Risk of cancer in individuals with alcohol and drug use disorders: a registry-based study in Reggio Emilia, Italy

Invasive cervical cancer, precancerous lesions, and cervical screening participation among women with mental illness in Sweden: a population-based observational study

BACKGROUND

WHO aims to eliminate cervical cancer. Whether women with mental illness constitute a group at high-risk and require targeted prevention initiatives remains unknown. We aimed to assess whether women with severe mental illness, psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders, have an increased risk of invasive cervical cancer, and an increased risk of precancerous lesions and a lower degree of participation in cervical screening compared with women without severe mental illness.

METHODS

In this population-based observational study, 4 112 598 women from 1973 to 2018 in Sweden were included to compare the risk of invasive cervical cancer, high-grade precancerous cervical lesions (CIN2+), and degree of participation in cervical screening (defined as the proportion of time covered by screening during a period when cervical screening is recommended) between women with and without mental illness. We focused on severe mental illness (ie, diagnosed in specialised psychiatric care) and also investigated milder mental illness (ie, use of psychotropic medications prescribed in primary care without specialist diagnosis) as secondary exposure. In two nested case-control studies, we defined the cases as women who have a diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer or CIN2+, and randomly selected individually matched controls from women who did not have these diagnoses.

FINDINGS

Women with a specialist diagnosis of mental illness had a higher risk of invasive cervical cancer (hazard ratio 2·39, 95% CI 2·22-2·57) and CIN2+ (2·22, 2·18-2·26) and a 5·0% (4·8-5·2) lower cervical screening participation compared with matched controls. The risk increment of invasive cervical cancer and CIN2+ was greatest for substance misuse, whereas the screening reduction was greatest for intellectual disability and autism. In contrast, women who used prescribed psychotropic medications without specialist diagnosis had slightly higher screening participation and higher risk of CIN2+ but lower risk of invasive cervical cancer than women with neither specialist diagnosis nor medication use.

INTERPRETATION

Women with severe mental illness participate less in screening and experience a higher risk of cervical neoplasia. Refined approaches are needed to better target these women in the elimination agenda of cervical cancer.

FUNDING

Swedish Cancer Society.

Trends of cervical cancer at global, regional, and national level: data from the Global Burden of Disease study 2019

Background

Cervical cancer is an important global health problem. In this study we aimed to analyze trends in cervical cancer at the global, regional, and national levels from 1990 to 2019, to inform health service decision-making.

Methods

Data on cervical cancer was extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study, 2019. Trends in cervical cancer burden were assessed based on estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) and age-standardized rate (ASR).

Results

Globally, decreasing trends were observed in incidence, death, and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) of cervical cancer from 1990 to 2019, with respective EAPCs of − 0.38 (95% confidence interval [CI]: − 0.41 to − 0.34), − 0.93 (95%CI: − 0.98 to − 0.88), and − 0.95 (95 CI%: − 1.00 to − 0.90). Meanwhile, decreasing trends were detected in most sociodemographic index (SDI) areas and geographic regions, particularly death and DALYs in Central Latin America, with respective EAPCs of − 2.61 (95% CI: − 2.76 to − 2.46) and − 2.48 (95% CI: − 2.63 to − 2.32); hhowever, a pronounced increasing trend in incidence occurred in East Asia (EAPC = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.55). At the national level, decreasing trends in cervical cancer were observed in most countries/territories, particularly DALYs in the Maldives (EAPC = − 5.06; 95% CI: − 5.40 to − 4.72), Whereas increasing trends were detected in Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Bulgaria.

Conclusions

Slowly decreasing trends in cervical cancer were detected worldwide from 1990 to 2019. Cervical cancer remains a substantial health problem for women globally, requiring more effective prevention and control strategies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-10907-5.

Hepatitis C virus cascade of care in the general population, in people with diabetes, and in substance use disorder patients

Background

The aim was to evaluate the hepatitis C virus (HCV) cascade of care in the general population (GP) and in two high-risk populations: patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and substance users (AS) in treatment in Reggio Emilia Province, Italy.

Methods

A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted that included 534,476 residents of the Reggio Emilia Province, of whom 32,800 were DM patients and 2726 AS patients. Age-adjusted prevalence was calculated using the direct method of adjustment based on the age-specific structure of EU population.

Results

The prevalence of HCV testing was 11.5%, 13.8%, and 47.8% in GP, DM, and AS patients respectively, while HCV prevalence was 6.5/1000, 12.6/1000, and 167/1000, respectively. The prevalence of HCV RNA positivity was 4.4/1000, 8.7/1000, and 114/1000 in the three populations, respectively. The rates of HCV RNA-positive individuals not linked to care were 27.9%, 27.3%, and 26% in GP, DM, and AS patients, respectively, while the rates of those cured or cleared were 70.9%, 71%, and 69.9%, respectively. The prevalence of HCV testing was higher for females of reproductive age than for males the same age: 218.4/1000 vs. 74.0/1000, respectively. While more foreigners than Italians underwent the HCV test and were HCV positive, fewer foreigners than Italians received HCV treatment and were cured.

Conclusions

The low HCV testing and linkage to care rates remain an important gap in the HCV cascade of care in Northern Italy. The prevalence of cured/cleared residents remains lower among foreigners than among Italians.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13027-021-00345-8.