Cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with a severe mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Cardiovascular risk (CVR) has been observed to be higher in patients with severe mental illness (SMI) than in the general population. However, some studies suggest that CVR is not equally increased in different subgroups of SMI. The purposes of this review are to summarise CVR scores of SMI patients and to determine the differences in CVR between patients with different SMIs and between SMI patients and the control-population. Methods MEDLINE (via PubMed) was searched for literature published through August 28, 2014, followed by a snowball search in the Web of Science. Observational and experimental studies that reported CVR assessments in SMI patients using validated tools were included. The risk of bias was reported using STROBE and CONSORT criteria. Pooled continuous data were expressed as standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Two reviewers independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed methodological quality. Results A total of 3,608 articles were identified, of which 67 full text papers were assessed for eligibility and 35 were finally included in our review, in which 12,179 psychiatric patients and 225,951 comparative patients had been assessed. The most frequent diagnoses were schizophrenia and related diagnoses (45.7%), depressive disorders (14.7%), SMI (11.4%) and bipolar disorders (8.6%). The most frequent CVR assessment tool used was the Framingham risk score. Subgroups analysis showed a higher CVR in schizophrenia than in depressive disorder or in studies that included patients with multiple psychiatric diagnoses (SMD: 0.63, 0.03, and 0.02, respectively) Six studies were included in the meta-analysis. Total overall CVR did not differ between SMI patients and controls (SMD: 0.35 [95% CI: -0.02 to 0.71], p=0.06); high heterogeneity was observed (I2=93%; p<0.001). Conclusions The summary of results from studies that assessed CVR using validated tools in SMI patients did not find sufficient data (except for limited evidence associated with schizophrenia) to permit any clear conclusions about increased CVR in this group of patients compared to the general population. The systematic review is registered in PROSPERO (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/): CRD42013003898

Inhibiting aspects of environmental proactivity in industrial firms: an empirical analysis

In this work we made an analysis of papers on environmental accounting published in the main Spanish management journals, during period 1993-2003. We analyzed the present situation and the evolution of the investigation in this line during the indicated period, as well as the role played by the different journals in the knowledge development. The last goal of this work is that the researchers in this topic have a compilation of existing literature, to thus be able to initiate its research work and to contribute new knowledge to the field of the environmental accounting. In addition, this work will identify the main journals that the researchers of this topic can use at the time of disclosing the results of their investigationsEnvironmental strategy, inhibiting aspects.

Risk of incident cardiovascular events amongst individuals with anxiety and depression:A prospective cohort study in the east London primary care database

Background It is unknown how risk of myocardial infarction and stroke differ for patients with and without anxiety or depression, and whether this risk can be explained by demographics, medication use, cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of this study is to quantify differences in risk of non-fatal MI or stroke among patients with anxiety or depression. Methods Prospective cohort study examining risk of incident MI and stroke between March 2005 and March 2015 for 524,952 patients aged 30 and over from the east London primary care database for patients with anxiety or depression. Results Amongst 21,811 individuals with depression at baseline, 1.2% had MI and 0.4% had stroke. Of 22,128 individuals with anxiety at baseline, 1.1% had MI and 0.3% had stroke. Depression was independently associated with both MI and stroke, whereas anxiety was associated with MI only before adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. Antidepressant use increased risk for MI but not stroke. Mean age at first MI was lower in those with anxiety, while mean age at first stroke was lower in those with depression. Limitations The study was limited to patients currently registered in the database and thus we did not have any patients that died during the course of follow-up. Conclusions Patients with depression have increased risk of cardiovascular events. The finding of no increased cardiovascular risk in those with anxiety after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors is of clinical importance and highlights that the adequate control of traditional risk factors is the cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention. Targeting management of classical cardiovascular risk factors and evaluating the risks of antidepressant prescribing should be prioritized.</p

Does it pay more to be green in family firms than in non-family firms?

The contradictory empirical evidence about whether the effect of companies' environmental investments on financial results is positive, negative or not significant has been explained by the different conditions and contexts that facilitate or hinder the ability to generate a win–win situation. This explanation has gradually led the academic debate to consider the factors and conditions that moderate such a relationship. In this document, we analyse the relevant but scarcely studied moderating effect of the condition of being a family firm, by integrating the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective into the natural-resource-based view (NRBV). Based on the analysis of panel data from 2936 Spanish manufacturing firms, covering the period 2009–2016, we offer empirical evidence showing that the financial benefits derived from environmental investment are positive and significant in family firms, while this is not so in non-family firms. Furthermore, our results show that intrinsic characteristics such as the sector, size or age of the company also condition the financial results of environmental investments

Recoil polarization and beam-recoil double polarization measurement of \eta electroproduction on the proton in the region of the S_{11}(1535) resonance

The beam-recoil double polarization P_{x'}^h and P_{z'}^h and the recoil polarization P_{y'} were measured for the first time for the p(\vec{e},e'\vec{p})\eta reaction at a four-momentum transfer of Q^2=0.1 GeV^2/c^2 and a center of mass production angle of \theta = 120^\circ at MAMI C. With a center of mass energy range of 1500 MeV < W < 1550 MeV the region of the S_{11}(1535) and D_{13}(1520) resonance was covered. The results are discussed in the framework of a phenomenological isobar model (Eta-MAID). While P_{x'}^h and P_{z'}^h are in good agreement with the model, P_{y'} shows a significant deviation, consistent with existing photoproduction data on the polarized-target asymmetry.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Search for Light Gauge Bosons of the Dark Sector at the Mainz Microtron

A new exclusion limit for the electromagnetic production of a light U(1) gauge boson {\gamma}' decaying to e^+e^- was determined by the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron. Such light gauge bosons appear in several extensions of the standard model and are also discussed as candidates for the interaction of dark matter with standard model matter. In electron scattering from a heavy nucleus, the existing limits for a narrow state coupling to e^+e^- were reduced by nearly an order of magnitude in the range of the lepton pair mass of 210 MeV/c^2 < m_e^+e^- < 300 MeV/c^2. This experiment demonstrates the potential of high current and high resolution fixed target experiments for the search for physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure