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Aims: To identify the predictors of changes in alcohol intake among French men., Design: Longitudinal study over a 2-year period., Setting: The GAZEL volunteer cohort comprising workers employed by Electricité de France-Gaz de France., Participants: The study included 11,613 men aged 40-50 years who had answered a self-administered questionnaire in 1989 and 1991., Measurements: Subjects were defined according to initial levels of alcohol intake and changes in that intake (cessation, decrease and increase) and compared with subjects with corresponding levels but unchanged intake by logistic regression. The effects of individual characteristics and of occupational and health conditions were investigated., Findings: Different variables measured in 1989 were predictive of changes in alcohol consumption in 1991, depending on the change. Self-perception of bad health, consumption of sleeping pills and unmarried status were predictive of the cessation of alcohol consumption. Working under favourable conditions (with no specific occupational risks) and being a non-smoker tended to be associated with reduced consumption. Increased consumption was associated with the number of reported disease and the smoking status. Among abstainers or light daily drinkers, being exposed to more than one constraint enlarged the risk of increased consumption. For moderate drinkers, the risk of increased consumption was higher, irrespective of the number of physical constraints., Conclusions: These results highlight the fact that many inter-related factors help to determine changes in drinking habits.

Alterations in calcium metabolism can be demonstrated in the course of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In order to clarify if the presence of persistent microalbuminuria (MA) can affect the main parameters of calcium metabolism, we studied 22 diabetic adolescents and young adults with persistent MA and compared them with 24 patients without MA and 24 healthy controls. Mean values of serum calcium, phosphorus and magnesium were similar in diabetic children and young adults without persistent MA and in controls. In addition, the mean values of PTH and 25-OHD, 1,25 (OH)2D3 and OC did not differ between these diabetics and controls. Diabetics with persistent MA showed no significant difference from the values of either controls or the group of diabetics without persistent MA for the mean values of serum calcium, phosphorus and magnesium and PTH. In contrast, diabetics with persistent MA had significantly (p<0.01) lower 25-OHD (26.5+/-5.2 ng/ml) and 1,25 (OH)2D3 (24.7+/-5.6 pg/ml) as well as OC levels (9.8+/-2.5 ng/ml; p<0.001) than controls (38.1+/-4.9 ng/ml, 40.7+/-6.4 pg/ml and 16.5+/-5.8 ng/ml, respectively) and subjects with normoalbuminuria (36.0+/-4.5 ng/ml, 38.8+/-8.9 pg/ml and 14.5+/-3.2 ng/ml). In conclusion, our study suggests that abnormalities in 25-OHD, 1,25(OH)2D3 and OC can be present in diabetic adolescents and young adults with incipient nephropathy.

Background: The physiological and operative severity score for the enumeration of mortality and morbidity (POSSUM) is a scoring system that was validated in general surgery with the aim of being used as an instrument to evaluate surgical outcome. We applied POSSUM to a population of lung resection candidates to assess its capability to predict postoperative complications., Methods: Two hundred fifty lung resection candidates were prospectively evaluated from 1993 through 1996. The POSSUM value was entered along with other variables (sex, smoking history, type of resection, pulmonary function tests, arterial carbon dioxide, serum albumin level, total lymphocyte count, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and diabetes) in a multivariate analysis to identify independent predictors of postoperative morbidity., Results: Logistic regression analysis showed POSSUM was predictive of postoperative complications, showing no significant difference between predicted and observed morbidity (chi2 test, p > 0.05)., Conclusions: We think POSSUM can be appropriately used as a tool of surgical audit in lung resection operations.

Rat periovarian adipose tissue contains a low number of uncoupling protein-expressing brown adipocytes scattered into lobules of white fat. Their increase following cold acclimation is matched by a major increase in noradrenergic and neuropeptide Y-, substance P- and calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing nerves. To ascertain whether periovarian fat is provided with sensory nerves, and whether any relationship exists between such nerves (in particular the calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing fibers found in cold-acclimated rats in close association with brown adipocytes) and brown fat recruitment, the effects of capsaicin desensitization on neuropeptide-containing nerves and brown adipocyte density were studied in the periovarian tissue of rats kept at 20 degrees C and on a group acclimated to 4 degrees C for 14 days. In both groups, systemic capsaicin administration considerably reduced the expression of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide in vascular-nerve bundles and parenchyma. In cold-acclimated rats, the increase in brown adipocyte density was significantly checked by capsaicin administration (21.11 versus 7.96 brown adipocytes/mm2, P<0.05). Finally, ultrastructural investigation showed the occurrence of brown adipocyte precursors filled with aggregates of glycogen and poorly differentiated multilocular adipocytes in capsaicin-treated cold-acclimated rats. These data suggest that periovarian adipose tissue is indeed provided with sensory neuropeptide-containing nerves and that they play a role in the recruitment and differentiation of brown adipocytes.

Background: The aim of this prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study was to compare laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) hernia repair with a standard tension-free open mesh repair (open)., Methods: A total of 108 low-risk patients with unilateral (primary or recurrent) or bilateral hernias were randomized to TAPP (group 1 = 52 cases) or open (group 2 = 56 cases). The outcome measures included operating time, complications, postoperative pain, return to normal activity, operating theater costs, and recurrences., Results: The mean operative time was longer for the TAPP than for the open group only in unilateral primary hernias. At rest, the median Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score was higher for group 1 than group 2 at 48 h postoperatively. Mild to discomforting pain in the inguinal region after 7 days, night pain after 30 days, and inguinal hardening after 3 months were more frequent in group 2 than group 1. No significant differences were observed in return to normal activities between the groups. One hernia recurrence was observed after 1 month in group 1. TAPP was significantly more expensive than open., Conclusions: TAPP was associated with less postoperative pain than open. The increase in operating theater costs, however, was dramatic and was not compensated by shorter time away from work. TAPP should not be adopted routinely unless its costs can be drastically reduced.

The current study was designed to test the POSSUM (Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and Morbidity) in a population of lung resection candidates, and to propose its use as an instrument of evaluation of surgical outcome and quality in thoracic surgery. 250 consecutive patients submitted to lung resection from 1993 through 1996 at our institution were prospectively evaluated. Two significant predictive models were than yielded by logistic regression analysis (model I: POSSUM alone; model II: Combining POSSUM Physiological Score with predicted postoperative FEV1 ) and compared with each other by means of ROC curves analysis. The study of the areas under the ROC curves showed that these models were equally predictive of postoperative complications (area of model I=0.66; area of model II=0.67). Both models showed no significant differences between predicted and observed morbidity (chi-square test p > 0.05). In particular, in model II there was perfect agreement between observed and predicted morbidity in the group of patients with a predicted morbidity above 60%. These results suggest that POSSUM may be appropriately used as a tool of surgical audit even in lung surgery.

Bisphosphonates are used in oncology as a means of decreasing complications due to bone metastases, in association with anticancer treatment, especially in patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer and myeloma. Little is known about the effects of bisphosphonates on bone metastases from other tumors and in particular from tumors for which no effective treatment is available. We conducted a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of oral clodronate in patients with bone metastases from tumors poorly responsive to chemotherapy, with the aims of evaluating the effects of this drug on symptoms control and bone metastases evolution. Sixty-six patients with poorly responsive tumors such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), bladder cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, kidney cancer, melanoma and metastatic carcinoma of unknown origin entered the study. Patients were randomized to receive either clodronate 1,600 mg/day for one year or identical placebo-containing tablets. Various parameters such as Karnofsky performance status, pain score (measured by a visual-analogue scale) and analgesic requirement were recorded at monthly intervals. Of the 66 patients enrolled, 9 were observed for one month or less; 7 were followed for two months; only 50 patients were followed for more than 2 months and could be adequately evaluated. At 3 months both clodronate and placebo-treated patients had a decrease in Karnofsky performance status, with the decrease being more evident in the placebo group. Mean pain scores showed an increase of pain in patients receiving placebo and a decrease of pain in patients receiving clodronate, although the difference failed to be statistically significant. Analgesics requirement increased in both groups, but significantly more in patients receiving placebo (p = 0.042), in whom increase in opioid requirements was particularly evident. Toxicity was low, with occasional gastroenteric discomfort in both groups. The main problem of this study was the difficulty in recruiting an adequate number of patients and following them for a sufficient period of time: general conditions rapidly deteriorated in many patients, and approximately 25% of the 66 enrolled were not considered evaluable; few patients survived for the length of the study, one year. This might partly account for the lack of significance of some of the parameters under study. With these limits, oral clodronate demonstrated some efficacy in symptom control and in reducing the need for analgesics.

Reported is the incidence of tetanus in the Marches Region of Italy for the period 1992-95. Data were obtained from both the regional public health committee's notification forms for infectious diseases and from hospital clinical records. A total of 36 cases were examined, comprising 7 males (19.4%) and 29 females. The raw annual incidence was 6.3 per million population; the standardized incidence for females was four times greater than that for males (9.2 and 2.4 per million population annually, respectively). The patients' ages varied from 31 years to 88 years (median, 73.5 years). The incidence among subjects older than 65 years was approximately ten times greater than that among younger individuals. Chronic wounds, such as trophic lesions, represented the site of tetanus infection in 14.3% of cases whose infection entry point was identified. Treatment of the 36 cases required a total of 1239 hospital days, of which 58.7% were in intensive care and 29.6% were in infectious diseases departments. The raw annual mortality rate for the period considered was 0.7 per million population; the case-fatality ratio was 11%. The results of our study confirm the limits of the current Italian immunization programmes, which exclude a large portion of the population from antitetanus protection.

The incidence rates of IDDM in Italy show remarkable variability. Sardinia, a region with the second highest incidence rate in the world, co-exists with other regions with lower rates. We review and compare epidemiologic data on the incidence of childhood-onset IDDM in Italy. papers published from 1980 to 1996 reporting incidence data in Italian areas were found by search of Medline and non-indexed Italian journals. The incidence data found cover only 57% of the Italian population. The analysis of our results shows how difficult it is to make a careful study of epidemiology of IDDM in Italy. The RIDI (the Registry for Insulin-dependent Diabetes mellitus in Italy) project started in 1996 according to international guidelines. The aims is to coordinate local IDDM registries, to promote the start of new registries in uncovered areas, and to standardize registration and data collection.

With the association of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and alpha-interferon (IFN), objective responses as high as 26 63% have been reported in untreated patients with advanced colorectal cancer. However, grade 3-4 toxicity has also been reported. We have conducted a prospective phase II randomised study comparing 5-FU to 5-FU + IFN, to investigate whether the addition of IFN to a weekly 5-FU regimen devoid of significant toxicity used at our institutions could improve the effectiveness of 5-FU while maintaining acceptable toxicity. Patients with histologically proven advanced colorectal carcinoma were randomised to receive 5-FU 500 mg m-2 intravenous (i.v.) bolus on days 1-5 followed by 5-FU 500 mg m-2 i.v. bolus weekly from day 15, with or without IFN alpha-2a intramuscularly (i.m.) 1.5 mU daily on days 6-12 and 3 mU i.m. daily thereafter. The treatment was administered on an outpatient basis. Response was evaluated every 3 months, and treatment continued until progression or after two consecutive judgements of stable disease. Response rate was the main end point of the study. Of 141 patients eligible, 72 were randomised to 5-FU alone (arm A) and 69 to 5-FU + IFN (arm B). Responses were 9/72 (12.5%) in arm A and 6/69 (8.7%) in arm B; complete responses were three in arm A and two in arm B. Progression-free survival (median 4 months) and survival (median 12 months) were identical in the two arms. Toxicity was almost absent in arm A and moderate in arm B, represented mainly by haematological toxicity (usually leucopenia). In conclusion, overall survival was good in both arms of treatment and toxicity was moderate. While the response rate with 5-FU alone was in accord with the literature data, response to 5-FU + IFN was lower than expected. At least at this dosage and schedule, the association of 5-FU and IFN is no better than 5-FU alone and is of no clinical interest.

A simple instrument for self-assessment of quality of life (QL) in patients with cancer was elaborated using a linear analogue scale (LAS). The instrument was based on five questions, exploring different functional areas; the same questions were also addressed in a parallel format, where problems were seen from an opposite point of view (positive/negative). The LAS was given to 222 patients, for a total of 372 tests collected. Internal consistency was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha = 0.75); QL score was significantly correlated to parameters of disease. Concordance between scales, as judged by comparison of parallel formats, was statistically significant but poor. A questionnaire was then elaborated with similar items, based on a categorical scale. A direct comparison between LAS and our questionnaire was made on a group of 41 patients. Internal consistency was poor for the LAS (alpha = 0.58) and good for the questionnaire (alpha = 0.93); Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were disappointing for the LAS and good for the questionnaire; the questionnaire was judged reliable in 82.9% of cases, the LAS in 29.3% only; the questionnaire score, and not the LAS score, was significantly correlated with PS and disease status. In conclusion, many patients appeared unable to correctly interpret the visual-analogue scale; the categorical scale was more immediate and correctly understood by the large majority of patients; the correlation between score and important parameters of QL was maintained, and internal consistency was excellent, indicating a satisfactory reliability of this instrument.

Forty-one patients with 61 proved focal liver lesions underwent MRI of the liver at 1.0 T, with the aim of evaluating the usefulness of turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequences in characterizing focal liver lesions, by comparing them with conventional spin-echo (CSE) sequences. Two different TSE protocols were employed. with constant echo time and varying repetition time: TSE-S (3000 msec) and TSE-L (5100 msec). All images were evaluated quantitatively (signal-to-noise ration 'SNR') and qualitatively: because benign lesions were all liquid (12 cysts and 10 hemangiomas), they were well characterized morphologically on the basis of signal intensity. Mean SNR was significantly different between metastases and benign lesions (P < .0001) with all T2 sequences. Among the single T2 sequences tested, logistic regression analysis showed TSE-L to have the best predictive ability of the nature of focal lesions, with a G value of 42.02, compared to 29.87 of TSE-S and 25.55 of CSE second echo (SE II). The combination of TSE-L with TSE-S did not modify these results, whereas the combination of TSE-L with CSE only resulted in slight improvement (G = 46.95). Comparison of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed only SE II (area under the ROC curve of .8312) to be significantly inferior to the best single sequence, or TSE-L (area under the ROC curve of .9176; P = .027). All sequences were equivalent in qualitative evaluation with good reproducibility, sensitivity ranging from .94 to 1.0 and specificity ranging from .86 to .93. This study confirms the value of TSE sequences in characterization of focal liver lesions. Time of acquisition is strongly reduced with these sequences, whereas results are fairly similar to those obtained with CSE. TSE sequences could therefore replace CSE for the study of focal liver lesions.

In this study the validity of the methods provided for by Italian law (VDRL or RPR tests) were compared with the diagnostic strategy suggested by WHO (the use of VDRL and TPHA tests in parallel). Sensitivity, specificity and posterior probability of infection after a positive or a negative result were estimated. The application of two tests in parallel produces a statistically significant increase of sensitivity from 47% to 98% while the increase of proportion of false positives is not significant (from 15% to 16%). Probability of infection when the result is negative to the RPR is 0.07% while a negative result to the RPR and the TPHA tests has a probability to be really infected of 0.003%. The use of the two tests (RPR and TPHA) in parallel is able to give the highest degree of sensitivity, indispensable to select possible blood donors, while maintaining a good degree of specificity. The authors concluded that the use of VDRL alone does not exclude infectivity of a blood sample, and in accordance with WHO and international recommendations, the VDRL or RPR and TPHA tests should be used in parallel for syphilis screening.

We assessed the performance of 4 methods of discriminant analysis using as independent variables the age and 16 serum tests, for correctly identifying patients with liver cirrhosis among hospitalized patients affected by chronic liver disease without signs of liver failure; 290 patients entered this study: on the basis of laparoscopy with or without liver biopsy, 152 patients had a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and 138 were classified as chronic hepatitic patients. Due to the non-multinormal distribution of the variables used and to the unequality of the variance-covariance matrices, we compared the following 4 methods: linear discriminant function, quadratic discriminant function, non-parametric discriminant function and logistic regression. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to compare diagnostic ability of the assessed methods: the quadratic discriminant function was the best performing method. The predictive ability of this function was compared to that reported for percutaneous liver biopsy, showing that this simple statistical method using age and biochemical tests can efficiently identify liver cirrhosis in the setting of chronic liver disease, reducing the need for invasive diagnostic procedures.

To assess the risk of developing liver cirrhosis associated with alcohol consumption, HBV and HCV infection markers, we carried out a case-control study involving 115 patients admitted to the medical departments of the general hospitals in the province of L'Aquila (Abruzzo, Italy) who received for the first time the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, and 167 controls randomly selected among patients admitted to the same hospitals as the cases. Alcohol intake was measured in all 282 subjects using an already validated standardized questionnaire, and expressed as mean lifetime daily alcohol intake in grams. The mean lifetime daily alcohol intake showed a dose-dependent effect on the risk of cirrhosis: the relative risk significantly rose to 3.8 (95% CI: 2.0-7.3) for a mean daily intake of > or = 101 g alcohol; for HBsAg positivity the relative risk of cirrhosis was 23.0 (95% CI: 4.9-107.8) and for anti-HCV positivity it was 8.7 (95% CI: 4.3-17.6). After applying a multiple logistic regression analysis in a multivariate model including mean lifetime alcohol intake and anti-HCV status, both variables were significantly associated with the risk of cirrhosis (relative risks = 5.3-95% CI: 2.3-12.2 and 9.9-95% CI: 4.4-22.0, respectively). The combination of these two variables was found to fit an additive--but not multiplicative--model relative to the risk of cirrhosis: furthermore, the interaction of the anti-HCV status with the presence or absence of cirrhosis did not result in a significant source of variability for the mean lifetime daily alcohol intake.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Seventeen preoperative variables were collected in order to assess their prognostic value on survival in 82 cirrhotic patients who underwent a portosystemic shunt for ruptured esophageal varices. Univariate analysis showed that the presence of encephalopathy, bad nutritional status, elevated serum bilirubin, low serum albumin, the presence of ascites and Child-Turcotte's or Child-Pugh's C class were significantly associated with a reduction of long-term survival. Multivariate analysis according to the Cox model showed that only encephalopathy and nutritional status were independently associated with survival. Six survival curves were proposed to estimate the survival probability with these 2 preoperative data; encephalopathy had a predominant effect on survival during the first 5 years after surgery.

We carried out a hospital-based case-control study to assess the association of both the daily amount and the duration of alcohol intake with the risk of developing non-cirrhotic chronic liver disease (chronic hepatitis) in 121 chronic hepatitis patients diagnosed by laparoscopy and liver biopsy, and in 242 matched 'controls' randomly selected from inpatients of the same hospital. Alcohol intake was quantified in all subjects using a standardized questionnaire administered by two doctors unaware of the aim of the study. The odds ratio (OR) for chronic hepatitis was estimated by conditional logistic regression and increased exponentially from 1.0 for non-drinkers to 11.4 for daily alcohol intake of 325 g or more. Considering duration of alcohol consumption from up to 10 to up to 30 years, the ORs for chronic hepatitis consistently decreased for the daily alcohol intake categories of 25-50 g (from 74.1 to 0.7 respectively), 75-100 g (from 149.7 to 0.7 respectively) and 125 g or more (from 212.0 to 1.8 respectively). Our results suggest the existence of a dose-dependent individual susceptibility to the damaging effect of alcohol on the liver.

We carried out a hospital based case-control study involving 655 patients with chronic liver disease encompassing chronic hepatitis, asymptomatic liver cirrhosis and symptomatic liver cirrhosis and 655 pair-matched control individuals in order to estimate the dose-response relationship between alcohol consumption and the occurrence of chronic liver disease. Alcohol intake was measured by a questionnaire and expressed as Daily Alcohol Intake (DAI) during the patient life. DAI estimates from patient interviews were in good agreement with those obtained by interviewing a sample of relatives. We found an exponential positive association between DAI and the risk of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. However, consuming less than 100g of alcohol every day did not increase the risk of developing chronic liver disease. For asymptomatic cirrhosis the risk was lower than for chronic hepatitis, especially at high DAI, probably because high consumption carried a high probability of liver decompensation. For symptomatic cirrhosis, the risk function showed a similar pattern as for chronic hepatitis. Chronic hepatitis patients were 6-7 years younger than cirrhotics. Our results suggest that the evolution towards cirrhosis once a chronic liver damage has occurred is probably time-dependent, but not or minimally dependent on alcohol intake.

An elderly cohort has been submitted to a five-year mortality follow-up in order to evaluate the relationship between environment, social and health conditions and survival probability. Particular attention has been directed to disability measure proposed by OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). An extension of Cox multiple regression model has been used. Results show that the social and living conditions are not associated with survival probability. On the contrary, disability is a strong determinant of mortality risk and subjective health status is a modifier of its effect. Following disability level is an indicator of long-term health status and health services needs.

Hospital acquired infections (HAI) represent one of the major problems, due to their elevated frequency and high number of fatal cases, in the control of infectious diseases. With the perspective to evaluate the incidence of bronchopulmonary infections and to determine their role as cause of death of hospitalized patients, as well as to identify the etiology and the associated risk factors, we have studied 105 autopsy cases of patients decreased in hospital. 37 patients had pneumonias, of which 48.6% were of hospital origin. Hospital pneumonia was responsible for death in 12.3% of the cases. The risk factors significantly associated with HAI were recognized to be the following: hospital recovery for a period longer than 10 days, and surgery. Among the etiologic agents isolated in HAI, there was a distinct prevalence in Gram-negative bacteria (55.5% of the samples), such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila.

Results obtained from the use of ISAGA method onto 180 serum samples in order to estimate its sensibility, specificity and reliability in detection of IgM anti-Toxoplasma gondii are referred. A comparison between ISAGA and ELISA-IgM or ISAGA and AD-GF/AD-2ME shows that the results coincide and that specificity and sensibility make it reliable in indirect detection of acquired or congenital toxoplasmosis.

Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 was isolated from post mortem specimens from 13 out of 58 patients with pneumonia diagnosed at autopsy. The results of a study undertaken in the hospital environment showed that the water plumbing system was colonized with L. pneumophila serogroup 1 which could also be isolated from respiratory devices filled with tap water. Control measures instituted are described.

In order to evaluate and compare immunogenicity, reactogenicity and protection of a subunit vaccine and a whole virus vaccine 102 elderly subjects were vaccined against influenza in November 1986: 53 received the subunit vaccine and 49 were immunized with the whole virus preparation. Local and systemic reactions following immunization, as well as the presence of influenza clinical symptoms were recorded throughout the study period (November 1986 - June 1987). Antibodies against influenza were detected using the Single Radial Haemolysis (S.R.H.) technique on two serum samples obtained from volunteers prior to immunization and 1 month later. The subunit vaccine showed equal immunogenicity, equal protection and lower reactogenicity as compared with the whole virus preparation.

The Authors have tested the significance of the correlation of the mean total IgM concentration, the IgG: IgM ratio and the presence of specific anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM, determined with different serological reactions. The piece of research has been carried out on 72 samples of subjects with active toxoplasmic infections.

In 1 year 12 of 48 patients who developed fatal pneumonia following admission with non-respiratory disorders to the Hospital Molinette, Torino, yielded Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 from lung at autopsy. Patients were hospitalized on seven different wards for different conditions; only two of the wards had air conditioning but legionellas were not isolated from these. All patients were in poor health or immunocompromised. Some patients had inhaled humidified oxygen from piped supplies and three had undergone surgery. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 was detected in the water of oxygen bubble humidifiers and an underwater chest drain. The contaminated devices had been filled with tap or distilled water and the hospital water supply was found to be contaminated with L. pneumophila serogroup 1. Our findings suggest that filling bubble humidifiers or underwater chest drains with tap water is a potential hazard and should be avoided.

Two mathematical models have been created in order to estimate the effectiveness (number and proportion of infections saved) and the cost/effectiveness ratio (cost per infection saved) of a hepatitis B vaccination strategy among hospital personnel. The aim of the models is to analyse the mathematical relationship between the measurement of strategy impact and some variables: theoretical effectiveness of vaccine, proportion of assent to the programme, epidemiological characteristics. Applying models to Piedmont situation it has been possible to identify factors which have negatively influenced the effectiveness and efficiency of strategy.

First admissions to the hospital among 25,945 men living in southern Piedmont and holding a license authorizing them to use pesticides were analyzed in a study of the cancer risk related to exposure to pesticides. Standardized incidence ratios significantly higher than one were encountered for malignant skin cancers and lymphomas. The risk of lymphoma was particularly high in predominantly arable areas. The standardized incidence ratios for tumors of the nervous system and hematopoietic tissue showed an interesting age-related pattern and a higher risk in areas primarily devoted to forest tree plantation, but did not reach significance. Certain hypotheses are advanced to explain these findings.