The global spread of diabetes poses serious threats to public health requiring a patient-centered approach based both on interprofessional collaboration (IPC) given by the cooperation of several different health professionals, and patients’ perspective through the assessment of Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs). The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of interprofessional collaboration interventions, for the management of type 2 diabetes in primary care settings, through PROs. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted querying the PubMed, Scopus and Embase databases. Out of the 1961 papers initially retrieved, 19 met the inclusion criteria. Interprofessional collaboration is significantly associated with an increase in both patient’s satisfaction (SMD 0.32 95% CI 0.05–0.59) and in the mental well-being component of the HRQoL (SMD 0.18; 95% CI 0.06–0.30), and there was also promising evidence supporting the association between an interprofessional approach and an increase in self-care and in generic and specific quality-of-life. No statistical differences were found, supporting the positive impact on IPC interventions on the physical component of the HRQoL, depression, emotional distress, and self-efficacy. In conclusion, the effect of IPC impacts positively on the few areas assessed by PROMs. Policymakers should promote the widespread adoption of a collaborative approach as well as to endorse an active engagement of patients across the whole process of care.

Introduction: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth diagnosed cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of death for cancer. Recent reports suggest that metabolic syndrome (MetS) has a role in etiology, progression or prognosis on GC. The aim of this study is to systematically review the evidence on the association between MetS and GC risk and prognosis. Methods: Literature search was performed using the electronic databases Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, Embase and Cinahl Complete until December 2019. Cohort and case-control studies were included. Study-specific association measures were pooled using a random-effect model. Results: A total of 14 studies included in the qualitative synthesis of which nine were meta-analyzed. The majority were cohort studies (92%) and set in Asia (57%). The pooled analysis reported no association between MetS and GC risk [hazard ratio (HR) 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92–1.18; I ² = 74.2%, P < 0.001], however when the analysis was stratified according to the geographic area and sex, Western women with MetS had an increased risk of GC (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.05–1.47; I ² = 4.6%, P = 0.351). We did not observe an increased risk of unfavorable prognosis for individuals with MetS (HR 1.23, 95% CI 0.25–6.08). Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that GC risk might be associated with MetS in women although larger studies are needed. Preventing and treating MetS, however, might have overall beneficial effect on several noncommunicable diseases and in this sense should be pursued.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Infections at Large Sports Gatherings: A Surprising Gap in Our Knowledge

Recent evidence suggests that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may increase the risk of different cancer types, such as kidney and testicular cancers. Instead, evidence for lung, head and neck, and thyroid cancer is sparse. Hence, we aimed to summarize available literature on the topic. We searched Pubmed and Scopus in January 2024 to retrieve relevant studies and estimated pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for lung, head and neck, and thyroid cancers according to PFAS exposure using restricted maximum likelihood method. Pooled RRs for occupational or environmental PFAS exposure were 1.20 (95% CI: 1.12-1.28; I² = 0.0%, p_het = 0.9; n. studies = 9), 1.15 (95% CI: 0.96-1.37; I² = 0.0%, p_het = 0.7; n. studies = 3), and 1.54 (95% CI: 0.86-2.78; I² = 69.0%, p_het = 0.02; n. studies = 4) for lung, head and neck, and thyroid cancer, respectively. We did not find compelling evidence of publication bias for lung cancer (p = 0.3). Studies on statistically modelled serum PFAS levels did not support associations with these cancers. We found no positive associations between measured serum levels of 6 different types of PFAS and thyroid cancer. However, the pooled RR of two case-control studies nested within cohorts on the association between natural log-unit increase of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and thyroid cancer was 1.51 (95% CI: 1.11-2.05; I² = 21.1%, p_het = 0.3). PFAS exposure may be associated with lung and thyroid cancer. Due to the limited number of studies and their limitations, further prospective studies with appropriate account of co-exposure with other carcinogens and detailed exposure assessment are needed to establish causality of observed associations.