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The effective collection and management of personal data of rapidly migrating populations is important for ensuring adequate healthcare and monitoring of a displaced peoples' health status. With developments in ICT data sharing capabilities, electronic personal health records (ePHRs) are increasingly replacing less transportable paper records. ePHRs offer further advantages of improving accuracy and completeness of information and seem tailored for rapidly displaced and mobile populations. Various emerging initiatives in Europe are seeking to develop migrant-centric ePHR responses. This paper highlights their importance and benefits, but also identifies a number of significant ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) and challenges to their design and implementation, regarding (1) the kind of information that should be stored, (2) who should have access to information, and (3) potential misuse of information. These challenges need to be urgently addressed to make possible the beneficial use of ePHRs for vulnerable migrants in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The Anaesthesia PRactice In Children Observational Trial (APRICOT) in 261 European hospitals revealed a 5.2% incidence of severe critical events in the perioperative period and wide variability in practice.Methods: A sub-analysis of the Scandinavian data was undertaken to investigate differences from the rest of Europe in the incidence and nature of perioperative severe critical events and to attempt to identify areas for quality improvement.Findings: In the Scandinavian cohorts of 1520 paediatric patients out of 31 127 patients, the overall incidence of perioperative severe critical events was lower than the rest of Europe (4.4% (95% CI [3.5-5.6]) vs 5.2% (95% CI [5.0-5.5]); RR 0.57), albeit the incidence varied across countries. There was a lower rate of bronchospasm (0.9%), stridor (1.1%) and cardiovascular instability (0.9%) than the rest of Europe. The proportion of bronchospasm events occurring at induction was 0.13% in Scandinavian cohort which was less than the rest of Europe (1.2%). The proportion of sicker patients where less experienced teams were managing the care was notably lower in Scandinavia than in the rest of Europe (14.4% vs 20.4% of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System Score (ASA-PS III and 8.3% vs 12.8% of the ASA-PS IV. Cardiovascular instability was lower in Scandinavia (0.92%) compared to Europe (1.9%). The incidence of drug errors was low in both the overall APRICOT (0.2%) and in Scandinavia (0.3%). There were no deaths.Interpretation: This sub-analysis shows that current Scandinavia paediatric perioperative clinical practice compares favourably with the rest of Europe. The lower incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory complications could be partly attributed to more experienced dedicated paediatric anaesthesia providers managing the higher risk groups of patients in Scandinavia. Whether this cohort of anaesthetized children is truly representative of the entire Scandinavia countries is unknown. Areas for quality improvement include: standardisation of the definition of severe critical events, increased reporting, development of evidence-based protocols for the management of severe critical events, development and rational implementation of paediatric perioperative risk assessment scores, implementation of current best practice in the provision of competent paediatric anaesthesia service in Europe, development of specific training and ensuring maintenance skills in paediatric anaesthesia. Furthermore, based on data from the original Apricot paper children under the age of 3 years and ASA-PS III and IV patients should not be anaesthetised without direct supervision of a specialist in paediatric anaesthesia. Given the sample size of the Scandinavian cohort this conclusion cannot be investigated further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite established efficacy for cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIEDs), large differences in CIED implant rates have been documented across and within countries. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of socio-economic, epidemiological and supply side factors on CIED implant rates across 57 Regions in 5 EU countries and to assess the feasibility of using administrative data for this purpose. A total of 1 330 098 hospitalizations for CIED procedures extracted from hospital discharge databases in Austria, England, Germany, Italy and Slovenia from 2008 to 2012 was used in the analysis. Higher levels of tertiary education among the labour force and percent of aged population are positively associated with implant rates of CIED. Regional per capita GDP and number of implanting centres appear to have no significant effect. Institutional factors are shown to be important for the diffusion of CIED. Wide variation in CIED implant rates across and within five EU countries is undeniable. However, regional factors play a limited part in explaining these differences with few exceptions. Administrative databases are a valuable source of data for investigating the diffusion of medical technologies, while the choice of appropriate modelling strategy is crucial in identifying the drivers for variation across countries. © 2017 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the radiographic phenotype of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) according to the presence of HLA-B27.Methods: An international collaboration compared the radiographic phenotype of axial SpA according to HLA-B27 status. Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and axial psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were collected. Radiographs were read centrally, blinded to clinical details. The symmetry of the sacroiliac joints and lumbar syndesmophytes and the morphology of syndesmophytes (typical marginal versus atypical chunky), together with the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score and the Psoriatic Arthritis Spondylitis Radiographic Index, were recorded.Results: A total of 244 patients with PsA and 198 patients with AS were included. In PsA, 60 patients (25%) were HLA-B27 positive while in AS, 148 patients (75%) were HLA-B27 positive. Patients with HLA-B27 were younger and more often male and had a longer duration of disease. In multivariable logistic regression, HLA-B27 was significantly associated with syndesmophyte symmetry (odds ratio [OR] 3.02 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.38, 6.61]) and marginal syndesmophytes (OR 1.97 [95% CI 1.16, 3.36]) but not with sacroiliac symmetry. Mean radiographic scores were higher for patients with HLA-B27.Conclusion: Patients with axial SpA who are positive for HLA-B27 have more severe radiographic damage, more marginal syndesmophytes, and more frequent syndesmophyte symmetry compared to patients who are negative for HLA-B27. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: First, to validate a previously developed model for screening for pre-eclampsia (PE) by maternal characteristics and medical history in twin pregnancies; second, to compare the distributions of mean arterial pressure (MAP), uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI), serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in twin pregnancies that delivered with PE to those in singleton pregnancies and to develop new models based on these results; and, third, to examine the predictive performance of these models in screening for PE with delivery at < 32 and < 37 weeks' gestation.Methods: Two datasets of prospective non-intervention multicenter screening studies for PE in twin pregnancies at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks' gestation were used. The first dataset was from the EVENTS (Early vaginal progesterone for the preVention of spontaneous prEterm birth iN TwinS) trial and the second was from a previously reported study that examined the distributions of biomarkers in twin pregnancies. Maternal demographic characteristics and medical history from the EVENTS-trial dataset were used to assess the validity of risks from our previously developed model. The combined data from the first and second datasets were used to compare the distributional properties of log10 multiples of the median (MoM) values of UtA-PI, MAP, PlGF and PAPP-A in twin pregnancies that delivered with PE to those in singleton pregnancies and develop new models based on these results. The competing-risks model was used to estimate the individual patient-specific risks of delivery with PE at < 32 and < 37 weeks' gestation. Screening performance was measured by detection rates (DR) and areas under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve.Results: The EVENTS-trial dataset comprised 1798 pregnancies, including 168 (9.3%) that developed PE. In the validation of the prior model based on maternal characteristics and medical history, calibration plots demonstrated very good agreement between the predicted risks and the observed incidence of PE (calibration slope and intercept for PE < 32 weeks were 0.827 and 0.009, respectively, and for PE < 37 weeks they were 0.942 and -0.207, respectively). In the combined data, there were 3938 pregnancies, including 339 (8.6%) that developed PE and 253 (6.4%) that delivered with PE at < 37 weeks' gestation. In twin pregnancies that delivered with PE, MAP, UtA-PI and PlGF were, at earlier gestational ages, more discriminative than in singleton pregnancies and at later gestational ages they were less so. For PAPP-A, there was little difference between PE and unaffected pregnancies. The best performance of screening for PE was achieved by a combination of maternal factors, MAP, UtA-PI and PlGF. In screening by maternal factors alone, the DR, at a 10% false-positive rate, was 30.6% for delivery with PE at < 32 weeks' gestation and this increased to 86.4% when screening by the combined test; the respective values for PE < 37 weeks were 24.9% and 41.1%.Conclusions: In the assessment of risk for PE in twin pregnancy, we can use the same prior model based on maternal characteristics and medical history as reported previously, but in the calculation of posterior risks it is necessary to use the new distributions of log10 MoM values of UtA-PI, MAP and PlGF according to gestational age at delivery with PE. © 2020 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess whether vessel morphology depicted by three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound improves discrimination between benignity and malignancy if used as a second-stage test in adnexal masses that are difficult to classify.Methods: This was a prospective observational international multicenter diagnostic accuracy study. Consecutive patients with an adnexal mass underwent standardized transvaginal two-dimensional (2D) grayscale and color or power Doppler and 3D power Doppler ultrasound examination by an experienced examiner, and those with a 'difficult' tumor were included in the current analysis. A difficult tumor was defined as one in which the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) logistic regression model-1 (LR-1) yielded an ambiguous result (risk of malignancy, 8.3% to 25.5%), or as one in which the ultrasound examiner was uncertain regarding classification as benign or malignant when using subjective assessment. Even when the ultrasound examiner was uncertain, he/she was obliged to classify the tumor as most probably benign or most probably malignant. For each difficult tumor, one researcher created a 360° rotating 3D power Doppler image of the vessel tree in the whole tumor and another of the vessel tree in a 5-cm3 spherical volume selected from the most vascularized part of the tumor. Two other researchers, blinded to the patient's history, 2D ultrasound findings and histological diagnosis, independently described the vessel tree using predetermined vessel features. Their agreed classification was used. The reference standard was the histological diagnosis of the mass. The sensitivity of each test for discriminating between benign and malignant difficult tumors was plotted against 1 - specificity on a receiver-operating-characteristics diagram, and the test with the point furthest from the reference line was considered to have the best diagnostic ability.Results: Of 2403 women with an adnexal mass, 376 (16%) had a difficult mass. Ultrasound volumes were available for 138 of these cases. In 79/138 masses, the ultrasound examiner was uncertain about the diagnosis based on subjective assessment, in 87/138, IOTA LR-1 yielded an ambiguous result and, in 28/138, both methods gave an uncertain result. Of the masses, 38/138 (28%) were malignant. Among tumors that were difficult to classify as benign or malignant by subjective assessment, the vessel feature 'densely packed vessels' had the best discriminative ability (sensitivity 67% (18/27), specificity 83% (43/52)) and was slightly superior to subjective assessment (sensitivity 74% (20/27), specificity 60% (31/52)). In tumors in which IOTA LR-1 yielded an ambiguous result, subjective assessment (sensitivity 82% (14/17), specificity 79% (55/70)) was superior to the best vascular feature, i.e. changes in the diameter of vessels in the whole tumor volume (sensitivity 71% (12/17), specificity 69% (48/70)).Conclusion: Vessel morphology depicted by 3D power Doppler ultrasound may slightly improve discrimination between benign and malignant adnexal tumors that are difficult to classify by subjective ultrasound assessment. For tumors in which the IOTA LR-1 model yields an ambiguous result, subjective assessment is superior to vessel morphology as a second-stage test. © 2020 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the association between early parental death and the risk of dementia in adult life and to examine the risk factors associated with early parental death in people with and without dementia.Methods/design: A population-based case-control study of a sample of 65 997 participants from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe study. Early parental death was operationalized as parental death at the age of ≤16 years. Main analyses were conducted using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results: The odds ratio (OR) for dementia in individuals who experienced early parental death (father or mother) at the age of ≤16 years was 1.83 (95%CI 1.61-2.09) and 1.54 (95%CI 1.35-1.76) adjusted for age, gender and education. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis carried out with the whole sample, early parental death increased the risk of dementia (OR = 1.50, 95%CI 1.31-1.72), along with older age (OR = 5.92, 95%CI 4.86-7.17), neuroticism (OR = 2.94, 95%CI 2.61-3.31), low education level (OR = 1.84, 95%CI 1.64-2.05) and low income (OR = 1.49, 95%CI 1.34-1.67).Discussion: Early parental death (≤16 years) was associated with an increased risk of dementia. We discuss the neurobiological markers associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and dementia as well as interventions to counteract the negative health effects on adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:-, 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine whether initiation of antibiotic therapy (ABX) by procalcitonin (PCT) within 8 h of admission in patients presenting to the emergency department with symptoms and signs of acute heart failure (AHF) and elevated natriuretic peptides would improve clinical outcomes.Methods and Results: The study was a randomized multicentre clinical trial conducted at 16 sites in Europe. Patients were randomized to either a PCT-guided strategy or standard care. Patients with PCT-guided strategy (n = 370) had ABX initiated if PCT was > 0.2 μg/L. Patients with standard care (n = 372) had AHF care in accordance with published guidelines without PCT. The primary endpoint was 90-day all-cause mortality. Pre-specified secondary endpoints included 30-day all-cause mortality and readmission and rate of pneumonia. The Data Safety and Review Committee recommended stopping the study for futility when 762 of the planned 792 patients had been enrolled. A total of 742 patients could be analysed. Patients were elderly (median age: 77 years), 38% were women, and had typical signs and symptoms of AHF. All-cause mortality at 90 days was 10.3% in the PCT-guided group vs. 8.2% in standard care (P = 0.316). Thirty-day readmission was significantly higher in the PCT-guided group vs. standard care but the difference vanished until day 90. The rate of pneumonia was overall low (7.5%) and not different between groups.Conclusions: In patients with AHF, a strategy of PCT-guided initiation of ABX was not more effective than a standard care strategy in improving clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the performance of ultrasound measurements and subjective ultrasound assessment (SA) in detecting deep myometrial invasion (MI) and cervical stromal invasion (CSI) in women with endometrial cancer, overall and according to whether they had low- or high-grade disease separately, and to validate published measurement cut-offs and prediction models to identify MI, CSI and high-risk disease (Grade-3 endometrioid or non-endometrioid cancer and/or deep MI and/or CSI).Methods: The study comprised 1538 patients with endometrial cancer from the International Endometrial Tumor Analysis (IETA)-4 prospective multicenter study, who underwent standardized expert transvaginal ultrasound examination. SA and ultrasound measurements were used to predict deep MI and CSI. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the tumor/uterine anteroposterior (AP) diameter ratio for detecting deep MI and that of the distance from the lower margin of the tumor to the outer cervical os (Dist-OCO) for detecting CSI. We also validated two two-step strategies for the prediction of high-risk cancer; in the first step, biopsy-confirmed Grade-3 endometrioid or mucinous or non-endometrioid cancers were classified as high-risk cancer, while the second step encompassed the application of a mathematical model to classify the remaining tumors. The 'subjective prediction model' included biopsy grade (Grade 1 vs Grade 2) and subjective assessment of deep MI or CSI (presence or absence) as variables, while the 'objective prediction model' included biopsy grade (Grade 1 vs Grade 2) and minimal tumor-free margin. The predictive performance of the two two-step strategies was compared with that of simply classifying patients as high risk if either deep MI or CSI was suspected based on SA or if biopsy showed Grade-3 endometrioid or mucinous or non-endometrioid histotype (i.e. combining SA with biopsy grade). Histological assessment from hysterectomy was considered the reference standard.Results: In 1275 patients with measurable lesions, the sensitivity and specificity of SA for detecting deep MI was 70% and 80%, respectively, in patients with a Grade-1 or -2 endometrioid or mucinous tumor vs 76% and 64% in patients with a Grade-3 endometrioid or mucinous or a non-endometrioid tumor. The corresponding values for the detection of CSI were 51% and 94% vs 50% and 91%. Tumor AP diameter and tumor/uterine AP diameter ratio showed the best performance for predicting deep MI (area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve (AUC) of 0.76 and 0.77, respectively), and Dist-OCO had the best performance for predicting CSI (AUC, 0.72). The proportion of patients classified correctly as having high-risk cancer was 80% when simply combining SA with biopsy grade vs 80% and 74% when using the subjective and objective two-step strategies, respectively. The subjective and objective models had an AUC of 0.76 and 0.75, respectively, when applied to Grade-1 and -2 endometrioid tumors.Conclusions: In the hands of experienced ultrasound examiners, SA was superior to ultrasound measurements for the prediction of deep MI and CSI of endometrial cancer, especially in patients with a Grade-1 or -2 tumor. The mathematical models for the prediction of high-risk cancer performed as expected. The best strategies for predicting high-risk endometrial cancer were combining SA with biopsy grade and the subjective two-step strategy, both having an accuracy of 80%. Copyright © 2019 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To provide reliable survival estimates for people with chronic heart failure and explain variation in survival by key factors including age at diagnosis, left ventricular ejection fraction, decade of diagnosis, and study setting.Methods and Results: We searched in relevant databases from inception to August 2018 for non-interventional studies reporting survival rates for patients with chronic or stable heart failure in any ambulatory setting. Across the 60 included studies, there was survival data for 1.5 million people with heart failure. In our random effects meta-analyses the pooled survival rates at 1 month, 1, 2, 5 and 10 years were 95.7% (95% confidence interval 94.3-96.9), 86.5% (85.4-87.6), 72.6% (67.0-76.6), 56.7% (54.0-59.4) and 34.9% (24.0-46.8), respectively. The 5-year survival rates improved between 1970-1979 and 2000-2009 across healthcare settings, from 29.1% (25.5-32.7) to 59.7% (54.7-64.6). Increasing age at diagnosis was significantly associated with a reduced survival time. Mortality was lowest in studies conducted in secondary care, where there were higher reported prescribing rates of key heart failure medications. There was significant heterogeneity among the included studies in terms of heart failure diagnostic criteria, participant co-morbidities, and treatment rates.Conclusion: These results can inform health policy and individual patient advanced care planning. Mortality associated with chronic heart failure remains high despite steady improvements in survival. There remains significant scope to improve prognosis through greater implementation of evidence-based treatments. Further research exploring the barriers and facilitators to treatment is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Simplified Mortality Score for the Intensive Care Unit (SMS-ICU) is a clinical prediction model, which estimates the risk of 90-day mortality in acutely ill adult ICU patients using 7 readily available variables. We aimed to externally validate the SMS-ICU and compare its discrimination with existing prediction models used with 90-day mortality as the outcome.Methods: We externally validated the SMS-ICU using data from 3282 patients included in the Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis in the Intensive Care Unit trial, which randomised acutely ill adult ICU patients with risk factors for gastrointestinal bleeding to prophylactic pantoprazole or placebo in 33 ICUs in Europe. We assessed discrimination, calibration and overall performance of the SMS-ICU and compared discrimination with the commonly used and more complex SAPS II and SOFA scores.Results: Mortality at day 90 was 30.7%. The discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) for the SMS-ICU was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.65-0.69), as compared with 0.68 (95% CI: 0.66-0.70, P = 0.35) for SAPS II and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.61-0.65, P < 0.001) for the SOFA score. Calibration (intercept and slope) was 0.001 and 0.786, respectively, and Nagelkerke's R2 (overall performance) was 0.06. The proportions of missing data for the SMS-ICU, SAPS II and SOFA scores were 0.2%, 8.5% and 6.8%, respectively.Conclusions: Discrimination for 90-day mortality of the SMS-ICU in this cohort was poor, but similar to SAPS II and better than that of the SOFA score with markedly less missing data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article updates the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2007 classification of advanced heart failure and describes new diagnostic and treatment options for these patients. Recognizing the patient with advanced heart failure is critical to facilitate timely referral to advanced heart failure centres. Unplanned visits for heart failure decompensation, malignant arrhythmias, co-morbidities, and the 2016 ESC guidelines criteria for the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction are included in this updated definition. Standard treatment is, by definition, insufficient in these patients. Inotropic therapy may be used as a bridge strategy, but it is only a palliative measure when used on its own, because of the lack of outcomes data. Major progress has occurred with short-term mechanical circulatory support devices for immediate management of cardiogenic shock and long-term mechanical circulatory support for either a bridge to transplantation or as destination therapy. Heart transplantation remains the treatment of choice for patients without contraindications. Some patients will not be candidates for advanced heart failure therapies. For these patients, who are often elderly with multiple co-morbidities, management of advanced heart failure to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life should be emphasized. Robust evidence from prospective studies is lacking for most therapies for advanced heart failure. There is an urgent need to develop evidence-based treatment algorithms to prolong life when possible and in accordance with patient preferences, increase life quality, and reduce the burden of hospitalization in this vulnerable patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To date, there are no data from randomized controlled studies on the benefit of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) when implanted as an upgrade in patients with a previous device as compared to de novo CRT. In the CRT Survey II we compared the baseline data of patients upgraded to CRT (CRT-P/CRT-D) from a previous pacemaker (PM) or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to de novo CRT implantation.Methods and Results: In the European CRT Survey II, clinical practice data of patients undergoing CRT and/or ICD implantation across 42 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) countries were collected between October 2015 and December 2016. Out of a total of 11 088 patients, 2396 (23.2%) were upgraded from a previous PM or ICD and 7933 (76.8%) underwent de novo implantation. Compared to de novo implantations, upgraded patients were older, more often male, more frequently had ischaemic heart failure aetiology, atrial fibrillation, reduced renal function, worse heart failure symptoms, and higher N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels. Upgraded patients were more often PM-dependent and less frequently received CRT-D. Total peri-procedural, in-hospital complications and length of hospital stay were similar. Upgraded patients were less frequently treated with heart failure medication at discharge.Conclusion: Despite a lack of evidenced-based data, close to one quarter of all CRT implantations across 42 ESC countries were upgrades from a previous PM or ICD. Despite older age and worse symptoms, the CRT implantation procedures in upgraded patients were equally frequently successful and complications similar to de novo implantations. These results call for more studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) reduces morbidity and mortality in appropriately selected patients with heart failure and is strongly recommended for such patients by guidelines. A European Society of Cardiology (ESC) CRT survey conducted in 2008-2009 showed considerable variation in guideline adherence and large individual, national and regional differences in patient selection, implantation practice and follow-up. Accordingly, two ESC associations, the European Heart Rhythm Association and the Heart Failure Association, designed a second prospective survey to describe contemporary clinical practice regarding CRT.Methods and Results: A survey of the clinical practice of CRT-P and CRT-D implantation was conducted from October 2015 to December 2016 in 42 ESC member countries. Implanting centres provided information about their hospital and CRT service and were asked to complete a web-based case report form collecting information on patient characteristics, investigations, implantation procedures and complications during the index hospitalisation. The 11 088 patients enrolled represented 11% of the total number of expected implantations in participating countries during the survey period; 32% of patients were aged ≥75 years, 28% of procedures were upgrades from a permanent pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and 30% were CRT-P rather than CRT-D. Most patients (88%) had a QRS duration ≥130 ms, 73% had left bundle branch block and 26% were in atrial fibrillation at the time of implantation. Large geographical variations in clinical practice were observed.Conclusion: CRT Survey II provides a valuable source of information on contemporary clinical practice with respect to CRT implantation in a large sample of ESC member states. The survey permits assessment of guideline adherence and demonstrates variations in patient selection, management, implantation procedure and follow-up strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to investigate the impact of using 2 measures of socio-economic status on the analysis of how informal care and home care use are distributed among older people living in the community. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for 14 European countries, we estimate differences in corrected concentration indices for use of informal care and home care, using equivalised household net income and equivalised net worth (as a proxy for wealth). We also calculate horizontal inequity indices using both measures of socio-economic status and accounting for differences in need. The findings show that using wealth as a ranking variable results, as a rule, in a less pro-poor inequality of use for both informal and home care. Once differences in need are controlled for (horizontal inequity), wealth still results in a less pro-poor distribution for informal care, in comparison with income, whereas the opposite is observed for home care. Possible explanations for these differences and research and policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this study, we investigated what makes a symptom or functional impairment clinically important, that is, relevant for a patient to discuss with a health care professional (HCP). This is the first part of a European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group project focusing on the development of thresholds for clinical importance for the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and its corresponding computer-adaptive version.Methods: We conducted interviews with cancer patients and HCPs in 6 European countries. Participants were asked to name aspects of a symptom or problem that make it clinically important and to provide importance ratings for a predefined set of aspects (eg, need for help and limitations of daily functioning).Results: We conducted interviews with 83 cancer patients (mean age, 60.3 y; 50.6% men) and 67 HCPs. Participants related clinical importance to limitations of everyday life (patients, 65.1%; HCPs, 77.6%), the emotional impact of a symptom/problem (patients, 53.0%; HCPs, 64.2%), and duration/frequency (patients, 51.8%; HCPs, 49.3%). In the patient sample, importance ratings were highest for worries by partner or family, limitations in everyday life, and need for help from the medical staff. Health care professionals rated limitations in everyday life and need for help from the medical staff to be most important.Conclusions: Limitations in everyday life, need for (medical) help, and emotional impact on the patient or family/partner were found to be relevant aspects of clinical importance. Based on these findings, we will define anchor items for the development of thresholds for clinical importance for the EORTC measures in a Europe-wide field study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heart transplantation (HTx) and implantable left ventricular assist systems (LVAS) improve outcomes in advanced heart failure but may be underutilized. We hypothesized that screening can identify appropriate candidates.Methods and Results: The ScrEEning for advanced Heart Failure treatment (SEE-HF) study was a multicentre prospective study screening patients with existing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and/or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for ejection fraction ≤40% and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III-IV, and subsequently for guideline-based HTx and LVAS indication. Of 1722 (mean age 64 ± 14 years, 26% women) patients screened at eight centres in seven European countries, 121 (7.0%) were eligible and 99 (5.7%; mean age 61 ± 10 years, 19% women) patients were enrolled for detailed assessment. Twenty-six of the 99 enrolled patients (26%) were eligible for either HTx or LVAD (18 eligible for HTx; 7 eligible for LVAD; and 1 eligible for both). Eleven patients were listed for HTx and three received an LVAS. Eligible patients were 61 ± 8 years and 19% women, whereas those actually receiving intervention were 56 ± 8 years and 8% women.Conclusions: Among patients with CRT and/or ICD, a minority have NYHA class III-IV heart failure and ejection fraction ≤40%. Among these, however, more than one-quarter have an unrecognized need for HTx or LVAS. When patients are offered intervention based on screening, many decline. Discrepancies exist between clinical and patient equipoise. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Unique Identifier: NCT00894387. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To describe the characteristics and assess the 1-year outcomes of hospitalized (HHF) and chronic (CHF) heart failure patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) enrolled in a large European registry between May 2011 and April 2013.Methods and Results: Overall, 1334/6920 (19.3%) HHF patients and 1322/9409 (14.1%) CHF patients were diagnosed with COPD. In both groups, patients with COPD were older, more frequently men, had a worse clinical presentation and a higher prevalence of co-morbidities. In HHF, the increase in the use of heart failure (HF) medications at hospital discharge was greater in non-COPD than in COPD for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (+13.7% vs. +7.2%), beta-blockers (+20.6% vs. +11.8%) and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (+20.9% vs. +17.3%), thus widening the gap in HF treatment already existing between the two groups at admission. In CHF patients, there was a similar increase in the use of these medications after enrollment visit in the two groups, leaving a significant difference of 8.2% for beta-blockers in favour of non-COPD patients (89.8% vs. 81.6%, P < 0.001). At 1-year follow-up, the hazard ratios for COPD in multivariable analysis confirmed its independent association with hospitalizations both in HHF [all-cause: 1.16 (1.04-1.29), for HF: 1.22 (1.05-1.42)] and CHF patients [all-cause: 1.26 (1.13-1.41), for HF: 1.37 (1.17-1.60)]. The association between COPD and all-cause mortality was not confirmed in both groups after adjustments.Conclusions: COPD frequently coexists in HHF and CHF, worsens the clinical course of the disease, and significantly impacts its therapeutic management and prognosis. The matter should deserve greater attention from the cardiology community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduced muscle strength is an accurate predictor of functional limitations, disability, and mortality. Hence, understanding which socio-economic factors contribute to preserve muscle strength in old age is central to the design of social policies that help reducing these health risks. Using data on handgrip strength collected by the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for the population of Europeans aged 50+ and the exogenous variation in pension eligibility age across countries over time, we estimate that the retirement transition has a short-term positive causal effect on muscle strength. However, this protective effect is not persistent, as retirement speeds up the age-related trend in muscle strength loss, especially for blue-collar workers and males. The "holy grail" of early retirement may not be such a good deal for retirees' longevity and physical functioning late in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 13 years bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) have been widely investigated for clinical efficacy in patients following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). These early phase II trials have used various surrogate markers to judge efficacy and, although promising, the results have been inconsistent. The phase III BAMI trial has therefore been designed to demonstrate that intracoronary infusion of BM-MNCs is safe and will significantly reduce the time to first occurrence of all-cause death in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction after successful reperfusion for ST-elevation AMI (powered with the aim of detecting a 25% reduction in all-cause mortality). This is a multinational, multicentre, randomized, open-label, controlled, parallel-group phase III study aiming to enrol approximately 3000 patients in 11 European countries with at least 17 sites. Eligible patients who have impaired left ventricular ejection (≤45%) following successful reperfusion for AMI will be randomized to treatment or control group in a 1:1 ratio. The treatment group will receive intracoronary infusion of BM-MNCs 2-8 days after successful reperfusion for AMI added on top of optimal standard of care. The control group will receive optimal standard of care. The primary endpoint is time from randomization to all-cause death. The BAMI trial is pivotal and the largest trial to date of BM-MNCs in patients with impaired left ventricular function following AMI. The aim of the trial is to provide a definitive answer as to whether BM-MNCs reduce all-cause mortality in this group of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Patient-physician discordance in global assessment of disease activity concerns one-third of patients, but what does it reflect? We aimed to assess patient-physician discordance in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and patient-reported domains of health (physical and psychological) associated with discordance.Methods: We analyzed the PsAID (Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease), a cross-sectional, multicenter European study of patients with PsA according to expert opinion. Patient global assessment (PGA) and physician global assessment (PhGA) were rated on a 0-10 numeric rating scale. Discordance was defined as the difference (PGA-PhGA) and as the absolute difference |PGA-PhGA| ≥3 points. Determinants of PGA-PhGA were assessed by a stepwise multivariate linear regression among 12 physical and psychological aspects of impact: pain, skin problems, fatigue, ability to work/leisure, functional incapacity, feeling of discomfort, sleep disturbance, anxiety/fear, coping, embarrassment/shame, social participation, and depressive affects.Results: In 460 patients (mean ± SD age 50.6 ± 12.9 years, 52.2% female, mean ± SD disease duration 9.5 ± 9.5 years, mean ± SD Disease Activity Index for Psoriatic Arthritis score 30.8 ± 32.4, and 40.4% undergoing treatment with biologic agents), the mean ± SD PGA was higher than the mean PhGA, with a mean absolute difference of 1.9 ± 1.8 points. Discordance defined by |PGA-PhGA| ≥3 of 10 concerned 134 patients (29.1%), and 115 patients (85.8% of the patients with discordance) had PGA>PhGA. Higher fatigue (β = 0.14), lower self-perceived coping (β = 0.23), and impaired social participation (β = 0.16) were independently associated with a higher difference (PGA-PhGA).Conclusion: Discordance concerned 29.1% of these patient/physician dyads, mainly by PGA>PhGA. Factors associated with discordance were psychological rather than physical domains of health. Discordance was more frequent in patients in remission, indicating more work is needed on the patient perspective regarding disease activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: The Animated Activity Questionnaire (AAQ) assesses activity limitations in patients with hip/knee osteoarthritis and consists of video animations; the patients choose the animation that best matches their own performance. The AAQ has shown good validity and reliability. This study aims to evaluate cross-cultural and construct validity of the AAQ.Methods: Cross-cultural validity was assessed using ordinal logistic regression analysis to evaluate differential item functioning (DIF) across 7 languages. Construct validity was assessed by testing correlations between the AAQ and a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) and performance-based tests.Results: Data from 1,239 patients were available. Compared to the Dutch language (n = 279), none of the 17 items showed DIF in English (n = 202) or French (n = 193), 1 item showed uniform DIF in Spanish (n = 99) and Norwegian (n = 62), and 2 items showed uniform DIF in Danish (n = 201). In all these languages, the occurrence of DIF did not influence the total score, which remained comparable with the original Dutch version. For Italian (n = 203) versus Dutch, however, 6 items showed uniform DIF, and 1 item showed nonuniform DIF, indicating some problems with the cross-cultural validity between these countries. With regard to construct validity, the correlations with PROM (0.74) and performance-based tests (0.36-0.68) were partly as expected (>0.60).Conclusion: The AAQ, an innovative tool to measure activity limitations that can be placed on the continuum between PROMs and performance-based tests, showed a good overall cross-cultural validity, and seems to have great potential for international use in research and daily clinical practice in many European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The purpose of this study is to describe disease presentation, co-morbidities, diagnosis and initial therapeutic management of patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) living in countries belonging to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) vs. non-ESC countries.Methods and Results: Out of 500 patients with PPCM entered by 31 March 2016, we report on data of the first 411 patients with completed case record forms (from 43 countries) entered into this ongoing registry. There were marked differences in socio-demographic parameters such as Human Development Index, GINI index on inequality, and Health Expenditure in PPCM patients from ESC vs. non-ESC countries (P < 0.001 each). Ethnicity was Caucasian (34%), Black African (25.8%), Asian (21.8%), and Middle Eastern backgrounds (16.4%). Despite the huge disparities in socio-demographic factors and ethnic backgrounds, baseline characteristics are remarkably similar. Drug therapy initiated post-partum included ACE inhibitors/ARBs and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists with identical frequencies in ESC vs. non-ESC countries. However, in non-ESC countries, there was significantly less use of beta-blockers (70.3% vs. 91.9%) and ivabradine (1.4% vs. 17.1%), but more use of diuretics (91.3% vs. 68.8%), digoxin (37.0% vs. 18.0%), and bromocriptine (32.6% vs. 7.1%) (P < 0.001). More patients in non-ESC vs. ESC countries continued to have symptomatic heart failure after 1 month (92.3% vs. 81.3%, P < 0.001). Venous thrombo-embolic events, arterial embolizations, and cerebrovascular accidents were documented in 28 of 411 patients (6.8%). Neonatal death rate was 3.1%.Conclusion: PPCM occurs in women from different ethnic backgrounds globally. Despite marked differences in socio-economic background, mode of presentation was largely similar. Embolic events and persistent heart failure were common within 1 month post-diagnosis and required intensive, multidisciplinary management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the diagnostic accuracy of a previously developed model for prediction of pre-eclampsia (PE) by a combination of maternal factors and biomarkers at 11-13 weeks' gestation.Methods: This was a prospective first-trimester multicenter study of screening for PE in 8775 singleton pregnancies. A previously published algorithm was used for the calculation of patient-specific risk of PE in each individual. The detection rates (DRs) and false-positive rates (FPRs) for delivery with PE < 32, < 37 and ≥ 37 weeks were estimated and compared with those for the dataset used for development of the algorithm.Results: In the study population, 239 (2.7%) cases developed PE, of which 17 (0.2%), 59 (0.7%) and 180 (2.1%) developed PE < 32, < 37 and ≥ 37 weeks, respectively. With combined screening by maternal factors, mean arterial pressure, uterine artery pulsatility index and serum placental growth factor, the DR was 100% (95% CI, 80-100%) for PE < 32 weeks, 75% (95% CI, 62-85%) for PE < 37 weeks and 43% (95% CI, 35-50%) for PE ≥ 37 weeks, at a 10% FPR. These DRs were similar to the estimated rates for the dataset used for development of the model: 89% (95% CI, 79-96%) for PE < 32 weeks, 75% (95% CI, 70-80%) for PE < 37 weeks and 47% (95% CI, 44-51%) for PE ≥ 37 weeks.Conclusion: Assessment of a combination of maternal factors and biomarkers at 11-13 weeks provides effective first-trimester screening for preterm PE. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the relationship between neonatal morbidity (NNM) and two-year neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in surviving children after early fetal growth restriction (FGR).Design: Secondary analysis of a European randomised trial (TRUFFLE) of delivery for very preterm fetuses dependent on venous Doppler or cardiotocographic criteria.Setting: Tertiary perinatal centres, participants in TRUFFLE.Population: 402 surviving children after early FGR.Methods: Prospective data were collection from the recognition of FGR until the corrected age of two years. We studied the association between NNM and NDI, retaining trial allocation in all statistical models. NNM included any of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, brain injury, sepsis or necrotising enterocolitis. NDI was a composite of Bayley cognitive score < 85, cerebral palsy or severe sensory impairment.Main Outcome Measure: NDI in relation to NNM.Results: NNM occurred in 104 cases (26%) and was more frequent in 17 of 39 infants with NDI (44%) than in the 87 of 363 infants with normal outcome (24%) [odds ratio 2.5 (95% CI, 1.3-4.8); P = 0.01]. In 22 of 39 NDI cases (56%) there was no preceding NNM. NNM was inversely related to gestational age, but NDI did not vary by gestational age. In multivariable analyses, cerebral ultrasound abnormalities were most strongly associated with NDI, together with trial group allocation, birthweight ratio, infant sex and Apgar score.Conclusions: With the exception of cerebral ultrasound abnormalities, commonly used NNMs are poor markers of later NDI and should not be used as surrogate outcomes for NDI.Tweetable Abstract: Neonatal morbidities cannot be used as surrogate outcomes for neurodevelopmental impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine whether public expenditure on health and Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) are associated with dental check-ups in European countries.Methods: Individual data were from Eurobarometer 72.3, 2009 a cross-national survey of 27 European countries. Eligible participants were those aged 18 years and older in 27 European countries. Dental check-ups reflected dental visits for oral examination and getting advice on oral health in the last 12 months. Individual factors included age, gender, marital status, urbanisation, education, subjective social status, and difficulty in paying bills. Public expenditure on health as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) and EHCI were used as contextual factors. A set of multilevel logistic regression models was used to examine the relationship between dental check-ups and each of healthcare expenditure and EHCI adjusting for demographic factors, GDP per capita and socioeconomic indicators.Results: Total number included in the analysis was 23,842. Participants in countries with greater healthcare expenditure and higher score of EHCI were significantly 1.17 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.32) and 1.30 times (95% CI: 1.04, 1.64) more likely to report dental check-ups within the past 12 months after accounting for demographic characteristics, GDP per capita, and all socioeconomic indicators.Conclusion: The findings suggest that greater governmental support for the healthcare and better characteristics of healthcare system are positively associated with routine dental attendance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Concerns about differences in registration practices across countries have limited the use of routine data for international very preterm birth (VPT) rate comparisons.Design: Population-based study.Setting: Twenty-seven European countries, the United States, Canada and Japan in 2010.Population: A total of 9 376 252 singleton births.Method: We requested aggregated gestational age data on live births, stillbirths and terminations of pregnancy (TOP) before 32 weeks of gestation, and information on registration practices for these births. We compared VPT rates and assessed the impact of births at 22-23 weeks of gestation, and different criteria for inclusion of stillbirths and TOP on country rates and rankings.Main Outcome Measures: Singleton very preterm birth rate, defined as singleton stillbirths and live births before 32 completed weeks of gestation per 1000 total births, excluding TOP if identifiable in the data source.Results: Rates varied from 5.7 to 15.7 per 1000 total births and 4.0 to 11.9 per 1000 live births. Country registration practices were related to percentage of births at 22-23 weeks of gestation (between 1% and 23% of very preterm births) and stillbirths (between 6% and 40% of very preterm births). After excluding births at 22-23 weeks, rate variations remained high and with a few exceptions, country rankings were unchanged.Conclusions: International comparisons of very preterm birth rates using routine data should exclude births at 22-23 weeks of gestation and terminations of pregnancy. The persistent large rate variations after these exclusions warrant continued surveillance of VPT rates at 24 weeks and over in high-income countries.Tweetable Abstract: International comparisons of VPT rates should exclude births at 22-23 weeks of gestation and terminations of pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether knowledge of fetal outcome influences retrospective interpretation of cardiotocographic tracings and subsequent management recommendations.Design: Prospective online study.Setting: Seven university hospitals in five European countries.Population: Forty-two intrapartum tracings from women with singleton pregnancies and uneventful antepartum courses.Methods: Using an online questionnaire, 123 healthcare professionals interpreted 42 tracings without any knowledge of fetal outcome and provided management recommendations according to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidelines (intrapartum care). Two months later, 93 of the 123 participants re-interpreted the same re-ordered tracings, this time with information on the newborn's umbilical artery pH.Outcome Measures: Comparison of the evaluation of tracing features, overall tracing classification, and management recommendations between the initial analysis and re-interpretation.Results: In newborns with umbilical artery pH ≤ 7.05, knowledge of the pH value led to significant changes in the evaluation of all basic tracing features. In this group, classification of tracings as 'normal' decreased 76% (8.8-2.1%, P < 0.001), whereas classification as 'pathologic' increased 51% (44.7-67.5%, P < 0.001). In newborns with pH 7.06-7.19, classification of tracings as 'normal' decreased 36% (22.4-14.4%, P < 0.001), and in those with pH ≥ 7.20, classification of tracings as 'pathologic' decreased 40% (23.4-14.1%, P < 0.001). In the group of newborns with umbilical artery pH ≤ 7.05, the recommendations 'no attention needed' decreased 75% (10.2-2.6%, P < 0.001), and the number of recommendations 'rapid reversal of hypoxic cause or immediate delivery' increased 70.3% (42.1-71.7%, P < 0.001).Conclusions: When provided with information on adverse fetal outcome, healthcare professionals provide a more pessimistic evaluation of basic tracing features, overall classification, and clinical management recommendations.Tweetable Abstract: Knowledge of adverse fetal outcome leads to more pessimistic CTG evaluation and management recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Fetal aortic valvuloplasty (FV) aims to prevent fetal aortic valve stenosis progressing into hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), which results in postnatal univentricular (UV) circulation. Despite increasing numbers of FVs performed worldwide, the natural history of the disease in fetal life remains poorly defined. The primary aim of this study was to describe the natural history of fetal aortic stenosis, and a secondary aim was to test previously published criteria designed to identify cases of emerging HLHS with the potential for a biventricular (BV) outcome after FV.Methods: From a European multicenter retrospective study of 214 fetuses with aortic stenosis (2005-2012), 107 fetuses in ongoing pregnancies that did not undergo FV were included in this study and their natural history was reported. We examined longitudinal changes in Z-scores of aortic and mitral valve and left ventricular dimensions and documented direction of flow across the foramen ovale and aortic arch, and mitral valve inflow pattern and any gestational changes. Data were used to identify fetuses satisfying the Boston criteria for emerging HLHS and estimate the proportion of these that would have been ideal FV candidates. We applied the threshold score whereby a score of 1 was assigned to fetuses for each Z-score meeting the following criteria: left ventricular length and width > 0; mitral valve diameter > -2; aortic valve diameter > -3.5; and pressure gradient across either the mitral or aortic valve > 20 mmHg. We compared the predicted circulation with known survival and final postnatal circulation (BV, UV or conversion from BV to UV).Results: Among the 107 ongoing pregnancies there were eight spontaneous fetal deaths and 99 livebirths. Five were lost to follow-up, five had comfort care and four had mild aortic stenosis not requiring intervention. There was intention-to-treat in these 85 newborns but five died prior to surgery, before circulation could be determined, and thus 80 underwent postnatal procedures with 44 BV, 29 UV and seven BV-to-UV circulatory outcomes. Of newborns with intention-to-treat, 69/85 (81%) survived ≥ 30 days. Survival at median 6 years was superior in cases with BV circulation (P = 0.041). Those with a postnatal UV circulation showed a trend towards smaller aortic valve diameters at first scan than did the BV cohort (P = 0.076), but aortic valve growth velocities were similar in both cohorts to term. In contrast, the mitral valve diameter was significantly smaller at first scan in those with postnatal UV outcomes (P = 0.004) and its growth velocity (P = 0.008), in common with the left ventricular inlet length (P = 0.004) and width (P = 0.002), were reduced significantly by term in fetuses with UV compared with BV outcome. Fetal data, recorded before 30 completed gestational weeks, from 70 treated neonates were evaluated to identify emerging HLHS. Forty-four had moderate or severe left ventricular depression and 38 of these had retrograde flow in the aortic arch and two had left-to-right flow at atrial level and reversed a-waves in the pulmonary veins. Thus 40 neonates met the criteria for emerging HLHS and BV circulation was documented in 13 (33%). Of these 40 cases, 12 (30%) had a threshold score of 4 or 5, of which five (42%) had BV circulation without fetal intervention.Conclusions: The natural history in our cohort of fetuses with aortic stenosis and known outcomes shows that a substantial proportion of fetuses meeting the criteria for emerging HLHS, with or without favorable selection criteria for FV, had a sustained BV circulation without fetal intervention. This indicates that further work is needed to refine the selection criteria to offer appropriate therapy to fetuses with aortic stenosis. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although relevant for health policy, so far only little is known about the extent to which persons avoid dental attendance because of associated costs.Objectives: To examine the cost-relatedness of dental non-attendance in various older adulthood populations.Material and Methods: Secondary analyses were conducted of data from wave 1 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which includes unique information on recent dental non-attendance and care foregone due to costs by persons aged 50+ from eleven European countries and Israel. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to detect differences in the extent to which dental non-attendance is attributable to associated costs.Results: The study sample comprised 13 935 persons who did not access dental care within the past year. Levels of cost-related non-attendance differed between the twelve examined countries, ranging from 6.8% in Israel to 0.5% in Austria. Cost-related non-attendance was 47% less likely among persons with good as compared to compromised chewing ability (Odds Ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.43-0.66). Cost-related non-attendance was 33% less likely among persons with tertiary as compared to (pre-) primary educational attainment (Odds Ratio: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.47-0.96). Cost-related dental non-attendance was significantly more likely among persons with low levels of general health (Odds Ratio for lowest vs. highest level of general health: 3.05; 95% CI: 1.88-4.95).Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest that a relatively small proportion of dental non-attendance in older adulthood is cost-related. For specific population subgroups in various countries, however, dental care costs may still pose a relevant barrier to dental care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Family planning service delivery has been neglected; rigorous analyses of the patterns of contraceptive provision are needed to inform strategies to address this neglect.Methods: We used 57 nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys in low- and middle-income countries (2000-2013) in four geographic regions to estimate need for contraceptive services, and examined the sector of provision, by women's socio-economic position. We also assessed method mix and whether women were informed of side effects.Results: Modern contraceptive use among women in need was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa (39%), with other regions ranging from 64% to 72%. The private sector share of the family planning market was 37-39% of users across the regions and 37% overall (median across countries: 41%). Private sector users accessed medical providers (range across regions: 30-60%, overall mean: 54% and median across countries 23%), specialised drug sellers (range across regions: 31-52%, overall mean: 36% and median across countries: 43%) and retailers (range across regions: 3-14%, overall mean: 6% and median across countries: 6%). Private retailers played a more important role in sub-Saharan Africa (14%) than in other regions (3-5%). NGOs and FBOs served a small percentage. Privileged women (richest wealth quintile, urban residents or secondary-/tertiary-level education) used private sector services more than the less privileged. Contraceptive method types with higher requirements (medical skills) for provision were less likely to be acquired from the private sector, while short-acting methods/injectables were more likely. The percentages of women informed of side effects varied by method and provider subtype, but within subtypes were higher among public than private medical providers for four of five methods assessed.Conclusion: Given the importance of private sector providers, we need to understand why women choose their services, what quality services the private sector provides, and how it can be improved. However, when prioritising one of the two sectors (public vs. private), it is critical to consider the potential impact on contraceptive prevalence and equity of met need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The EUROHEART programme is a rolling programme of cardiovascular surveys among the member nations of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). These surveys will provide information on the nature of cardiovascular disease and its management. This manuscript describes a survey into the nature and management of heart failure.Aims: The EuroHeart Failure survey aims to describe the quality of hospital care, diagnostic and therapeutic, for patients with suspected or confirmed heart failure in ESC member countries. Patients will be interviewed subsequent to hospital discharge to assess their understanding of their condition, side effects from and their compliance with therapy and their satisfaction with the management for heart failure. The quality of management will be judged against the recommendations contained in the ESC guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of heart failure. Outcome will be further assessed by repeat interviews in 6-12 months time. A further survey of heart failure in 2001/2002 is also planned.Methods: A prospective survey of all deaths and discharges from medical (cardiology, internal medicine and geriatric medicine) and cardiac surgical wards to identify patients with heart failure, suspected or confirmed. Approximately 70 hospital clusters, comprising two to six hospitals in each cluster, in 24 member countries of the ESC are conducting the study. At the time of writing, approximately 30000 deaths and discharges have been screened and approximately 4000 patients have been enrolled.Conclusions: The EuroHeart Survey will allow actual practice to be compared to ESC guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure. The surveys and guidelines should prove mutually informative. The main EuroHeart Failure project will be completed by late 2000. However, new centres volunteering to participate in the study (contact corresponding author) may be accepted providing they have the necessary research personnel and provided funding can be agreed for statistical support and administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses a paradox in the literature involving the parenting style of Asians: Chinese parenting has often been described as "controlling" or "authoritarian". These styles of parenting have been found to be predictive of poor school achievement among European-Americans, and yet the Chinese are performing quite well in school. This study suggests that the concepts of authoritative and authoritarian are somewhat ethnocentric and do not capture the important features of Chinese child rearing, especially for explaining their school success. Immigrant Chinese and European-American mothers of preschool-aged children were administered standard measures of parental control and authoritative-authoritarian parenting style as well as Chinese child-rearing items involving the concept of "training." After controlling for their education, and their scores on the standard measures, the Chinese mothers were found to score significantly higher on the "training" ideologies. This "training" concept has important features, beyond the authoritarian concept, that may explain Chinese school success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia needs to align with other nations and implement sex and gender analysis in health and medical research In response, the Institute of Medicine established the Understanding the Biology of Sex and Gender Differences committee, which produced the landmark report I Exploring the biological contributions to human health: does sex matter? Key informants from journals shared that despite no publicly available policies on sex and gender health data, there were internal rules that the editors, reviewers and authors followed. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction and Aims: The practice and adverse consequences of pre-drinking have been documented within a dozen countries, but little remains known about the differences between countries or the country-specific determinants of pre-drinking. This study aims to estimate the percentage of pre-drinkers in different countries and the impact of country-level indicators such as the price of alcohol and the prevalence of drinkers and of heavy drinkers.Design and Methods: Using data from the Global Drug Survey, the percentage of pre-drinkers was estimated for 25 countries from 65 126 respondents. Bivariate and multivariate multilevel models were used to model the impact of the on-premise/off-premise drinks price ratio, the prevalence of current drinkers and of heavy drinkers on the percentage of pre-drinkers.Results: The estimated percentage of pre-drinkers per country ranged from 17.7% (Greece) to 85.4% (Ireland). Across all countries, the higher the prevalence of current drinkers, the higher the percentage of pre-drinkers. In addition, an interaction between the prevalence of heavy drinkers and the price ratio was found. In countries with a low price ratio, the higher the prevalence of heavy drinkers, the higher the percentage of pre-drinkers. The opposite effect was observed in countries with high price ratios.Discussion and Conclusions: Pre-drinking appears to be a worldwide phenomenon. The significant effects of all three indicators demonstrate the role of country-level determinants underpinning the prevalence of pre-drinking across countries. Policy makers could use the reported findings for initiating campaigns to reduce pre-drinking behaviour. [Labhart F, Ferris J, Winstock A, Kuntsche E. The country-level effects of drinking, heavy drinking and drink prices on pre-drinking: An international comparison of 25 countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]