The disease burden of β-thalassaemia revisited.

Objective: The complexity of β-thalassaemia with associated morbidity, lifelong daily expensive treatment, and multidisciplinary care results in a considerable disease burden. Our study aimed to revisit the β-thalassaemia burden using epidemiological, clinical, and financial indicators related to patients, families, and healthcare systems.

Methods: Patient density measures, transfusion indices, complication rates, universal health coverage, and other indicators were tabulated by country and region.

A Validation Study of the COPSOQ III Greek Questionnaire for Assessing Psychosocial Factors in the Workplace.

Background: Over the past two decades, the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) has been established as a valid instrument to measure psychosocial stress at work. Currently, the COPSOQ international network is responsible for monitoring and improving the COPSOQ. In 2019, a new questionnaire was published, and the Greek version is now being validated.

Leadership and job satisfaction among physicians in the Cyprus public healthcare system.

Introduction: Leadership and job satisfaction constitute important characteristics of health professionals' employment status. We evaluated the association between physicians' leadership and job satisfaction among health professionals in the public health sector of Cyprus.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey with self-administered questionnaires was implemented among all physicians from the public health sector of Cyprus (Ministry of Health, administration offices, public hospitals and healthcare centers).

Growing through adversity: A meta-analytic and conceptual elucidation of the relationship between posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth among youth.

Trauma may engender both posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among youth, but what is the nature of the relationship between these variables and what does it imply about youths' recovery trajectories? To explore this, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, ERIC, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global were searched, supplemented by reference trails, journal searches, and expert consultations, to identify quantitative studies on PTSS and PTG in youth (mean age ≤ 19 years). This resulted in 63 eligible articles. Both linear (n = 53) and curvilinear (n = 12) estimates were meta-analysed using random-effects models.

Ambient air pollution and childhood obesity from infancy to late childhood: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 10 European birth cohorts.

Ambient air pollution may contribute to childhood obesity through various mechanisms. However, few longitudinal studies examined the relationship between pre- and postnatal exposure to air pollution and obesity outcomes in childhood. We aimed to investigate the association between pre- and postnatal exposure to air pollution and body mass index (BMI) and the risk of overweight/obesity throughout childhood in European cohorts.

Understanding Social Inequalities in Childhood Asthma: Quantifying the Mediating Role of Modifiable Early-Life Risk Factors in Seven European Birth Cohorts.

Background: Children growing up in disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances (SECs) have an increased risk of asthma.

Objective: To increase our understanding of the pathways to inequalities in asthma and potential targets for intervention by (1) examining how the social patterning of asthma and its early-life risk factors varies across countries and (2) quantifying the mediation of observed inequalities by early-life risk factors.

Methods: We used data for 107,884 mother-child dyads from 7 European birth cohorts across 6 countries.

Corrigendum to "Early childcare arrangements and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms: an individual participant data meta-analysis of six prospective birth cohorts in Europe" [The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, Volume 45, October 2024, 101036].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.

Prevalence of Obesity Among Elementary School Children in Cyprus: The National COSI Program.

: A worldwide epidemic of overweight and obesity is an ongoing global health concern. This rise in overweight and obesity among children contributes to the increasing pattern of current and future physiological and psychological problems. Our study aimed at examining overweight and obesity among elementary school children in Cyprus.

DataSHIELD: mitigating disclosure risk in a multi-site federated analysis platform.

Motivation: The validity of epidemiologic findings can be increased using triangulation, i.e. comparison of findings across contexts, and by having sufficiently large amounts of relevant data to analyse.

Early-life growth and emotional, behavior and cognitive outcomes in childhood and adolescence in the EU child cohort network: individual participant data meta-analysis of over 109,000 individuals.

Background: Fetal and infant development might be critical for cognitive outcomes and psychopathology later in life. We assessed the associations of birth characteristics and early life growth with behavior and cognitive outcomes from childhood to adolescence.

Methods: We used harmonized data of 109,481 children from 8 European birth cohorts.

Is maternal diabetes during pregnancy associated with neurodevelopmental, cognitive and behavioural outcomes in children? Insights from individual participant data meta-analysis in ten birth cohorts.

Background: Growing evidence shows that dysregulated metabolic intrauterine environments can affect offspring's neurodevelopment and behaviour. However, the results of individual cohort studies have been inconsistent. We aimed to investigate the association between maternal diabetes before pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with neurodevelopmental, cognitive and behavioural outcomes in children.

MOLGENIS Armadillo: a lightweight server for federated analysis using DataSHIELD.

Summary: Extensive human health data from cohort studies, national registries, and biobanks can reveal lifecourse risk factors impacting health. Combining these sources offers increased statistical power, rare outcome detection, replication of findings, and extended study periods. Traditionally, this required data transfer to a central location or separate partner analyses with pooled summary statistics, posing ethical, legal, and time constraints.

Federated privacy-protected meta- and mega-omics data analysis in multi-center studies with a fully open-source analytic platform.

The importance of maintaining data privacy and complying with regulatory requirements is highlighted especially when sharing omic data between different research centers. This challenge is even more pronounced in the scenario where a multi-center effort for collaborative omics studies is necessary. OmicSHIELD is introduced as an open-source tool aimed at overcoming these challenges by enabling privacy-protected federated analysis of sensitive omic data.

The impact of contact-network structure on important epidemiological quantities of infectious disease transmission and the identification of the extremes.

An individual-based stochastic model was developed to simulate the spread of an infectious disease in an SEIR-type system on all possible contact-networks of size between six and nine nodes. We assessed systematically the impact of the change in the population contact structure on four important epidemiological quantities: i) the epidemic duration, ii) the maximum number of infected individuals at a time point during the epidemic, iii) the time at which the maximum number of infected individuals is reached, and iv) the total number of individuals that have been infected during the epidemic. We considered the potential relationship of these quantities as the network changes and identified the networks that maximise and minimise each of these in the case of an epidemic outbreak.

Early childcare arrangements and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms: an individual participant data meta-analysis of six prospective birth cohorts in Europe.

Background: Early childcare attendance may be related to children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms throughout childhood and young adolescence, however evidence from Europe is limited. We aimed to assess this association across multiple population-based birth cohorts of children recruited in different European countries.

Methods: Data come from six parent-offspring prospective birth cohort studies across five European countries within the EU Child Cohort Network.

Green spaces and respiratory, cardiometabolic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes: An individual-participant data meta-analysis of >35.000 European children.

Studies evaluating the benefits and risks of green spaces on children's health are scarce. The present study aimed to examine the associations between exposure to green spaces during pregnancy and early childhood with respiratory, cardiometabolic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in school-age children. We performed an Individual-Participant Data (IPD) meta-analysis involving 35,000 children from ten European birth cohorts across eight countries.

Stress and anxiety during pregnancy and length of gestation: a federated study using data from five Canadian and European birth cohorts.

While its etiology is not fully elucidated, preterm birth represents a major public health concern as it is the leading cause of child mortality and morbidity. Stress is one of the most common perinatal conditions and may increase the risk of preterm birth. In this paper we aimed to investigate the association of maternal perceived stress and anxiety with length of gestation.

Associations of Maternal Educational Level, Proximity to Green Space During Pregnancy, and Gestational Diabetes With Body Mass Index From Infancy to Early Adulthood: A Proof-of-Concept Federated Analysis in 18 Birth Cohorts.

International sharing of cohort data for research is important and challenging. We explored the feasibility of multicohort federated analyses by examining associations between 3 pregnancy exposures (maternal education, exposure to green vegetation, and gestational diabetes) and offspring body mass index (BMI) from infancy to age 17 years. We used data from 18 cohorts (n = 206,180 mother-child pairs) from the EU Child Cohort Network and derived BMI at ages 0-1, 2-3, 4-7, 8-13, and 14-17 years.

Lifestyle patterns in European preschoolers: Associations with socio-demographic factors and body mass index.

Background: Energy balance-related behaviours (EBRBs), that is, dietary intake, screen, outdoor play and sleep, tend to combine into 'lifestyle patterns', with potential synergistic influences on health. To date, studies addressing this theme mainly focused on school children and rarely accounted for sleep, with a cross-country perspective.

Objectives: We aimed at comparing lifestyle patterns among preschool-aged children across Europe, their associations with socio-demographic factors and their links with body mass index (BMI).

Leadership and Intention to Leave Among Public Health Sector Physicians in Cyprus: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

Physician shortage is a major concern in many health care systems globally, while healthcare leadership constitutes one of the most vital factors within human resource management. Our study examined the relationship between managers' leadership styles and physicians' intent to leave their current position. In this cross-sectional national survey, questionnaires were distributed to all physicians working in the public health sector of Cyprus.

Correction: Gestational age at birth and body size from infancy through adolescence: An individual participant data meta-analysis on 253,810 singletons in 16 birth cohort studies.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.

Sleep duration in preschool age and later behavioral and cognitive outcomes: an individual participant data meta-analysis in five European cohorts.

Short sleep duration has been linked to adverse behavioral and cognitive outcomes in schoolchildren, but few studies examined this relation in preschoolers. We aimed to investigate the association between parent-reported sleep duration at 3.5 years and behavioral and cognitive outcomes at 5 years in European children.

Gestational age at birth and body size from infancy through adolescence: An individual participant data meta-analysis on 253,810 singletons in 16 birth cohort studies.

Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality and is associated with adverse developmental and long-term health outcomes, including several cardiometabolic risk factors and outcomes. However, evidence about the association of preterm birth with later body size derives mainly from studies using birth weight as a proxy of prematurity rather than an actual length of gestation. We investigated the association of gestational age (GA) at birth with body size from infancy through adolescence.