Diogo Costa

• PhD
• Researcher at Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Background: To examine the relationship between forgone healthcare and involvement in intimate partner violence (IPV) as victims, perpetrators or both. Methods: This cross-sectional multicentre study assessed community non-institutionalized residents (n = 3496, aged 18-64) randomly selected from six European cities: Athens, Budapest, London, Öst...

Background The austerity measures implemented in Europe after the 2008 global economic crisis, had a negative impact on the population health. The mental health of adults from southern Europe was particularly affected during this period, however, much less is known about the impact of austerity on the mental health of children. This study measured...

Background Asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) experience substantial changes in subjective social status (SSS), pre and post migration, which may affect their mental health. However, the effect of SSS mobility on mental health among ASR has been underexplored so far. Methods Population-based cross-sectional study among a random sample of 560 adult...

Background People experiencing homelessness (PEH) may be at risk for COVID19. We synthesised evidence on SARS-Cov-2 infection, transmission, outcomes of disease, effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI), and the effectiveness of strategies for infection prevention and control (IPC). Methods Systematic review of articles, indexed in electr...

Background Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is the most common form of interpersonal violence and a major public health problem. The COVID-19 pandemic might have contributed to an increase in IPV experiences. To evaluate changes in IPV prevalence during the pandemic, it is important to consider studies’ methodological characteristics such as the ass...

Purpose Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been the cornerstone of COVID-19 pandemic control, but evidence on their effectiveness varies according to the methods and approaches taken to empirical analysis. We analysed the impact of NPIs on incident SARS-CoV-2 across 32 European countries (March-December 2020) using two NPI trackers: the C...

Objectives Violence against women is a widespread public health concern with severe effects to women’s sexual and reproductive health, including higher risks for miscarriage or stillbirth, unintended pregnancy and induced abortion. This study examined the association between women exposure to physical violence, psychological violence and sexual and...

Background Migration health research pays little attention to the places into which people migrate. Studies on health effects of contextual factors are often limited because of the ability of individuals to self-select their environment, but natural experiments may allow for the causal effect of contexts to be examined. The objective was to synthes...

Background: Studies on contextual effects on health often suffer from compositional bias and selective migration into contexts. Natural experiments among migrants may allow for the causal effect of contexts in generating health inequalities to be examined. We synthesised the evidence on and health from natural experiments among migrant populations....

Introduction Socioeconomic conditions affect the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analysed the association between area-level socioeconomic deprivation, proportion of non-nationals, and Covid-19 incidence in Germany. Methods Using nationally representative data at the level of 401 German districts from three waves of infection (January-2020 t...

Background Many studies on contextual health effects suffer from compositional bias and selective migration into neighbourhoods. Longitudinal natural experiments have the potential to overcome these limitations, and there are several opportunities for this research design in the migration context. We aimed to synthesize evidence from natural experi...

Background Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been the cornerstone of COVID-19 pandemic control, but evidence on their effectiveness mostly stems from the early pandemic phase. Methods We analysed the impact of NPIs on incident SARS-CoV-2 cases and deaths across 32 European countries (March-December 2020). Eight NPI categories were summa...

Background Socioeconomic conditions affect the dynamics of the Covid-19 pandemic. We analysed the association between area-level socioeconomic deprivation, proportion of non-nationals, and incidence of Covid-19 infections in Germany. Methods Using linked nationally representative data at the level of 401 German districts from three waves of infect...

This work explores the cross-sectional associations between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and anxiety, depressive symptoms, stress symptoms, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), in a representative sample of German adult men (n=2,789) and women (n=3,149), and considers their involvement as victims or perpetrators of physical and psychologi...

The Covid-19 Pandemic Policy Monitor (COV-PPM) dataset prospectively documents non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) taken to contain SARS-Cov-2 transmission across countries in EU27, EEA and UK. In Germany, measures have also been recorded at the federal state and, partially, at the district levels. NPIs implemented since January 2020 have been...

Background The mental health condition and healthcare needs of asylum seeking and refugee (ASR) children may go unrecognized if barriers to healthcare access exist accompanied by exclusive focus on somatic illness. We analysed the relationship between psychosocial functioning, health status and healthcare access of ASR children. Methods During 201...

Background Assessing subjective social status (SSS) may be easily accommodated in the context of a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). To our knowledge, no prior studies have examined the association of SSS and health in Angola. Subjective socioeconomic measures may provide a rapid assessment of a relevant social status construct, im...

The Covid-19 Pandemic Policy Monitor (COV-PPM) prospectively documents the measures taken to contain SARS-Cov-2 transmission across countries in EU27, EEA and UK. In Germany, measures have also been documented at the federal state and, partially, at the district levels. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented since March 2020 have been...

Objectives We evaluated, for the first time in Portugal, the prevalence of overweight and obesity according to parental education in a population of preschool‐aged Portuguese children in 2009/2010 and 2016/2017. Methods Anthropometric data were collected in public and private preschools (n = 1996 in 2009/2010; n = 2077 in 2016/2017). Body mass ind...

Background: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) may be at particular risk for COVID19. We synthesised the evidence on SARS-Cov-2 infection, transmission, outcomes of disease, effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI), and the effectiveness of targeted strategies for infection prevention and control (IPC). Methods: Systematic review of ar...

Background The mental health condition and healthcare needs of asylum seeking and refugee (ASR) children are essential aspects of health services organization. We describe the relation between psychosocial functioning, health status and healthcare use of ASR children in Germany using a cross-sectional population-based survey. Methods 560 ASR adult...

Background Changes in the subjective social status (SSS) of migrants, specifically between the pre- and post-migratory movement, can be a relevant determinant of their mental health condition. This study analyzed the effect of downward subjective social mobility to the mental health of asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) in Germany. Methods Through...

Objectives This study explores the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) among Portuguese children according to their weight status. Methods A total of 1215 primary school‐aged children (mean age 8.78 years) from three Portuguese districts (Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra) were assessed during 2016/2017...

Information on the extent of violence against women is scarce in Angola. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of violence against pregnant women in Angola and to identify its sociodemographic determinants and effects on pregnancy outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2012 and February 2013, involving 995 women who d...

Background: Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress experienced during childhood might have a negative impact on development. This study explores factors associated with such symptoms among Portuguese primary school-aged children. Methods: A sample of children (n = 1022, mean age = 8.77 years old) was recruited in public and private schools f...

Objective To measure the impact of the economic crisis on the mental health correlates of Portuguese children attending primary school during 2016. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of primary school-aged children and their parents (n = 1157), conducted in public and private schools of three Portuguese districts. Parent reports of children mental h...

Objective: This study aims to analyze gender-specific associations between sports activity outside of school and obesity, observing to what extent the local built environment contributes to the patterns found. Methods: A total of 2253 children aged 6.0-11.0 years were assessed: 49.3% girls and 50.7% boys. Children's weight and height were measur...

Objectives Maternal health care improvement and reduction of maternal and child mortality are priorities of the global health agenda. In Angola, maternal mortality remains high and the risk of pregnancy-related death was 1 in 32 during 2015. This study aims to identify demographic and social factors influencing antenatal care and health facility de...

Introduction: This study aimed to describe demographic, socioeconomic and pregnancy-related characteristics associated with a caesarean delivery in Luanda. Material and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study which included 995 puerperal women and who were assessed between December 2012 and February 2013 at Lucrécia Paím maternity hospital...

Background/Objectives: High-risk drug use is a major public health problem. Drug users have a worst health profile than the general population and several reports suggest they have difficulty in obtaining needed healthcare. Little is known about healthcare utilization and/or the number of people who report forgoing treatment or care among drug user...

Background: Social support may buffer the negative effects of violence on physical and mental health. Family medicine providers play an essential role in identifying the available social support and intervening in intimate partner violence (IPV). Objective: This study aimed at assessing the association between social support and the IPV victimiz...

Dande HDSS in a nutshell • Dande HDSS covers an area of approximately 4700 km2, in the Dande municipality, Bengo Province, about 60km north-east of Luanda, Angola. It was established to support the evaluation of public health interventions and to inform health research activities, serving as a sampling platform for epidemiological studies on infect...

Objective: To describe prenatal care in Angolan women delivered at a large tertiary care unit, and to explore the association between prenatal care and selected perinatal outcomes. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between December 2012 and February 2013, involving 995 women aged 13-46years, delivered at Lucrécia Paím Maternity, Luan...

Background The Dande Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) located in Bengo Province, Angola, covers nearly 65,500 residents living in approximately 19,800 households. This study aims to describe the main causes of deaths (CoD) occurred within the HDSS, from 2009 to 2012, and to explore associations between demographic or socioeconomic...

Objectives: This work explores the association between socio-economic position (SEP) and intimate partner violence (IPV) considering the perspectives of men and women as victims, perpetrators and as both (bidirectional). Study design: Cross-sectional international multicentre study. Methods: A sample of 3496 men and women, (aged 18-64 years),...

A scoping review was conducted to map existing evidence on strategies to measure male and female intimate partner violence (IPV). PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Scopus databases were searched from inception to 2014. There were 1,098 studies analyzed. To assess IPV, the most commonly followed strategy was the creation of study-specific questions...

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence, determinants and health consequences of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) in Western Europe has never been considered in a cross-cultural perspective, taking men and women involvement in the three patterns of violence: victims, perpetrators or both. METHODS: We assessed a representative sample of adults (18-64 y...

We aimed to assess intimate partner violence (IPV) among men and women from six cities in six European countries. Four IPV types were measured in a population-based multicentre study of adults (18-64 years; n = 3,496). Sex- and city-differences in past year prevalence were examined considering victims, perpetrators or both and considering violent a...

Background: Victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) are known to refrain from seeking care when in need. Whether the impact on forgone care differs according to the victim-perpetrator role remains unexplored. We aimed to describe the relation between past-year IPV and forgone healthcare according to victims, perpetrators or both (bidirectional)....

Purpose: Little is known on the specific relation between being a perpetrator or both a victim and perpetrator of intimate partner violence (IPV) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We assessed the association between HRQoL and abuse, considering men and women as victims, perpetrators or reciprocally. Methods: Participants were adult men...

ILD PostersSESSION TYPE: Poster PresentationsPRESENTED ON: Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 01:15 PM - 02:15 PMPURPOSE: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fatal diffuse parenchymal disease. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in IPF has been increasingly recognized as a condition with significant prognostic relevance. PH usually develops in pa...

Slide PresentationsPRESENTED ON: Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 12:15 PM - 01:15 PMPURPOSE: Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IFP) demonstrate widely variable clinical courses and survival. Thus, predicting prognosis in patients with IPF is a challenge for clinicians. Multidimensional GAP (gender, age and 2 lung physiology variables [FVC an...

Background: Different service characteristics are known to influence mental health care delivery. Much less is known about the impact of contextual factors, such as the socioeconomic circumstances, on the provision of care to socially marginalized groups. The objectives of this work were to assess the organisational characteristics of services prov...

Most studies of the association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and individual lifestyles leading to cardiovascular disease focused on a single cardiovascular risk factor. The concomitant assessment of more than one risk factor may provide clues to specific mechanisms linking neighborhood disadvantage to individual lifestyles. We inv...

Background: Abusive parental discipline may compromise children's physical and psychosocial healthy development. In addition, the family structure may influence the parent-child interactive behaviour, including parental disciplinary practices. Therefore, this study aimed to describe disciplinary practices adopted by mothers of 7 years-old children...

Objectives: To describe interviewer-related variability in abuse estimates and assess the nature of the interviewer effects on the associations between elder abuse and covariates. Study design and setting: After intensive training, six interviewers administered structured questionnaires through face-to-face interviews to assess abuse in a popula...

Objective: To describe the design, methods, procedures and characteristics of the population involved in a study designed to compare Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in eight European countries. Methods: Women and men aged 18-65, living in Ghent-Belgium (n = 245), Stuttgart-Germany (n = 546), Athens-Greece (n = 548), Budapest-Hungary (n = 604), P...

Introduction Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is the most common disease in the subgroup of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. It is inevitably associated to a bad prognosis, although assuming a highly variable clinical course. Methods Patients with IPF, observed at Interstitial Lung Diseases outpatient clinic of Centro Hospitalar de São João –...

Introduction: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common disease in the subgroup of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. It is inevitably associated to a bad prognosis, although assuming a highly variable clinical course. Methods: Patients with IPF, observed at Interstitial Lung Diseases outpatient clinic of Centro Hospitalar de São J...

We aimed to compare the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) with the Mini-Cog, measuring agreement in participants' classification, using a general population sample. Cross-sectional evaluation of 609 community dwellers aged ≥60 years was performed by trained interviewers. Cohen's kappa and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess o...

Violence is a very sensitive research topic and interview's setting might influence the participation rate and response accuracy. We aimed to evaluate such effect when assessing the prevalence of different types of violence in a sample of urban elderly by comparing those interviewed at home with those assessed at the research office. Study subjects...

Aim The aims of this study were to identify clustering of behaviours in young adolescents and to analyse differences in food intake according to clusters. Subject and methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on adolescents’ behaviours comprising 2,160 adolescents aged 13 years attending schools of Porto, Portugal. We used data of 875 girls a...

Socioeconomical inequalities in terms of health are known and recently also highlightened for mental health in general and for depressive disorders in particular, recurrently showing that individuals in “disadvantaged” socioeconomical positions have increased risk of developing a disease. However, few studies approach the relation between variables...

Socioeconomical inequalities in terms of health are known and recently also highlightened for mental health in general and for depressive disorders in particular, recurrently showing that individuals in "disadvantaged" socioeconomical positions have increased risk of developing a disease. However, few studies approach the relation between variables...