New Horizons for Personalised Treatment in Gastroesophageal Cancer

Gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (GEA) is still responsible for a huge health burden worldwide, being the second most common cause of cancer-related death globally [...]

Mental health assessment of Israeli adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The measures used to contain the COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruption to the lives of children and adolescents, compromising their mental health and wellbeing. In this study we assessed the incidence rates of psychiatric diagnoses and drugs in Israeli adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of health records data of over 200,000 12-17 years old adolescents identified a significant increase in all mental health diagnoses and most psychiatric drugs dispensation during the COVID-19 period compared to a corresponding pre-COVID period. A gender sub-analysis revealed that most of this increase was associated with adolescent girls. Girls exhibited increases of 68% in depression, 67% in eating disorders, 42% in anxiety and 29% in stress-related diagnoses during the COVID-19 period, which are significantly higher rates than those seen in boys and in the pre-COVID period. Sector sub-analysis showed that the increase was mainly in the general Jewish sector with almost no significant increases in the Arab and ultra-orthodox sectors. Our study highlights the mental health burden of Israeli adolescents during the pandemic and suggests that careful consideration should be given to it while deciding on measures to mitigate the pandemic.

Wider, faster, more: Re-envisioning the treatment and research of depression to address its public health burden in the United States

Depression and other internalizing disorder symptoms are leading causes of disability in theUnited States. Although there are effective interventions, the burden of disability attributableto internalizing disorder symptoms is not decreasing. I review clinical and epidemiological datato identify solutions to the public health burden of internalizing disorder symptoms. Contemporary research efforts have a focus on treatment development and the identification of biomarkers of response. However, these solutions are not scalable because internalizing disorders are much more common than usually appreciated and there are substantial disparities in access to mental health care. Improving the dissemination of individual interventions may also be of limited value given data suggesting that high rates of symptom remission can only be achieved with multiple (e.g., 4-10) treatment steps. The logic of stepped care approaches for internalizing disorders is well-supported by these data, but initial treatments likely should be low-intensity and “stepping up” should occur more quickly than usually done in most trials. Efforts that promise to make an impact in the public health burden of internalizing disorder symptoms need to consider their high prevalence and heterogeneity in the level of care as well as in the mechanisms that treatments may need to engage.

2021 Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigators Issue: Antioxidant Response Activating nanoParticles (ARAPas) localize to atherosclerotic plaque and locally activate the Nrf2 pathway

Atherosclerotic disease is the leading cause of death world-wide with few novel therapies available despite the ongoing health burden. Redox dysfunction is a well-established driver of atherosclerotic progression; however, the...

Health and economic burden of foodborne zoonotic diseases in Amhara region, Ethiopia

Diseases from food of animal origin are common health problems in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was carried out to estimate health and economic burden, and to identify demographic factors associated with community awareness of foodborne zoonotic diseases in Amhara region, Ethiopia. Data was collected from 435 households in three towns: Gondar, Lalibela and Debark. A retrospective data was also collected from health records in each town. The health burden due to zoonotic diseases was estimated at 0.2, 0.1 and 1.3 DALYs per household per year and at 73.2, 146.6 and 1,689.5 DALYs out of 100,000 populations per year in Gondar, Lalibela and Debark, respectively. The overall health burden due to foodborne zoonotic diseases (aggregated over the 435 households in the three towns) was estimated to be 89.9 DALYs per 100,000 populations per year. The economic impact of foodborne zoonotic diseases in the three towns of Amhara regional state was 278.98 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (1ETB = 0.025 US Dollar) per household per year and 121,355.68 ETB per year. Costs of preventive measures followed by costs of patients’ time made the highest contribution while costs of diagnosis made the lowest contribution to the total economic burden of foodborne zoonotic diseases. From a total of 435 respondents, 305 (70.1%) had known the presence of zoonotic diseases. Level of education, number of families in the house and income were highly associated with awareness of zoonosis. Although majority of respondents had known zoonotic diseases exists (70.1%) and disease can be acquired from animal source food (63.2%), the health and economic burden associated to foodborne zoonotic diseases are still high. Therefore, changing mindset and practical training aiming in controlling foodborne zoonotic diseases may be suggested to the community in the health improvement extension service.

Self-Reported Autonomic Dysregulation in Gulf War Illness

ABSTRACT Introduction Autonomic nervous system dysregulation is commonly observed in Gulf War illness (GWI). Using a new sample, we sought to replicate and extend findings from a previous study that found autonomic symptoms predicted physical functioning in Veterans with GWI. Materials and Methods A linear regression model was used to predict physical functioning (36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36); n = 73, 75% male). First, we examined the predictive value of independent variables individually in the model including: the 31-item Composite Autonomic Symptom Score (COMPASS-31) total score, body mass index (BMI), mental health burden (i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and/or depression), and COMPASS-31 subscales: orthostatic intolerance, vasomotor, secretomotor, gastrointestinal, bladder, and pupillomotor. Next, we estimated linear regression models containing the three variables (autonomic symptoms, BMI, and mental health burden) identified as predictors of physical functioning from the prior study. Results These linear regression models significantly predicted physical functioning and accounted for 15% of the variance with COMPASS-31, 36.6% of variance with COMPASS-31 and BMI, and 38.2% of variance with COMPASS-31, BMI, and mental health burden. Then, forward step-wise linear regressions were applied to explore new models including COMPASS-31 subscales. Two new models accounted for more of the variance in physical functioning: 39.3% with added gastrointestinal symptoms (β = −2.206, P = .001) and 43.4% of variance with both gastrointestinal (β = −1.592, P = .008) and secretomotor subscales (β = −1.533, P = .049). Unlike the previous study we intended to replicate, mental health burden was not a significant predictor in any of our models. Conclusions Treatments that address autonomic dysregulation should be prioritized for research and clinical recommendations for Veterans with GWI who experience chronic pain.

A Country-Level Empirical Study on the Fiscal Effect of Elderly Population Health: The Mediating Role of Healthcare Resources

Demographic shifts towards an aging population are becoming a significant fiscal challenge for governments. Previous research has explored the fiscal consequences of the expanding elderly population, but the impact on the elderly’s health quality is less mentioned. The balanced relationship between elderly population health and public finance is a major concern of the global political agenda on the aging society. This article used cross-country panel data from 2000 to 2019 to examine the fiscal effect of the elderly health burden and the mediating role of healthcare resources. The results are demonstrated: The elderly health burden has a negative impact on fiscal balance, especially in aged society and longevity countries. Moreover, the mediating effect of healthcare resources is significant, whereby various forms of healthcare resources such as funds, labor, and facilities all have significant effects. Thus, the conceptual framework of elderly population health, healthcare resources, and public finance is confirmed that the elderly health burden specifically leads to the growing consumption of healthcare resources, which reduces the fiscal balance. It is concluded that reducing the elderly health burden and improving healthcare resource efficiencies are two feasible strategies to enhance fiscal sustainability.