Publications from International Organizations on Public Health

The Publications from International Organizations on Public Health section includes a wider selection of the most recent publications edited by the main international organizations active in the field of public health, such as: the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the World Health Organization (WHO)

Antenatal care services and pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Milan, Lombardy

Background. During the COVID-19 pandemic maternity healthcare seeking and provision reduced worldwide. We explored the indirect effects of the pandemic on key pregnancy outcomes and access to antenatal care services.Methods. Observational cross-sectional study on all pregnancies between years 2019- 2020 in Milan metropolitan area (Lombardy, Italy). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the access to antenatal care (ANC) services (timing of first contact, ultrasound examinations (US) and ANC contacts) and pregnancy outcomes (preterm births, perinatal deaths and surgically treated ectopic pregnancies). Data were retrieved from both administrative (public healthcare) and self-reported sources (public and private services).Results. The first antenatal contact was slightly delayed in pandemic year 2020. Adequate levels of antenatal care were maintained according to self-reported data, though a decrease in public healthcare was noted (administrative data). Perinatal death and preterm birth risk did not worsen, while it increased for surgically managed ectopic pregnancies

Exploring perceptions of vaccine safety: an Italian national survey on different COVID-19 vaccine formulations

Objectives. COVID-19 vaccines have proven effective and safe, enabling the resumption of normal life. However, misinformation has hindered vaccination efforts. This study aimed to investigate perceptions of vaccine safety among Italians through an anonymousonline survey. Study design. An anonymous online survey was conducted from April to July 2022 and disseminated through social platforms, among adult individuals living in Italy.Results. A total of 1,329 individuals participated. Younger individuals and healthcare professionals showed greater trust in vaccines. Education level was significantly associated with perceived vaccine safety. Most respondents, including many healthcare workersand highly educated individuals, believed vaccines to be safe, with confidence levels of 39.5% for mRNA, 32.9% for viral vector, and 39% for protein subunit vaccines. Younger age and trust in institutions were linked to higher confidence in all vaccine types.Conclusions. These findings may be useful to further investigate the drivers of vaccine safety perceptions and their relationship with vaccine hesitancy and may help to develop more effective communication campaigns in the future

Monitoring of antibiotic residues in muscles, milk and eggs of food-producing animals in Umbria and Marche regions (Central Italy) during the period time 2012-2021

Introduction. The use of antibiotics in food-producing animals for infections treatment, metafilaxis and, although not allowed in Europe, as growth enhancer is responsible for the presence of antibiotic residues in animal derived foodstuffs. For this reason, it is veryimportant to perform a monitoring.Methods and results. Muscle samples from bovine, pig, poultry, turkey and fish, as well as bovine milk and hen’s egg samples, deriving from 444 farms of both Umbria and Marche regions (Italy) were analyzed by well-established and validated analytical methods in order to evaluate the presence or not of antibiotic residues (penicillins, quinolones, tetracycline and sulphonamides). The samples were collected during 2012-2021 period of time. In total, 15/2,354 samples resulted positive to the analyses. The amount of antibiotics found in the 15 samples resulted below the maximum residue limit fixed by EU Regulation 37/2010 and for this reason considered compliant.Conclusions. Despite irregular samples were not found, the presence of antibiotic residues in foodstuff represents a risk for public health as they are responsible for the selection of resistant strains contributing to antimicrobial resistance problem spread. In the present work, this aspect was evaluated in relation to the results obtained from the analyzed samples coming from Umbria and Marche regions

Erratum for: Efficacy of sodium oxybate plus disulfiram for the maintenance of alcohol abstinence in treatment-resistant patients with alcohol use disorder: a multicentre retrospective study Ann Ist Super Sanità 2024 | Vol. 60, No. 4: 252-257 DOI: 10.4415/ANN_24_04_03

Introduction. Disulfiram (DF), acamprosate, naltrexone, baclofen and sodium oxybate (SO) are currently the medications approved for the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD). In this context, combined pharmacological interventions and sex differences arean interesting area in the treatment of non-responder AUD patients.Aim. To evaluate the efficacy of SO in combination with DF in maintaining alcohol abstinence in patients with AUD who failed to achieve abstinence either with SO or DF alone.Methods and results. 126 detoxified AUD patients, previously treated with only SO or DF, were retrospectively enrolled from 2018 to 2022. At the end of treatment, a higher number of females than males (74.1% vs 66.3%: p=0.03) maintained continuous abstinence from alcohol, and all the females responded completely or partially to the treatment.Conclusions. This study shows that the combination of SO and DF may be considered a further pharmacological opportunity for AUD patients (particularly in females) who do not respond to mono-therap

A preliminary study of the effects of transformations induced by gammaray treatment on the detection of Acheta domesticus and Tenebrio molitor allergenic proteins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques

Introduction. With the global population projected to reach approximately 9 billion by 2050, there’s a growing need to explore alternative food sources. Insects have emerged as a potential solution to meet food demand, offering a substitute for conventional livestock. However, a primary safety concern surrounding these novel foods is their allergenic potential, especially given the absence of standardized testing methodologies. Tomitigate this risk, food irradiation has been explored as a method to reduce allergenicity in insects intended for human and animal consumption.Material and methods. This study utilized an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine the allergenic proteins in specific insect types after irradiation treatment.Results and discussion. Significant differences in detectable protein levels were observed between Tenebrio molitor and Acheta domesticus samples, but no significant differences in protein content were found between food and feed samples of both species under identical irradiation conditions. Further research is required to ensure the protocol’s suitability for more complex food matrices

Relative excess measures of effect and their use in health impact assessment

Introduction. In health impact assessment, relative excess measures of effect are used in combination with exposure and outcome data to estimate the health impacts under an alternative exposure scenario. This study aims to propose: a classification ofrelative excess measures of effect functional for health impact assessment; a standard and general framework for calculating health impacts; different approaches when using data at different spatial resolutions.Methods and results. A classification of the relative excess measures of effect was presented, introducing a new measure. A standard framework for calculating attributable and preventable cases based on the nature of the exposure and the imagined change in exposure was described. The marginal and conditional approaches to calculate health impacts using data at different spatial resolutions were illustrated.Conclusions. The proposed methods and frameworks are designed to be applicable to a range of different situations. As health impact assessment continues to evolve, the insights and tools provided in this paper could help guide effective and equitable assessments, ultimately contributing to better public health decisions and outcomes

Needs for a shared operational methodology to draft guidelines and good practices in legal medicine

Introduction. Article 5 of Law n. 24/2017 established the obligation for medico-legal professionals to adhere to guidelines and good clinical-care practices, except in specific cases. However, the methodologies developed for clinical practice are not entirely applicable to the field of legal medicine, which presents unique characteristics in terms of regulatory context, objectives, and evaluative processes. Legal medicine does not primarily focus on diagnosis or treatment but on standardized assessment procedures, legal defensibility, and consistency of judgments.Objectives. Starting from the experience of the Central Health Department (Sovrintendenza Sanitaria Centrale, SSC) of the Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro, INAIL), the goal is to develop a dedicated manual outlining the appropriate methods for developing guidelines and best practices in legal medicine, proposing a methodological framework.Methods. The authors conduct a review of the literature on the topic related to the methodology for developing guidelines and best practices in forensic medicine. They took inspiration from the methodological manual for the production of clinical practice guidelines by the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS).Discussion. The authors highlight the lack of literature specifically addressing the development of guidelines and best practices in forensic medicine. The methodological manual for the production of clinical practice guidelines by the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) requires some adaptations but certainly represents a highly useful tool for creating relevant recommendations for legal medicine. Therefore, the authors propose a specific methodology and a dedicated manual tailored to legal medicine. The manual should be adapted from the ISS methodologies used in clinical settings, revised to reflect the unique needs of medico-legal practice, and developed in close collaboration with the relevant scientific societies and institutions.Conclusions. The method used for INAIL’s SSC recommendations has proven effective in guiding internal medico-legal practices. Building on the ISS methodological manual, the authors propose a tailored approach for developing guidelines (LGML) and best practices (RBPML) in legal medicine. Given the unique challenges of the discipline – often not fully addressed by existing regulations or literature – standardized solutions are necessary to ensure consistent, high-quality medico-legal outcomes. Therefore, the establishment of a dedicated Working Group in collaboration with the ISS is essential to develop a structured methodology. INAIL’s prior experience in this field provides a solid foundation for this initiative

Publications from International Organizations on Public Health

The Publications from International Organizations on Public Health section includes a wider selection of the most recent publications edited by the main international organizations active in the field of public health, such as: the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the World Health Organization (WHO)

Evaluating screen exposure in very young children: insights from the Italian Surveillance System of children aged 0-2 years

Objective. To describe screen exposure and its association with socio-economic characteristicsin a large representative sample of children aged 0-2 years in Italy.Materials and methods. Data from the 2022 Italian Surveillance of children aged 0-2 years, collected on 35,550 mothers, were analysed to estimate the prevalence of screen exposure. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between exposure and potential predictors.Results. Overall, 39.2% of children aged 2-15 months were exposed to digital screens. The exposure prevalence increased with age, ranging from 13.9% at 2-3 months to 61.9% at 13-15 months. Screen exposure was significantly more frequent among children of mothers with non-Italian citizenship, having lower levels of education, reporting economic difficulties, non-participating in antenatal classes (ACs), and residing in the center-south.Conclusions. Most babies, particularly from low socio-economic status (SES) families, were exposed to screens in a period when this may interfere with responsive caregiving and thus with early child development. It is imperative to inform parents and caregivers about the risks of early exposure since the first months of life