Anna Odone

Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele | UniSR · Faculty of Medicine

Objectives: In 2010, the WHO issued 77 priority research questions (PRQs) to address HIV-associated TB. Objective of the this study was to assess the impact of defining the research agenda in stimulating and directing research around priority research questions. Methods: We used number and type of scientific publications as a proxy to quantitati...

Hand hygiene plays a pivotal role in preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). Nevertheless, the quality of hand disinfection techniques remains suboptimal, and the reliability of assessment methodologies is notably lacking. This study aimed to evaluate hand disinfection techniques using an automated system in an Italian research hospital...

People who reach old age enjoying good physical and mental health can be defined as (health) “superheroes”, given their relatively low impact on healthcare expenditure and the desirable model they represent. To evaluate prevalence and possible determinants of being “physical superheroes” (i.e., free from the ten major chronic conditions, plus obesi...

Vaccine hesitancy is a wide and varied phenomenon and represents a challenge for healthcare professionals (HCPs), who may encounter obstacles in building trusting relationships with parents and patients. Depicting the multifaceted aspects of hesitancy and finding effective tools that could help HCPs in addressing this issue are major public health...

Pavia, Italy, is one of the oldest university city campuses in Europe and the venue for 16 Colleges, hosting around 2,500 Italian and international students (10% of the whole student population). Colleges represent a distinctive identity of the city and quite a unicum in the Italian academic system. Since leaving their parents’ homes and starting U...

Background In an ageing society, the impact of retirement on behavioural risk factors and health status needs to be carefully assessed. There are few longitudinal studies on the short-term and long-term effects of retirement on smoking habits. Methods A longitudinal study was conducted based on data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement...

Background Depression is among the main contributors to older adults’ mental health burden. Retirement, as a major life transition, has been claimed to influence mental health substantially. Methods To assess short- and long-term impacts of transitioning to retirement on depression risk and suicidality in older adults across Europe, we conducted a...

Background The third Sustainable Development Goal, specifically in target 3.3, identifies fighting HCV as a priority. It is estimated that in Italy more than 200.000 patients eligible for HCV treatment are not being treated and 20% are not aware of the infection. Lombardy region to promptly identify and treat patients affected, developed a screenin...

Background In the first decades of the 19th century, vaccination was a brand-new innovation in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Yet, anti-smallpox vaccination campaigns were successfully carried out despite organisational and communication obstacles. By establishing a parallel with current COVID-19 vaccinations, we aimed to study how laws were enforced fo...

Influenza annually claims an estimated 8,000 lives in Italy. Despite no-cost vaccinations for high-risk groups, hesitancy persists. This study aims to pinpoint social and behavioral vaccination determinants, forming strategies to bolster vaccine uptake. From April 11 to May 29, 2022, we surveyed a demographic-stratified sample of 10,000 Italian adu...

In France, tobacco smoking caused 13% of all deaths in 2015 and its consumption is one of the main causes of non-communicable diseases. Therefore, France implemented a significant tobacco control programme from 2016 to 2020, including a 41% increase in taxation of tobacco products, the implementation of plain packages for cigarettes, the full refun...

Adolescents are particularly prone to engage in health-risk behaviors such as alcohol and substance use, which can significantly impact their present and future lives. Our study explores the factors contributing to (1) regular alcohol use (i.e., at least 3 to 5 times in the last 30 days) and (2) binge drinking (i.e., drinking at least five glasses...

Background: Few studies have focused on changes in health and social services access due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to describe changes in the use of selected health and social home services due to the pandemic and to investigate potential associated factors, including socio-demographic characteristics, number of chronic diseases and menta...

As retirement ages increase around the world, not all workers may be equally able to extend their working lives. In this article, we examine the health and labor market effects of an Italian pension reform that suddenly increased the normal retirement age up to 7 years for women and up to 2 years for men. To do this, we use linked labor and healthc...

Background and aim: Proper nutrition during childhood and puberty is essential to ensure healthy growth of children and good health in adulthood. Different types of interventions have been suggested to promote nutritional health in children. This systematic review aims to summarize the available evidence from experimental studies on the efficacy o...

There is no single model for Population Health Management (PHM) and different definitions have been proposed. All PHM models and definitions share the overall aim of improving population health and reduce healthcare costs. To achieve these objectives, PHM makes use of conceptual tools such as the Chronic Care Model and predictive medicine, and tech...

Background and aim: This study aims to assess the quality of the population-based breast cancer screening programme in Pavia, northern Italy computing its key performance indicators and estimating its sensitivity for the years 2016-2018. Methods: Invitation and examination coverage, participation rate, recall rate, detection rate and positive pr...

Background and aim: Enhancing public health communication during a global crisis is crucial to promote resilience. This study examines the influence of health communication in ten countries, analysing its positive and negative impact on society's behavior regarding the origin, symptoms, and prevention of SARS-CoV-2. Methods: A comprehensive narr...

In Italy, the number of physicians decreased in recent years due to retirements not being replaced by young specialists. To address this shortage of medical personnel, proper planning is needed, taking into consideration the number of accesses in medical schools and residency contracts. The main objective of this study is to deepen the data on the...

Unlabelled: Background and aim: Social media platforms are common sources of information, even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. YouTube is the second most popular social media platform both in Italy and globally. Following criticisms regarding quality control during the pandemic, banners that would direct viewers to official health informatio...

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the health educational program "Igiene Insieme 2021/2022" on Italian primary school children's knowledge, attitudes and practice of hygiene and sanitation and to compare incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in schools participating the project with regional data of Lombardy and Apulia. Methods: Participating schools were...

Digital health records can provide advantages to healthcare practice, policy, and research. Several countries have established population-based digitalised data collection, integrated through data linkage techniques. In Lombardy (Italy), a regional population-based registry was established in the 2000s. It collects data from the social and health s...

The World Health Organization has identified urbanization as one of the most important public health challenges of our century. Nowadays, about half of the world's population live in urban areas, thus municipal authorities can influence multiple determinants of health through Urban Health strategies. However, the health policies and welfare systems...

Detecting SARS-CoV-2 remains a critical component in the global effort to control COVID-19, particularly with the emergence of variants. Since the outbreak, diagnostic techniques have evolved to meet different contexts and needs. Methods: In this study, we analyzed the use of these techniques in five countries (i.e. Italy, Denmark, the United Kingd...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures posed an unprecedented challenge to the crucial role of grandparenting in family-oriented cultures, such as Italy. Reduced contact with grandchildren during this period potentially threatened grandparents’ mental health and well-being. Methods We analysed data from the LOckdown and...

Background: In Italy, a recent national project has expanded local collaboration between colorectal (CRC) screening programmes and pharmacies to the national level. Objective: The objective of this study is to provide an overview of the existing agreements between regional authorities and pharmacy owners in Italy regarding CRC screening programm...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the trends of hospitalisations among people with dementia, linking region-wide hospital and demographic health records. Study design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using hospitalisation health records from the Lombardy region in Italy. Methods: The study included people aged ≥65...

Lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 yielded dramatic changes in drug consumption. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 6003 Italian adults (18-74 years) in April-May 2020 - reporting information before lockdown and at the time of interview - and two years later (i.e., in February-March 2022)...

Untreated oral diseases are detrimental to overall well-being and quality of life and are in close relationship with social and economic consequences. The presence of strong evidence for caries primary and secondary prevention is a compulsory tool for the development of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). This paper was aimed to assess systematica...

Background: The issue of reluctance towards vaccination is becoming more worrisome. Health care workers (HCWs) are the primary point of contact with individuals who make decisions about vaccination. Therefore, it is crucial that HCWs receive sufficient training and periodic updates. The main objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the H...

Aims: Depression is among the main contributors to older adults' mental health burden. Retirement, one of the major life transitions, has been claimed to influence mental health substantially. Following up on a previous meta-analysis, the study aims to assess from a longitudinal perspective short- and long-term impacts of transitioning to retireme...

Background and Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to complex challenges concerning the spreading of misinformation about origin, symptoms, and prevention of SARS-CoV-2. Unclear, changing, and variable guidelines confuse the public and plant seeds for misinformation. A wide range of strategies were used by leaders across many sectors to foster...

Background In an ageing society, retirement impacts on behavioural risk factors and health outcomes should be carefully assessed. Scant evidence exists from longitudinal studies on the short- and long-term consequences of the transition to retirement on smoking habit. Methods We conducted a longitudinal study based on the Survey of Health, Ageing...

Excess mortality estimates are considered relevant indicators of direct and indirect pandemic effects on the population. Scant data have been published on cause-specific excess mortality. Using individual-level administrative data covering the Pavia province of Italian northern Lombardy region, we provided all-cause and cause-specific raw (RMR) and...

Purpose Oral antivirals (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and molnupiravir), intravenous short treatment of remdesivir and anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been used for early COVID-19 treatments in high risk of disease progression patients. The term long COVID has been used to refer to a range of new, returning, or ongoing symptoms after SA...

Objective: To compare costs and effectiveness of elective open (OR) versus fenestrated/branched endovascular (ER) repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms (TAAA) in a high-volume center. Methods: This single-center retrospective observational study (PRO-ENDO TAAA Study, NCT05266781) was designed as part of a larger Health Technology Assessment analy...

Stages of tuberculosis disease can be delineated by radiology, microbiology, and symptoms, but transitions between these stages remain unclear. In a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of individuals with untreated tuberculosis who underwent follow-up (34 cohorts from 24 studies, with a combined sample of 139 063), we aimed to quantify p...

Background: Prevalence surveys show a substantial burden of subclinical (asymptomatic but infectious) tuberculosis, from which individuals can progress, regress, or even persist in a chronic disease state. We aimed to quantify these pathways across the spectrum of tuberculosis disease. Methods: We created a deterministic framework of untreated t...

Despite the unprecedented wave of research and publications sparked by the recent pandemic, only few studies have investigated the impact of COVID-19 on the Italian community-based system of mental health care. We aimed to summarize the available evidence from the literature also considering what we have learned from our daily clinical practice. As...

Knowledge on the role of diet in tinnitus onset is mostly based on few cross-sectional studies. In 2016–2019 we conducted a hospital-based case-control study in northern Italy on 185 incident idiopathic tinnitus cases and 198 controls, providing data on dietary habits through a 37-item food-frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) for tinnitus ris...

Background: We aimed to assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, hopelessness and insomnia in the older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic identifying subgroups at higher risk of mental distress. Methods: Within the Lost in Lombardy project, a web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample o...

Introduction: COVID-19 lockdown in Italy resulted in increased smoking consumption, mainly associated with mental distress. This study aims to update previous findings investigating changes in smoking intensity during the whole COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This analysis was carried out within the "LOST IN ITALY" ("LOckdown and lifeSTyle IN ITALY"...

The mortality rate of hospitalized COVID-19 patients differed strongly between the first three pandemic waves. Nevertheless, their long-term survival has been poorly assessed. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and mortality rates of 825 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection who were hospitalized...

An infodemic represents a concern for public health, influencing the general population’s perceptions of key health issues. Misinformation is rapidly spread by social media, particularly among young generations. We used data from the WHO “Social Media and COVID-19” study, which was conducted in 24 countries worldwide on over 23,000 subjects aged 18...

Most COVID-19-related deaths occurred in older adults, however to date, evidence on determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this population is limited and mostly based on case series without a comparison group. A telephone-based cross-sectional study was conducted in November 2020 on a representative sample of 4,400 people aged ≥65 years from the I...

Background Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs) are defined as those aortic aneurysms involving renovisceral arteries. They account for around 10% of aortic aneurysms, and their treatment is burdened by considerable mortality and morbidity. Open surgical repair has been practised as the standard of care since the 1950s. In 2001 endovascular re...

Background Caries is one among the most prevalent dental disease and its prevention and treatment are crucial from both dental care and public health perspectives. Yet, caries’ management greatly varies across contexts according to the availability of specific Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs). Here, we present the results of a systematic review...

Background Among cerebrovascular disease, stroke is a life-threatening neurological event and a main cause of serious long-term disability, with relevant healthcare and economic burden. Treatment of stroke is time dependent and organised integrated stroke care enables quick and effective responses to reduce stroke-related death and disability. This...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic led to an ‘infodemic', as defined by the WHO, which made it difficult to be accurately informed on public health topics. For this purpose, many people use social media as a source of information, mainly YouTube. Given the great resonance of this platform, our study aims at assessing quality and reliability of its co...

Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline of interaction with those that are taking decisions around vaccination. They need adequate training. The general aim of this systematic review is to assess HCWs’ training needs on vaccinology and vaccine acceptance. This work was performed for the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) u...

Introduction In Italy a Covid-19 pandemic pattern was observed, characterized by several waves, with an excess total mortality of 178000 deaths. Alessandria, Italy is the Piedmont province with the highest proportion of mortality from Covid-19 in the first 4 months of 2020, compared to the rest of the region. Objectives To analyze mortality in pat...

Background Early childhood health interventions and educational programs are key to keeping children healthy and preventing disease during adulthood. Since several preventive strategies and campaigns targeting children have been proposed, the aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of digital-based interventions (e.g., cartoo...

Italy was the first country to be hit by the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Europe holding one of the highest clinical burdens. Older adults are those paying the highest price for the COVID-19 emergency. Within the Lost in Lombardy project, a web-based cross-sectional study assessing the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, hopele...

Background Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic control measures actively involved people who were called to adopt new and unusual lifestyles. In this context, children had to stay home from school for weeks, had to adapt to new teaching methods and give up socializing. In many countries, not much attention was paid to the educational sector, and, ultim...

The COVID-19 pandemic strongly impacted older people, not only in terms of clinical outcome but also in care provision. Investigating trends of changes in healthcare services access among older subjects during the pandemic, along with studying potential determinants, is of utmost interest to identify the most at-risk individuals. We used data from...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of restrictive measurements to control the SARS-CoV-2 spread disrupted general population lifestyles including dietary behaviours. However, there is poor knowledge on potential socioeconomic and gender disparities in dietary changes. We conducted a telephone-based survey during fall 2020 on a sample of 4,400 p...

Background In 2017 the amount of people globally affected by dementia was estimated about 50 million and is predicted to increase to 132 million by 2050. Coping with dementia is one of the most important challenges of governmental organizations’ agenda. The objective of this study is to analyse the hospital admissions trends and monitor the overall...

Background Despite its effectiveness, compliance to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening remains low. Different strategies to improve the adherence were identified, such as the involvement of new stakeholders as the community pharmacists. In Italy a recent national project fuelled the development of this strategy, scaling-up the collaboration between...

Background Healthcare delivery reorganization during the COVID-19 emergency may have had a significant impact on access to care for older adults with chronic conditions. Methods We investigated such impact among all adults with chronic conditions aged ≥65 years, identified through the electronic health databases of two local health agencies - ATS...

Background Hand hygiene (HH) is the leading measure for preventing the transmission of healthcare-associated infections (HAI), and a cornerstone to prevent COVID-19 spread. Aim of the research was the assessment of HCWs’ adherence to the application of WHO optimal practices, with the goal to promote a culture of safety and quality infection prevent...

Background Benefits of the stay-at-home order imposed in Italy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission need to be weighed against its impact on citizens’ health. In a country with a solid familial culture and where welfare relies on households, confinement drastically decreased support provided by elder relatives, which may have worsened mental health....

Context: Depression is the most common causes of disease burden worldwide (GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden...

Objective Debate continues about whether electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and heated tobacco products (HTP) reduce or increase the probability of smoking, with many studies compromised by stated or unstated conflicts of interest. We undertook a longitudinal study in Italy. Methods 3185 Italian participants aged 18–74 years provided baseline (A...

Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare services, including cervical cancer management, and an increased burden for this condition is expected. This systematic review synthetizes the available evidence on the impact of the pandemic on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. Searches were performed on PubMed, Embase, an...