The associations of major foods and fibre with risks of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke: a prospective study of 418 329 participants in the EPIC cohort across nine European countries

Aim To investigate the associations between major foods and dietary fibre with subtypes of stroke in a large prospective cohort. Methods and results We analysed data on 418 329 men and women from nine European countries, with an average of 12.7 years of follow-up. Diet was assessed using validated country-specific questionnaires which asked about habitual intake over…

Psychosocial markers of pre‐hospital decision delay and psychological distress in acute coronary syndrome patients

Objectives Both pre‐hospital decision delay – the time patients wait before seeking medical attention after symptoms have started – and high psychological distress after the cardiac episode predict poor prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We aimed to identify psychosocial markers of these prognostic factors. Design A cross‐sectional study of 102 consecutive, clinically…

Effect of the Financial Crisis on Socioeconomic Inequalities in Mortality in Small Areas in Seven Spanish Cities

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the trend in socioeconomic inequalities in mortality in small areas due to several specific causes before (2001–2004, 2005–2008) and during (2009–2012) the economic crisis in seven Spanish cities. Methods: This ecological study of trends, with census tracts as the areas of analysis, was based on three…

Budget Impact Analysis of Dalbavancin in the Treatment of Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections in Three European Countries

Background and Objective Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs) have been defined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013 to include a subset of complicated skin and skin structure infections commonly treated with parenteral antibiotic therapy. Inpatient treatment of ABSSSIs involves a significant economic burden on the healthcare system. This…

Does the use of health technology assessment have an impact on the utilisation of health care resources? Evidence from two European countries

Objectives A centralised approach to health technology assessment (HTA) may facilitate optimal use of HTA resources. A regional approach may increase the chances of local implementation of recommendations. This study aimed to compare assessment procedures in England (centralised HTA approach) with Spain (regional HTA approach) discussing key challenges and opportunities from both approaches. Methods We…

Serum levels of hsa‐miR‐16‐5p, ‐29a‐3p, ‐150‐5p, ‐155‐5p and ‐223‐3p and subsequent risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the EPIC study

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an incurable disease accounting for almost one‐third of leukemias in the Western world. Aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is a well‐established characteristic of CLL, and the robust nature of miRNAs makes them eminently suitable liquid biopsy biomarkers. Using a nested case‐control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and…

Theoretical potential for endometrial cancer prevention through primary risk factor modification: Estimates from the EPIC cohort

Endometrial cancer (EC) incidence rates vary ~10‐fold worldwide, in part due to variation in EC risk factor profiles. Using an EC risk model previously developed in the European EPIC cohort, we evaluated the prevention potential of modified EC risk factor patterns and whether differences in EC incidence between a European population and low‐risk countries can…

Physical activity and risks of breast and colorectal cancer: a Mendelian randomisation analysis

Physical activity has been associated with lower risks of breast and colorectal cancer in epidemiological studies; however, it is unknown if these associations are causal or confounded. In two-sample Mendelian randomisation analyses, using summary genetic data from the UK Biobank and GWA consortia, we found that a one standard deviation increment in average acceleration was…

Who does what the cardiologist recommends? Psychosocial markers of unhealthy behavior in coronary disease patients

Patients diagnosed with coronary heart disease should follow lifestyle recommendations that can reduce their cardiovascular risk (e.g., avoid smoking). However, some patients fail to follow these recommendations and engage in unhealthy behavior. With the aim to identify psychosocial factors that characterize patients at high risk of repeated cardiovascular events, we investigated the relationship between social…

A general framework for classifying costing methods for economic evaluation of health care

According to the most traditional economic evaluation manuals, all “relevant” costs should be included in the economic analysis, taking into account factors such as the patient population, setting, location, year, perspective and time horizon. However, cost information may be designed for other purposes. Health care organisations may lack sophisticated accounting systems and consequently, health economists…