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- Gorasso, Vanessa, et al.
(author)
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Burden of disease attributable to risk factors in European countries: a scoping literature review
- 2023
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In: Archives of Public Health. - 0778-7367 .- 2049-3258. ; 81:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Within the framework of the burden of disease (BoD) approach, disease and injury burden estimates attributable to risk factors are a useful guide for policy formulation and priority setting in disease prevention. Considering the important differences in methods, and their impact on burden estimates, we conducted a scoping literature review to: (1) map the BoD assessments including risk factors performed across Europe; and (2) identify the methodological choices in comparative risk assessment (CRA) and risk assessment methods. Methods: We searched multiple literature databases, including grey literature websites and targeted public health agencies websites. Results: A total of 113 studies were included in the synthesis and further divided into independent BoD assessments (54 studies) and studies linked to the Global Burden of Disease (59 papers). Our results showed that the methods used to perform CRA varied substantially across independent European BoD studies. While there were some methodological choices that were more common than others, we did not observe patterns in terms of country, year or risk factor. Each methodological choice can affect the comparability of estimates between and within countries and/or risk factors, since they might significantly influence the quantification of the attributable burden. From our analysis we observed that the use of CRA was less common for some types of risk factors and outcomes. These included environmental and occupational risk factors, which are more likely to use bottom-up approaches for health outcomes where disease envelopes may not be available. Conclusions: Our review also highlighted misreporting, the lack of uncertainty analysis and the under-investigation of causal relationships in BoD studies. Development and use of guidelines for performing and reporting BoD studies will help understand differences, avoid misinterpretations thus improving comparability among estimates.
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- Napolitano, Mariarosaria, et al.
(author)
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Development of a pilot project on data sharing among partners of the Italian Hub of Population Biobanks (HIBP) : association between lipid profile and socio-demographic variables
- 2014
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In: Biopreservation and Biobanking. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1947-5535 .- 1947-5543. ; 12:4, s. 225-233
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Italian Hub of Population Biobanks (HIBP) includes both ongoing and completed studies that are heterogeneous in both their purpose and in the specimens collected. The heterogeneity in starting conditions makes sharing study data very difficult because of technical, ethical, and collection rights issues that hamper collaboration and synergy. With the aim of overcoming these difficulties and establishing the "proof-of-concept" that sharing studies is achievable among Italian collections, a data-sharing pilot project has been agreed to by HIBP members. Participants agreed to the general methodology and signed a shared Data Transfer Agreement. The biobanks involved were: EURAC (Micros study), CIG (GEHA project), CNESPS (FINE, MATISS, MONICA, OEC1998, ITR (Italian Twin Register), and IPREA studies, and MOLIBANK (Moli-Sani project). Biobank data were uploaded into a common database using a dedicated informatics infrastructure. Demographic data, and anthropometric and hematochemical parameters were shared for each record. Each biobank uploaded into the common database a dataset with a minimum of 1000 subjects, for a total of 5071 records. After a harmonization process, the final dataset included 3882 records. Subjects were grouped into three main geographic areas of Italy (North, Center, and South) and separate analyses were performed for men and women. The 3882 records were analyzed through multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results were expressed as odds ratios with 95% confidence interval. Results show several geographical differences in the lipidemic pattern, mostly regarding cholesterol-HDL, which represents a strong basis for further, deeper sample-based studies. This HIBP pilot study aimed to prove the feasibility of such collaborations and it provides a methodological prototype for future studies based on the participation in the partnership of well-established quality collections.
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3. |
- Vetrano, Davide L., et al.
(author)
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Hypertension and frailty : a systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2018
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 8:12
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective To review the association between hypertension and frailty in observational studies. Design A systematic review of the PubMed, Web of Science and Embase databases was performed. A meta-analysis was performed if at least three studies used the same definition of frailty and a dichotomous definition of hypertension. Setting, participants and measures Studies providing information on the association between frailty and hypertension in adult persons, regardless of the study setting, study design or definition of hypertension and frailty were included. Results Among the initial 964 articles identified, 27 were included in the review. Four longitudinal studies examined the incidence of frailty according to baseline hypertension status, providing conflicting results. Twenty-three studies assessed the cross-sectional association between frailty and hypertension: 13 of them reported a significantly higher prevalence of frailty in hypertensive participants and 10 found no significant association. The pooled prevalence of hypertension in frail individuals was 72% (95% CI 66% to 79%) and the pooled prevalence of frailty in individuals with hypertension was 14% (95% CI 12% to 17%). Five studies, including a total of 7656 participants, reported estimates for the association between frailty and hypertension (pooled OR 1.33; 95% CI 0.94 to 1.89). Conclusions Frailty is common in persons with hypertension. Given the possible influence of frailty on the risk-benefit ratio of treatment for hypertension and its high prevalence, it is important to assess the presence of this condition in persons with hypertension.
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4. |
- Vos, Stephanie J B, et al.
(author)
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Modifiable Risk Factors for Prevention ofDementia in Midlife, Late Life and the Oldest-Old: Validation of the LIBRA Index.
- 2017
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In: Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. - 1875-8908. ; 58:2, s. 537-547
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recently, the LIfestyle for BRAin health (LIBRA) index was developed to assess an individual's prevention potential for dementia.We investigated the predictive validity of the LIBRA index for incident dementia in midlife, late life, and the oldest-old.9,387 non-demented individuals were recruited from the European population-based DESCRIPA study. An individual's LIBRA index was calculated solely based on modifiable risk factors: depression, diabetes, physical activity, hypertension, obesity, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, coronary heart disease, and mild/moderate alcohol use. Cox regression was used to test the predictive validity of LIBRA for dementia at follow-up (mean 7.2y, range 1-16).In midlife (55-69y, n=3,256) and late life (70-79y, n=4,320), the risk for dementia increased with higher LIBRA scores. Individuals in the intermediate- and high-risk groups had a higher risk of dementia than those in the low-risk group. In the oldest-old (80-97y, n=1,811), higher LIBRA scores did not increase the risk for dementia.LIBRA might be a useful tool to identify individuals for primary prevention interventions of dementia in midlife, and maybe in late life, but not in the oldest-old.
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