Assessment of selenium and cadmium levels in serum and toenails: A cross-sectional study in Modena, Northern Italy.

Assessment of selenium and cadmium levels in serum and toenails: A cross-sectional study in Modena, Northern Italy

Correlation between cadmium and selenium blood levels in an Italian population.

Correlation between cadmium and selenium blood levels in an Italian population

Population density and risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: an Italian population-based study.

Population density and risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: an Italian population-based study

Post-traumatic stress disorder among LGBTQ people: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aims: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (LGBTQ) are at increased risk of traumatization. This systematic review aimed to summarize data regarding the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for LGBTQ people and their subgroups. Methods: Medline, Scopus, PsycINFO and EMBASE were searched until September 2022. Studies reporting a comparative estimation of PTSD among LGBTQ population and the general population (i.e., heterosexual/cisgender), without restrictions on participants' age and setting for the enrolment, were identified. Meta-analyses were based on odds ratio (OR and 95% confidence intervals [CI]), estimated through inverse variance models with random effects. Results: The review process led to the selection of 27 studies, involving a total of 31,903 LGBTQ people and 273,842 controls, which were included in the quantitative synthesis. Overall, LGBTQ people showed an increased risk of PTSD (OR: 2.20 [95% CI: 1.85; 2.60]), although there was evidence of marked heterogeneity in the estimate (I2 = 91%). Among LGBTQ subgroups, transgender people showed the highest risk of PTSD (OR: 2.52 [95% CI: 2.22; 2.87]) followed by bisexual people (OR: 2.44 [95% CI: 1.05; 5.66]), although these comparisons are limited by the lack of data for other sexual and gender minorities, such as intersex people. Interestingly, the risk of PTSD for bisexual people was confirmed also considering lesbian and gay as control group (OR: 1.44 [95% CI: 1.07; 1.93]). The quality of the evidence was low. Conclusions: LGBTQ people are at higher risk of PTSD compared with their cisgender/heterosexual peers. This evidence may contribute to the public awareness on LGBTQ mental health needs and suggest supportive strategies as well as preventive interventions (e.g., supportive programs, counselling, and destigmatizing efforts) as parts of a tailored health-care planning aimed to reduce psychiatric morbidity in this at-risk population

Rischio di leucemia infantile in relazione al mese di nascita: studio caso-controllo basato sui dati del Registro AIEOP.

Rischio di leucemia infantile in relazione al mese di nascita: studio caso-controllo basato sui dati del Registro AIEOP

Assessment of cadmium levels in serum, toenails and diet: A cross sectional study in Modena, Northern Italy.

Assessment of cadmium levels in serum, toenails and diet: A cross sectional study in Modena, Northern Italy

Clinical and Lifestyle Factors and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease of the motor neurons. The etiology of ALS remains largely unknown, particularly with reference to the potential environmental determinants. Methods: We performed a population-based case-control study in four provinces from both Northern and Southern Italy in order to assess non-genetic ALS risk factors by collecting through tailored questionnaires information about clinical and lifestyle factors. We estimated ALS risk by calculating odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) using unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age and educational attainment. Results: We recruited 230 participants (95 cases and 135 controls). We found a possible positive association of ALS risk with trauma, particularly head trauma (OR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.19-5.72), electric shock (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 0.62-7.06), and some sports, although at a competitive level only. In addition, our results suggest an increased risk for subjects reporting use of private wells for drinking water (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 0.73-2.27) and for use of herbicides during gardening (OR = 1.95, 95% CI 0.88-2.27). Conversely, there was a suggestion of an inverse association with overall fish consumption (OR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.12-0.60), but with no dose-response relation. Consumption of some dietary supplements, namely those containing amino acids and, in the Southern Italy population, vitamins and minerals such as selenium, seemed associated with a statistically imprecise increased risk. Conclusions: Our results suggest a potential etiologic role a number of clinical and lifestyle factors with ALS risk. However, caution is needed due to some study limitations. These include the small sample size and the low number of exposed subjects, which affect statistical precision of risk estimates, the potential for exposure misclassification, and the uncertainties about mechanisms underpinning the possible association between these factors and disease risk

Environmental and Occupational Risk Factors of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Objectives: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease with still unknown etiology. We aimed at investigating the association between environmental and occupational factors with ALS risk. Methods: We performed a population-based case-control study in four Italian provinces (Catania, Modena, Novara, and Reggio Emilia) by administration of tailored questionnaires to ALS cases (n = 95) and randomly selected population referents (n = 135). We estimated ALS risk by calculating the odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) using an unconditional logistic regression model. Results: We found a positive association with disease risk for history of occupation in the agricultural sector (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 0.79-7.54), especially for longer than 10 years (OR = 2.72, 95% 1.02-7.20). Overall occupational exposure to solvents also suggested a positive association, especially for thinners (OR = 2.27, 95% CI 1.14-4.54) and paint removers (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 0.90-4.48). Both occupational and environmental exposure to electromagnetic fields show a slightly increased risk with OR = 1.69 (95% CI 0.70-4.09) and 2.41 (95% CI 1.13-5.12), respectively. Occupational but not environmental exposure to pesticides (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 0.63-2.37), particularly fungicides, and exposure to metals (OR = 4.20, 95% CI 1.88-9.38), particularly lead, mercury, and selenium, showed an imprecise but positive association. Finally, there was an indication of increased risk for living in proximity to water bodies. Conclusions: Despite the caution that needs to be used due to some study limitations, such as the low number of exposed subjects and the possibility of recall bias, these results suggest the potential role of some environmental and occupational factors in ALS etiology