Background: Many studies have evaluated the accuracy of dipstick tests as rapid detectors of bacteriuria and urinary tract infections (UTI). The lack of an adequate explanation for the heterogeneity of the dipstick accuracy stimulates an ongoing debate. The objective of the present meta-analysis was to summarise the available evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of the urine dipstick test, taking into account various pre-defined potential sources of heterogeneity.

Concerns about public health risks of intensive animal production in the Netherlands continue to rise, in particular related to outbreaks of infectious diseases. The aim was to investigate associations between the presence of farm animals around the home address and Q fever and pneumonia.Electronic medical record data for the year 2009 of all patients of 27 general practitioners (GPs) in a region with a high density of animal farms were used. Density of farm animals around the home address was calculated using a Geographic Information System. During the study period, a large Q fever outbreak occurred in this region. Associations between farm exposure variables and pneumonia or ‘other infectious disease’, the diagnosis code used by GPs for registration of Q fever, were analyzed in 22,406 children (0–17 y) and 70,142 adults (18–70 y), and adjusted for age and sex. In adults, clear exposure-response relationships between the number of goats within 5 km of the home address and pneumonia and ‘other infectious disease’ were observed. The association with ‘other infectious disease’ was particularly strong, with an OR [95%CI] of 12.03 [8.79–16.46] for the fourth quartile (>17,190 goats) compared with the first quartile (<2,251 goats). The presence of poultry within 1 km was associated with an increased incidence of pneumonia among adults (OR [95%CI] 1.25 [1.06–1.47]).A high density of goats in a densely populated region was associated with human Q fever. The use of GP records combined with individual exposure estimates using a Geographic Information System is a powerful approach to assess environmental health risks.

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ObjectivesPolicing is generally considered a high-risk profession for the development of mental health problems, but this assumption lacks empirical evidence. Research question of the present study is to what extent mental health disturbances, such as (very) severe symptoms of anxiety, depression and hostility are more prevalent among police officers than among other occupational groups.DesignMulticomparative cross-sectional study using the data of several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in the Netherlands.ParticipantsTwo samples of police officers (N=144 and 503), employees of banks (N=1113) and employees of banks who were robbed (N=144); employees of supermarkets (N=335), and a psychiatric hospital (N=219), employees of a governmental social welfare organisation (N=76), employees who followed a training based on rational-motive therapy to strengthen their assertiveness (N=710), soldiers before deployment (N=278) and before redeployment (N=236) and firefighters (N=123). The numbers refer to respondents with complete data.Primary outcomesPrevalence of severe (subclinical level) and very severe symptoms (clinical level) were computed using the Dutch norm tables (80th percentile and 95th percentile, respectively) of the Symptom Check List Revised (SCL-90-R). All comparisons were controlled for age, gender and education.ResultsMultivariate logistic regression and analyses showed that the prevalence of clinical and subclinical levels of symptoms of anxiety, depression and hostility among police officers were not significantly higher than among comparison groups. The same pattern was found for the other SCL-90-R subscales.ConclusionsWe found no indications that self-reported mental health disturbances were more prevalent among police officers than among groups of employees that are not considered high-risk groups, such as employees of banks, supermarkets, psychiatric hospital and soldiers before deployment.

A systematic review of observational studies was conducted to assess the association between everyday life low-frequency noise (LFN) components, including infrasound and health effects in the general population. Literature databases Pubmed, Embase and PsycInfo and additional bibliographic sources such as reference sections of key publications and journal databases were searched for peer-reviewed studies published from 2000 to 2015. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Most of them examined subjective annoyance as primary outcome. The adequacy of provided information in the included papers and methodological quality of studies was also addressed. Moreover, studies were screened for meta-analysis eligibility. Some associations were observed between exposure to LFN and annoyance, sleep-related problems, concentration difficulties and headache in the adult population living in the vicinity of a range of LFN sources. However, evidence, especially in relation to chronic medical conditions, was very limited. The estimated pooled prevalence of high subjective annoyance attributed to LFN was about 10%. Epidemiological research on LFN and health effects is scarce and suffers from methodological shortcomings. Low frequency noise in the everyday environment constitutes an issue that requires more research attention, particularly for people living in the vicinity of relevant sources.