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Bosco R, Messina G, Aiello B, Guarducci G, Nante N. The Structures and Activities of Health Promotion in the Italian NHS. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:healthcare11010148. [PMID: 36611607 PMCID: PMC9819165 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11010148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Italy, the Ministry of Health is the main decision-making entity in healthcare. The local health authorities (LHAs) are responsible for health promotion (HP) activities, based on national and regional health plans. Our aim was to investigate the structured activities of HP in Italy at national, regional, and territorial levels. METHODS From February 2020 to July 2021, we searched for online information about the structures, projects, and responsibilities at the different levels mentioned above. The sources were the official sites of the Ministry of Health, the regions, and LHAs. RESULTS During the "prevalence period" of 2014-2021, we found 41 active facilities dedicated to HP: 7 complex operational units and 34 simple units. The other 30 facilities also had HP activities despite the absence of dedicated units. The most discussed topic seemed to be physical activity (63%), followed by addictions (53%), nutrition (48%), and prevention (33%); in the queue appeared dental hygiene and family/parenting (both at 7%). The LHA of the City of Turin and the LHA of Salerno had the most significant number of topics. CONCLUSIONS The results showed great heterogeneity, in the Italian context, concerning HP activities. We assume that the phenomenon depends on reduced attention to the digitalization of information. The Italian Society of Health Promotion is pursuing the goal of the construction of an organic system of HP-with its own articulations, competencies, and scientific and operational goals-at different levels, thus transcending the health care system (which is often powerless in regulatory activity) and providing the one harbinger of the most promising results in terms of cost/benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Bosco
- Post Graduate School of Public Health, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Gabriele Messina
- Post Graduate School of Public Health, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Bruno Aiello
- Italian Society of Health Promotion—SIPS, 80053 Castellammare di Stabia, Italy
| | - Giovanni Guarducci
- Post Graduate School of Public Health, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Nicola Nante
- Post Graduate School of Public Health, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0577-234187
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Ceccato F, Barbot M, Lizzul L, Cuccarollo A, Selmin E, Merante Boschin I, Daniele A, Saller A, Occhi G, Regazzo D, Scaroni C. Clinical presentation and management of acromegaly in elderly patients. Hormones (Athens) 2021; 20:143-150. [PMID: 32840821 PMCID: PMC7889670 DOI: 10.1007/s42000-020-00235-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM Acromegaly is a rare disease with a peak of incidence in early adulthood. However, enhanced awareness of this disease, combined with wide availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has increased the diagnosis of forms with mild presentation, especially in elderly patients. Moreover, due to increased life expectancy and proactive individualized treatment, patients with early-onset acromegaly are today aging. The aim of our study was to describe our cohort of elderly patients with acromegaly. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a cross-sectional retrospective study of 96 outpatients. Clinical, endocrine, treatment, and follow-up data were collected using the electronic database of the University Hospital of Padova, Italy. RESULTS We diagnosed acromegaly in 13 patients, aged ≥65 years, presenting with relatively small adenomas and low IGF-1 secretion. Among them, 11 patients were initially treated with medical therapy and half normalized hormonal levels after 6 months without undergoing neurosurgery (TNS). Remission was achieved after TNS in three out of four patients (primary TNS in two); ten patients presented controlled acromegaly at the last visit. Acromegaly-related comorbidities (colon polyps, thyroid cancer, adrenal incidentaloma, hypertension, and bone disease) were more prevalent in patients who had an early diagnosis (31 patients, characterized by a longer follow-up of 24 years) than in those diagnosed aged ≥65 years (5 years of follow-up). CONCLUSIONS Elderly acromegalic patients are not uncommon. Primary medical therapy is a reasonable option and is effectively used, while the rate of surgical success is not reduced. A careful cost-benefit balance is suggested. Disease-specific comorbidities are more prevalent in acromegalic patients with a longer follow-up rather than in those diagnosed aged ≥65 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Ceccato
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy.
- Department of Neurosciences DNS, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
| | - Mattia Barbot
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
| | - Laura Lizzul
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
| | - Angela Cuccarollo
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
| | - Elisa Selmin
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
| | - Isabella Merante Boschin
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences DiSCOG, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Andrea Daniele
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
| | - Alois Saller
- Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Gianluca Occhi
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Daniela Regazzo
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
| | - Carla Scaroni
- Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine DIMED, University Hospital of Padova, Via Ospedale Civile, 105-35128, Padova, Italy
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