Interventions addressing health inequalities in European regions: the AIR project

Disparities in health between social groups have been documented all over Europe. We summarize the methods and results of the Addressing Inequalities in Regions (AIR) project, which identified illustrative interventions and policies developed in European regions to reduce inequalities at the primary health care level. The first phase was a systematic review of the published…

Association of breast cancer risk loci with breast cancer survival

The survival of breast cancer patients is largely influenced by tumor characteristics, such as TNM stage, tumor grade and hormone receptor status. However, there is growing evidence that inherited genetic variation might affect the disease prognosis and response to treatment. Several lines of evidence suggest that alleles influencing breast cancer risk might also be associated…

Health assets for adolescents: opinions from a neighbourhood in Spain

This study uses a health asset (HA) framework to explore current perspectives on health, wellbeing and their determinants amongst a group of 15–18-year-old adolescents living in the neighbourhood of Zaidin (Granada, Spain). The study was carried out in Summer 2011 using a qualitative approach. It included 20 semi-structured interviews, 2 focus groups with adolescents and…

Measuring the impact of informal elderly caregiving: a systematic review of tools

Purpose To classify and identify the main characteristics of the tools used in practice to assess the impact of elderly caregiving on the informal carers’ life. Methods A systematic review of literature was performed searching in Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, IBECS, LILACS, SiiS, SSCI and Cochrane Library from 2009 to 2013 in English, Spanish, Portuguese…

Cuestiones controvertidas en evaluación económica (III). Intervenciones sanitarias en tres situaciones especiales: enfermedades raras, tratamientos al final de la vida y externalidades en las evaluaciones

El desarrollo de la evaluación económica de intervenciones sanitarias se ha convertido en una herramienta de apoyo en la toma decisiones sobre financiación pública y fijación de precios de nuevas intervenciones sanitarias. La aplicación cada vez más extensiva de estas técnicas ha llevado a la identificación de situaciones particulares en las que, por diversas razones,…

Efectos de la edad, el periodo de defunción y la cohorte de nacimiento en la mortalidad por enfermedad isquémica del corazón en el sur de España

ntroducción y objetivos La cardiopatía isquémica es la primera causa de muerte y una de las cuatro principales causas de carga de enfermedad en el mundo. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar los efectos edad-periodo-cohorte en la mortalidad por cardiopatía isquémica en Andalucía (sur de España) y en cada una de sus provincias durante…

Determinants of the t(14;18) translocation and their role in t(14;18)-positive follicular lymphoma

Purpose The strong association between t(14;18) translocation and follicular lymphoma (FL) is well known. However, the determinants of this chromosomal aberration and their role in t(14;18) associated FL remain to be established. Methods t(14;18) frequency within the B cell lymphoma 2 major breakpoint region was determined for 135 incident FL cases and 251 healthy controls…

Pre- and postnatal exposures to pesticides and neurodevelopmental effects in children living in agricultural communities from South-Eastern Spain

Background Childrens exposure to neurotoxic compounds poses a major problem to public health because of their actively developing brain that makes them highly vulnerable. However, limited information is available on neuropsychological effects in children associated with pre- and postnatal exposures to pesticides. Objective To evaluate the association between current and pre- and postnatal exposures to…

Unprocessed red meat and processed meat consumption and risk of stroke in the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Background/Objectives: High intakes of unprocessed red or processed meat may increase the risk of stroke. We aimed to examine the association between unprocessed red meat, processed meat and total red meat consumption and risk of total stroke and ischaemic stroke. Subjects/Methods: Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted based on the data for 41 020 men…