Effectiveness of social marketing strategies to reduce youth obesity in European school-based interventions : a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Using positive deviance in the prevention and control of MRSA infections in a Colombian hospital: a time-series analysis

Positive Deviance (PD) is a process to achieve a social and cultural change. This strategy has been used for the control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in some health institutions in the United States, but has rarely been adopted in institutions from developing countries where resources are limited. We describe our experience of PD in the control of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) due to MRSA in a Colombian hospital with the aim of reducing HAI rates through a cultural change in processes. A time-series study was conducted based on the MRSA-HAI rate and the number of months with zero MRSA infections before and after application of PD (2001-2012). On comparing the pre-intervention and intervention periods, the mean overall rates of MRSA-HAI was 0·62 and 0·36, respectively (P = 0·0005); the number of months with zero MRSA-HAIs were 3/70 and 12/74 (odds ratio 0·264, 95% confidence interval 0·078-0·897); the percentage of MRSA-HAIs was 53·2% and 41·0%. These results are consistent with other published data. Implementation of PD was associated with a significant reduction of MRSA-HAIs, it did not involve high costs and the changes have been lasting

Predictive factors related to the progression of periodontal disease in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: A cohort study

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontal disease are inter-related conditions. However, factors predictive of periodontal disease progression in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (eRA) are lacking. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with the progression of clinical attachment loss (CAL) in interproximal dental sites of eRA patients. Methods: Twenty-eight eRA patients were evaluated for the progression of CAL at 280 interproximal dental sites at 1 year of follow-up. Markers of RA activity (rheumatoid factor, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein), a marker of bone resorption (Dickkopf-related protein 1), Disease Activity Score 28 and Simple Disease Activity Index were included as potential systemic predictive factors. Plaque index, gingival index, pocket depth, clinical attachment level and Dickkopf-related protein 1 in crevicular fluid at baseline were included as potential local predictive factors. Data were analysed in a hierarchical structure using generalised linear mixed models for progression at each site (> 2 mm) during follow-up. Results: C-reactive protein level was the most important predictive systemic factor for the progression of CAL. The mean CAL and a high degree of gingival inflammation in interproximal sites at baseline were important predictive local factors (p < 0.0001). Patients who received combined treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and corticosteroids exhibited less CAL (p < 0.0001). The predictive value of the generalised linear mixed model for progression was 85%. Conclusions: Systemic factors, including RA disease activity and baseline periodontal condition, were associated with periodontal progression. Pharmacological treatment may affect periodontal progression in patients with early RA

Estudio de la relación de la variables medioambientales viento y concentración departículas por medio del análisis de datos funcionales : Aplicación al caso de la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia)

En este trabajo se exploran dos enfoques diferentes para predecir el comportamiento en los niveles del contaminante ambiental PM10 en función de las variables atmosféricas velocidad y dirección del viento para la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia). El primer modelo, se consideran un conjunto de series de tiempo generadas mediante procesos ARIMA, y en el segundo, se hace una predicción con base en una regresión por análisis de datos funcionales. De los resultados obtenidos se comparan las bondades de la predicción para cada uno de los modelos planteados, resultando, que los pronósticos en las concentraciones del contaminante determinados con datos funcionales son comparables tanto cualitativa como cuantitativamente a los obtenidos en modelos de series de tiempo más detallados

Estudio de la relación de la variables medioambientales viento y concentración departículas por medio del análisis de datos funcionales : Aplicación al caso de la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia)

En este trabajo se exploran dos enfoques diferentes para predecir el comportamiento en los niveles del contaminante ambiental PM10 en función de las variables atmosféricas velocidad y dirección del viento para la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia). El primer modelo, se consideran un conjunto de series de tiempo generadas mediante procesos ARIMA, y en el segundo, se hace una predicción con base en una regresión por análisis de datos funcionales. De los resultados obtenidos se comparan las bondades de la predicción para cada uno de los modelos planteados, resultando, que los pronósticos en las concentraciones del contaminante determinados con datos funcionales son comparables tanto cualitativa como cuantitativamente a los obtenidos en modelos de series de tiempo más detallados

Estudio de la relación de la variables medioambientales viento y concentración departículas por medio del análisis de datos funcionales : Aplicación al caso de la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia)

En este trabajo se exploran dos enfoques diferentes para predecir el comportamiento en los niveles del contaminante ambiental PM10 en función de las variables atmosféricas velocidad y dirección del viento para la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia). El primer modelo, se consideran un conjunto de series de tiempo generadas mediante procesos ARIMA, y en el segundo, se hace una predicción con base en una regresión por análisis de datos funcionales. De los resultados obtenidos se comparan las bondades de la predicción para cada uno de los modelos planteados, resultando, que los pronósticos en las concentraciones del contaminante determinados con datos funcionales son comparables tanto cualitativa como cuantitativamente a los obtenidos en modelos de series de tiempo más detallados

Effectiveness of social marketing strategies to reduce youth obesity in European school-based interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Context: The use of social marketing to modify lifestyle choices could be helpful in reducing youth obesity. Some or all of the 8 domains of the National Social Marketing Centre's social marketing benchmark criteria (SMBC) are often used but not always defined in intervention studies. Objective: The aim of this review is to assess the effectiveness of European school-based interventions to prevent obesity relative to the inclusion of SMBC domains in the intervention. Data Sources: The PubMed, Cochrane, and ERIC databases were used. Study Selection: Nonrandomized and randomized controlled trials conducted from 1990 to April 2014 in participants aged 5 to 17 years were included. Data Extraction: After the study selection, the 8 domains of the SMBC were assessed in each included study. Results: Thirty-eight publications were included in the systematic review. For the meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting body mass index or prevalence of overweight and obesity were considered. Eighteen RCTs with a total of 8681 participants included at least 5 SMBC. The meta-analysis showed a small standardized mean difference in body mass index of -0.25 (95% CI, -0.45 to -0.04) and a prevalence of overweight and obesity odds ratio of 0.72 (95% CI, 0.5-0.97). Conclusion: Current evidence indicates that the inclusion of at least 5 SMBC domains in school-based interventions could benefit efforts to prevent obesity in young people. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42014007297.Peer Reviewe