Heath-related quality of life in Spanish breast cancer patients: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer is one of the oncological diseases in which health-related quality of life (HRQL) has been most studied. This is mainly due to its high incidence and survival. This paper seeks to: review published research into HRQL among women with breast cancer in Spain; analyse the characteristics of these studies; and describe the instruments used and main results reported.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The databases consulted were MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Dialnet, IBECS, CUIDEN, ISOC and LILACS. The inclusion criteria required studies to: 1) include Spanish patients, and a breakdown of results where other types of tumours and/or women from other countries were also included; and, 2) furnish original data and measure HRQL using a purpose-designed questionnaire. The methodological quality of studies was assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Spain ranked midway in the European Union in terms of the number of studies conducted on the HRQL of breast cancer patients. Of the total of 133 papers published from 1993 to 2009, 25 met the inclusion criteria. Among them, only 12 were considered as having good or excellent quality. A total of 2236 women participated in the studies analysed. In descending order of frequency, the questionnaires used were the EORTC, FACT-B, QL-CA-Afex, SF-12, FLIC, RSCL and CCV. Five papers focused on validation or adaptation of questionnaires. Most papers examined HRQL in terms of type of treatment. Few differences were detected by type of chemotherapy, with the single exception of worse results among younger women treated with radiotherapy. In the short term, better results were reported for all HRQL components by women undergoing conservative rather than radical surgery. Presence of lymphedema was associated with worse HRQL. Three studies assessed differences in HRQL by patients' psychological traits. Psychosocial disorder and level of depression and anxiety, regardless of treatment or disease stage, worsened HRQL. In addition, there was a positive effect among patients who reported having a "fighting spirit" and using "denial" as a defence mechanism. One study found that breast cancer patients scored worse than did healthy women on almost all SF-12 scales.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Research into health-related quality of life of breast-cancer patients is a little developed field in Spain.</p

Cementos óseos acrílicos modificados con hidroxiapatita. Parte II. Propiedades mecánicas estáticas y comportamiento bioactivo

En la sustitución total de la cadera es habitual el empleo de cementos óseos de naturaleza acrílica para la fijación de los componentes protésicos a la estructura ósea. Los cementos óseos son materiales muy estudiados y la durabilidad a largo plazo de las prótesis indica una efectividad clínica de un 80 % a los 12 a 15 años de implantación. Una de las modificaciones que se investiga desde hace algunos años para incrementar la durabilidad a largo plazo de los cementos es el empleo de rellenos bioactivos en su composición. En este trabajo se analiza la influencia de tres tipos de relleno de hidroxiapatitas silanizadas en las propiedades mecánicas estáticas y de fraguado de cementos óseos de poli(metacrilato de metilo-co-estireno). Se estudió la influencia del tipo y cantidad de relleno en la densidad de los cementos, la resistencia a la compresión y a la tracción. Los resultados indican que la densidad de las muestras aumenta con el contenido de relleno. Con el aumento de este relleno (hasta un 50 %) disminuyen la resistencia a la compresi ón, la resistencia a la tracción y la deformación a la ruptura, mientras que aumenta el módulo de tracción. Asimismo, se demostró de manera preliminar, por inmersión de las muestras en fluido corporal simulado, el carácter bioactivo in vitro de las formulaciones

The effectiveness of a smartphone application on modifying the intakes of macro and micronutrients in primary care: a randomized controlled trial. The EVIDENT II Study

Background: This study evaluates the effectiveness of adding a diet smartphone application to standard counseling to modify dietary composition over the long term (12 months). Methods: A randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted involving the participation of 833 subjects from primary care clinics (415 to the intervention (counseling + application) group (IG) and 418 to the control (counseling) group (CG)). Both groups were counseled about a healthy diet and physical activity. For the 3-month intervention period, the IG was also trained to use a diet smartphone application that involved dietary self-monitoring and tailored feedback. Nutritional composition was estimated using a self-reported food frequency questionnaire. Results: An analysis of repeated measures revealed an interaction between the group and the percentages of carbohydrates (p = 0.031), fats (p = 0.015) and saturated fats (p = 0.035) consumed. Both groups decreased their energy intake (Kcal) at 12 months (IG: −114 (95% CI: −191 to −36); CG: −108 (95% CI: −184 to −31)). The IG reported a higher percentage intake of carbohydrates (1.1%; 95% CI: 0.1 to 2.0), and lower percentage intakes of fats (−1.0%; 95% CI: −1.9 to −0.1) and saturated fats (−0.4%; 95%CI: −0.8 to −0.1) when compared to the CG. Conclusions: Better results were achieved in terms of modifying usual diet composition from counseling and the diet smartphone application compared to counseling alone. This was evaluated by a self-reported questionnaire, which indicated an increased percentage intake of carbohydrates, and decreased percentage intakes of fats and saturated fatsSpanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) and the Carlos III Health Institute/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (FIS: PI13/00618, PI13/01526, PI13/00058, PI13/01635, PI13/02528, PI12/01474; RETICS: RD12/0005, RD16/0007), Regional Health Management of Castilla and León (GRS 1191/B/15, GRS 909/B/14, GRS 770/B/13) and the Infosalud Foundatio

Health-related quality of life and mental health in the medium-term aftermath of the Prestige oil spill in Galiza (Spain): a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2002 the oil-tanker <it>Prestige </it>sank off the Galician coast. This study analyzes the effect of this accident on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental health in the affected population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using random sampling stratified by age and sex, 2700 residents were selected from 7 coastal and 7 inland Galician towns. Two exposure criteria were considered: a) residential exposure, i.e., coast versus interior; and b) individual exposure-unaffected, slightly affected, or seriously affected-according to degree of personal affectation. SF-36, GHQ-28, HADS and GADS questionnaires were used to assess HRQoL and mental health. Association of exposure with suboptimal scores was summarized using adjusted odds ratios (OR) obtained from logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For residential exposure, the SF-36 showed coastal residents as having a lower likelihood of registering suboptimal HRQoL values in physical functioning (OR:0.69; 95%CI:0.54–0.89) and bodily pain (OR:0.74; 95%CI:0.62–0.91), and a higher frequency of suboptimal scores in mental health (OR:1.28; 95%CI:1.02–1.58). None of the dimensions of the other questionnaires displayed statistically significant differences.</p> <p>For individual exposure, no substantial differences were observed, though the SF-36 physical functioning dimension rose (showed better scores) with level of exposure (91.51 unaffected, 93.86 slightly affected, 95.28 seriously affected, p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Almost one and a half years after the accident, worse HRQoL and mental health levels were not in evidence among subjects exposed to the oil-spill. Nevertheless, some of the scales suggest the possibility of slight impact on the mental health of residents in the affected areas.</p

Municipal distribution of breast cancer mortality among women in Spain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Spain has one of the lowest rates of breast cancer in Europe, though estimated incidence has risen substantially in recent decades. Some years ago, the Spanish Cancer Mortality Atlas showed Spain as having a heterogeneous distribution of breast cancer mortality at a provincial level. This paper describes the municipal distribution of breast cancer mortality in Spain and its relationship with socio-economic indicators.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Breast cancer mortality was modelled using the Besag-York-Molliè autoregressive spatial model, including socio-economic level, rurality and percentage of population over 64 years of age as surrogates of reproductive and lifestyle risk factors. Municipal relative risks (RRs) were independently estimated for women aged under 50 years and for those aged 50 years and over. Maps were plotted depicting smoothed RR estimates and the distribution of the posterior probability of RR>1.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In women aged 50 years and over, mortality increased with socio-economic level, and was lower in rural areas and municipalities with higher proportion of old persons. Among women aged under 50 years, rurality was the only statistically significant explanatory variable.</p> <p>For women older than 49 years, the highest relative risks were mainly registered for municipalities located in the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia and Valencia, plus others around the Ebro River. In premenopausal women, the pattern was similar but tended to be more homogeneous. In mainland Spain, a group of municipalities with high RRs were located in Andalusia, near the left bank of the Guadalquivir River.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As previously observed in other contexts, mortality rates are positively related with socio-economic status and negatively associated with rurality and the presence of a higher proportion of people over age 64 years. Taken together, these variables represent the influence of lifestyle factors which have determined the increase in breast cancer frequency over recent decades. The results for the younger group of women suggest an attenuation of the socio-economic gradient in breast cancer mortality in Spain. The geographical variation essentially suggests the influence of other environmental variables, yet the descriptive nature of this study does not allow for the main determinants to be established.</p

Biomedical glasses and glassceramics as bone tissues substitutes

Los materiales sustitutivos de los tejidos óseos representan en la actualidad un área de gran interés en la investigación relacionada con productos médicos. A pesar de la capacidad de autorenovación de los tejidos duros del cuerpo humano, la alta incidencia de patologías y lesiones traumáticas con grandes pérdidas óseas exige la búsqueda de materiales que puedan de forma permanente o transitoria servir de sustitutos óseos o de plantillas para la osteosíntesis. Dentro de los biomateriales en estudio, actualmente destacan vidrios y cerámicas vítreas, las que además de ser biocompatibles, osteoinductivas y osteoconductivas han demostrado la habilidad de enlazarse al hueso directamente sin que medie interface alguna (bioactivos). Estos materiales aparte de estimular la osteosíntesis pueden contribuir con el proceso de angiogénesis y favorecen la adhesión, proliferación y diferenciación celular imprescindible en matrices diseñadas para la Ingeniería de Tejidos. Este trabajo se refiere a generalidades en el desarrollo de vidrios y vitrocerámicos con aplicaciones en medicina, su diversidad de formulaciones, métodos de síntesis, propiedades, ventajas, limitaciones y sus principales aplicaciones en diferentes especialidades médicas, así como en la Ingeniería de Tejidos.Nowadays, an important research topic related with medical devices are the materials designed as bone tissues substitutes. Hard tissues have a great capacity of self-regeneration but in front of traumatic or pathologic critical bone defects it is necessary the use of bone substitutes or templates as temporal or permanent grafts. Glasses or glass-ceramics are osteoconductive, osteoinductive and biocompatible materials. In addition, they have the ability to link directly to the living bone tissues without any interface (bioactivity). Also, it has been reported that bioglasses favor the angiogenesis process and the cellular adhesion, proliferation and differentiation necessary features for bone tissue engineering scaffolds. This work refers generalities of the bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics compositions, manufacture processes, properties, advantages, disadvantages as well as the main clinical applications and new developments for tissue engineering

Biomedical glasses and glassceramics as bone tissues substitutes

Los materiales sustitutivos de los tejidos óseos representan en la actualidad un área de gran interés en la investigación relacionada con productos médicos. A pesar de la capacidad de autorenovación de los tejidos duros del cuerpo humano, la alta incidencia de patologías y lesiones traumáticas con grandes pérdidas óseas exige la búsqueda de materiales que puedan de forma permanente o transitoria servir de sustitutos óseos o de plantillas para la osteosíntesis. Dentro de los biomateriales en estudio, actualmente destacan vidrios y cerámicas vítreas, las que además de ser biocompatibles, osteoinductivas y osteoconductivas han demostrado la habilidad de enlazarse al hueso directamente sin que medie interface alguna (bioactivos). Estos materiales aparte de estimular la osteosíntesis pueden contribuir con el proceso de angiogénesis y favorecen la adhesión, proliferación y diferenciación celular imprescindible en matrices diseñadas para la Ingeniería de Tejidos. Este trabajo se refiere a generalidades en el desarrollo de vidrios y vitrocerámicos con aplicaciones en medicina, su diversidad de formulaciones, métodos de síntesis, propiedades, ventajas, limitaciones y sus principales aplicaciones en diferentes especialidades médicas, así como en la Ingeniería de Tejidos.Nowadays, an important research topic related with medical devices are the materials designed as bone tissues substitutes. Hard tissues have a great capacity of self-regeneration but in front of traumatic or pathologic critical bone defects it is necessary the use of bone substitutes or templates as temporal or permanent grafts. Glasses or glass-ceramics are osteoconductive, osteoinductive and biocompatible materials. In addition, they have the ability to link directly to the living bone tissues without any interface (bioactivity). Also, it has been reported that bioglasses favor the angiogenesis process and the cellular adhesion, proliferation and differentiation necessary features for bone tissue engineering scaffolds. This work refers generalities of the bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics compositions, manufacture processes, properties, advantages, disadvantages as well as the main clinical applications and new developments for tissue engineering

How to develop research by Professors and students to achieve a better teaching: transfer of results within and from the public University

El proyecto trata de mejorar la visibilidad de la relación entre investigación y docencia, permitiendo a los estudiantes conocer otra labor de sus profesores en la Universidad y animando su participación en actividades de transferencia a la sociedad.This project tries to enhance the visibility between research and teaching. It allows the students to know other tasks carried out by the University Professors. It seeks ways to promote their participation in activities of transfer of knowledge to society.Depto. de Derecho Mercantil, Financiero y TributarioFac. de DerechoFALSEsubmitte