A COVID-19 Survey among People Who Use Drugs in Norway

Background: to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, adherence to COVID-19 recommendations and vaccination against COVID-19 have been important. Among people who use drugs (PWUD), little is known regarding compliance towards COVID-19 recommendations, COVID-19 testing, or attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. We aimed to examine these issues in a sample of PWUD. Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2021. Through users’ organizations and different low-threshold services for substance users, we recruited former drug users and professionals to include participants and perform the interviews. Participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Any person above 16 years of age who used substances were recruited. Results: 477 Norwegian PWUD participated in the study. The mean age was 43.8 (SD 12.8) years and 77% were males. Thirty-four percent had injected drugs the past four weeks. Alcohol (41%) and cannabis (41%) were the most common drugs used the past four weeks, followed by tranquilizers (37%), central stimulants (35%) and opioids (30%). The majority (90%) had washed their hands frequently, used alcohol sanitizer during the past two weeks, had used face masks, kept one-meter distance to other people and stayed at home if feeling unwell. Fifty-four percent had been COVID-19 tested. More than half the sample (58%) had positive attitudes to COVID-19 vaccination, while 26% were fairly or very unlikely to accept vaccination. Those older (OR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.94; 0.98) and using face masks (OR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.30; 0.79) were more likely to have positive attitudes towards vaccination, while those reporting low life-satisfaction (OR = 3.86, 95% CI 1.43; 10.40), using opioids (OR = 2.97, 95% CI 1.43; 6.18) or almost never staying at home when feeling unwell (OR = 2.76, 95% 1.39; 5.45) expressed more negative attitudes towards vaccination. Conclusion: there was generally a high compliance towards COVID-19 recommendations, but one quarter of the sample was sceptical towards COVID-19 vaccination. This indicates a need for targeted and tailored information and well-designed vaccination roll-out programs to reach all PWUD

Colorectal Cancer Screening in Switzerland: Cross-Sectional Trends (2007-2012) in Socioeconomic Disparities

BACKGROUND: Despite universal health care coverage, disparities in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by income in Switzerland have been reported. However, it is not known if these disparities have changed over time. This study examines the association between socioeconomic position and CRC screening in Switzerland between 2007 and 2012. METHODS: Data from the 2007 (n = 5,946) and 2012 (n = 7,224) population-based Swiss Health Interview Survey data (SHIS) were used to evaluate the association between monthly household income, education, and employment with CRC screening, defined as endoscopy in the past 10 years or fecal occult blood test (FOBT) in the past 2 years. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) adjusting for demographics, health status, and health utilization. RESULTS: CRC screening increased from 18.9% in 2007 to 22.2% in 2012 (padjusted: = 0.036). During the corresponding time period, endoscopy increased (8.2% vs. 15.0%, padjusted:$6,000) vs. lowest income (≤$2,000) group in 2007 (24.5% vs. 10.5%, PR:1.37, 95%CI: 0.96-1.96) and in 2012 (28.6% vs. 16.0%, PR:1.45, 95%CI: 1.09-1.92); this disparity did not significantly change over time. CONCLUSIONS: While CRC screening prevalence in Switzerland increased from 2007 to 2012, CRC screening coverage remains low and disparities in CRC screening by income persisted over time. These findings highlight the need for increased access to CRC screening as well as enhanced awareness of the benefits of CRC screening in the Swiss population, particularly among low-income residents

Colorectal Cancer Screening Weighted Prevalence among Respondents Aged 50–75 years of age from Swiss Health Interview Survey 2007–2012.

<p>Hemoccult in past 2 years 2007 vs 2012 (p-value = 0.002). Endoscopy in past 10 years 2007 vs 2012 (p-value<0.001). Any CRC screening (Hemoccult in past 2 years or endoscopy in past 10 years or both) 2007 vs 2012 (p-value = 0.036). P-values are adjusted for education, household income, employment, age, sex, marital status, citizenship, urban/rural status, health status and health care use.</p

Respondent Characteristics by Survey Year Among Adults 50–75 years of age from Swiss Health Interview Survey 2007 and 2012 (n = 13,170).

<p>¹ Proportions are weighted.</p><p>² Unweighted Pearson Chi-square test.</p><p>³ In October 2014, $1US Dollar = 1 CHF = 0.8 EUR.</p><p>^4.Missing on 570 respondents</p><p>⁵ Missing on 208 respondents.</p><p>Respondent Characteristics by Survey Year Among Adults 50–75 years of age from Swiss Health Interview Survey 2007 and 2012 (n = 13,170).</p

Adjusted and weighted prevalence ratios of colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 50–75 from the Swiss Health Interview Survey 2007 and 2012 (n = 13,170).

<p>1. P-value for time-trend were estimated as follow: for each predictor (education, income, etc.), we estimated separately one multivariate model including all predictors plus the interaction term between the predictor and the wave. We reported only the p-value. 2. Prevalence ratios are adjusted for all variables in the table as well as for health statues which included self-rated health, body mass index, physical symptoms, psychological distress, hospitalization and smoking. Ref: reference category</p><p>Adjusted and weighted prevalence ratios of colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 50–75 from the Swiss Health Interview Survey 2007 and 2012 (n = 13,170).</p

Meta-analysis of age-related gene expression profiles identifies common signatures of aging

Motivation: Numerous microarray studies of aging have been conducted, yet given the noisy nature of gene expression changes with age, elucidating the transcriptional features of aging and how these relate to physiological, biochemical and pathological changes remains a critical problem