Municipality Data as a Rapid and Effective Tool to Analyse Spatial and Temporal Variations of All-Cause Mortality by Town District: The Experience in Genoa (Italy)

The main objective of this study was to analyse the space–time epidemiological differences by sex during the 2009–2020 period in the total mortality recorded among residents in each of the 25 districts of the Genoa municipality, net of the age effect. The analysis was based on official statistical data relating to total mortality and on the resident population. An estimate of the expected deaths was made to calculate the sex-specific age-standardised mortality ratio (SMR). The temporal trends and age-standardized death rates (SDRs) with respect to those of the European population specific to sex and calendar year were identified for each district. Over the entire observation period, the SMR for males ranged from 124.4 (Cornigliano) to 82.0 (Albaro); for females, the values ranged between 133.4 (Cornigliano) and 85.6 (Nervi-Quinto-S. Ilario). Between 2019 and 2020, Genoa recorded an increase in SDR of 24.5%, more pronounced in males (+26.7%) than in females (+22.4%). This epidemiological methodology is replicable and allows to quickly identify spatial, temporal, sex, and age differences in the general mortality within a municipality.

Have asthma symptoms in Mexico changed in the past 15 years? Time trends from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood to the Global Asthma Network

Background: The Global Asthma Network (GAN) builds on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Objective: To compare asthma prevalence time trends in primary and secondary school children in four Mexican centers participating in ISAAC and GAN. Methods: GAN is a cross-sectional, multicenter, epidemiological methodology carried out in groups of primary school children aged 6–7 and adolescents aged 13–14 following the ISAAC Phase Three protocol, with additional questions on risk factors and asthma management. Results: Overall, the prevalence of asthma symptoms and diagnosis in primary school children was higher in males than in females both in ISAAC (p < 0.05) and in GAN (p < 0.01), while adolescent females had a higher prevalence, also both in ISAAC (p < 0.001) and in GAN (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of asthma and its symptoms has increased from ISAAC Phase Three since 2003 to GAN Phase I in Mexico in 2019. These findings are in line with the increases observed in the centers with low asthma baseline prevalence in ISAAC Phase One in comparison with ISAAC Phase Three.