This review targeted all research previously conducted on the topic of musculoskeletal disorders among Italian nursing personnel, with a particular focus on studies that had examined individual, physical and psychosocial risk factors. Scientific literature published in both English and Italian languages was searched using electronic and manual techniques. A total of 25 appropriate studies were located and examined, most of which had focused on the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) among nurses. From the review, it was shown that LBP prevalence rates have varied widely among different investigations conducted in Italy, ranging from 33% to 86%. Previous studies also suggest that female gender, physical factors and psychosocial factors are important LBP risk factors in this country. Since most of the data currently available describes nurses working in the northern and central regions only, further investigations should now be undertaken in southern Italy, in order to obtain a more complete overview of the problem from a national perspective. Furthermore, a standardized method for measuring these conditions is strongly recommended for future Italian research, to allow better local and international comparison of the data.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among X-ray technologists and to examine their relationship with physical and psychosocial factors. A cross-sectional study was performed in 2006 among 203 X-ray technologists working in 13 hospitals in the Apulia region of southern Italy. A questionnaire was used to collect data on personal characteristics, physical workload, psychosocial aspects, and the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck, shoulders, low back, hand/wrist and legs. Univariate analyses and multiple logistic regression analyses were then performed. The prevalence of complaints at any body site in the previous 12 months was 67%. Low back pain was the most commonly reported symptom (59.6%), followed by shoulder (21.2%), neck (19.7%), leg (13.8%) and hand/wrist pain (12.3%). Age was associated with low back pain, while high physical workload was associated with symptoms in the neck, low back and hand/wrist. High job demands were associated with neck and shoulder pain. Overall, our study suggests high prevalence rates of musculoskeletal complaints may exist among Italian X-ray technologists. Physical workload, psychosocial and individual factors appear to be important risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders within this occupational group.
Our study showed MSDs to be a common problem among classical piano students. With variance in several studies reported, older students appeared to be more frequently affected by disabling MSDs and no difference in the prevalence rate of the disorders was found in females.
BRCA1/2 mutations in Latin America are scarcely documented and in serious need of knowledge about the spectrum of BRCA pathogenic variants, information which may alter clinical practice and subsequently improve patient outcome. In addition, the search for data on testing policies in different regions constitutes a fundamental strength for the present study, which analyzes BRCA1/2 gene sequences and large rearrangements in 940 probands with familial and/or personal history of breast/ovary cancer (BOC). In non-mutated DNA samples, Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification assays (MLPA) were used for the analysis of large rearrangements.Our studies detected 179 deleterious mutations out of 940 (19.04%) probands, including 5 large rearrangements and 22 novel mutations. The recurrent mutations accounted for 15.08% of the total and only 2.87% of the probands analyzed, very different from a Hispanic panel previously described.In conclusion: a) this first comprehensive description of the spectrum in BRCA1/2 sheds light on the low frequency of recurrent mutations; b) this information is key in clinical practice to select adequate sequencing studies in our population, subsequently improve patient outcome and prevent damage associated to false normal reports resulting from the use of invalid population panels; c) panels of mutations from other populations should be cautiously validated before imported, even those of apparently similar origin, a concept to be considered beyond significance in Argentina.
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