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The aim was to examine social, university, health-related differences among heterosexual and Sexual Minority Medical students (SM-Meds), and explore predictors of help-seeking behavior (i.e., current psychological support and hypothetical university counseling use). A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in Italy (2018). Questionnaires included socio-demographic items and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Chi-squared tests and multivariable regressions adjusted for BDI-II score were performed (sample size = 2513). SM-Meds were 13.9%. SM-Meds with depressive symptoms were 40.5%. Both considering overall and non-depressed students, SM-Meds exercised less and had worst relationships with family and classmates. Psychological support was reported by 6.1% (SM-Meds: 12.8%) and hypothetical counseling use by 42.7% (SM-Meds: 47.1%). Multivariable models showed SM-Meds had significant higher likelihood of psychological support. Therefore, SM-Meds reported higher help-seeking behavior, lower physical activity and social support. Universities should promote more inclusive learning climate and activities to increase exercise, especially among SM-Meds.

Despite the scientific consensus about vaccines safety and effectiveness, there is still a discrepancy between scientific evidence and perception by the general population. The "VaccinarSì" portal was created in 2013 by Italian specialists in Public Health to provide evidence-based information regarding vaccination.The purpose of this study was to analyse the web traffic on "VaccinarSì" platform during a six-year period (May 8, 2013-May 8, 2019). Moreover, we compared the first six-month with the last six-month period of the website activity, to identify potential areas of improvements.This is a descriptive study using Google Analytics data. We collected data regarding the following: total number of sessions to the portal, total number of pages viewed, total number of users and the number of new visitors, geographical locations and demography of users as well as user access mode (type of device used and way of access). We also collected some data that were informative about the possibility to infer the level of visitors' engagement with the portal, such as thee number of returning users, bounce rate, number of pages visited per session and mean session duration.Throughout the relevant period, the portal has consistently increased its popularity, with a remarkable increment of monthly connections (ending up to more than 80,000/month) from all over Italy. Visitors were mainly female (71.1%), aged between 25 and 44 years (64.7%). Healthcare professionals were responsible for a considerable proportion of accesses (50.6%). The mobile has become the dominant device used to access the portal, accounting for 77.8% of total connection in the last six months. Similarly, in the last period, organic search accounted for 92% of all connections. Measles and MPR vaccine, as well as chickenpox and hexavalent vaccine, have remained the most appealing topics of interest among visitors over the years. The page that attracted more visitors over the six years was "real risks and benefits of vaccination", accounting for 5.67% of total sessions with a high mean duration spent of 05:08 minutes.During the six years of activity, overall, the level of users' engagement with the portal has dropped with an increased bounce rate and a lower average number of pages visited per session and a lower mean duration of each connection. The lowest engagement involved connections accessed through mobile devices. Results helped "Vaccinarsi" developers to speculate about future strategies to further increase the platform popularity and optimize visitors' engagement.

Gambling is widely recognized as an important public health problem. Despite the rising use of stimulant substances among adolescents, there are still very few studies focusing on whether adolescents' use of stimulants is associated with their gambling behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between gambling habits and consumption of stimulants such as coffee, energy drinks, and new psychoactive substances in a sample of Italian adolescents. A survey was conducted in 2017 with a representative sample of Italians between the ages of 14-17 years, comprising 15,833 students attending 201 secondary schools. Logistic regression analyses were run to assess the association between at-risk/problem gambling (O1) and independent predictors: the model included independent variables (coffee, energy drinks and new psychoactive substance consumption) and covariates (demographic variables, social environment variables and risk-taking behaviour variables). A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to examine a second dependent variable regarding any experience of gambling behaviour (O2). Adolescents who were at-risk gamblers or problem gamblers were significantly more likely to consume energy drinks than non-gamblers or not-at-risk gamblers. A similar pattern was seen for consumption of new psychoactive substances. No significant association emerged with coffee consumption. The sensitivity analysis showed that, compared with non gamblers, the group of gamblers had higher odds for frequent coffee consumption, as well as for consumption of energy drinks and/or new psychoactive substances. Screening for gambling and stimulant use may provide important information, as it may be necessary to take action to reduce stimulant substance use as part of efforts to deal with unhealthy gambling habits.El juego es un importante problema de salud pública ampliamente reconocido. A pesar del creciente uso de sustancias estimulantes entre los adolescentes, todavía son escasos los estudios centrados en verificar la existencia de una asociación entre el uso de estimulantes y los comportamientos relacionados con el juego en adolescentes. Por tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar la asociación entre los hábitos relacionados con el juego y el consumo de sustancias estimulantes como el café, las bebidas energizantes y las nuevas sustancias psicoactivas en una muestra de adolescentes italianos. En 2017 se realizó una encuesta en una muestra representativa de jóvenes italianos de 14 a 17 años, constituida por 15 833 estudiantes provenientes de 201 escuelas de educación secundaria. Se realizó un análisis de regresión logística para evaluar la asociación entre juego de riesgo/juego problemático (R1) y factores predictivos independientes: el modelo incluyó variables independientes (café, bebida energética y consumo de nuevas sustancias psicoactivas) y otras covariables demográficas, del entorno social y de conductas de riesgo. También se realizó un análisis de sensibilidad para examinar una segunda variable dependiente con respecto a cualquier experiencia de conductas relacionadas con el juego (R2). Los adolescentes clasificados como jugadores de riesgo o jugadores con problemas tenían una probabilidad significativamente mayor de consumir bebidas energizantes que los no jugadores o los jugadores sin riesgo. Se observó un patrón similar en el consumo de nuevas sustancias psicoactivas. No se evidenció ninguna asociación significativa con el consumo de café. El análisis de sensibilidad mostró que, en comparación con los no jugadores, el grupo de jugadores tenía mayores probabilidades de consumo frecuente de café, bebidas energéticas y/o nuevas sustancias psicoactivas. La evaluación del juego y el uso de sustancias estimulantes puede proporcionar información importante. Por consiguiente, podría ser necesario tomar medidas para reducir el uso de sustancias estimulantes como parte de los esfuerzos dirigidos a lidiar con los hábitos de juego poco saludables.

Introduction: Uncompleted visits in the emergency department (UEDC) are a patient safety concern. The purpose of this study was to further investigate risk factors for UEDC, describing socio-demographic characteristics but also access and hospital characteristics both of those left AMA and those who LWBS. Methods: this was a retrospective case–control study on administrative anonymous data using a population-based emergency department database. Results: overall, 9,147,415 patients attended the EDs of Veneto Region from 2011 to 2015. Rate of UEDC was 28,7‰, composed by slightly higher rate of AMA compared to LWBS (15,3‰ Vs 13,4‰). Age, sex, citizenship, residence are sociodemographic factors associated with UEDC and also the characteristics of access as admission mode, the type of referring, the emergency level, waiting time of visit and the type of complaint, finally also the characteristics of the structure as type and volume of hospital could be associate with UEDC. Conclusion: Patients with Uncompleted Emergency Department Care both those who leave AMA and LWBS greatly differs from other not UEDC. These results are important for planning and staffing health services. Decision makers should identify and target factors to minimise walkouts from public hospital emergency departments., Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 60, No 1 (2019): 2019601