No abstract

We conducted a population-based birth cohort study of approximately 203,000 babies born in northeastern Italy (1989-2012) to investigate perinatal variables, early infections leading to hospital admission, and antibiotic use in the first 12 months of life as possible risk factors for celiac disease (CD). Incident CD cases were identified from pathology reports, hospital discharge records, and exemptions from prescription charges for clinical tests. Multivariate Poisson regression models were fitted to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs). A total of 1,227 children had CD; CD was histopathologically confirmed in 866 (71%). Female sex, maternal age, and high maternal educational level were found to be significantly associated with CD. Gastrointestinal infections were strongly associated with a subsequent diagnosis of CD (IRR = 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.30, 3.22). Antibiotic use was significantly associated with CD onset (IRR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.43), with a dose-response relationship for number of courses (P-trend < 0.01). Cephalosporin use strongly increased the risk of CD (IRR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.73). Use of antibiotics (supported by the dose-response relationship) and gastrointestinal infections in the first year of life may facilitate the early onset of CD by altering intestinal microflora and the gut mucosal barrier. Perinatal factors, including cesarean section, had little influence on the risk of childhood CD.

In the last decade, the public use of complementary and alternative therapies for the solution of various health problems has increased dramatically. Listening to music can be considered a support to the traditional medical practice for the reduction of anxiety and stress related to chemotherapy.

In an international study, psychometric properties of the Care Dependency Scale (CDS) were examined by analysing data gathered in Dutch, Canadian, Italian and Norwegian nursing homes. For that purpose, from these countries a convenience sample was developed consisting of 525 patients with dementia. The English, Italian and Norwegian research instruments were translations of the original Dutch CDS. Psychometric evaluations of the CDS were carried out for each country separately as well as for the four countries combined. High alpha coefficients between 0.94 and 0.97 were calculated. Subsequent test-retest and inter-rater reliability revealed moderate to substantial Kappa values. Factor analysis resulted in a one-factor solution. The scalability of the CDS was demonstrated by means of Mokken scale analysis. One of the main outcomes of the cross-cultural comparison was that the findings in the four countries show more similarities than differences, so that the scale can be used appropriately in nursing home practice.

BackgroundInterprofessional Education (IPE) implies how to achieve successful teamwork, and is based on collaborative practice which enhance occasions for relationships between two or more healthcare professions. This study evaluates the effectiveness of IPE in changing attitudes after a training recently introduced to medical education for second-year students at the University of Padova, Italy.MethodsAll medical students following a new program for IPE were enrolled in this study. The Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) was administered before and after training, according to observation-based and practice-based learning. Data were analysed with Student's paired t-test and Wilcoxon's signed rank test.Results277 medical students completed both questionnaires. Statistically significant improvements were found in students' overall attitudes as measured by the IEPS and four subscale scores. Gender-stratified analyses showed that improvements were observed only in female students in subscale 4 (“Understanding Others’ Values”). Students who had a physician and/or health worker in their family did not show any improvement in subscales 2 (“Perceived need for cooperation”) or 4 (“Understanding Others’ Values”).ConclusionsOur results indicate that IPE training has a positive influence on students’ understanding of collaboration and better attitudes in interprofessional teamwork. More research is needed to explore other factors which may influence specific perceptions among medical students.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0409-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Several epidemiological studies reported an association between antibiotic consumption in the first year of life and later asthma, but results are conflicting and affected by potential biases. We examined this controversial issue in a population-based birth cohort. Using administrative data, we identified 143,163 children born in 1995-2011 in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy) (median follow-up 5.25 years, 927,350 person-years). Antibiotic prescriptions in the first year of life and subsequent treated asthma (defined as ≥2 anti-asthmatic drug prescriptions within a 12-month period) were retrieved from drug prescription records. We estimated incidence rate ratios (IRR) using Poisson regression models, adjusted for perinatal variables and for hospitalizations for infections in the first year of life. We identified 34,957 new-onset asthma cases. Antibiotic consumption in the first year of life increased the risk of new-onset asthma [IRR 1.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.48-1.54] with a dose-response relationship (p-trend <0.001). The risk was highest for asthma identified at 13-35 months of life (IRR 2.07, 95% CI 2.00-2.14), but remained statistically significant for asthma identified at 36-71 months (IRR 1.17, 95% CI 1.14-1.21) and at ≥72 months (IRR 1.15, 95% CI 1.08-1.22). Antibiotics increased the risk of current asthma at ≥6 years (IRR 1.35, 95% CI 1.30-1.41) and at ≥13 years of age (IRR 1.19, 95% CI 1.08-1.33). Antibiotic exposure in infancy is associated with an increased risk of asthma up to adolescence. The association detected at older ages is not explained by reverse causation; however, confounding by respiratory infections not leading to hospital admission cannot be excluded.

Our results suggest a potentially protective role of legumes and potato and a detrimental influence of meat in maintaining clinical remission in IBD patients. These findings have important public health implications, but further interventional studies will be needed to demonstrate these associations.

Nurses' knowledge of advance directives and perceived confidence in end-of-life care: a crosssectional study in five countries Nurses' knowledge regarding advance directives may affect their administration and completion in end-of-life care. Confidence among nurses is a barrier to the provision of quality end-of-life care. This study investigated nurses' knowledge of advance directives and perceived confidence in end-of-life care, in Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy and the USA using a cross-sectional descriptive design (n = 1089). In all countries, older nurses and those who had more professional experience felt more confident managing patients' symptoms at end-of-life and more comfortable stopping preventive medications at endof-life. Nurses in the USA reported that they have more knowledge and experience of advance directives compared with other countries. In addition, they reported the highest levels of confidence and comfort in dealing with end-of-life care. Although legislation for advance directives does not yet exist in Ireland, nurses reported high levels of confidence in end-of-life care.