The role of plasma microseminoprotein-beta in prostate cancer: an observational nested case–control and Mendelian randomization study in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition

Background Microseminoprotein-beta (MSP), a protein secreted by the prostate epithelium, may have a protective role in the development of prostate cancer. The only previous prospective study found a 2% reduced prostate cancer risk per unit increase in MSP. This work investigates the association of MSP with prostate cancer risk using observational and Mendelian randomization (MR)…

The Role of Indication-Based Pricing in Future Pricing and Reimbursement Policies: A Systematic Review

Objectives Indication-based pricing (IBP) has received growing attention because of the expected increase in the number of new medicines with multiple indications. In our systematic review, we assess the potential benefits, barriers, current experiences, and future perspectives of different IBP mechanisms. Methods We searched publications in English, Spanish, or French assessing the impact, international experience,…

The Role of European Schools and University Departments of Public Health in the 2020 COVID-19 Response, European Region, 2020

Objective: The main objective was to examine, how European Schools of Public Health (SPHs) responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through 2020, across the main activity domains of the SPHs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey based on an online questionnaire concerning the anti-COVID-19 activities from 1st March to 31st October 2020 of the 117 members of the…

The Role of Diet, Alcohol, BMI, and Physical Activity in Cancer Mortality: Summary Findings of the EPIC Study

Evidence on the impact of diet, alcohol, body-mass index (BMI), and physical activity on mortality due to cancer and other cancer-related outcomes is still scarce. Herein, we reviewed the contribution of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study to the current state of the art on the role of these factors in…

The relationship between parental stress and psychological adjustment of the children: The role of parental psychological flexibility as a mediator

There is growing interest in parental psychological flexibility, understood as parents’ ability to enjoy an optimal relationship with their children by accepting their negative emotions and thoughts in the present moment, while remaining child-conscious, in value-based parenting. Parenting can sometimes be stressful, especially when faced with the varied and changing challenges of parenthood. Parental stress,…

The relationship between blood pressure and risk of renal cell carcinoma

Background The relation between blood pressure and kidney cancer risk is well established but complex and different study designs have reported discrepant findings on the relative importance of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). In this study, we sought to describe the temporal relation between diastolic and SBP with renal cell carcinoma…

The questionnaire design process in the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU)

Background Designing questionnaires is a key point of epidemiological studies assessing human exposure to chemicals. The lack of validated questionnaires can lead to the use of previously developed and sub-optimally adapted questionnaires, which may result in information biases that affect the study’s validity. On this ground, a multidisciplinary group of researchers developed a series of…

The patient, diagnostic, and treatment intervals in adult patients with cancer from high- and lower-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Longer time intervals to diagnosis and treatment are associated with worse survival for various types of cancer. The patient, diagnostic, and treatment intervals are considered core indicators for early diagnosis and treatment. This review estimated the median duration of these intervals for various types of cancer and compared it across high- and lower-income countries.…

The Influence of Hormonal Factors on the Risk of Developing Cervical Cancer and Pre-Cancer: Results from the EPIC Cohort

Background In addition to HPV, high parity and hormonal contraceptives have been associated with cervical cancer (CC). However, most of the evidence comes from retrospective case-control studies. The aim of this study is to prospectively evaluate associations between hormonal factors and risk of developing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3)/carcinoma in situ (CIS) and invasive…