What has changed in the epidemiology of skin melanoma in central Italy during the past 20 years?

The aim was to evaluate changes in skin melanoma incidence and mortality at a population level in central Italy over the past two decades. Skin melanoma incidence rate from 1994 to 2014, were retrieved from the Umbrian Cancer Registry (about 900 000 inhabitants). Changes from 1994-1999 to 2010-2014 in tumour and patient characteristics - sex, age (0-44, 45-64, ≥ 65 years), site (head and neck, trunk, limbs), morphology (superficial spreading, nodular, other), thickness (≤ 1, 1-2, 2-4, > 4) and stage I-II, III-IV - were evaluated. Trends in age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were evaluated as annual percent change. During the past two decades, melanoma incidence significantly increased in both sexes (+6%/year among men and +4%/year among women) and in all ages (0-44 years: + 4.7 and + 4.3; 45-64 years: + 6.1 and + 4.4; ≥65 years: + 6.6 and + 1.7), morphologies, except nodular, and stages. Mortality was stable among men and women. In the area, incidence increased for thin and thick melanoma, showing a true increase, whereas mortality did not increase. Therefore, although improvements in treatment and downstaging effect of early diagnosis have to be considered, a certain degree of overdiagnosis cannot be ruled out.

A diagnostic accuracy study validating cardiovascular ICD-9-CM codes in healthcare administrative databases. The Umbria Data-Value Project.

BACKGROUND: Administrative healthcare databases are useful and inexpensive tools that can provide a comprehensive assessment of the burden of diseases in terms of major outcomes, such as mortality, hospital readmissions, and use of healthcare resources. However, a crucial issue is the reliability of information gathered. The aim of this study was to validate ICD-9 codes for several major cardiovascular conditions, i.e., acute myocardial infarction (AMI), atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF), and heart failure (HF), in order to use them for epidemiological, outcome, and health services research. METHODS: Data from the centralised administrative database of the Umbria Region (890,000 residents, located in Central Italy) were considered. Patients with a first hospital discharge for AMI, AF/flutter, and HF, between 2012 and 2014, were identified using ICD-9-CM codes in primary position. A sample of cases and non-cases was randomly selected, and the corresponding medical charts reviewed by specifically trained investigators. For each disease, case ascertainment was based on all clinical, laboratory, and instrumental examinations available in medical charts. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were calculated. RESULTS: We reviewed 458 medical charts, 128 for AMI, 127 for AF/flutter, 127 for HF, and 76 of non-cases for each condition. Diagnostic accuracy measures of the original discharge diagnosis were as follows. AMI: sensitivity 98% (95% CI, 94-100%), specificity 91% (95% CI, 83-97%), positive predictive value (PPV) 95% (95% CI, 89-98%), negative predictive value (NPV) 97% (95% CI, 91-100%). AF/flutter: sensitivity 95% (95% CI, 90-98%), specificity 95% (95% CI, 87-99%), PPV 97% (95% CI, 92-99%), NPV 92% (95% CI, 84-97%). HF: sensitivity 96% (95% CI, 91-99%), specificity 90% (95% CI, 81-96%), PPV 94% (95% CI, 88-97%), NPV 93% (95% CI, 85-98%). CONCLUSION: The case ascertainment for AMI, AF and flutter, and HF, showed a high level of accuracy (≥ 90%). The healthcare administrative database of the Umbria Region can be confidently used for epidemiological, outcome, and health services research.

Association between human papillomavirus and chlamydia trachomatis infection risk in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Human papillomavirus (HPV) and chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection lead to severe consequences for women's health. This meta-analysis summarizes the evidence on HPV infection risk in women with chlamydia and chlamydia risk in HPV-positive women. METHODS: Medline, Web of Science and Scopus were systematically searched for eligible publications until May 2018. Eligibility criteria included: assessment of HPV/Ct infection; cohort, case-control, cross-sectional study design; and reported risk estimation with its 95% CI for HPV infection in Ct-positive women and/or Ct infection in HPV-positive women. On the PRISMA guidelines, meta-analysis was performed using random effect model. RESULTS: Forty-eight studies met the eligibility criteria. Among women with chlamydia, the odds ratio (OR) of HPV infection is 2.12 (95% CI 1.80, 2.49) and the OR of high-risk HPV infection is 2.32 (95% CI 2.02, 2.65). The OR for chlamydia among HPV-positive women is 2.23 (95% CI 1.70, 2.92). CONCLUSIONS: HPV and Ct behave as reciprocal risk factors. In women diagnosed with HPV infection or chlamydia, the screening for the mutual infection could represent a preventive intervention for severe reproductive health outcomes, such as cervical cancer and infertility.

[Communication in health.] / La comunicazione in sanità.

Communication in health is an emerging and constantly evolving topic, taking more and more new aspects and concepts over time. The objective of this work is to present, through a narrative review, the most important aspects of communication in health field. Communication in health traditionally is known as interpersonal communication between health care workers and patients. In reality, it also includes the community one with the population (e.g., through the media), as well as with users of health service (e.g., complaint management). Moreover, it promotes both social responsibility and citizen's empowerment because communication directs the institutions, the third sector and the profit companies towards the values of social cohesion and sustainable development. Adequate communication strategies can contribute to reduce the environmental, cultural and socio-economic barriers that hinder the knowledge and the conscious adoption of behaviours that promote health.