The show must go on: a snapshot of Italian academic working life during mandatory work from home

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities worldwide have provided continuity to research and teaching through mandatory work from home. Taking into account the specificities of the Italian academic environment and using the Job Demand-Resource-Recovery model, the present study provides, through an online survey, for the first time a description of the experiences of a large sample of academics (N = 2365) and technical and administrative staff (N = 4086) working in Italian universities. The study analyzes the main differences between genders, roles or work areas, in terms of some job demands, recovery experiences, and outcomes, all important dimensions to achieve goals 3, 4, and 5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The results support the reflections on gender equality measures in universities and provide a general framework useful for further in-depth analysis and development of measures in order to improve well-being (SDG 3), quality of education (SDG 4), and gender equality (SDG 5)

Non-HDL cholesterol predicts coronary heart disease in primary prevention: findings from an Italian a 40-69 year-old cohort in general practice

Scopo. La frazione lipoproteica denominata “colesterolo non-HDL” viene raccomandata come un indice di rischio coronarico (RC) associata alla dislipidemia combinata ed è stata trovata un utile fattore predittivo del rischio coronarico nei pazienti diabetici. Abbiamo studiato l’associazione tra i fattori di RC noti, incluso la colesterolo non-HDL ed una “condizione di RC elevato”, cioè un “RC a 5-anni >15%” in medicina generale. Metodi. Abbiamo studiato 4085 individui di età 40-69 anni, 489 diabetici e 3596 non-diabetici, appartenenti ad una coorte opportunistica. Sono state utilizzate le statistiche descrittive, e la regressione logistica multivariata aggiustata per età e sesso per i confronti tra i 2 gruppi. Risultati. Circa il 12% dei participanti era diabetico. I confronti aggiustati per età e sesso hanno mostrato che tutte le variabili erano significativamente peggiori nei diabetici rispetto ai non-diabetici (eccetto fumo, colesterolo totale e rapporto colesterolo totale/HDL). I diabetici avevano un “RC medio a 5-anni” più alto dei non-diabetici (18.8±11.9% vs 7.5±6.9%, P15%” (55.4% vs 11.1%, P<0.01). Nei diabetici, le variabili associate ad una “condizione di RC elevato” sono: fumo, pressione arteriosa sistolica (PAS) e colesterolemia non-HDL; nei non-diabetici: fumo, PAS, colesterolemia non-HDL e HDL (inversamente). Conclusioni. Il colesterolo non-HDL – oltre a fumo e PAS – è un forte predittore di una “condizione di RC elevato” sia negli individui diabetici che non-diabetici

COVID-19 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis: Putting Data Into Context

Background and objectives: It is unclear how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the severity of COVID-19. The aim of this study is to compare COVID-19-related outcomes collected in an Italian cohort of patients with MS with the outcomes expected in the age- and sex-matched Italian population. Methods: Hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death after COVID-19 diagnosis of 1,362 patients with MS were compared with the age- and sex-matched Italian population in a retrospective observational case-cohort study with population-based control. The observed vs the expected events were compared in the whole MS cohort and in different subgroups (higher risk: Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score &gt; 3 or at least 1 comorbidity, lower risk: EDSS score ≤ 3 and no comorbidities) by the χ2 test, and the risk excess was quantified by risk ratios (RRs). Results: The risk of severe events was about twice the risk in the age- and sex-matched Italian population: RR = 2.12 for hospitalization (p &lt; 0.001), RR = 2.19 for ICU admission (p &lt; 0.001), and RR = 2.43 for death (p &lt; 0.001). The excess of risk was confined to the higher-risk group (n = 553). In lower-risk patients (n = 809), the rate of events was close to that of the Italian age- and sex-matched population (RR = 1.12 for hospitalization, RR = 1.52 for ICU admission, and RR = 1.19 for death). In the lower-risk group, an increased hospitalization risk was detected in patients on anti-CD20 (RR = 3.03, p = 0.005), whereas a decrease was detected in patients on interferon (0 observed vs 4 expected events, p = 0.04). Discussion: Overall, the MS cohort had a risk of severe events that is twice the risk than the age- and sex-matched Italian population. This excess of risk is mainly explained by the EDSS score and comorbidities, whereas a residual increase of hospitalization risk was observed in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and a decrease in people on interferon

DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR&nbsp;=&nbsp;2.05, 95%CI&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.39–3.02, p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.42, 95%CI&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.18–0.99, p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon