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PubMed2001

European Communities Confederation of Clinical Chemistry Working Group on Accreditation: past, present and future.

During the past 10 years, many activities have taken place in the field of quality systems and accreditation in medical laboratories. Each country in Europe has a slightly different approach. The Working Group on Accreditation of the European Communities Confederation of Clinical Chemistry (EC4) tries to support harmonisation of these efforts. For this purpose, they edited the Essential Criteria for quality systems of medical laboratories and supported the forthcoming International ISO standard "Quality management for the medical laboratory". At this moment, a Model Quality Manual is nearly ready for publication. The next items are setting up criteria for auditing the quality system and criteria for the accreditation process.

Accreditation↗
PubMed1988

Medical care and regional mortality differences within the countries of the European community.

"This paper addresses the question whether regional mortality differences within developed countries reflect differences in characteristics of medical care service. It adds two new elements to previous studies on this subject: it concentrates on selected 'avoidable' causes of death, and it makes parallel analyses for ten [European Community] countries. The results show that levels of medical care supply contribute little to the explanation of regional differences in mortality from the selected conditions. It is concluded that if regional mortality differences are related to health care, factors other than the level of supply are probably involved." (SUMMARY IN FRE)

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1999

Role of current and childhood exposure to cat and atopic sensitization. European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

BACKGROUND: Clinical and population studies have shown that exposure and sensitization to allergens derived from furred pets, particularly cats, represent an important risk factor of allergic respiratory disease and also a significant risk factor for asthma. OBJECTIVE: In the framework of the multicenter European Community Respiratory Health Survey an analysis of the association of current and childhood exposure to cat with atopic sensitization to cat was conducted. METHODS: This study included cross-sectional data from 35 centers representing 16 countries. Altogether, 18,097 subjects were included, of whom 13,509 (75%) provided a blood sample for the measurement of specific IgE. Exposure data and data for potential confounders were extracted from an interviewer-led questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of sensitization to cat (serum specific IgE >0.35 kU/L) was 9%. Among those who did not report allergic symptoms in the presence of pets or house dust, those who owned cats were significantly more likely to be sensitized to cats than were those who did not (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.57 [1.20-2.06]. Childhood exposure to pets including cats was associated with lower sensitization to cats in adulthood, particularly among those with a positive family history of atopy (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.68 [0.51-0.93]. Positive correlations were found between the community prevalence of cat and the prevalences of sensitization to cat, respiratory symptoms, physician-diagnosed asthma, and current asthma medication. CONCLUSIONS: Current cat ownership represents a significant risk for sensitization to cat if cats are allowed indoors. Our results support the hypothesis that childhood exposure to pets, including cats, might modulate immunologic mechanisms and reduce sensitization to cat in adulthood. The significant correlation found between the community prevalence of cat ownership and community prevalence of specific sensitization to cat represents the first documentation of such a relationship.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Sensitization to individual allergens and bronchial responsiveness in the ECRHS. European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Little is known about the relation of bronchial responsiveness (BHR) to sensitization to individual allergens, or its variation between countries. Data were obtained for BHR, specific immunoglobulin E and confounding variables from 11,215 subjects, aged 20-44 yrs at the start of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, in 34 centres in 15 countries. The relation of BHR to sensitization to cat, house dust mite, timothy grass and Cladosporium was estimated by means of multiple regression for each centre, and combined across centres by random effects meta-analysis, controlling for baseline lung function, height, sex, season of testing, age, smoking and age/sex and age/smoking interactions. BHR was greater, on average, in those sensitized to cat (p=0.023), house dust mite (p<0.001) and timothy grass (p=0.018), but not to Cladosporium (p=0.60), and increased with degree of sensitization (p<0.001). All relations showed heterogeneity between centres, although to a lesser extent in the relation to sensitization to house dust mite. More variation in bronchial responsiveness was explained by sensitization and degree of sensitization to the individual allergens than by atopy defined as any positive test in each centre, but the relative importance of each allergen varied. The use of atopy as a single variable in relation to bronchial hyperresponsiveness may be misleading.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Surveillance of AIDS in the European Community: recent trends and predictions to 1991.

Statistical modelling is applied to routine AIDS surveillance data to assess recent trends and to provide a range of short-term predictions. Several alternative functions have been fitted to half-yearly incidence data reported by the countries of the European Community by 31 December 1989 and adjusted for reporting delays. Among homosexual/bisexual men, recent trends in AIDS incidence are more nearly linear than exponential. Higher though less than exponential rates of growth are observed among intravenous drug users and among those presumed infected by heterosexual contact. Extrapolations to the end of 1991 using each of five functions provide a range of forecasts. Projections of total cumulated cases to the end of 1991 lie in the range 60,000-78,000, with 24,000-30,000 projected cases among homosexual/bisexual men, 23,000-33,000 among intravenous drug users, and 6000-8000 in the heterosexual transmission group. With the possible exception of the latter group, the lower parts of these ranges appear more probable.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2006

Physical activity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness: European Community Respiratory Health Survey II.

BACKGROUND: Identification of the risk factors for bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) would increase the understanding of the causes of asthma. The relationship between physical activity and BHR in men and women aged 28.0-56.5 years randomly selected from 24 centres in 11 countries participating in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II was investigated. METHODS: 5158 subjects answered questionnaires about physical activity and performed BHR tests. Participants were asked about the frequency and duration of usual weekly exercise resulting in breathlessness or sweating. BHR was defined as a decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s of at least 20% of its post-saline value for a maximum methacholine dose of 2 mg. RESULTS: Both frequency and duration of physical activity were inversely related to BHR. The prevalence of BHR in subjects exercising or=4 times a week was 14.5%, 11.6% and 10.9%, respectively (p<0.001). The corresponding odds ratios were 1.00, 0.78 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.99) and 0.69 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.94) after controlling for potential confounding factors. The frequency of BHR in subjects exercising <1 h, 1-3 h and >or=4 h a week was 15.9%, 10.9% and 10.7%, respectively (p<0.001). The corresponding adjusted odds ratios were 1.00, 0.70 (95% CI 0.57 to 0.87) and 0.67 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.90). Physical activity was associated with BHR in all studied subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that BHR is strongly and independently associated with decreased physical activity. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying this association.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Economic aspects of the control of Aujeszky's disease in the European Community.

Aujeszky's disease (AD) is as much an economic problem as an epidemiological one. Several strategies are available for controlling the disease, and it is the task of the economist to compare all control options; the "best" strategy may differ depending on whether it is defined at the farm, regional, national or European Community (EC) level. After taking into account both the production losses due to the impact of the AD virus, and the expenditures for the control programme, the strategy which is most efficient from an economic point of view can be determined. However, the most efficient control strategy in one region cannot be chosen solely on the basis of the characteristics of that region, and circumstances in neighbouring regions have to be taken into account as well. Therefore, linkages between neighbouring EC regions are built into the economic model being developed in the EC-funded research project on Aujeszky's disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Implementation of the 1990 recommendations of ICRP in the countries of the European Community.

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has published new Recommendations in ICRP Publication 60. These 1990 Recommendations provide a System of Radiological Protection that takes account of the most recent information on the effects on health of exposure to ionising radiation and trends in the setting of safety standards. Within the European Community the Recommendations of the ICRP are implemented through a Euratom Directive which is binding on member states, a draft of which has been accepted by the Article 31 Group and must eventually be ratified by the Council of Ministers. It is expected that the new directive will broadly endorse the principles of protection given in the 1990 Recommendations together with the dose limits for both workers and members of the public. There are likely to be some modifications to the 1990 Recommendations that are mainly related to their practical application. As it will be some time before the directive is incorporated into national regulations, a number of member states have taken independent initiatives. The development of dose constraints for occupational, medical and public exposure is being seen by national organisations in many countries as a significant new approach to improving standards of radiation protection.

European Union↗