.00 per 1 000 000 in suburbs. During the early stage of the epidemic, most cases came from urban areas and in patients with a history of sojourning in Hubei Province. The majority of patients were 31-70 years old (75.97%). A familial clustering was the most important characteristic of COVID-19 (accounting for 74.81%). CONCLUSIONS: Current information suggests that people are generally susceptible to COVID-19, which has shown a familial clustering in Tianjin.

Participatory Surveillance Based on Crowdsourcing During the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Using the Guardians of Health Platform: Descriptive Study.

BACKGROUND: With the evolution of digital media, areas such as public health are adding new platforms to complement traditional systems of epidemiological surveillance. Participatory surveillance and digital epidemiology have become innovative tools for the construction of epidemiological landscapes with citizens' participation, improving traditional sources of information. Strategies such as these promote the timely detection of warning signs for outbreaks and epidemics in the region. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe the participatory surveillance platform Guardians of Health, which was used in a project conducted during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and officially used by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the monitoring of outbreaks and epidemics. METHODS: This is a descriptive study carried out using secondary data from Guardians of Health available in a public digital repository. Based on syndromic signals, the information subsidy for decision making by policy makers and health managers becomes more dynamic and assertive. This type of information source can be used as an early route to understand the epidemiological scenario. RESULTS: The main result of this research was demonstrating the use of the participatory surveillance platform as an additional source of information for the epidemiological surveillance performed in Brazil during a mass gathering. The platform Guardians of Health had 7848 users who generated 12,746 reports about their health status. Among these reports, the following were identified: 161 users with diarrheal syndrome, 68 users with respiratory syndrome, and 145 users with rash syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: It is hoped that epidemiological surveillance professionals, researchers, managers, and workers become aware of, and allow themselves to use, new tools that improve information management for decision making and knowledge production. This way, we may follow the path for a more intelligent, efficient, and pragmatic disease control system.

Generalizability and comparability of prevalence estimates in the wild bird literature: methodological and epidemiological considerations.

Wild birds have been the focus of a great deal of research investigating the epidemiology of zoonotic bacteria and antimicrobial resistance in the environment. While enteric pathogens (e.g. Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli O157:H7) and antimicrobial resistant bacteria of public health importance have been isolated from a wide variety of wild bird species, there is a considerable variation in the measured prevalence of a given microorganism from different studies. This variation may often reflect differences in certain ecological and biological factors such as feeding habits and immune status. Variation in prevalence estimates may also reflect differences in sample collection and processing methods, along with a host of epidemiological inputs related to overall study design. Because the generalizability and comparability of prevalence estimates in the wild bird literature are constrained by their methodological and epidemiological underpinnings, understanding them is crucial to the accurate interpretation of prevalence estimates. The main purpose of this review is to examine methodological and epidemiological inputs to prevalence estimates in the wild bird literature that have a major bearing on their generalizability and comparability. The inputs examined here include sample type, microbiological methods, study design, bias, sample size, definitions of prevalence outcomes and parameters, and control of clustering. The issues raised in this review suggest, among other things, that future prevalence studies of wild birds should avoid opportunistic sampling when possible, as this places significant limitations on the generalizability of prevalence data.

Perspectives on the Future of Epidemiology: A Framework for Training.

Over the past century, the field of epidemiology has evolved and adapted to changing public health needs. Challenges include newly emerging public health concerns across broad and diverse content areas, new methods, and vast data sources. We recognize the need to engage and educate the next generation of epidemiologists and prepare them to tackle these issues of the 21st century. In this commentary, we suggest a skeleton framework upon which departments of epidemiology should build their curriculum. We propose domains that include applied epidemiology, biological and social determinants of health, communication, creativity and ability to collaborate and lead, statistical methods, and study design. We believe all students should gain skills across these domains to tackle the challenges posed to us. The aim is to train smart thinkers, not technicians, to embrace challenges and move the expanding field of epidemiology forward.