Assessing cost-effectiveness in obesity : active transport program for primary school children— TravelSMART schools curriculum program

Background: To assess from a societal perspective the cost-effectiveness of a school program to increase active transport in 10- to 11-year-old Australian children as an obesity prevention measure. Methods: The TravelSMART Schools Curriculum program was modeled nationally for 2001 in terms of its impact on Body Mass Index (BMI) and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) measured against current practice. Cost offsets and DALY benefits were modeled until the eligible cohort reached age 100 or died. The intervention was qualitatively assessed against second stage filter criteria (&lsquo;equity,&rsquo; &lsquo;strength of evidence,&rsquo; &lsquo;acceptability to stakeholders,&rsquo; &lsquo;feasibility of implementation,&rsquo; &lsquo;sustainability,&rsquo; and &lsquo;side-effects&rsquo;) given their potential impact on funding decisions. Results: The modeled intervention reached 267,700 children and cost $AUD13.3M (95$6.9M; $22.8M) per year. It resulted in an incremental saving of 890 (95$AUD117,000 (95% UI dominated; $1.06M). Conclusions: The intervention was not cost-effective as an obesity prevention measure under base-run modeling assumptions. The attribution of some costs to nonobesity objectives would be justified given the program&rsquo;s multiple benefits. Cost-effectiveness would be further improved by considering the wider school community impacts.<br /

Risk factors for chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes: a systematic review

Objectives. To evaluate the potential associations between chronic kidney disease of uncertain or nontraditional etiology (CKDnT) and agrochemicals, heat stress, heavy metals, and other factors identified in the literature in any region of the world and at any time. Methods. This was a systematic review of the most frequent exposures suspected to be possible causes of CKDnT. A search was conducted of PubMed, LILACS, World Wide Science electronic databases, among other sources. Only medium- and high-quality studies were included. The synthesis of evidence included a narrative synthesis, meta-analysis, and meta-regression. Results. Four systematic reviews and 61 primary studies were included. Results of the meta-analysis suggest that exposure to agrochemicals and working in agriculture increase the risk of CKDnT, but this only reached significance for working in agriculture. When cross-sectional studies were excluded, agrochemical exposure became significant. However, there is substantial heterogeneity in the effect sizes. Conclusions. Based on the existing evidence and the precautionary principle, it is important to implement preventive measures to mitigate the damage caused by CKDnT to both agricultural workers and their communities (i.e., improvement of working conditions, cautious management of agrochemicals, etc.). More high-quality research is needed to measure impact and to build the evidence base.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Estudio traslacional para el manejo de la obesidad utilizando el Programa de Prevención de Diabetes “Grupo de Equilibrio de Estilo de Vida” en clínicas de primer nivel y hospitales públicos de México: protocolo de estudio

Introduction: Obesity is the main modifiable risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in Mexico. Several randomized controlled trials have shown that intensive lifestyle programs are efficacious for the management of obesity. These programs include frequent sessions (14 or more contacts in the first 6 months) focused on diet and physical activity and use a behavior change protocol. However, most Mexican primary care clinics and public hospitals apply traditional treatments for obesity management with limited results on weight loss. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) “Group Lifestyle Balance” for weight loss among adults with overweight and obesity from baseline to 6 months and from baseline to 12 months in primary care clinics and public hospitals from Sonora, Mexico.Material and Methods: This is a translational, multi-center, non-controlled, 6 and 12-month follow-up clinical study with a pre-test and post-test design. Healthcare providers from two primary care clinics, two hospitals and one university clinic will be trained with the DPP protocol to implement on their patients with overweight and obesity. Body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, depression, quality of life and stress scales will be measured in participants receiving the program at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Biochemical parameters will be measured at baseline and 12 months. The primary outcome is the change in body weight at 6 and 12 months.Discussion: This study will provide scientific evidence of the effectiveness of the DPP protocol as a model for obesity management in real world clinical practice among the adult Mexican population.Introducción: La obesidad es el principal factor de riesgo para el desarrollo de enfermedades crónicas en México. Varios ensayos clínicos controlados han mostrado que los programas intensivos de cambio de estilo de vida son eficaces para el manejo de obesidad. Estos programas incluyen sesiones frecuentes (14 o más los primeros 6 meses), centradas en hacer mejoras en la dieta y actividad física utilizando un protocolo de cambio de comportamiento. Sin embargo, la mayoría de clínicas de primer nivel y los hospitales públicos aplican tratamientos tradicionales para el manejo de obesidad que tienen resultados limitados. El propósito del estudio es evaluar la efectividad del Programa de Prevención de Diabetes “Grupo de Equilibrio de Estilo de Vida” sobre la pérdida de peso en adultos con sobrepeso y obesidad del inicio a 6 meses y del inicio a 12 meses del seguimiento en clínicas de primer nivel y hospitales públicos de Sonora, México.Material y Métodos: Este es un estudio clínico multicéntrico traslacional, no controlado con diseño pre y post-prueba a 6 y 12 meses. Los proveedores de salud de dos clínicas de primer nivel, dos hospitales públicos y una clínica universitaria serán entrenados con el protocolo del Programa de Prevención de Diabetes, para implementarlo en sus pacientes adultos con sobrepeso y obesidad. Se medirá el peso corporal, índice de masa corporal, circunferencia de cintura, presión sistólica y diastólica, así como escalas de depresión, calidad de vida y estrés, al inicio, 6 y 12 meses. Los parámetros bioquímicos se medirán al inicio y a los 12 meses. La variable de desenlace primaria será el cambio de peso a 6 y 12 meses.Discusión: Este estudio proveerá evidencia científica de la efectividad del protocolo del Programa de Prevención de Diabetes como un modelo para el manejo de obesidad en adultos mexicanos en condiciones de la práctica clínica del mundo real

The cost-effectiveness of Australia\u27s active after-school communities program

The objective of this study was to assess from a societal perspective the cost-effectiveness of the Active After-school Communities (AASC) program, a key plank of the former Australian Government\u27s obesity prevention program. The intervention was modeled for a 1-year time horizon for Australian primary school children as part of the Assessing Cost-Effectiveness in Obesity (ACE-Obesity) project. Disability-adjusted life year (DALY) benefits (based on calculated effects on BMI post-intervention) and cost-offsets (consequent savings from reductions in obesity-related diseases) were tracked until the cohort reached the age of 100 years or death. The reference year was 2001, and a 3% discount rate was applied. Simulation-modeling techniques were used to present a 95% uncertainty interval around the cost-effectiveness ratio. An assessment of second-stage filter criteria (&quot;equity,&quot; &quot;strength of evidence,&quot; &quot;acceptability to stakeholders,&quot; &quot;feasibility of implementation,&quot; &quot;sustainability,&quot; and &quot;side-effects&quot;) was undertaken by a stakeholder Working Group to incorporate additional factors that impact on resource allocation decisions. The estimated number of children new to physical activity after-school and therefore receiving the intervention benefit was 69,300. For 1 year, the intervention cost is Australian dollars (AUD) 40.3 million (95% uncertainty interval AUD 28.6 million; AUD 56.2 million), and resulted in an incremental saving of 450 (250; 770) DALYs. The resultant cost-offsets were AUD 3.7 million, producing a net cost per DALY saved of AUD 82,000 (95% uncertainty interval AUD 40,000; AUD 165,000). Although the program has intuitive appeal, it was not cost-effective under base-case modeling assumptions. To improve its cost-effectiveness credentials as an obesity prevention measure, a reduction in costs needs to be coupled with increases in the number of participating children and the amount of physical activity undertaken.<br /

Scaling up community-based obesity prevention in Australia: Background and evaluation design of the Health Promoting Communities: Being Active Eating Well initiative

Background : There is only limited evidence available on how best to prevent childhood obesity and community-based interventions hold promise, as several successful interventions have now been published. The Victorian Government has recently funded six disadvantaged communities across Victoria, Australia for three years to promote healthy eating and physical activity for children, families, and adults in a community-based participatory manner. Five of these intervention communities are situated in Primary Care Partnerships and are the subject of this paper. The interventions will comprise a mixture of capacity-building, environmental, and whole-of-community approaches with targeted and population-level interventions. The specific intervention activities will be determined locally within each community through stakeholder and community consultation. Implementation of the interventions will occur through funded positions in primary care and local government. This paper describes the design of the evaluation of the five primary care partnership-based initiatives in the \u27Go for your life\u27 Health Promoting Communities: Being Active Eating Well (HPC:BAEW) initiative.Methods/Design : A mixed method and multi-level evaluation of the HPC:BAEW initiative will capture process, impact and outcome data and involve both local and state-wide evaluators. There will be a combined analysis across the five community intervention projects with outcomes compared to a comparison group using a cross-sectional, quasi-experimental design. The evaluation will capture process, weight status, socio-demographic, obesity-related behavioral and environmental data in intervention and comparison areas. This will be achieved using document analysis, paper-based questionnaires, interviews and direct measures of weight, height and waist circumference from participants (children, adolescents and adults).Discussion : This study will add significant evidence on how to prevent obesity at a population level in disadvantaged and ethnically diverse communities. The outcomes will have direct influence on policy and practice and guide the development and implementation of future obesity prevention efforts in Australia and internationally.<br /

Community-based interventions for obesity prevention: lessons learned by Australian policy-makers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interest in community-based interventions (CBIs) for health promotion is increasing, with a lot of recent activity in the field. This paper aims, from a state government perspective, to examine the experience of funding and managing six obesity prevention CBIs, to identify lessons learned and to consider the implications for future investment. Specifically, we focus on the planning, government support, evaluation, research and workforce development required.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The lessons presented in this paper come from analysis of key project documents, the experience of the authors in managing the projects and from feedback obtained from key program stakeholders.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CBIs require careful management, including sufficient planning time and clear governance structures. Selection of interventions should be based on evidence and tailored to local needs to ensure adequate penetration in the community. Workforce and community capacity must be assessed and addressed when selecting communities. Supporting the health promotion workforce to become adequately skilled and experienced in evaluation and research is also necessary before implementation.</p> <p>Comprehensive evaluation of future projects is challenging on both technical and affordability grounds. Greater emphasis may be needed on process evaluation complemented by organisation-level measures of impact and monitoring of nutrition and physical activity behaviours.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CBIs offer potential as one of a mix of approaches to obesity prevention. If successful approaches are to be expanded, care must be taken to incorporate lessons from existing and past projects. To do this, government must show strong leadership and work in partnership with the research community and local practitioners.</p

Computer Therapy for the Anxiety and Depressive Disorders Is Effective, Acceptable and Practical Health Care: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Depression and anxiety disorders are common and treatable with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), but access to this therapy is limited. Objective: Review evidence that computerized CBT for the anxiety and depressive disorders is acceptable to patients and effective in the short and longer term. Method: Systematic reviews and data bases were searched for randomized controlled trials of computerized cognitive behavior therapy versus a treatment or control condition in people who met diagnostic criteria for major depression, panic disorder, social phobia or generalized anxiety disorder. Number randomized, superiority of treatment versus control (Hedges g) on primary outcome measure, risk of bias, length of follow up, patient adherence and satisfaction were extracted. Principal Findings: 22 studies of comparisons with a control group were identified. The mean effect size superiority was 0.88 (NNT 2.13), and the benefit was evident across all four disorders. Improvement from computerized CBT was maintained for a median of 26 weeks follow-up. Acceptability, as indicated by adherence and satisfaction, was good. Research probity was good and bias risk low. Effect sizes were non-significantly higher in comparisons with waitlist than with active treatment control conditions. Five studies comparing computerized CBT with traditional face-to-face CBT were identified, and both modes of treatment appeared equally beneficial. Conclusions: Computerized CBT for anxiety and depressive disorders, especially via the internet, has the capacity to provide effective acceptable and practical health care for those who might otherwise remain untreated.10 page(s

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century