Eating episode frequency and fruit and vegetable consumption among Italian university students

Objective: To analyze breakfast consumption, regularity of meals, fruit and vegetable consumption in the Italian University Student population on a national level.Design: Descriptive analysis evaluating data taken from the “Sportello Salute Giovani” questionnaire.Participants: 12.000 university students who self-administered a confidential survey. 8292 questionnaires were analyzed.Variables measured: Age; sex; self-reported economic status; BMI; number of breakfast and portions of vegetables and portions of fruit usually consumed per week; number of eating episodes per day; intended weight loss.Analysis: Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Gender and age differences were tested by Chi2 and Mann-Whitney tests.Results: 15.8% of males and 26.3% of females declared to consume at least one portion of fruit every day. Similar results were found for vegetable consumption. Age does not influence fruit or vegetables consumption, frequency of eating episodes or breakfast habit. Both a regular breakfast and a higher number of eating episodes are significantly associated both with a higher frequency of fruit and vegetables intake.Conclusions and implications: This study underlines the need to promote nutritional education campaigns to increase adherence to nutritional guidelines

Nutritional habits in Italian university students

Introduction. Dietary habits have been indicated by research as key elements in both disease pathogenesis and prevention and health promotion. Materials and methods. We analyzed data collected from Italian university students regarding consumption of fruits, vegetables, fast-foods, sweets, energizing drinks, and coffee, average number of eating episodes per day and regularity of breakfast habits.  Results. 44% of the university student population eats in average at least 1 portion of  fruit per day. 22.5% eats at least 2 portions of vegetables per day. 8.5% eats in average 5 times per day with 48.6% declaring an average of 3 eating episodes per day. 11.3% consumes eccessive amounts of caffeine. 49.1% of the females reaches the recommended consumption of fruit, compared to only 33.8% of males (p < 0.05). 27.7% of females eats at least 2 portions of vegetables per day, compared to 12.0% of males (p < 0.05). Eccessive coffee drinkers pass from 8.9% in the 18-21 age group to 16% in the 25-30 year old age group (p < 0.05). Discussion. This study showed that the eating habits of young adults do not follow national recommendations. Less than 50% of university students eats at least 1 portion of fruit per day and less than 1 out of 4 eats at least 2 portions of vegetables per day. Less than 10% of the students eats in average 5 times per day and more than 1 out of 3 does not have breakfast regularly every morning. Conclusion. Interventions targeting university students are required in order to increase their knowledge on healthy eating habits and to ameliorate their dietary behaviours.

Are undocumented migrants&#8217; entitlements and barriers to healthcare a public health challenge for the European Union?

Undocumented migrants (UMs) are at higher risk for health problems because of their irregular status and the consequences of economic and social marginalization. Moreover, the emergent reality of undocumented migration in Europe calls for action in the field of management of UM's health demands as their access to health services has become a sensitive political and social issue. In this light, this paper aims to address UMs' entitlement and barriers to healthcare and related policies citing evidence from peer-reviewed and grey literature concerning people living in a country within the European Union without the legal right to be/remain in the destination country. A systematic review was performed using several databases and websites, and a total of 54 publications in English, with full text available, were taken into consideration. Between 2000 and 2015, Europe hosted the second largest number of international migrants (20 million, 1.3 million per year) after Asia. Even though there is limited evidence specifically focused on UMs' health, it is possible to state that infectious diseases, chronic illnesses, mental disorders, maternal-child conditions, dental issues, acute illnesses and injuries are the most common pathologies. In most cases across Europe, UMs have access only to emergency care. Even in countries where they are fully entitled to healthcare, formal and informal barriers hinder them from being or feeling entitled to this right. Socio-cultural barriers, such as language and communication problems, lack of formal and informal social and healthcare networks and lack of knowledge about the healthcare system and about informal networks of healthcare professionals are all common impediments. From the healthcare providers' perspective, there can be difficulties in providing appropriate care and in dealing with cultural and language barriers and false identification. Communication strategies play a central role in addressing the inequalities in access to healthcare services, and the definition and provision of specific training, focused on UMs' health needs, would be desirable. Improving access to healthcare for UMs is an urgent priority since the lack of access is proven to have serious consequences for UMs' health and wellbeing. Notwithstanding, few available examples of policies and best practices aimed at overcoming barriers in the delivery of healthcare to UMs are available

Sexual behaviours and preconception health in Italian university students

Introduction. Risky sexual behaviours have been recognized as a threat for sexual and reproductive health. Aim. This article shows the results of the “Sportello Salute Giovani” project (“Youth Health Information Desk”) in relation to determining how a large sample of university students in Italy cope with preconception health, especially in the domains of sexual transmitted infections (STIs), fertility and vaccination preventable disease. Methods. Twentythree questions of the “Sportello Salute Giovani” survey about sexual behaviour and reproductive health were analysed. Besides, results were stratified for sex, age class and socio-economic status. Results. 19.7% of students have had first sexual intercourse before age 15. 21.8% of female students used emergency contraception. 66.4% of the 74.0% sexual active students reported using contraceptives, but about 32% of them used methods ineffective against STIs. A general low coverage for rubella, measles and mumps vaccination was revealed. 63.7% of men and 30.9% of woman never had urologic or gynaecological examinations. Discussion. Overall, young adults in Italy are not still enough sensitized on fertility and preconception care. High schools and universities should increas

Risky behaviours among university students in Italy

Background. The use of psychoactive substances is one of the most important ublic health issues. Tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs are among the top risk factors for illhealth defined by World Health Organisation. The risky behaviours acquired in teenage can be magnified or decreased during university when a person starts   having more awareness about the importance of own wellness. This paper describes the results of the project “Sportello Salute Giovani” (“Youth Health Information Desk”) with respect to risky behaviours in a large sample of Italian university  students. Materials and methods. 18 questions of the survey “Sportello Salute Giovani” dealing with risky behaviors, the use of psychoactive substances such as tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs were included. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated. Besides, chisquare test were used to test the differences in sex, age class and socio-economic status. Results. About 24% of the interviewed students currently smokes. 89% and 42.2% respectively drinks at least rarely or weekly beer, wine or spirits. About 40% of students smoked at least a joint and about 2% used other drugs (mostly cocaine). Conclusion. The “Sportello Salute Giovani” survey suggests that the frequency of risky behaviours in Italian university students is not reassuring, although they should be aware about the negative consequences on their and others health because of their educational level

Cooperating to improve healthcare in Arab countries

This brief note presents a few examples of successful health collaboration to improve healthcare in Arab countries. Considerable growth has been noticed in the past years in the health sector of the Middle East and North Africa region countries due to the need to address health service capacity gaps and improve the quality of health infrastructure. The rising population coupled with the aging demographic is expected to drive healthcare demand in the Arab region, augmenting its demand. In order to meet this demand, a lot of progress within the public sector has been made and several initiatives have taken place to create awareness of the most common diseases affecting the region. Among the steps undertaken in order to face the shortage of experience of medical personnel and the rising cost of the delivery of health services, the most noticeable ones relate to major investments within the realm of healthcare provision. However, country-specific drivers of disease burden should inform financial and research investments, prevention efforts, health policies, and health system improvement initiatives for all countries along the development continuum. Moreover, health gains will need to be sustained by supporting interventions on income, education, and fertility as drivers of health improvement

Cryopreservation of testicular tissue in pediatrics: practical and ethical issues

The exposure to cancer treatments (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery) can adversely affect all aspects of reproductive health, possibly determining temporary or permanent hypogonadism of a primary or secondary form. In prepubertal male patients, the only option for preserving fertility is testicular tissue banking. Although significant progress has been made in fertility-based animal research with SSCs, this procedure is still in an early experimental stage. Can an experimental technique, which has potential benefits and possible risks, be offered to minors? What is the minor's best interest in this situation? Is it more important to minimize the risks of morbidity and mortality or to preserve the child's future fertility

Placebo-controlled trials in pediatrics and the child's best interest

For too long children have received medicines not sufficiently studied for their needs and, in fact, being considered as small replicas of adults, it was deemed sufficient to adjust the dosage of a drug approved for adults. Together with the limited availability of appropriate drug formulations, especially for neonates and toddlers, this approach has caused increased iatrogenic risk and/or suboptimal adherence to treatment. With the aim of encouraging the development of more efficacious and safer medicines for children, the Regulatory Agencies in Europe and U.S.A. commendably issued directives to promote adequate and well controlled pediatric clinical trials. In compliance with the agenda of the Pediatric Regulation, in the past decade the number of pediatric patients enrolled in double-blind randomized clinical trials (RCTs) is markedly increased. In order to establish the efficacy of new medicines, RCTs frequently include a placebo-control group that carries the burden of additional, and to some extent underestimated, ethical concerns with respect to trials in adults. Six years into the Pediatric Regulation implementation, off-patent drugs, most of which at present are extensively used off-label, are underrepresented in ongoing/proposed pediatric RCTs. We debate this status quo to assess what might be the child's best interest. In fact, we argue that well-designed studies, in which efficacy and safety of new drugs are compared to off-patent drugs that are currently prescribed off-label, would achieve the aim of the Pediatric Regulation better and more ethically than placebo controlled RCTs

Environmental Pollution by Benzene and PM10 and Clinical Manifestations of Systemic Sclerosis: A Correlation Study

Atmospheric air pollution has been associated with a range of adverse health effects. The environment plays a causative role in the development of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). The aim of the present study is to explore the association between particulate (PM10) and benzene (B) exposure in Italian patients with systemic sclerosis and their clinical characteristics of the disease. A correlation study was conducted by enrolling 88 patients who suffer from SSc at the Fondazione Policlinico “A. Gemelli” in Rome (Italy) in the period from January 2013 to January 2014. The average mean concentrations of B (in 11 monitoring sites) and PM10 (in 14 sites) were calculated using data from the Regional Environmental Protection Agency’s monitoring stations located throughout the Lazio region (Italy) and then correlated with the clinical characteristics of the SSc patients. Of the study sample, 92.5% were female. The mean age was 55 ± 12.9 years old and the mean disease duration from the onset of Raynaud’s phenomenon was 13.0 ± 9.4 years. The Spearman’s correlation showed that concentrations of B correlate directly with the skin score (R = 0.3; p ≤ 0.05) and inversely with Diffusing Lung Carbon Monoxide (DLCO) results (R = −0.36; p = 0.04). This study suggests a possible role of B in the development of diffuse skin disease and in a worse progression of the lung manifestations of SSc

An Overview of Italy\u2019s Demographic Change and the Strategic Role of Nutrition

The proportion and absolute number of older people in populations is increasing dramatically around the world.This demographic change has a large influence on society and has, in fact, been recognized as a key issue for social and health policy.Italy currently is in fifth place worldwide in terms of life expectancy and in fifth place worldwide for the highest average age of the general population.Italy is also currently in 197th place out of 210 countries in terms of total fertility rate. One of the characteristics of the older population is the greater prevalence of conditions of multiple chronic conditions (including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases). The older population has also shown to be particularly exposed to malnutrition and to have a lower nutritional status compared to the rest of the population.Furthermore, in Italy 20.9% of children are overweight and 9,8% are obese. Severely obese children represent 2.2% of the paediatric population.In a population that is characterized by a low fertility rate and high life expectancy, health promotion and disease prevention should play a key role in the healthcare scenario.In conclusion, considering the data mentioned above it would be necessary to conduct disease prevention and health promotion campaigns that are focused on nutrition and that cover all the different age groups of the Italian population. The campaigns should be age and gender specific in order to address the nutritional characteristics and risks of each subgroup in the population