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In view of the demographic changes which are taking and will take place in Spain, as well as the uncertainty about the ability of the public social security system to meet the obligations it has acquired, mutual provident societies are offering complementary services within a mixed social security system. Due to the limited attention that the literature has paid to these societies, the aim of this paper is to acquire a deeper knowledge of these companies by drawing multiple comparisons between these organisations and another type of mutual called industrial accident and occupational illness mutual insurance companies, using the Scheffé test. Special attention will be paid to the regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country, which are the most active Spanish regions in developing mutualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a cross-industry analysis of business failure, in order to identify the explanatory and predictor factors of this event that are different in three of the main industries in every economy: manufacturing, building and service. For each one of these industries, the same procedure is followed. First, a principal components analysis is applied in order to identify the explanatory factors of business failure in the three industries. Next, these factors are considered as independent variables in a discriminant analysis, so as to predict the firms' failure, using not only financial information expressed by ratios, but also other non-financial variables related to the firms, as well as external information that reflects macroeconomic conditions under which they develop their activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Caesarean section is necessary to save the lives of mothers and newborns at times, but it is important to perform it only when it is essential due to all the risks involved. This study aimed to examine the rate of caesarean sections performed at a tertiary hospital using the Robson classification to detect methods for the detection of and/or reduction in these caesarean section rates. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study of a retrospective database was carried out. Results: A total of 10,317 births were assessed. The Robson classification was used to assess these interventions and verify whether the indication for performed caesarean sections was appropriate. In total, 2036 births by caesarean section were performed in the whole sample. The annual caesarean section rate varied between 18.67% and 21.18%. Conclusions: Caesarean sections increased by about 20% in 2021 compared to 2020 even though the trend over the years of study was decreasing. Vaginal delivery after caesarean section is a reasonable and safe option. Caesarean section rates could be improved, mostly in Robson's Group 2. The Robson classification facilitated progress in the implementation of measures aimed at improving care and adjusting caesarean section rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents' sleep has individual characteristics and is influenced by the habits of modern society, which are typically disturbing to the healthy rhythm of sleep and wakefulness. The present study evaluated the sleep quality of 345 secondary school students of Bragança and its relation with the consumption of psychoactive substances. Data were collected in May 2017 through a questionnaire that included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (IQSP) and questions on psychoactive substance use. The majority of adolescents drink alcohol (73.6%), coffee (66.4%) and other beverages with coffee or derivatives (87.8%) and 10.4% are smokers. It is concluded that the risk of having a poor sleep quality is higher in smoker's adolescents, who consume alcoholic drinks and who consume caffeinated beverages or derivatives daily. It was concluded that the risk of poor sleep quality is higher in adolescents smoking, consuming alcoholic beverages and consuming beverages with caffeine or derivatives. It was also found that sleep quality is also related to the consumption of tobacco and caffeinated beverages and derivatives three hours before sleep, with the risk of poor quality of sleep in adolescents who frequently consume caffeine and frequently during this specific period. Verified relations lead us to the importance of intervening in education and promoting the quality of sleep of adolescents, involving the lifestyle and the consumption of psychoactive substances. This study can be an important tool for political and community decision-makers to define concrete intervention plans in the school context in the area of sleep, psychoactive substances consumption, and in the establishment of health promoting routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Introduction: disease-related malnutrition has a negative impact on the outcome in surgical patients. Our objective was to assess the prevalence of nutritional risk in the field of vascular surgery, as well as its consequences on patient outcome and health expenditure. Patients and methods: this is a prospective, observational study conducted during 6 months in a vascular surgery ward at the University Hospital of León, Spain. The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool was used to obtain data on admission and then every 7 days until hospital discharge. Clinical variables, surgical intervention performed, medical-surgical complications, hospital stay, healthcare costs, and early readmissions were studied. Results: a total of 104 patients, 84.6 % males, with a mean age of 69 (SD: 13) years were enrolled. Of these, 46.2 % were admitted due to peripheral arterial disease; 10.6 % had a positive MUST at the time of admission and 19.2 % at discharge; 100 % of malnourished patients at admission remained in the same situation at discharge. During hospitalization, in 29 patients (27.9 %) the nutritional situation worsened. In all, 81.25 % of patients who experienced worsening of their MUST score had been admitted urgently (p < 0.05). Patients who required urgent surgery significantly worsened in terms of their nutritional status (p < 0.001). Patients with worsening nutritional status obtained higher rates for: surgical reintervention (p < 0.05), pharmaceutical expense (p = 0.017), total hospital expense (€1,000/patient/admission), transfers to chronic care centers (p = 0.0002), and number of early readmissions (p = 0.017). Conclusion: patients with nutritional risk suffered an increase in medical-surgical complications, hospital stay, healthcare costs, and re-admission rates. Therefore, we consider that an implementation of screening procedures and the development of further studies in the vascular surgery setting are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]