PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185526 September 28, 2017
Global Health and Tropical Medicine, GHTM, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, IHMT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, UNL, Lisboa, Portugal
Journal of Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine 6: 326. doi:10.4172/2161-105X.1000326
Research
BMJ 2014;349:g4643 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g4643 (Published 5 August 2014), 1-11
Kassa BMC Infectious Diseases (2018) 18:216 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-018-3126-5
Stigma toward individuals with mental disorders has been studied extensively. In the case of
Latin America and the Caribbean, the past decade has been marked by a significant increase in
information on stigma toward mental illness, but these findings have yet to be applied to mental health service...s in Latin America. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of studies relating to stigma toward mental illness in Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors specifically considered differences in this region as compared with manifestations reported in Western European countries
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Chen et al. BMC Public Health 2014, 14:776 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/14/776
School of Public Health, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China
PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 1, May 2013 | Volume 8 | Issue 5 | e64915
J Pediatr Rev 2015, vol.3 (1) e361
PLoS Curr. 2014 Aug 29;6. pii: ecurrents.dis.17ad1f98fb85be80785d0a81ced6a7a6. doi: 10.1371/currents.dis.17ad1f98fb85be80785d0a81ced6a7a6.
Researchers focused on mental health of conflict-affected children are increasingly interested in the concept of resilience. Knowledge on resilience may assist in developing interventions aimed at improving positive outcomes or reducing negative outcomes, termed promotive or protective interventions....
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MICROBIAL DRUG RESISTANCEVolume 24, Number 5, 2018ªMary Ann Liebert, Inc.DOI: 10.1089/mdr.2017.0383
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a worldwide publichealth concern, with serious health, economic, and so-cietal repercussions. Its emergence is attributed to the se-lective pressure exerted by antib...iotic use in the community, hospitals, veterinary health, agriculture, aquaculture, and the environment. Additionally aggravating the situation is the fact that very few new antibiotics have recently been produced by pharmaceutical companies. It is widely acknowledged that food animals are key reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and that antibiotic usage in this population favors the emergence, selection, and spread of resistance among animals and humans, both through zoonoses (infectious diseases trans-mitted between animals and humans) and the food chain.
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BMJ Global Health2020;5:e001980. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-00198
More than one million people each year become infected by parasites that cause the disease cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). This disease manifests as one or more skin lesions or ulcers that are slow to heal with variable response rates to drug treatments. Thus far, little attention has been paid to how... the cultural effects of gender shape perceptions and experiences of CL. This review aims to bring together and analyse existing studies which use qualitative data to explore these differences. These studies offered insights into our specific research questions.
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Background: The human helminth infections include ascariasis, trichuriasis, hookworm infections, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis. It is estimated that almost 2 billion people worldwide are infected with helminths. Whilst the WHO treatment guidelines for helminth infecti...ons are mostly aimed at controlling morbidity, there has been a recent shift with some countries moving towards goals of disease elimination through mass drug administration, especially for LF and onchocerciasis. However, as prevalence is driven lower, treating entire populations may no longer be the most efficient or cost-effective strategy. Instead, it may be beneficial to identify individuals or demographic groups who are persistently infected, often termed as being “predisposed” to infection, and target treatment at them.
Methods: The authors searched Embase, MEDLINE, Global Health, and Web of Science for all English language, humanbased papers investigating predisposition to helminth infections published up to October 31st, 2017. The varying definitions used to describe predisposition, and the statistical tests used to determine its presence, are summarised. Evidence for predisposition is presented, stratified by helminth species, and risk factors for predisposition to infection are identified and discussed.
Results: In total, 43 papers were identified, summarising results from 34 different studies in 23 countries. Consistent evidence of predisposition to infection with certain species of human helminth was identified. Children were regularly found to experience greater predisposition to Ascaris lumbricoides, Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium than adults. Females were found to be more predisposed to A. lumbricoides infection than were males. Household clustering of infection was identified for A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and S. japonicum. Ascaris lumbricoides and T. trichiura also showed evidence of familial predisposition. Whilst strong evidence for predisposition to hookworm infection was identified, findings with regards to which groups were affected were considerably more varied than for other helminth species.
Conclusion: This review has found consistent evidence of predisposition to heavy (and light) infection for certain human helminth species. However, further research is needed to identify reasons for the reported differences between demographic groups. Molecular epidemiological methods associated with whole genome sequencing to determine ‘who infects whom’ may shed more light on the factors generating predisposition.
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The article "Barriers and determinants of asthma control in children and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review" analyzes factors contributing to poor asthma control in African youth. Based on studies conducted between 2014 and 2019 in Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa, the review identifies key... challenges such as limited access to asthma diagnosis, inadequate use of inhaled corticosteroids, and environmental and socio-economic factors. It finds that urban living, older age, and concurrent allergic conditions significantly affect asthma management. The study emphasizes the need for improved diagnostic tools, better access to treatment, and tailored public health interventions to enhance asthma outcomes in African children.
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The article "Economic Burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): A Systematic Literature Review" examines the financial impact associated with moderate-to-very severe COPD. The review analyzes studies published between 2006 and 2016 that discuss healthcare resource utilization (HRU), di...rect costs, and indirect costs related to COPD, with a focus on Europe and North America. It highlights that direct costs, including hospitalizations and medical treatments, increase with the severity of COPD and the frequency of exacerbations. Multivariate analyses identify key factors driving these costs, such as comorbidities and prior treatment history. The findings underscore the significant economic burden of COPD on healthcare systems and emphasize the need for improved management strategies to reduce costs and optimize patient care.
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by airway hyper-responsiveness to a variety of stimuli largely of allergic origin with reversible airflow limitation. The major clinical features of asthma are wheezing, shortness of breath, and cough. It is a major cause of impaired quality o...f life with impact on work and recreational as well as physical activities and emotions. The goal of treatment is to achieve overall clinical control, which entails the achievement of symptom-free control and to minimize future risks. The goal is the same for all severity of the disease.
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Aerosol pollutants are known to raise the risk of development of non-communicable respiratory diseases (NCRDs) such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and allergic rhinitis. Sub-Saharan Africa’s rapid pace of urbanization, economic expansion, and population growt...h raise concerns of increasing incidence of NCRDs. This research characterizes the state of research on pollution and NCRDs in the 46 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This research systematically reviewed the literature on studies of asthma; chronic bronchitis; allergic rhinitis; and air pollutants such as particulate matter, ozone, NOx, and sulfuric oxide.
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