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In Italy, few multicentre population-based studies on pregnancy outcomes are available. Therefore, we established a network of population-based birth cohorts in the cities of Turin, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Rome (northern and central Italy), to study the role of socioeconomic factors and air pollution exposure on term low birthweight, preterm births and the prevalence of small for gestational age. In this article, we will report the full methodology of the study and the first descriptive results. We linked 2007-2013 delivery certificates with municipal registry data and hospital records, and selected singleton livebirths from women who lived in the cities for the entire pregnancy, resulting in 211,853 births (63% from Rome, 21% from Turin and the remaining 16% from the three cities in Emilia-Romagna Region). We have observed that the association between socioeconomic characteristics and air pollution exposure varies by city and pollutant, suggesting a possible effect modification of both the city and the socioeconomic position on the impact of air pollution on pregnancy outcomes. This is the largest Italian population-based birth cohort, not distorted by selection mechanisms, which has also the advantage of being sustainable over time and easily transferable to other areas. Results from the ongoing multivariable analyses will provide more insight on the relative impact of different strands of risk factors and on their interaction, as well as on the modifying effect of the contextual characteristics. Useful recommendations for strategies to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes may eventually derive from this study.

Background: It is estimated that, in Italy, 12 000-18 000 (11-13% of 130 000) HIV-infected subjects are not aware of their serostatus. People in this condition may visit the healthcare system multiple times without being diagnosed. If tested on one of these occasions, they could modify their high-risk behaviours and benefit from treatment, factors that reduce HIV transmission. In Italy, no data on HIV testing in the general population are available so far and little is known on the relationship between socioeconomic determinants (at individual and neighbourhood levels) and testing uptake., Methods: A large anonymous survey was performed in 2012-2014 on more than 10 000 individuals 18-59 years old who underwent 21 public ambulatories in Rome to determine the proportion of subjects tested for HIV and factors related to testing uptake. Subjects' socio-demographic characteristics, sexual orientation, number of sexual partners, HIV risk behaviour, HIV testing uptake were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Level of area deprivation was measured at the postal code level by the index of social disadvantage (ISD). Multilevel Poisson regressions were carried out to take heterogeneity between clusters (post code and clinics) into account., Results: Among people participating in the study, 58.1% of subjects self-reported to have been tested at least once for HIV. Those who had one high risk behaviour for HIV-infection were 11% more likely to test than those not reporting any, and subjects who had had a STI (sexually-transmitted-infection) in the past were 12% more likely to test than those who had not had a STI. However only 44% (54% among subjects aged 18-35 years) of those with self-reported risks of contracting HIV had been tested at least once in life. This percentage increases, as expected, with the level of education, but, even so, about 40% of university educated subjects self-reporting risks of contracting HIV had never undergone an HIV test., Conclusions: This study highlights that, while the percentage of subjects tested is even higher than observed in other western nations, only 44% of subjects, self-reporting risks of contracting HIV, had tested at least once in life and about 40% of university educated subjects self reporting risks of contracting HIV had never tested.

Background: In Italy, out of 60 millions of inhabitants, 3000 (2700-4000) new HIV infections are estimated each year. As combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) prolongs life for HIV sufferers, the prevalence of HIV-infection is likely to increase over time. Few studies have assessed factors associated with being HIV positive in people accessing public outpatient clinics and, in particular, the influence of socio-economic circumstances on HIV prevalence. This study aims to evaluate the association between subjects' serostatus and socio-economic determinants measured at the individual and neighbourhood levels., Methods: Data from a large anonymous survey performed in 2012-2014 on more than 10 000 individuals 18-59 years old who underwent 21 public ambulatories in Rome were analysed. Subjects' socio-demographic characteristics, sexual orientation, number of sexual partners, HIV risk behaviour and HIV testing uptake were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Level of area deprivation was measured at the postal code level by the index of social disadvantage (ISD). Multilevel Poisson regressions were carried out to take heterogeneity between clusters (post code and clinics) into account., Results: Self-reported HIV-prevalence was 2.0% among subjects ever been tested (13.7% for the homosexual/lesbians 7.0% for the bisexual and 1.3% for the heterosexual). About 1% of subjects self-identified as low risk was HIV infected. This prevalence increased up to 2% in the age group 18-34 and up to 5% in the non-heterosexuals (i.e. self- identified homosexuals/lesbians and bisexuals). At the individual level, HIV-prevalence decreased linearly from lowest to highest levels of education. Living in a deprived neighbourhood was not associated with HIV-infection., Conclusions: Our study confirms high HIV prevalences among homosexuals/lesbians. Some infections occur in subjects who do not report high risk behaviours for HIV transmission.

Objectives: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the 35-item Medical Outcome Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV) when applied to persons with AIDS., Methods: The study population consisted of 185 adults with AIDS residing in Rome and participating in a randomised controlled trial on home-care. Diagnosis was made between 1 October 1994 and 1 April 1996, and enrollment took place within 2 months of diagnosis. The MOS-HIV, which measures 10 dimensions of health-related quality of life (QoL), was administered at baseline and every 3 months thereafter during the 1-year follow-up. Tests of convergent and concurrent construct validity were conducted for all scales., Results: Of the 185 trial participants, 146 responded to the questionnaire; 82 responded at least twice (including baseline collection) during follow-up. For the role functioning, general health, and vitality scales, the distribution of scale scores was concentrated at the lower half of the range. Internal consistency reliability was adequate (>0.80) for all scales. Baseline scores tended to increase with decreasing AIDS severity and with increasing age. There were improvements over time in the role functioning, vitality, and health distress scales., Conclusions: The MOS-HIV had good reliability among persons with AIDS. There was a moderate floor effect for some of the subscales. Tests of convergent and construct validity were generally confirmed. Additional studies are needed to evaluate the responsiveness to changes over time.

The aim of this paper is to assess the methodological problems of an unsuccessful randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted to evaluate the effectiveness, in terms of survival and quality of life, of the early offer of home care (HC) to persons with AIDS (PWA). The study carried out was an intention-to-treat RCT. Persons in the treatment group (TG) received the offer of HC at the moment of AIDS diagnosis; those in the control group (CG) received it six months from diagnosis. Many problems have hindered the progress of the study: particularly, the low compliance to the offer and the failure to enroll the required sample size have made the results unreliable. Analogous problems have been reported within other trials evaluating HC in different fields. The present study thoroughly evaluates the specific ethical and methodological problems encountered in designing and conducting a RCT on HC for PWA. We conclude that, before designing and conducting a RCT in this field, it is advisable to examine some main issues carefully, such as the acceptability of the offer of treatment, the expected compliance and the required size of the study population. If one or more of these elements prove to be problematic, the results of the trial risk being seriously compromised, and alternative approaches should be considered.

Study Objective: There exists conflicting evidence regarding the higher risk of hysterectomy among women of a lower educational and economic level. This study aims to assess whether in Italy socioeconomic level is related to hysterectomy undertaken for different medical reasons., Design: An area based index was used to assign socieconomic status (SES; four levels defined) to 3141 women (aged 35 years or older) who underwent a hysterectomy in 1997 and were residing in Rome. Data were taken from hospital discharge records. Direct age standardised hospitalisation rates by SES level were calculated for overall hysterectomies and for those performed for either malignant or non-malignant causes. Statistical differences were detected using the ratios of standardised rates and the test for linear trend., Main Results: The hysterectomy rate was 36.7 per 10 000 women aged 35 years or more. Hysterectomy for uterine leiomyoma accounted for 41% of all operations and was more frequent among women aged 35-49 years than for those aged 50 years or more (crude rates: 28.6 and 7.7 per 10 000, respectively). The risk of hysterectomy was 35% higher for the lowest SES group, compared with the highest group. No association was found between SES and hysterectomy rates for malignant causes, although less affluent women in age group 35-49 years had 87% higher risk of hysterectomy compared with most affluent women. The inverse association between SES and hysterectomy rates attributable to non-malignant causes was statistically significant for women aged 35-49 years but not for those aged 50 years or more., Conclusions: The inverse relation between hysterectomy and SES is largely attributable to benign disorders of the uterus, namely leiomyoma and prolapse. More affluent women may have a greater uptake of less invasive techniques for removing uterine leiomyoma compared with less affluent women, who are more likely to undergo unnecessary hysterectomies irrespective of their reproductive age.

Most of the evidence regarding the association between particulate air pollution and emergency room visits or hospital admissions for respiratory conditions and asthma comes from the USA. European time-series analyses have suggested that gaseous air pollutants are important determinants of acute hospitalization for respiratory conditions, at least as important as particulate mass. The association between daily mean levels of suspended particles and gaseous pollutants (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone) was examined. The daily emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in the metropolitan area of Rome during 1995-1997 were also recorded. Daily counts of hospital admissions for total respiratory conditions (43 admissions day(-1)), acute respiratory infections including pneumonia (18 day(-1)), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (13 day(-1)), and asthma (4.5 day(-1)) among residents of all ages and among children (0-14 yrs) were analysed. The generalized additive models included spline smooth functions of the day of study, mean temperature, mean humidity, influenza epidemics, and indicator variables for day of the week and holidays. Total respiratory admissions were significantly associated with same-day level of NO2 (2.5% increase per interquartile range (IQR) change, 22.3 microg x m(-3)) and CO (2.8% increase per IQR, 1.5 mg x m(-3)). No effect was found for particulate matter and SO2, whereas O3 was associated with admissions only among children (lag 1, 5.5% increase per IQR, 23.9 microg x m3). The effect of NO2 was stronger on acute respiratory infections (lag 0, 4.0% increase) and on asthma among children (lag 1, 10.7% increase). The admissions for all ages for asthma and COPD were associated only with same-day level of CO (5.5% and 4.3% increase, respectively). Multipollutant models confirmed the role of CO on all respiratory admissions, including asthma and COPD, and that of NO2 on acute respiratory infections. Among children, O3 remained a strong indicator of acute respiratory infections. Carbon monoxide and photochemical pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, ozone) appear to be determinants of acute respiratory conditions in Rome. Since carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide are good indicators of combustion products from traffic related sources, the detected effect may be due to unmeasured fine and ultrafine particles.

Two time-series studies, aimed at evaluating the acute health effect of air pollution among Rome inhabitants, were carried out. In the first study the correlation between daily mortality (1992 to 1995) and daily concentrations of five air pollutants (particles, SO2, NO2, CO, O3) was analyzed. In the second study the association between daily levels of the same pollutants and hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular disease (1995-97) was evaluated. Poisson regression models were used to estimate the association between pollutant levels and health effect variables; the models included smooth functions of day of study, mean temperature, mean humidity and indicator variables for day of the week and holidays. Daily total mortality was associated with particle average concentration on that day and with NO2 levels of one or two days before. Hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease were positively correlated to particles, SO2, NO2, e CO. Hospital admissions for respiratory disease were associated with NO2 and CO levels of the same day and of two days before among children (0-14 years) and among adults (15-64 years). Increments of ozone were associated with increments of total respiratory and of acute respiratory diseases in children (0-14 years).