Absences from work among healthcare workers: are they related to influenza shot adherence?

BACKGROUND: The coverage for influenza vaccination among healthcare workers (HCWs) is inadequate in many countries despite strong recommendations; is there evidence that influenza vaccination is effective in preventing absenteeism? Aim of the study is to evaluate the influenza vaccination coverage and its effects on absences from work among HCWs of an Italian academic healthcare trust during the 2017-2018 influenza season. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study to identify predictive characteristics for vaccination, and a retrospective cohort study to establish the effect of vaccination on absences among the vaccinated and non-vaccinated cohorts between December 2017 and May 2018. Overall absence rates over the whole observation period and sub-rates over 14-days intervals were calculated; then comparison between the two groups were conducted applying Chi-square test. RESULTS: Influenza vaccination coverage among 4419 HCWs was 14.5%. Age, university degree, medical care area and physician profile were positively associated with vaccine uptake. Globally during influenza season non-vaccinated HCWs lost 2.47/100 person-days of work compared to 1.92/100 person-days of work among vaccinated HCWs (p\u2009<\u20090.001); significant differences in absences rates resulted when focusing on the influenza epidemic peak. CONCLUSIONS: Factors predicting influenza uptake among HCWs were male sex, working within medical care area and being a physician. Absenteeism among HCWs resulted to be negatively correlated with vaccination against influenza. These findings add evidence to the urgent need to implement better influenza vaccination strategies towards HCWs to tackle vaccine hesitancy among professionals

Executive dysfunction in children affected by obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: an observational study

Introduction: The role of sleep in cognitive processes can be considered clear and well established. Different reports have disclosed the association between sleep and cognition in adults and in children, as well as the impact of disturbed sleep on various aspects of neuropsychological functioning and behavior in children and adolescents. Behavioral and cognitive dysfunctions can also be considered as related to alterations in the executive functions (EF) system. In particular, the EF concept refers to self-regulatory cognitive processes that are associated with monitoring and controlling both thought and goal directed behaviors. The aim of the present study is to assess the impact of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on EF in a large sample of school aged children. Materials and methods: The study population comprised 79 children (51 males and 28 females) aged 7–12 years (mean 9.14 ± 2.36 years) with OSAS and 92 healthy children (63 males and 29 females, mean age 9.08 ± 2.44 years). To identify the severity of OSAS, an overnight respiratory evaluation was performed. All subjects filled out the Italian version of the Modified Card Sorting Test to screen EFs. Moreover, to check the degree of subjective perceived daytime sleepiness, all subjects were administered the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS). Results: No significant differences between the two study groups were found for age (P = 0.871), gender (P = 0.704), z-score of body mass index (P = 0.656), total intelligence quotient (P = 0.358), and PDSS scores (P = 0.232). The OSAS children showed a significantly higher rate of total errors (P , 0.001), perseverative errors (P , 0.001), nonperseverative errors (P , 0.001), percentage of total errors (P , 0.001), percentage of perseverative errors (P , 0.001), and percentage of nonperseverative errors (P , 0.001). On the other hand, OSAS children showed a significant reduction in the number of completed categories (P = 0.036), total correct sorts (P = 0.001), and categorizing efficiency (P , 0.001). The Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between all error parameters and apnea-hypopnea index, oxygen desaturation index, and percentage of mean desaturation of O2 with a specular negative relationship between the error parameters and the mean oxygen saturation values, such as a significant negative relationship between apnea-hypopnea index, oxygen desaturation index, percent of mean desaturation of O2, and the number of completed categories. Conclusion: Our study identified differences in the executive functioning of children affected by OSAS and is the first to identify a correlation between alteration in respiratory nocturnal parameters and EF that has not yet been reported in developmental age. These findings can be considered as the strength and novelty of the present report in a large pediatric population

Banking Panics and Liquidity in a Monetary Economy

This paper studies banks’ liquidity provision in the Lagos and Wright model of monetary exchanges. With aggregate uncertainty we show that banks sometimes exhaust their cash reserves and fail to satisfy their depositors’ need of consumption smoothing. The banking panics can be eliminated by the zero-interest policy for the perfect risk sharing, but the first best can be achieved only at the Friedman rule. In our monetary equilibrium, the probability of banking panics is endogenous and increases with inflation, as is consistent with empirical evidence. The model derives a rich array of non-trivial effects of inflation on the equilibrium deposit and the bank’s portfolio

Neuropsychological Profile in Pediatric Migraine without Aura: A Pilot Study

Despite the high prevalence of headache in developmental age, current reports about its neuropsychological effects are still lacking. The aim of the present pilot study is to assess the neuropsychological skills among children affected by migraine without aura (MwoA). Fifteen children (7M/8F) (mean age 10.73 ± 2.13) with MwoA, consecutively referred to the Center for Childhood Headache at Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, underwent the Italian version of the NEPSY-2 after cognitive evaluation. Moreover, to assess the pain level and disability grade during daily activity, the VAS and PedMIDAS scales were used. MwoA children were comparable with the control group of 38 children with respect to age, gender, language, and education level. Written informed consent was obtained from all parents and from children directly, when appropriate. MwoA children differed from controls significantly among the NEPSY-2 subscales, with a relevant relationship between the frequency and intensity of the attacks. In conclusion, the results of the present pilot study may suggest that MwoA could impact significantly neuropsychological functioning in children

Infodemic: analysis of global and local 2019-20 Coronavirus epidemic search flow

Background: The excessive amount of information (infodemic) about SARS-COV2 is a global challenge for healthcare authorities in tackling misinformation. Aim of the study was to investigate SARS-COV2 global and Italian web search amount made through a reliable information source during 2019-20 SARS- COV2 epidemic. Methods: From December 15th, 2019 to February 23rd, 2020, we used Google Trends to analyze global changes in the volume of searches about \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019 in relation to reliable sources: \u2018\u2018World Health Organization\u2019\u2019, \u2018\u2018WHO\u2019\u2019 and the Italian equivalents of \u2018\u2018Ministry of Health\u2019\u2019 and \u2018\u2018National Institute of Health\u2019\u2019. Primary searches and associated queries (AQs) were analyzed by nation and Italian Region. Results: Global interest on \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019 progressively rose from mid- January, with 2 peaks on days 28th and 31st, fell on February 20th and rose again until day 23rd. \u2018\u2018WHO\u2019\u2019 searches fluctuated with no clear pattern but increased on January 26th and February 3rd. \u2019WHO\u2019 term was among the most frequent \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019 AQs and viceversa. Singapore, Italy and New Zealand were the most interested nations in \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019, while China was at first place in \u2018\u2018Coronavirus+WHO\u2019\u2019 searches. In Italy from January 21st interest in \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019 gradually increased, with peaks on days 28th and 31st and a higher peak on February 21st. The other terms showed a fluctuating trend, with peaks on January 31st for \u2018\u2018WHO\u2019\u2019 and \u2018\u2018Ministry of Health\u2019\u2019 and on February 21st for all of them. \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019 was most frequently AQ to \u2018\u2018Italy\u2019\u2019 and \u2018\u2018China\u2019\u2019, while AQs for the other terms were \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019 and \u2018\u2018WHO official website\u2019\u2019. The most interested Italian Regions for \u2018\u2018Coronavirus\u2019\u2019 and \u2018\u2018Coronavirus+WHO\u2019\u2019 were Lazio and Friuli Venezia-Giulia, respectively. Conclusions: Interest in SARS-COV2 globally increased during the con- sidered period, especially within most affected areas. The associations between terms thus highlighted seems to confirm that the general population relies on trustworthy information sources. Key messages: Infodemic can be at the same time a danger and an opportunity during global and local health emergencies. Health systems should take advantage of current search flow in order to foster reliable information sharing

University students\u2019 Mediterranean diet adherence in North East of Italy: a pilot study, 2018.

Background: Mediterranean Diet (MD) is associated with decreased risk of many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and weight main- tenance. No study has been conducted to better understand MD adherence among University students, especially future teachers and future experts in nutrition, in North East of Italy. Our pilot study represents a first exploration in this field among this population. Methods: This is a single-center, observational pilot survey. We enrolled >18 years Educational Sciences (ES) and Food Science (FS) University students attending Hygiene and Epidemiology lessons in March 2018. We performed the survey with a Mediterranean diet validated questionnaire and calculated the MD score. Based on previous studies on MD score, students were classified into High-MD adherence (score 6-14) and low- MD adherence group (score <6). Comparisons between groups were performed using a t-test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test, chi square test and logistic regression models as appropriate. We also evaluated BMI (body mass index) and smoke habits. Results: We collected and analysed 82 questionnaires: 14.6% (12) students resulted to have low MD adherence (median:5, IQR:1) and 85.4% (70) resulted to have high MD adherence (median: 8, IQR:2). Students\u2019 BMI was predominantly in the normal-weight range (median: 21,7, IQR: 4,03). Moreover, 14.6% (12) students (mean: 22 years old; SD:2) were smokers and, among non-smokers (70), 11% (9) were ex-smokers. We performed logistic regressions that showed no clear association between MD adherence and university course (FS vs ES) (OR: 2.14, CI 95%: 0.43-10.63) and between MD and BMI (OR:1.12, CI 95% 0.88-1.42). Conclusions: Our pilot study shows good levels of MD adherence and attention to health status (low smoking habits prevalence and mean BMI). Further studies in larger samples and among other university courses are needed to confirm our findings