Crop changes from the XVI century to the present in a hill/mountain area of eastern Liguria (Italy)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronological information on the composition and structure of agrocenoses and detailed features of land cover referring to specific areas are uncommon in ethnobotanical studies, especially for periods before the XIX century. The aim of this study was to analyse the type of crop or the characteristics of soil cover from the XVI century to the present.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This diachronic analysis was accomplished through archival research on the inventories of the Parish of St. Mary and those of the Municipality of Pignone and from recent surveys conducted in an area of eastern Liguria (Italy).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Archival data revealed that in study area the primary means of subsistence during the last five centuries, until the first half of the XX century, was chestnuts. In the XVIII and XIX centuries, crop diversification strongly increased in comparison with previous and subsequent periods. In more recent times, the abandonment of agricultural practices has favoured the re-colonisation of mixed woodland or cluster-pine woodland.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ancient documents in the ecclesiastic or municipal inventories can be a very useful tool for enhancing the knowledge of agricultural practice, as well as of subsistence methods favoured by local populations during a particular time and for reconstructing land use change over time.</p

Methods to study the deprivation and its relationships with cancer incidence in a local area [Metodi per lo studio della deprivazione e le sue relazioni con l\u2019incidenza del cancro in un\u2019area locale].

Abstract Aim: This study was aimed at finding the best method to describe the relationships between cancer incidence and deprivation of population at a local level (the Genoa province). Methods: The population was clustered using the National Deprivation Index (NDI) and the Genoa Deprivation Index (GDI), both using data drawn from the 2001 Census, either at municipality or at district levels. The NDI and GDI used were drawn from the NDI 2001 and the Liguria Region Deprivation Index 2001 (LRDI), re-parameterised on the values of areas pertaining to the Genoa province considering the quintiles of the population. In the building of both original indexes five traits representing the multi-dimensionality of the social and material deprivation concept were selected, but each one resulted composed by quite opposite variables. The derived indexes were applied to clustering Genoa province population computing for each cluster the cancer incidence occurrence in the period 1999-2003. For the five deprivation clusters of population, individuated aggregating the 91 areas of the province on the basis of the two indexes, the Standardised Incidence Ratios (SIR) were computed for all malignant cancers combined (skin carcinomas excluded) and 35 sites. The observed SIR and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated by gender and age (all ages, 0-64 years and 65+ years). To evaluate if deprivation influenced the incidence, an analysis was conducted between SIR group variances. Results: From the application of the GDI, many significant associations between cancer incidence and deprivation surfaced, particularly for women. However, the NDI did not correctly identify the main part of the negative linear trends whereas the GDI did so. The lacking of statistical significance in all cancers combined distribution by GDI in men was mainly explained by the opposite trends in lung and prostate cancers, while in women the breast negative trend was balanced by a major number of different sites. Conclusions: Although the GDI cannot be considered a \u201cpure\u201d deprivation index, it does seem to be useful for public health purposes due to its capability of discriminating SE clusters in a fairly homogenous population, like the Liguria one

[Building of a local deprivation index to measure the health status in the Liguria Region].

Abstract AIMS: during the last twenty years, in the most of the European nations, studies on how measuring socioeconomic differences related to inequities in take in charge of patients, health care and outcomes have been developed. The aim of this paper is the computation of a Liguria Region Deprivation Index (IDR), able to describe the peculiar health characteristics of the Liguria population, economically and socially quite homogeneous, on the basis of the socioeconomic (SE) differences related to health outcomes according to the differences in general mortality. DESIGN: all the population and households variables from the 2001 Italian Census have been considered at municipal level and, for Genoa and Savona, at lower administrative area level, selecting only the ones significantly correlated to the general mortality by Pearson correlation. The Standard Mortality Ratios (SMR on 2001 standard Liguria population) for Overall Mortality by gender and age groups (0-64 years and 65+ years) have been used as dependent variables. In order to build the RDI and classify the areas on the basis of increasing socioeconomic deprivation, a multivariate methodology have been used by means of principal component factor analysis of the previous selected variables and k-means clustering of the geographical areas; then these results have been compared with the SMR by analysis of variance. Finally, the RDI has been applied to the SMR of some groups of principal causes of death (all tumours and cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive system diseases), in order to differentiate the population by health outcomes. RESULTS: two factors have been identified: an economic-educational factor and a socio-familiar one. The first factor describes the educational level and occupation, while the second one the marital status, the family dimension and the house peculiarities. The clustering procedure has allowed to identify five groups of geographical areas, distributed by the increasing of the SE deprivation. The most problematic areas are located in the countryside or in some spot places of the seaside, far from the health care centres and with difficult access by travel connection. The association between RDI and overall mortality SMRs confirms the relationship between deprivation and mortality increases, according to a statistically significant linear trend. Similar relationships have been observed for cardiovascular and digestive system diseases, while no associations have been found for respiratory illness and overall cancers. CONCLUSIONS: the RDI is able to give information on the health differences in the population, by differentiating the mortality trend on the basis of specific situations of richness and social hardship. It is useful not only for disentangling by economic condition, but also by the resources of the social and familiar support to cope with the illness situations. So, the relationship between deprivation and mortality, according to a statistically significant linear trend, shows how groups of Liguria people suffer by a lack of familiar resources, which strongly reduces the possibility of a quick take in charge and the adhesion to the more adequate therapeutic procedure, till to fatal results. In this way, areas of aimed actions can be defined by the local decision-makers, in order to optimize the health resources allocation and to reduce inequities

Deprivation and cancer incidence in a de-industrialised and highly ageing area. [Deprivazione e incidenza di cancro in un\u2019area ex-industriale a forte invecchiamento].

Abstract Aims: The analysis by tumor site, age groups and gender of the 1999-2003 cancer incidence in Genoa province population clusters in relationships with the socio-economic (SE) deprivation, evaluating if the observed associations confirmed the literature. Methods: The SIR of all malignant cancers (but not melanoma skin cancers) and 35 sites were computed by deprivation cluster, gender and age groups (all ages, 0-64, 65+ years), evaluating the variance in SIR among groups. The SE clusters were individuated by the Genoa Deprivation Index (GDI), derived from the re-parameterisation of the LRDI (Liguria Region Deprivation Index) inside the territorial limits of Genoa province. Results: All malignant cancers combined showed no association with deprivation in both sexes due to a balance of positive and negative observed associations. Increasing trend at decreasing deprivation (linear negative associations) regarded colon, melanoma, skin carcinomas, breast, prostate, meningioma and myelodysplastic syndromes, while the opposite (linear positive associations) were observed for oropharynx, oesophagus, stomach, rectum, liver, lung, mesothelioma, uterine corpus, testis, kidney, brain, Hodgkin\u2019s and non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphomas and myeloma. Conclusions: The combined effects of population ageing, de-industrialisation and increasing role of touristic activities in Liguria induced a situation forerunner of the possible post-industrial Western countries development outcomes. Our study confirmed some known associations between deprivation and cancer incidence occurrence: both the positive with smoke- and alcohol-consumption (oropharynx, oesophagus, lung) and infectious risks (rectum, liver) and the negative ones with diet, obesity and sedentariness (colon, breast, prostate) and sun recreational exposure (skin carcinomas, melanoma). Also the controversial evidences regarding brain and haematological tumours seemed confirmed. From the future experiences of re-allocation of resources on the Genoa territory could derive input on readjustment policies on social and health resources redistribution at national level

Incidenza delle neoplasie per caratteristiche di deprivazione socio-economica delle aree di residenza.

cancer incidence - deprivatio

RETOP \u2013 Liguria: il Registro dei Tumori di sospetta Origine Professionale, i rischi accertati e l\u2019interazione con i Dipartimenti di Prevenzione delle ASL liguri.

risultati del Registro dei Tumori di sospetta Origine Professionale in Liguri

Valutazione ecologica rapida dell\u2019associazione fra rischio di malattia (mortalit\ue0/incidenza neoplasie) e rischi ambientali. Esempio di valutazione dei rischi ambientali in piccole aree del Comune di Genova.

Valutazione ecologica rapida dell\u2019associazione fra rischio di malattia (mortalit\ue0/incidenza neoplasie) e rischi ambientali