Swiss medical weekly最新文献

{"title":"Trends in health- and lifestyle-related aspects in women of childbearing age: analysis of Swiss Health Survey data between 1992 and 2022.","authors":"Iliana Calabretti, Sara Caviglia, Katharina C Quack Lötscher, Nicole Ochsenbein-Kölble, Ana Paula Simões-Wüst","doi":"10.57187/5069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/5069","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Changes in societal lifestyle trends can influence women's health and alter their risk profile. In women of childbearing age, this can affect their pregnancy outcomes and the health of their future children. However, limited data exist on how health status, medication use and drug consumption in women of childbearing age in Switzerland have evolved over recent decades. The aim of the study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the health status and lifestyle changes of the young female Swiss population over the past 30 years.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from all seven nationwide Swiss Health Surveys conducted every five years by the Federal Statistical Office were analysed. Various health- and lifestyle-related variables were selected while focusing on reproductive women aged 15 to 49 years. Results were calculated as either frequencies in percentage or means with 95% confidence intervals. All statistics were conducted using IBM SPSS with a design-based approach, applying weights to align with the sociodemographic distribution of the Swiss population.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over the past three decades (1992-2022), female participants in the Swiss Health Surveys exhibited increasing educational attainment (rising from 5.4% to 35.9% earning a university degree) and employment rate (from 63.3% to 82.6% employed). Other sociodemographic characteristics remained relatively stable. Health self-ratings improved: the proportion of women reporting \"very good\" health increased from 31.4% in 1992 to 46.2% in 2022. The prevalence of severe physical symptoms and chronic medical conditions increased over time, with modest rises in the diagnoses of hypertension, hyperchosterolaemia and diabetes. Concerning the use of healthcare services, complementary medicine has experienced a notable increase in usage, with a 28.1% rise in the number of participants reporting its use. Psychological health consultations and treatment for mental health disorders more than doubled during the study period. Focusing on lifestyle factors, the mean body mass index (BMI) increased from 21.7 to 23.2, reflecting a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. Physical activity levels increased modestly, particularly in moderate-intensity activities, while medication use rose by 18 percentage points. Although the proportion of participants using contraception remained stable at around 70%, the use of oral contraceptives decreased by 27.5 percentage points, while the use of intrauterine devices and condoms steadily increased. Alcohol consumption patterns showed a general decline in both the frequency and absolute daily amount consumed. Tobacco use decreased overall, with a marked reduction in cigarette consumption. Conversely, the use of illicit substances, particularly cannabis, showed an upward trend.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In Switzerland, the population of women of childbearing age has undergone marked changes in terms ","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"5069"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148353659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microplastics in the air and potential health risks - a narrative review.","authors":"Meltem Kutlar Joss, Nicole Probst-Hensch","doi":"10.57187/4935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/4935","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Microplastics, defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 mm and larger than 1 micrometer, along with nanoplastics (in the 1-1000 nm range), are ubiquitous environmental contaminants originating from both primary production and secondary fragmentation. Little is known about exposure to microplastics in ambient air and their health effects. This review summarises current knowledge regarding microplastics in ambient air and their potential health effects.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To capture the limited available evidence on airborne microplastics exposure and human health, a search strategy using five complementary approaches was designed and implemented across multiple databases and timeframes through September 2024.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion: </strong>In Switzerland and globally, major sources of airborne microplastics include tyre wear, textile fibres, and the degradation of plastics from various sectors. Exposure measurements reveal that microplastics are present in both indoor and outdoor air, with indoor exposure generally exceeding outdoor exposure. Exposure in cities is higher than in rural areas, thus depending on proximity to human activity. Based on calculations derived from various studies, an adult might inhale from 1,200 microplastic particles per year in remote locations to over 1.5 million particles per year in highly polluted urban areas. Human biomonitoring confirms the presence of microplastics across multiple tissues and bodily fluids, including the lungs, blood, placenta, breast milk, faeces, and, more recently, brain tissue, with evidence suggesting that microplastics can cross biological barriers, including the blood-brain barrier. While epidemiological studies specifically addressing airborne microplastic exposure are lacking, occupational health studies from textile and rubber industries report respiratory symptoms, impaired lung function, and an increased risk of respiratory diseases. Studies examining non-exhaust traffic emissions (as proxies for tyre wear particles) suggest associations with respiratory effects, increased mortality risk, cardiovascular impacts, and potential links to cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, both approaches to understanding and deriving health effects from airborne microplastics have limitations. Additional research challenges include non-standardised measurement methods, a limited understanding of biokinetics, and difficulty differentiating microplastic effects from general particulate matter exposure.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Despite these limitations, microplastics likely contribute to health effects similar to those of particulate matter pollution, with potential additional concerns related to their specific composition and chemical additives. The proportion of microplastics in ambient particulate matter may increase with decreasing exhaust emissions and increasing use of plastic products, emphasising the need for interdis","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"4935"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148353583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Female genital mutilation/cutting and risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury at delivery.","authors":"Federico Migliorelli, Ludovica Ferrero, Begoña Martínez de Tejada, Jasmine Abdulcadir","doi":"10.57187/4785","DOIUrl":"10.57187/4785","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess the incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries in women with female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) who delivered vaginally at the University Hospital in Geneva and to examine potential predictive factors for obstetric anal sphincter injuries.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Retrospective observational study.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong> Tertiary maternity hospital in Geneva, Switzerland.</p><p><strong>Population: </strong>Women with female genital mutilation/cutting who delivered vaginally between April 1, 2010, and December 31, 2018.</p><p><strong>Metods: </strong>Data on demographics, medical and obstetric history, and delivery outcomes were collected, focusing on the occurrence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries. Predictive modelling was attempted using logistic regression to identify risk factors for obstetric anal sphincter injuries.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of 36,036 deliveries during the study period, 424 women had female genital mutilation/cutting, and 303 of these had a vaginal delivery. Perineal tears occurred in 57.4% of these deliveries, with 4.0% cases involving obstetric anal sphincter injuries. Defibulation was commonly performed, and its timing (during pregnancy or intrapartum) showed no significant correlation with the occurrence of severe injuries. The predictive model was inconclusive due to the low prevalence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We found a relatively low occurrence of severe perineal injuries among women with female genital mutilation/cutting who received specialised care. The study was initially designed to develop a predictive model for obstetric anal sphincter injuries, but the low number of events precluded robust modelling. Nevertheless, our descriptive findings highlight the importance of specialised, individualised prenatal and intrapartum care, which may contribute to favourable perinatal outcomes in this population.</p>","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"4785"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148353588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"General consent: a mixed-method and patient-inclusive approach to explore and optimise information strategies.","authors":"Cindy Allenbach, Naomi Kramer, Jennifer Zaslona, Mireille Moser, Marie-Josée Crevier, Marc Froissart, Béatrice Schaad","doi":"10.57187/4812","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/4812","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Study aims: </strong>Little is known about the factors influencing patients' response and decision rates to requests for general consent, designed to cover the use of health-related personal data and biological samples, in tertiary university hospitals. As such, we first sought to evaluate different general consent administration modes implemented at Lausanne University Hospital between December 2012 and April 2022, based on the following indicators (i) information rates, (ii) response rates and (iii) consent rates. The second objective of the study was to assess patients' understanding, preferences, needs and expectations regarding the content, form and mode of administration of general consent.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This mixed-methods study comprised two phases. First, we analysed retrospective administrative data and general consent-related information from 178,223 adult patients who had been informed about general consent. Second, we analysed 2445 anonymised questionnaires mailed to patients as well as 4737 patient communications, and conducted 32 semi-structured telephone interviews.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The information-provision mode and clinical context influence patients' response to general consent.Oral information given by healthcare providers within medical departments is the most effective way of informing patients and making them reach a decision about granting general consent. However, 73.3% of questionnaire respondents considered that written information supported by a hotline is sufficient. Patients referred to the emergency room, following an accident for example, are less likely to respond to and grant general consent. Even though most respondents claim to fully grasp the information material, some topics seem less well understood and require additional explanations, such as the use of health-related personal data and biological samples in external institutions and the consequences of not replying to general consent.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study provides an accurate data-driven depiction of how general consent administration methods and clinical contexts impact patients' response and decision rates, as well as an assessment of patients' understanding and needs concerning general consent information. These data allow us to confirm the validity of several practices, draw lessons and propose pragmatic recommendations to optimise general consent administration in hospitals, specifically: 1) Promote general consent information provision before or during the hospital visit or stay, 2) If a patient has not replied to general consent, repeat the information in a more favourable clinical context, 3) Diversify information channels and explore digital options for more-personalised and adapted information, 4) Simplify, clarify and illustrate general consent documentation with concrete examples of research enabled by general consent.</p>","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"4812"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148272906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supplementum 300: Abstracts of the annual meeting of the Swiss Society of Paediatrics (Lausanne, Switzerland, June 11/12, 2026).","authors":"Swiss Society Of Paediatrics","doi":"10.57187/5579","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/5579","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"Suppl. 300"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148273179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supplementum 299: Abstracts of the joint annual meeting of the Swiss Society of Cardiology (SSC), the Swiss Society for Heart and Thoracic Vascular Surgery (SSCS), the Swiss Society of Pneumology (SSP) and the Swiss Society for Thoracic Surgery (SSTS): Basel, Switzerland, June 10-12, 2026 - Posters SSC and SSCS.","authors":"Swiss Society Of Cardiology, Swiss Society For Heart And Thoracic Vascular Surgery","doi":"10.57187/5577","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/5577","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"Suppl. 299"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148273187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supplementum 298: Abstracts of the joint annual meeting of the Swiss Society of Cardiology (SSC), the Swiss Society for Heart and Thoracic Vascular Surgery (SSCS), the Swiss Society of Pneumology (SSP) and the Swiss Society for Thoracic Surgery (SSTS): Basel, Switzerland, June 10-12, 2026 - Orals SSC and SSCS.","authors":"Swiss Society Of Cardiology, Swiss Society For Heart And Thoracic Vascular Surgery","doi":"10.57187/5576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/5576","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"Suppl. 298"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148273125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The evolution of kidney surgery for renal masses in Switzerland - a retrospective analysis.","authors":"Florian A Schmid, Luca Schütz, Marcel Blum, Lea Wildisen, Katharina Staehelin, Mohsen Mousavi, Thomas Paul Scherer, Räto T Strebel","doi":"10.57187/4878","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/4878","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction: &lt;/strong&gt;According to international guidelines, partial nephrectomy is recommended as the standard of care in patients with cT1 kidney tumours, as well as in those with cT2, whenever technically feasible. Furthermore, due to the numerous advantages of minimally invasive techniques, the laparoscopic approach has been increasingly used worldwide. Our aim was to investigate the evolution of kidney surgery and to evaluate whether urologists adhere to these guidelines. Furthermore, we assessed the uptake of minimally invasive techniques in Switzerland over the past decade (observational period 2008-2020).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Materials and methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Datasets were provided by the National Agency for Cancer Registration (NACR) and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The national cancer registry dataset was used to analyse age categories, gender, demographics, year of intervention, T-stage, and which surgical method (partial vs radical nephrectomy) was performed as the primary outcome. The data from FSO included information on the surgical approach (laparoscopic vs open) as the secondary outcome, including mortality. The age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) was computed per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. This study was conducted as an exploratory retrospective analysis, and results should be interpreted within this framework. Statistical analysis was performed using R.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;The national cancer registry dataset included 10,810 patients with kidney tumours from 2008 to 2020. During this period, the ASIR (age-standardised incidence rate) of kidney tumours in Switzerland increased more than threefold, from 3.0 to 9.6 cases per 100,000 population. A total of 6,565 patients (60.7%) with kidney tumours were included in the analysis. The highest incidence of surgical treatment occurred among patients aged 65-69 (n = 1,081). However, during the observation period, cancer registration coverage of the Swiss population increased from 60% in 2008 to 100% in 2020. As the primary outcome, the relative number of partial versus radical nephrectomy overall increased from 23.2% (n = 48) in 2008 to 48.0% (n = 393) in 2020. In patients with pT1 tumours, a total of 2,457 partial nephrectomies (59.6%) were performed compared with 1,667 radical nephrectomies (40.4%) during the observation period. The FSO dataset included 10,700 patients with kidney tumours between 2008 and 2018. As the secondary outcome, the ratio of laparoscopic procedures compared with open procedures increased from 21.1% (n = 194) in 2011 to 45.2% (n = 485) in 2018. Regional differences were identified, especially regarding the relative number of partial nephrectomy procedures performed. Although the T-stage distribution at the time of diagnosis did not differ between genders, a slightly higher proportion of men (43.0%, n = 4,669) underwent partial nephrectomy compared to women (40.6%, n = 1'896). Overall mo","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"4878"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148273097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Expanding hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance strategies in high-risk patients in Switzerland: a cost-effectiveness analysis.","authors":"Nicolas Goossens, Osvaldo Ulises Garay, Cyrill Wolf, Louisa Elena Ambüehl, Vanessa Kugler, François R Girardin","doi":"10.57187/4469","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/4469","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>European and Swiss guidelines recommend hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance of high-risk patients every 6 months using ultrasound (US), with/without α-fetoprotein (AFP). Other surveillance strategies are available, but evidence of their comparative cost-effectiveness is lacking. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of current hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance strategies in Switzerland, including the novel GAAD (gender [biological sex], age, α-fetoprotein, protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II [PIVKA-II]) serum-based algorithm in high-risk patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A micro-simulated Markov model estimated the cost-effectiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance strategies (no surveillance, US, US+AFP, GAAD) performed at 6-monthly intervals in a simulated cohort of 100,000 patients with compensated liver cirrhosis over a lifetime horizon. Performance parameters were sourced from published meta-analyses and multicentre study data. Epidemiological parameters were estimated based on literature identified during a previous systematic literature review. Similarly, utility parameters were sourced from published literature. Costs were sourced from TARMED, the Analysis List, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, publicly available data and published literature. Primary outcomes were life years lived, quality-adjusted life years, and costs per patient and per cohort. The cost-effectiveness of each strategy was analysed through incremental cost-effectiveness ratios at a cost-effectiveness threshold of Swiss Franc (CHF) 100,000/quality-adjusted life year.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, the total costs and quality-adjusted life years per patient, respectively, were CHF 43,493.61 and 5.893 for no surveillance; CHF 48,702.79 and 6.018 for US; CHF 49,980.60 and 6.042 for US+AFP; and CHF 49,983.10 and 6.048 for GAAD. Compared with US+AFP and US alone, GAAD was cost-effective, with higher quality-adjusted life years and the highest rate of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma detection (56%). Compared with no surveillance, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for US, US+AFP and GAAD were considered to be cost-effective, ranging from CHF 41,509.01 to CHF 43,321.81.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The current model indicates that hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance with any of these strategies was cost-effective in Switzerland. GAAD was nearly cost-neutral versus US+AFP, although these findings were dependent on the performance of GAAD and operator-dependent US combined with AFP. Compared with US alone, GAAD was the most cost-effective strategy. Further investigations are required to confirm these findings and to optimise hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance.</p>","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"4469"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148272948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supplementum 297: Swiss Congress of Emergency Medicine (Fribourg, Switzerland, May 28/29, 2026).","authors":"Swiss Society Of Emergency And Rescue Medicine, Swiss Paramedic Association, Inter-Association For Rescue Services","doi":"10.57187/5547","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.57187/5547","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22111,"journal":{"name":"Swiss medical weekly","volume":"156 ","pages":"Suppl. 297"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148273114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}