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Purpose Depression is a common and serious medical illness, considered as a public health issue because it interferes with the interpersonal, social and professional functioning of the individual, and its frequency is constantly increasing. According to a recent review, approximately 34 per cent of nursing students had experienced depression worldwide. The university period may represent a moment in which the mental well-being of students is subjected to stress with a relative predisposition to the development of diseases related to mood disorders. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence and examine the socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptomatology. Design/methodology/approach In April 2019, a questionnaire was administered to all the nursing students of University of Palermo of the three years of course, accompanied by informed consent. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. The statistical significance level chosen for all analyses was 0.05. The results were analyzed using the STATA statistical software version 14. Results are expressed as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95 per cent confidence intervals. Findings The sample consists of 493 students who completed the questionnaire, and the average age of the sample participants is 21.88 years. The multivariable logistic regression model shows that the risk to have depressive symptomatology is significantly associated with the following independent variables: female gender (aOR 1.91), being single (aOR 1.87), second year of study (aOR 1.94), third year of study (aOR 1.92), not performing regular physical activity (aOR 1.78) and perceived low health status (aOR 3.08). Originality/value This study shows that belonging to the female gender, being further along in the years of study, having a chronic illness and perceiving a low state of health are all factors that can increase the risk of developing the symptoms of depression; rather, regular physical activity, friendship and romantic relationships can be considered factors protecting them from the risk of falling into depression that can undermine both the study and work performance. Certainly, it is important to analyze all the involved variables to improve the global health not only of the nursing students but of all the students.

BacKGrOUnD: the aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of gambling, internet addiction disease and the risk of alcohol consumption among workers of the “Paolo Giaccone” University hospital in Palermo. MethODs: the study employed a cross-sectional study design. an anonymous online survey was provided accompanied by informed consent. The questionnaire was structured into four parts. The first section investigates on socio-demographic information. in the other sections of the questionnaires were administered: internet addiction test, alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption and Canadian Problem Gambling Index. A multivariable logistic regression model was used and adjusted odds ratios (aOr) are presented. RESULTS: The final sample size consists of 1482 subjects (response rate 79.42%). The 2.29% of the employees are at risk of pathological alcohol consumption, 0.47% has several problems due to the internet, and 2.77% are considered problematic gambling players. The several problems due to the internet is significantly associated with the following independent variables: age at increasing unit (aOr 0.71), at risk for consumption of alcohol (aOr 92.37), at risk for gambling (aOr 53.67). CONCLUSIONS: Along with the growing availability of information technology, individuals may experience adverse outcomes when internet usage is combined with alcohol risky consumption and gambling. since the increased access to addictive substances/behaviors leads to higher rates of addiction, future prospective studies and preventive measures should be implemented to reduce internet use, alcohol assumption and gambling in this population.

BACKGROUND: One of the often-underestimated aspects of obesity is the psychological one. In particular, there is a growing attention to the correlation between obesity and depression among students from all over the world. And also towards the correlation between alcohol abuse and mood disorders. The objective of the study was to examine if the depressive symptomatology, risk of consumption of alcohol and anxiety symptomatology are correlated with obesity/ overweight in a sample of students of the University of Palermo, Italy. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire is structured in four sections. An anonymous online survey was sent to a random students sample enrolled in the mailing list of the Regional Authority for the Right to University Study (ERSU) of the University of Palermo, who signed an informed consent. Results are expressed as adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI). P value

BACKGROUND: The university student is vulnerable to the adverse effects of many stress factors that can lead to an increase in the burden of illness in young people. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of anxious symptoms in the student population of the degree course in nursing at the University of Palermo. METHODS: The study design is observational. In the month of April 2019, a survey was provided to all nursing students of University of Palermo of the three years of course, accompanied by informed consent. The statistical significance level chosen for all analyzes was 0.05. The results were analyzed using the STATA statistical software version 14.XX Results are expressed as adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI). This study was approved by the ethical committee of the University Hospital "P. Giaccone" of Palermo, Minutes No. 02/2019 (15. Studio A.D.A.3) of February 18, 2019. RESULTS : The sample size consists of 493 students that agreed to the informed consent and completed the questionnaire. The average age of the sample is 21.88 years (standard deviation±3.38), 67.55% of the interviewees are women. Regarding bivariate analysis, statistically significant differences were found for the following variables: "gender," "year of study," "do you perform regular physical activity," "perceived health status." The analysis shows that the risk to have anxious symptomatology moderate-severe is significantly associated with the following independent variables: female gender (aOR 2.83, 95% CI : 1.26-6.38, P=0.012); age class

Background: Adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence produced by the firefly luciferase has been successfullyintroduced to verify cleaning procedures in the food industry according to the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Pointprogram.Our aim was to evaluate the reliability of bioluminescence as a tool to monitor the effectiveness of sanitation in healthcaresettings, in comparison with the microbiological gold standard.Methods: 614 surfaces of various material were randomly sampled in Policlinico University Hospital units in Palermo,Italy, to detect adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence and aerobic colony count. Linear regression model andPearson correlation coefficient were used to estimate the relationship between the two variables of the study.Results: Aerobic colony count median was 1.71 colony forming units/cm2 (interquartile range = 3.8), whereasadenosine triphosphate median was 59.9 relative light units/cm2 (interquartile range = 128.3). Pearson coefficientR2 was 0.09. Sensitivity and specificity of bioluminescence test with respect to microbiology were 46% and 71%,whereas positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 53% and 65%, respectively.Conclusion: According to our results, there seemed to be no linear correlation between aerobic colony countand adenosine triphosphate values, suggesting that current bioluminescence technology has not any proportionalrelationships with culturable microbes contaminating environmental surfaces in health-care settings.