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Study Question: How many twins are born in human populations and how has this changed over recent decades?Summary Answer: Since the 1980s, the global twinning rate has increased by a third, from 9.1 to 12.0 twin deliveries per 1000 deliveries, to about 1.6 million twin pairs each year.What Is Known Already: It was already known that in the 1980s natural twinning rates were low in (East) Asia and South America, at an intermediate level in Europe and North America, and high in many African countries. It was also known that in recent decades, twinning rates have been increasing in the wealthier parts of our world as a result of the rise in medically assisted reproduction (MAR) and delayed childbearing.Study Design, Size, Duration: We have brought together all information on national twinning rates available from statistical offices, demographic research institutes, individual survey data and the medical literature for the 1980-1985 and the 2010-2015 periods.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: For 165 countries, covering over 99% of the global population, we were able to collect or estimate twinning rates for the 2010-2015 period. For 112 countries, we were also able to obtain twinning rates for 1980-1985.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: Substantial increases in twinning rates were observed in many countries in Europe, North America and Asia. For 74 out of 112 countries the increase was more than 10%. Africa is still the continent with highest twinning rates, but Europe, North America and Oceania are catching up rapidly. Asia and Africa are currently home to 80% of all twin deliveries in the world.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: For some countries, data were derived from reports and papers based on hospital registrations which are less representative for the country as a whole than data based on public administrations and national surveys.Wider Implications Of the Findings: The absolute and relative number of twins for the world as a whole is peaking at an unprecedented level. An important reason for this is the tremendous increase in medically assisted reproduction in recent decades. This is highly relevant, as twin deliveries are associated with higher infant and child mortality rates and increased complications for mother and child during pregnancy and during and after delivery.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): The contribution of CM was partially supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant No 681546, FAMSIZEMATTERS), Nuffield College, and the Leverhulme Trust. The contribution of GP was partially supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant No ANR-18-CE36-0007-07). The authors declare no conflict of interest.Trial Registration Number: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progressive population ageing observed in Western countries determines a growing need for long-term care for older people. At the same time, migrants and refugees often have integration difficulties in regards to the hosting country society and labour market, with one reason being the lack of EU recognition of the educational degrees obtained in their native country. Creating educational opportunities in elderly care for migrants may facilitate their social inclusion, increase their employability, and constitute a response to the growing labor demand. The HERO project moved in this direction by planning, designing, and carrying out an original training curriculum targeted to migrants and refugees from African and Middle Eastern countries, piloted in four Mediterranean countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Portugal). The impact of the training on migrants and refugees' quality of life was assessed through the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, while social inclusion was assessed through semistructured interviews and participant observation carried out during the internship in elderly care facilities. Eighty-two migrants (70.7 percent women) were involved in the study. The results showed that despite the fact that the training did not have an impact on the trainees' quality of life, it was associated with social inclusion. Four ideal types of migrant learners were drawn: "ex-professional trainees," "fall-back trainees," "care-oriented trainees," and "nonprofessional care workers," based on which as many possible educational pathways were drawn to optimise the trainees' learning process. The study results shaped the formulation of suggestions on migrants' education in elderly care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We carried out bibliographic searches in PubMed and Embase.com for the period from 1996 to 2008 with the aim of reviewing the scientific literature on the relationship between various sources of indoor air pollution and the respiratory health of children under the age of five. Those studies that included adjusted correlation measurements for the most important confounding variables and which had an adequate population size were considered to be more relevant. The results concerning the relationship between gas energy sources and children's respiratory health were heterogeneous. Indoor air pollution from biomass combustion in the poorest countries was found to be an important risk factor for lower respiratory tract infections. Solvents involved in redecorating, DYI work, painting, and so forth, were found to be related to an increased risk for general respiratory problems. The distribution of papers depending on the pollution source showed a clear relationship with life-style and the level of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is important to know whether the relationships between experienced and evaluative well-being and health are consistent across countries with different income levels. This would allow to confirm whether the evidence found in high income countries is the same as in low- and middle-income countries and to suggest policy recommendations that are generalisable across countries. We assessed the association of well-being with health status; analysed the differential relationship that positive affect, negative affect, and evaluative well-being have with health status; and examined whether these relationships are similar across countries.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, interviews were conducted amongst 53,269 adults from nine countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Evaluative well-being was measured with a short version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life instrument, and experienced well-being was measured with the Day Reconstruction Method. Decrements in health were assessed with the 12-item version of WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. Block-wise linear regression and structural equation models were employed.Results: Considering the overall sample, evaluative well-being was more strongly associated with health (β = -0.35) than experienced well-being (β = -0.14), and negative affect was more strongly associated with health (β = 0.10) than positive affect (β = -0.02). The relationship between health and well-being was similar across countries. Lower scores in evaluative well-being and a higher age were the factors more strongly related with a worse health.Conclusions: The different patterns observed across countries may be related to differences in the countries' gross domestic product, social protection system, economic situation, health care provision, lifestyle behaviours, or living conditions. The fact that evaluative well-being is more predictive of health than experienced well-being suggests that our level of satisfaction with our lives might be more important for our health than the actual emotions than we experience in our day-to-day lives and points out the need of interventions that improve the way people evaluate their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]