Do patients diagnosed with a neurological disease present increased risk of suicide?

RESUMEN: Introducción: Las enfermedades neurológicas representan la principal causa de discapacidady la segunda causa de muerte a nivel mundial. El dolor físico y psicológico, la desesperanzay la desconexión con el medio están presentes tras el diagnóstico de numerosos procesosneurológicos y especialmente de las enfermedades neurodegenerativas.Desarrollo: Existe un mayor riesgo de suicidio en pacientes con enfermedades neurológicascomunes como la epilepsia, la migra?na y la esclerosis múltiple, así como en quienes padecentrastornos degenerativos como la enfermedad de Alzheimer, la enfermedad de Huntington, laesclerosis lateral amiotrófica o la enfermedad de Parkinson. En la mayoría de los casos, la idea-ción suicida aparece en la etapa próxima al diagnóstico, ante sintomatología invalidante, y/oen pacientes que presentan comorbilidad psiquiátrica (a menudo asociada con dichas dolenciasneurológicas).Conclusiones: Para una prevención efectiva del suicidio en este grupo de la población debeevaluarse el riesgo principalmente en pacientes recién diagnosticados, ante la expresión demarcada desesperanza, ante sintomatología invalidante y en pacientes que presentan comorbi-lidad psiquiátrica (especialmente síntomas depresivos). La formación de los especialistas paradetectar signos de alerta es fundamental tanto para que puedan hacer un correcto abordajecomo para que sean capaces de determinar cuándo es necesaria la valoración de un especialistaen psiquiatría.ABSTRACT: Introduction: Neurological diseases are the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Physical and psychological pain, despair, and disconnection with the environment are observed after the diagnosis of numerous neurological processes, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. Development: A higher risk of suicide is observed in patients with such common neurological diseases as epilepsy, migraine, and multiple sclerosis, as well as in those with such degenerative disorders as Alzheimer disease, Huntington disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. In most cases, suicidal ideation appears in the early stages after diagnosis, in the presence of disabling symptoms, and/or in patients with psychiatric comorbidities (often associated with these neurological diseases). Conclusions: Effective suicide prevention in this population group requires assessment of the risk of suicide mainly in newly diagnosed patients, in patients showing unmistakable despair or disabling symptoms, and in patients presenting psychiatric comorbidities (especially depressive symptoms). It is essential to train specialists to detect warning signs in order that they may adopt a suitable approach and determine when psychiatric assessment is required

Noise disturbance and well-being in the north of Spain

Environmental noise is considered one of the main risks for physical and mental health and well-being, with a significant associated burden of disease in Europe. This work aims to explore the main sources of noise exposure at home and its effect on well-being in northern Spain. A transversal opinion study has been performed through a closed questionnaire. The questionnaire included three different parts: sociodemographic data, noise disturbance, and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). A Binary Logistics Regression model was performed to analyze the relationship between noise exposure and well-being. Overall, 16.6% of the participants consider that the noise isolation of their homes is bad or very bad. The noise generated by the neighbors (air and impact noise) is considered the most disturbing indoor noise source, while street works are the most disturbing outdoor noise source in urban areas and road traffic is the most disturbing in rural areas. People who indicate that noise interferes with their life at home have a worse score on the WHO-5 (decreased perception of well-being). The exposure to outdoor noise (specifically the noise coming from the street and trains), internal impact noise produced by neighbors, and in general, the noise that wakes you up, is related to receiving a worse score in the WHO-5 (p < 0.05). Administrative bodies must ensure that laws regulating at-home noise levels, which are continually being updated with stricter restrictions, are enforced.Funding: This work was partially supported by the Government of Cantabria (CONTRATO PROGRAMA GOB. CANTABRIA-UC)

Suicide methods in Spain: poisoning and non-toxic violent agents

RESUMEN: Introducción: El suicidio es en todo el mundo la segunda causa de muerte en adultos jóvenes, y en España es la principal causa de muerte violenta. Los métodos para llevarlo a cabo varían según factores demográficos y geográficos. En el presente estudio se analiza de manera global el método de suicidio empleado en España, y se detalla el análisis en la región de Cantabria. Material y métodos: Estudio retrospectivo en el que se clasifican los suicidios en dos grupos según el método, por envenenamiento y por agentes violentos no tóxicos. Se evaluó la tendencia en los métodos elegidos para provocar la muerte, así como las diferencias según la edad y el sexo. Resultados: El patrón geográfico en los suicidios según el método es heterogéneo. Los suicidios por agentes violentos no tóxicos fueron los más frecuentes, representando el 90,2% del total, si bien cabe destacar que este grupo ha sufrido un descenso en los últimos años (p = 0,002). Los agentes tóxicos estuvieron presentes en el 9,8% de los suicidios, siendo más usados por las mujeres. En Cantabria, el ahorcamiento fue el principal método elegido (50,2% del total). Conclusiones: Los tóxicos son agentes poco presentes en las muertes autoinfligidas, lo que podría atribuirse a su menor letalidad (respecto a otros métodos activos, como la precipitación o el ahorcamiento) y a la efectividad de las medidas sanitarias ante un envenenamiento. El Boletín Estadístico de Defunción Judicial no es del todo fiable como fuente de datos para la realización de estudios epidemiológicos, lo que puede deberse a que es rellenado por personal no sanitario que no tiene acceso a la historia del paciente.ABSTRACT: Introduction: Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young adults worldwide and the leading cause of violent death in Spain. Methods for committing suicide vary due to demographic and geographic factors. The present study analyzes the methods of suicide used over 13 years throughout Spain, and in particular in the region of Cantabria. Material and methods: A retrospective study was carried out to study the methods of suicide chosen in Spain. Temporal trends were analyzed throughout the period, as well as differences according to age and sex. Results: Toxic agents were present in 9.8% of recorded suicides, being more commonly used by the women. Suicide by non-toxic violent agents have declined in recent years (p = 0.002). The geographical pattern in suicides according to the chosen method is heterogeneous. In Cantabria, suicide by hanging was the most commonly chosen method (50.2% of the total). Conclusions: Toxic agents are relatively infrequent in self-inflicted deaths, which could be attributed to their lower lethality (compared to other active methods such as jumping from height or hanging) and to the effectiveness of medical measures against poisoning. The Boletín Estadístico de Defunción Judicial may not be a completely reliable source for conducting epidemiological studies, due to the cause of death being recorded by non-medical personnel without access to the full medical history of the patient

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Impact on the digital sphere discussion

[EN] The research carried out analyzes more than 5 million tweets on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in general, and more than 17,000 tweets on SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) , in particular, in the three-year period 2020-2022. After using Social Network Analysis and Semantic Analysis techniques, the results obtained show that SDG 9 has generated less interest in the social network Twitter than the other SDGs in the last three years, and the number of tweets about it has been decreasing. Moreover, the private sector does not play a key role in any of the main communities generated. Nevertheless, it is considered necessary to improve the communication strategy of SDG 9 and make it mainstream.Zarrabeitia-Bilbao, E.; Rio-Belver, R.; Jaca-Madariaga, M.; Álvarez-Meaza, I. (2023). SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Impact on the digital sphere discussion. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 35-36. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/201704353

Nuclear energy: Twitter data mining for social listening analysis

Knowing the presence, attitude and sentiment of society is important to promote policies and actions that influence the development of different energy sources and even more so in the case of an energy source such as nuclear, which has not been without controversy in recent years. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a social listening analysis of nuclear energy using Twitter data mining. A total of 3,709,417 global tweets were analyzed through the interactions and emotions of Twitter users throughout a crucial year: 6 months before and 6 months after the beginning of Russian invasion of Ukraine and the first attack on the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The research uses a novel approach to combine social network analysis methods with the application of artificial neural network models. The results reveal the digital conversation is influenced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, tweets containing personal opinions of influential people also manage to enter the digital conversation, defining the magnitude and direction of the debate. The digital conversation is not constructed as a public argument. Generally, it is a conversation with non-polarized communities (politics, business, science and media); neither armed conflict or military threats against Zaporizhzhia NPP succeed in rousing anti-nuclear voices, even though these events do modify the orientation of the sentiment in the language used, making it more negative.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature

Calidad de vida en pacientes con fosfatasa alcalina persistentemente baja portadores o no de mutaciones del gen ALPL

Introducción: Los niveles bajos de fosfatasa alcalina (FAlc) en suero son el sello distintivo de la hipofosfatasia, un trastorno debido a variantes patogénicas del gen ALPL. Nuestro objetivo fue determinar la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en adultos con fosfatasa alcalina baja y explorar las diferencias entre pacientes con y sin mutaciones en ALPL. Material y métodos: Estudiamos 35 pacientes adultos con FAlc persistentemente baja en los que se excluyeron causas adquiridas y se secuenció ALPL. Se compararon con 35 controles de igual edad. Se completaron tres cuestionarios sobre dolor (Brief Pain Inventory, BPI), discapacidad física (Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index, HAQ-DI) y calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (36-item Short-Form Health Survey, SF-36). Resultados: Las puntuaciones medias de intensidad e interferencia del dolor en el BPI fueron mayores en el grupo de pacientes (p=0,04 y 0,004, respectivamente). Todos los dominios del instrumento HAQ tendieron a puntuar peor en los pacientes, con diferencias significativas en la puntuación de "alcance" (p=0,037) y la puntuación media general (0,23 frente a 0,09; p=0,029). Los pacientes puntuaron peor que los controles en varias dimensiones del SF-36 (rol físico, p=0,039; dolor corporal p=0,046; rol emocional, p=0,025). Sin embargo, los pacientes con y sin variantes patogénicas puntuaron de manera similar en todas las pruebas, sin diferencias significativas entre los grupos. Conclusiones: Los pacientes con niveles persistentemente bajos de FAlc tienen puntuaciones significativamente peores en dolor corporal y otras dimensiones de calidad de vida relacionadas con la salud, sin diferencias entre pacientes con y sin variantes patogénicas en el gen ALPL. Esto es consistente con la hipótesis de que estos últimos presenten mutaciones en regiones reguladoras, habitualmente no secuenciadas, del gen ALPL

Vitamin D and antiphospholipid syndrome: A retrospective cohort study and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: (a) To determine serum 25-OH vitamin D (vitD) levels in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and to compare them with patients with positive antiphospholipid serology who do not meet clinical criteria for APS, and with healthy controls. (b) To analyze the association of vitD levels with both the clinical manifestations and the immunological profile of patients with primary APS. (c) To perform a meta-analysis evaluating potential differences in serum vitD levels between APS and controls as well as the frequency of vitD deficiency in APS patients. METHODS: Retrospective study including 74 patients with primary APS, 54 with positive antiphospholipid (aPL) serology not meeting clinical criteria for APS, and 215 healthy controls. We considered 30 and 10ng/ml as the thresholds for vitD insufficiency and deficiency, respectively. Meta-analysis included four case-control studies (325 primary APS patients and 507 controls) and was conducted by fitting random effects models and checked for heterogeneity. RESULTS: Median serum vitD levels were similar in the three groups: 21ng/ml in primary APS, 25ng/ml in the aPL-positive group, and 21ng/ml in controls (p = 0.115). However, we found differences in the PTH levels, being 40.4 ± 24.9pg/ml in APS, 34.1 ± 18.2pg/ml in aPL serology, and 23.4 ±12.6pg/ml in healthy controls (p < 0.001). Regarding vitD deficiency, we found significant differences across the groups: 16.2% in APS, 11.1% in patients with positive serology, and 3.7% in controls (p = 0.001). There was a trend for the presence of thrombotic events in patients with vitD deficiency (38.9% vs 19.1%, p = 0.071). The meta-analysis confirmed that the combined mean difference in serum vitD levels between APS and controls was -3.605 (p < 0.001) and that APS patients had an increased frequency of vitD deficiency, with an OR = 3.06 (95% CI: 2.12-4.43, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: APS patients show higher frequency of vitD deficiency than the healthy individuals. The meta-analysis study, including three cohorts and ours, suggests that APS patients have significantly lower serum vitD levels and higher frequency of vitD deficiency than controls

La seguridad clínica del paciente: la importancia de una cirugía segura

La seguridad clínica del paciente ha de ser la prioridad en toda asistencia sanitaria. Precisamente por la complejidad del tema, el trabajo nos sitúa dentro del marco teórico de la seguridad clínica del paciente y a continuación, se centra en la cirugía segura, con lo que ello conlleva (fase preoperatoria, intraoperatoria y postoperatoria). Para ello, se ha realizado una búsqueda bibliográfica para proponer estrategias que eviten poner en peligro la seguridad clínica del paciente, y al mismo tiempo, conseguir implantar una cultura de seguridad en los profesionales que desarrollan la atención, y concienciarles de la importancia del mismo, que al fin y al cabo, son los objetivos del trabajo desarrollado a continuación.Grado en Enfermerí

Temporal study of violent death and its association with environmental and economic variables in Spain

El suicidio es un problema de salud pública que representa una de las principales causas de muerte no natural. Son numerosos los factores de riesgo identificados que influyen en la conducta suicida. El presente estudio analiza la incidencia y la distribución geográfica del suicidio en España en los 13 años comprendidos entre 2000 y 2012, así como los medios elegidos y su relación con factores ambientales y económicos. Los resultados muestran que existe una distribución heterogénea de los suicidios en el país y que la tendencia de los mismos es descendente y estadísticamente significativa en el caso de las personas de edad más avanzada. Además, se concluye que el suicidio es más incidente en hombres que en mujeres y es más común el empleo de medios físicos que el envenenamiento para llevarlo a cabo. Se destaca también que en aquellas provincias con temperaturas más altas, se registran más suicidios en los varones y que las zonas del país con menor PIB tienen una mayor tasa de suicidios. Para concluir, se analizan las muertes violentas en Cantabria con datos del Instituto de Medicina Legal y sus relaciones con variables meteorológicas

From Sustainable Development Goals to sustainable industry, innovation and infrastructure: insights from the digital sphere

The aim of this study is to analyze and understand the digital discussion on Twitter (from 2016 to 2022) of the SDGs in general and SDG 9 in particular, based on a comparative approach and with a methodology using Python libraries for advanced data analysis, social network analysis (SNA) methods and artificial neural networks (ANN) models. To this end, 6,323,139 tweets about SDGs in general and 2,892,922 about specific SDGs were retrieved for further analysis. The results obtained show that SDG 9 generated less interest and a lower presence of women in the social discussion than other SDGs over the seven years studied; furthermore, the number of tweets about SDG 9 has decreased. However, the digital conversation among different actors does develop in a cohesive manner, sharing leadership and space. This study shows that there are exceptional peaks in the digital activity and the SDG topic goes from “sidestream” to “mainstream” in terms of the digital public debate when certain celebrities (specifically, the Korean music group BTS) interact with the initiative. Finally, SDGs do not generate controversy and there is no substantial difference in the distribution of sentiment and emotions between different periods and different SDGs.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature