No abstract

The positive impact of this program on the outcomes indicative of asthma control in both children and adolescents suggests that it may be valuable for asthma management.

Background Between 2015 and 2017 six deaths due to meningitis in the Lombardy Region, Northern Italy, caught the attention of media and increased concern among the population, with a consequent increase in demand for vaccination. Considering the evidence about the impact of media coverage of health issues on public behaviour, this paper investigates the trend of media coverage and internet searches regarding meningitis in the Lombardy Region. Methods Content analysis of online articles published from January 2015 to May 2017 and analysis of Google Trends were carried out. A codebook was created in order to assess the content of each article analysed, based on six areas: article characteristics, information about meningococcal disease and vaccination, Local Health Authority activities, accuracy of information and tone of the message. Results Both public interest and media attention peaked in December 2016 and January 2017, when the Lombardy Regional Authority changed its policy by offering co-payment to adults with a saving of 50%. The frequency of meningitis coverage decreased after the announcement of policy change. For example, articles containing new information on meningitis or meningococcal vaccine (76 to 48%, p = 0.01) and preventive recommendations (31% down to 10%, p = 0.006) decreased significantly. An alarmist tone appeared in 21% of pre-policy articles that decreased to 5% post-policy ( p = 0.03). Conclusions The findings suggest a role for the media in fostering public pressure towards health services and policy-makers. A collaboration between Public Health institutions and the media would be beneficial in order to improve communication with the public. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7426-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are human carcinogens, based on sufficient evidence for melanoma and limited evidence for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and breast cancer. Few data are available for liver cancer, although PCBs cause it in rats and determined liver damage in poisoned people. We investigated the association between PCB serum levels and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a case–control study in a PCB-polluted area in North Italy. We enrolled prospectively 102 HCC incident cases and 102 age and gender-matched hospital controls. Serum concentrations of 33 PCB congeners were determined by a gas chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometry. Of 102 HCC cases, 62 who had lost < 3 kg of body weight in past 3 years were included in the analysis (67.7% males, mean age 68 years). The odds ratio (OR) for HCC for 3rd compared to 1st tertile of PCB distribution was 1.76 (95% confidence interval 0.62–5.03) for total PCB, adjusting for socio-demographic variables and risk factors for HCC by logistic regression. For most PCB congeners, ORs > 1.5 or 2 were found, although the 95% CIs included the null value for almost all of them. This preliminary study suggests that PCBs might play a role in HCC development.

Background: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are human carcinogens, based on sufficient evidence for melanoma and limited evidence for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and breast cancer. Few data are available for liver cancer, although PCBs cause it in rats and determined liver damage in poisoned people. We investigated the association between PCB serum levels and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a case-control study in a PCB-polluted area in North Italy.Methods: We enrolled prospectively 102 HCC incident cases and 102 age- and gender-matched hospital controls. Serum concentrations of 33 PCB congeners were determined by a gas chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometry.Results: Of the 102 HCC cases, 62 who had lost < 3 kg of body weight in past 3 years were included in the analysis (67.7% males, mean age 68 years). 69% of them (8% of controls) had one or more risk factors for HCC: past alcohol intake ≥60 g/day and/or HBV or HCV infection. The odds ratio (OR) for HCC for 3rd compared to 1st tertile of PCB distribution was 1.76 (95% confidence interval 0.62-5.03) for total PCB, adjusting for socio-demographic variables and risk factors for HCC by logistic regression. No differences were found restricting the analysis to HCC cases and controls with or without the main risk factors for HCC. For most PCB congeners, ORs > 1.5 or 2 were found, although the 95% CIs included the null value for almost all of them. Conclusions: This preliminary study suggests that PCBs might play a role in HCC development.Electronic word count for abstract: 252 words.