A Mobile System to Improve Quality of Life Via Energy Balance in Breast Cancer Survivors (BENECA mHealth): Prospective Test-Retest Quasiexperimental Feasibility Study

Background: Energy balance is defined as the difference between energy expenditure and energy intake. The current state of knowledge supports the need to better integrate mechanistic approaches through effective studies of energy balance in the cancer population because of an observed significant lack of adherence to healthy lifestyle recommendations. To stimulate changes in breast cancer…

A Mobile Phone-Based Intervention to Reduce Mental Health Problems in Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic (PsyCovidApp): Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: The global health emergency generated by the COVID-19 pandemic is posing an unprecedented challenge to healthcare workers (HCWs), who are facing heavy workloads under psychologically difficult situations. Objective: This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a psychoeducational mobile Health (mHealth) intervention to reduce mental health problems in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods:…

A method for sensitivity analysis to assess the effects of measurement error in multiple exposure variables using external validation data

Background: Measurement error in self-reported dietary intakes is known to bias the association between dietary intake and a health outcome of interest such as risk of a disease. The association can be distorted further by mismeasured confounders, leading to invalid results and conclusions. It is, however, difficult to adjust for the bias in the association when there is…

A meta-analysis of pre-pregnancy maternal body mass index and placental DNA methylation identifies 27 CpG sites with implications for mother-child health

Higher maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (ppBMI) is associated with increased neonatal morbidity, as well as with pregnancy complications and metabolic outcomes in offspring later in life. The placenta is a key organ in fetal development and has been proposed to act as a mediator between the mother and different health outcomes in children. The…

A longitudinal evaluation of alcohol intake throughout adulthood and colorectal cancer risk

Background Alcohol intake is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC); however, there is limited knowledge on whether changing alcohol drinking habits during adulthood modifies CRC risk. Objective Leveraging longitudinal exposure assessments on alcohol intake at different ages, we examined the relationship between change in alcohol intake and subsequent CRC risk. Methods Within the…

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…

A cross-sectional survey of psychotic symptoms in the community: The GRANAD∑P psychosis study

Background and objectives Psychotic symptoms (PS) can be ascertained in the general population suggesting the existence of a wide psychosis phenotype. We aim to investigate the prevalence and correlates of PS in the province of Granada (Spain) in the absence of previous data. Our objectives were to establish the prevalence of PS, i.e. delusions and…

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence and Risk Correlates of Mental Disorders: The GRANADΣP Study

This is a cross-sectional study of participants from a population census living in the province of Granada (Spain). A total of 1176 persons were contacted, 367 (31%) refused and 54 (6.7%) needed substitution. A final sample of 809 participants (response rate, 69.3%) were screened for mental disorder (MD) using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a…

A cost utility analysis alongside a cluster-randomised trial evaluating a minor ailment service compared to usual care in community pharmacy

Background Minor ailments are “self-limiting conditions which may be diagnosed and managed without a medical intervention”. A cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) was designed to evaluate the clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes of a Minor Ailment Service (MAS) in community pharmacy (CP) compared with usual care (UC). Methods The cRCT was conducted for 6 months…

A comparison of complementary measures of vitamin B6 status, function, and metabolism in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study

Background Vitamin B6 insufficiency has been linked to increased risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. The circulating concentration of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) is a commonly used measure of vitamin B6 status. Ratios of substrates indicating PLP coenzymatic function and metabolism may be useful complementary measures to further explore the role of vitamin B6 in…