Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2019-12-27"
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- The impact of diabetes on multiple avoidable admissions: a cross-sectional studyPublication . Seringa, Joana; Marques, Ana P; Moita, Bruno; Gaspar, Cátia; Raposo, João F; Santana, RuiBackground Multiple admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) are responsible for an important proportion of health care expenditures. Diabetes is one of the conditions consensually classified as an ACSC being considered a major public health concern. The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of diabetes on the occurrence of multiple admissions for ACSC. Methods We analysed inpatient data of all public Portuguese NHS hospitals from 2013 to 2015 on multiple admissions for ACSC among adults aged 18 or older. Multiple ACSC users were identified if they had two or more admissions for any ACSC during the period of analysis. Two logistic regression models were computed. A baseline model where a logistic regression was performed to assess the association between multiple admissions and the presence of diabetes, adjusting for age and sex. A full model to test if diabetes had no constant association with multiple admissions by any ACSC across age groups. Results Among 301,334 ACSC admissions, 144,209 (47.9%) were classified as multiple admissions and from those, 59,436 had diabetes diagnosis, which corresponded to 23,692 patients. Patients with diabetes were 1.49 times (p < 0,001) more likely to be admitted multiple times for any ACSC than patients without diabetes. Younger adults with diabetes (18–39 years old) were more likely to become multiple users. Conclusion Diabetes increases the risk of multiple admissions for ACSC, especially in younger adults. Diabetes presence is associated with a higher resource utilization, which highlights the need for the implementation of adequate management of chronic diseases policies.
- Distribution and risk assessment of potential invasiveness of Australoheros facetus (Jenyns, 1842) in PortugalPublication . Baduy, Flavia; Saraiva, João; Ribeiro, Filipe; Canario, Adelino; Guerreiro, PedroInvasive species are recognized as a major cause of biodiversity decline. Legal regulations relating to the prevention, control, or eradication of invasive species should always be up-to-date, as the failure to recognize the problem, lack of adequate scientific information, or long legal intervals required to prepare the legislation may result in irreversible, possibly catastrophic, outcomes. This implies constant monitoring of the species distribution and levels of establishment, as well as detailed knowledge about its biology to predict dissemination and viability under changing environmental conditions. Pre-screening kits for potential invasive species are valuable tools for policy makers, as they provide information about if and how management measures should be taken. The Freshwater Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) and the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) have been suggested as reliable tools to assess the potential risk of a species becoming invasive. The present study highlights the spread of the non-native chameleon cichlid Australoheros facetus in several streams of the major river drainages in southern Portugal and compares the fish assemblages and ecological indices in two selected sites in the Vascão and Odelouca rivers. We reviewed the current knowledge on the distribution, physiology, and behavior of A. facetus, and applied the toolkits FISK v2 and AS-ISK to this species to evaluate whether the species should be classified as invasive in Portugal. Field data show high abundance of the species in most streams and dominance in specific hotspots. The scores reached by the kits (FISK v2: 23; AS-ISK: 37) places A. facetus as a species with high potential of invasiveness and support the recent inclusion of this species in the invasive species list in Portugal (Decree-Law 92/2019), but, most of all, highlights the importance of frequent updates in both the field monitoring and the legal regulation and watch lists of invasive organisms.