@article {1879, title = {Burden of disease caused by otitis media: systematic review and global estimates.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, year = {2012}, month = {2012}, pages = {e36226}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Otitis media (OM) is a leading cause of health care visits and drugs prescription. Its complications and sequelae are important causes of preventable hearing loss, particularly in developing countries. Within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study, for the year 2005 we estimated the incidence of acute OM, chronic suppurative OM, and related hearing loss and mortality for all ages and the 21 WHO regional areas.

METHODS: We identified risk factors, complications and sequelae of OM. We carried out an extensive literature review (Medline, Embase, Lilacs and Wholis) which lead to the selection of 114 papers comprising relevant data. Data were available from 15 of the 21 WHO regions. To estimate incidence and prevalence for all countries we adopted a two stage approach based on risk factors formulas and regression modelling.

RESULTS: Acute OM incidence rate is 10.85\% i.e. 709 million cases each year with 51\% of these occurring in under-fives. Chronic suppurative OM incidence rate is 4.76 {\textperthousand} i.e. 31 million cases, with 22.6\% of cases occurring annually in under-fives. OM-related hearing impairment has a prevalence of 30.82 per ten-thousand. Each year 21 thousand people die due to complications of OM.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first attempt to systematically review the available information and provide global estimates for OM and related conditions. The overall burden deriving from AOM, CSOM and their sequelae is considerable, particularly in the first five years of life and in the poorest countries. The findings call for incorporating OM-focused action within preventive and case management strategies, with emphasis on the more affected.

}, keywords = {Cost of Illness, Hearing Loss, Humans, Internationality, Otitis Media}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0036226}, author = {Monasta, Lorenzo and Ronfani, Luca and Marchetti, Federico and Montico, Marcella and Vecchi Brumatti, Liza and Bavcar, Alessandro and Grasso, Domenico and Barbiero, Chiara and Tamburlini, Giorgio} } @article {1899, title = {Extra-large letter spacing improves reading in dyslexia.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {109}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Jul 10}, pages = {11455-9}, abstract = {

Although the causes of dyslexia are still debated, all researchers agree that the main challenge is to find ways that allow a child with dyslexia to read more words in less time, because reading more is undisputedly the most efficient intervention for dyslexia. Sophisticated training programs exist, but they typically target the component skills of reading, such as phonological awareness. After the component skills have improved, the main challenge remains (that is, reading deficits must be treated by reading more--a vicious circle for a dyslexic child). Here, we show that a simple manipulation of letter spacing substantially improved text reading performance on the fly (without any training) in a large, unselected sample of Italian and French dyslexic children. Extra-large letter spacing helps reading, because dyslexics are abnormally affected by crowding, a perceptual phenomenon with detrimental effects on letter recognition that is modulated by the spacing between letters. Extra-large letter spacing may help to break the vicious circle by rendering the reading material more easily accessible.

}, keywords = {Attention, Awareness, Child, Dyslexia, Form Perception, France, Humans, Italy, Language, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Phonetics, Reading, Vision, Ocular, Visual Fields}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1205566109}, author = {Zorzi, Marco and Barbiero, Chiara and Facoetti, Andrea and Lonciari, Isabella and Carrozzi, Marco and Montico, Marcella and Bravar, Laura and George, Florence and Pech-Georgel, Catherine and Ziegler, Johannes C} } @article {1990, title = {The submerged dyslexia iceberg: how many school children are not diagnosed? Results from an Italian study.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, year = {2012}, month = {2012}, pages = {e48082}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Although dyslexia is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders affecting children, prevalence is uncertain and available data are scanty and dated. The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dyslexia in an unselected school population using clearly defined and rigorous diagnostic criteria and methods.

METHODS: Cross sectional study. We selected a random cluster sample of 94 fourth grade elementary school classes of Friuli Venezia Giulia, a Region of North Eastern Italy. We carried out three consecutive levels of screening: the first two at school and the last at the Neuropsychiatry Unit of a third level Mother and Child Hospital. The main outcome measure was the prevalence of dyslexia, defined as the number of children positive to the third level of screening divided by the total number of children enrolled.

RESULTS: We recruited 1774 children aged 8-10 years, of which 1528 received parents{\textquoteright} consent to participate. After applying exclusion criteria, 1357 pupils constituted the final working sample. The prevalence of dyslexia in the enrolled population ranged from 3.1\% (95\% CI 2.2-4.1\%) to 3.2\% (95\% CI 2.4-4.3\%) depending on different criteria adopted. In two out of three children with dyslexia the disorder had not been previously diagnosed.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that dyslexia is largely underestimated in Italy and underlines the need for reliable information on prevalence, in order to better allocate resources both to Health Services and Schools.

}, keywords = {Area Under Curve, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Delayed Diagnosis, Dyslexia, Female, Humans, Italy, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Prevalence, Questionnaires, ROC Curve}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0048082}, author = {Barbiero, Chiara and Lonciari, Isabella and Montico, Marcella and Monasta, Lorenzo and Penge, Roberta and Vio, Claudio and Tressoldi, Patrizio Emanuele and Ferluga, Valentina and Bigoni, Anna and Tullio, Alessia and Carrozzi, Marco and Ronfani, Luca} }