Antidepressant Prescribing and Suicides in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) from 1999 to 2008: An Ecological Study

Anti-depressant (AD) prescribing rose in several countries worldwide over the last 20 years. Some concerns have been raised over the fact that AD use, mainly Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) may increase the risk of suicide. AD consumption and suicide rates data in Emilia-Romagna region, Italy have been extracted from regional government databases on AD prescribing and suicide rates, from 1999 to 2008. A statistical model using ordinary least squares linear regression was employed. The overall suicide rates decreased during the period under examination, in spite of the observed exponential increase in use of ADs. Despite the doubling in prescribing of SSRI and newer ADs in recent years, there continues to be no negative impact on suicide rates in Emilia Romagna

Admissions for personality disorders in Italy from 1988 to 1998

BACKGROUND: Personality disorders affect a substantial proportion of the population. It is unclear, however, whether the burden of personality disorders on modern mental health services has been increasing. To fill this gap, we analyzed trends in admissions for personality disorders in Italy from 1988 to 1998. METHODS: We used the yearly data from the Italian Central Institute of Statistics to analyse trends in the total number of admissions for personality disorders and in the total number of first admissions for personality disorders. RESULTS: The absolute number of admissions for personality disorders almost trebled from 1988 to 1998, as well as the proportion of all psychiatric admissions that were for personality disorders. Whilst there has been a marked increase in the absolute number of first admissions, the proportion of all first psychiatric admissions that were for personality disorders showed a steady but modest increase, from 5.7% to 7.6%. CONCLUSION: In Italy, the burden of personality disorders on modern mental health services has been increasing. In terms of public health, these findings highlight the urgent need of developing policies to tackle the increasing demand of care of this difficult-to-treat patient population

Sales of antidepressants, suicides and hospital admissions for depression in Veneto Region, Italy, from 2000 to 2005: an ecological study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increased prescription of antidepressants has been consistently associated with a decrease in suicide rates in several countries. The aim of this study is to explore antidepressant consumption, suicide rates and admission for depression in the Veneto Region, Italy, in order to see whether the same pattern could be detected.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from the Italian Ministry of Health (admissions for depression), the Pharmacy Service of a Local Health Unit (antidepressant prescribing) and from the Epidemiological System of the Veneto region (suicide rates) were collected from 2000 to 2005 for the Veneto region.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Suicide rates did not show any marked increase but were stable in males and females. Antidepressant prescribing increased exponentially over the period examined, whilst admissions for depression markedly decreased. The trend for an exponential increase in antidepressant prescribing in the Veneto region is shared with other countries and locales.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>It is possible that the increase in antidepressant prescribing might be associated with earlier treatment of depression, thus decreasing the likelihood of aggravation of depression.</p

Characterization of DC series arc faults in PV systems based on current low frequency spectral analysis

This work presents an experimental study focused on the characterization of series arc faults in direct current (DC) photovoltaic (PV) systems. The aim of the study is to identify some relevant characteristics of arcing current, which can be obtained by means of low frequency spectral analysis of current signal. On field tests have been carried out on a real PV system, in accordance with some tests requirements of UL 1699B Standard for protection devices against PV DC arc faults. Arcing and non-arcing current signals are acquired and compared and the behavior of a set of indicators proposed by authors is analyzed. Different measurement equipment have been used, in order to study the impact of both measurement transducers and data acquisition systems on proposed indicators effectiveness. Presented results show that the considered indicators are suitable for detecting the arc presence even with commercial devices normally used for smart metering applications

An interface protection system based on an embedded metrology system platform

The aim of this work is to present an interface protection system (IPS) for Distributed Generators (DG) and Energy Storage Systems (ESS). The new prototype of IPS guarantees standard protection requirements, in terms of both voltage and frequency measurement accuracies and trip times. Moreover, it has the additional functionalities of implementing a communication link between the Distribution System Operator (DSO) and the DG and ESS Inverter. The new IPS is based on a smart meter platform with an integrated power line communication modem. Moreover, it has also an integrated metrology section. Experimental tests will show how this last feature allows a significant reduction of the measurement data access time allowing an improvement of trip time accuracy