Epidemiology Services Research Articles

Achieving consensus on priorities for future behavioural and social research into social inequalities—Results of polling attendees at the BEHSR/IADR Summit on Behavioral and Social Oral Health Sciences

To explore the priority given by researchers working in the field of behavioural, epidemiological and health services research to key aspects of research in oral health and inequalities. Survey of registrants at the Behavioural Epidemiological and Health Services Research group of the International Association for Dental Research (BEHSR/IADR) Summit October 2020. The highest ranking for priority was given to 'Testing interventions to reducing oral health inequalities', and within this area to the exploration of public health approaches to reducing such disparities. Lower ranking priorities included 'Describing inequalities within countries' and 'Describing the mechanisms by which inequality produces poor health'. Registrants at the (BEHSR/IADR) Summit October 2020 gave priority to testing interventions which will seek to reduce oral health inequalities, particularly through public health approaches such as creating policy change and community level interventions. Epidemiological research describing inequalities within countries was given a lower priority.

The cost and cost-effectiveness of novel tuberculosis vaccines in low- and middle-income countries: A modeling study.

Tuberculosis (TB) is preventable and curable but eliminating it has proven challenging. Safe and effective TB vaccines that can rapidly reduce disease burden are essential for achieving TB elimination. We assessed future costs, cost-savings, and cost-effectiveness of introducing novel TB vaccines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for a range of product characteristics and delivery strategies. We developed a system of epidemiological and economic models, calibrated to demographic, epidemiological, and health service data in 105 LMICs. For each country, we assessed the likely future course of TB-related outcomes under several vaccine introduction scenarios, compared to a "no-new-vaccine" counterfactual. Vaccine scenarios considered 2 vaccine product profiles (1 targeted at infants, 1 at adolescents/adults), both assumed to prevent progression to active TB. Key economic inputs were derived from the Global Health Cost Consortium, World Health Organization (WHO) patient cost surveys, and the published literature. We estimated the incremental impact of vaccine introduction for a range of health and economic outcomes. In the base-case, we assumed a vaccine price of $4.60 and used a 1× per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) cost-effectiveness threshold (both varied in sensitivity analyses). Vaccine introduction was estimated to require substantial near-term resources, offset by future cost-savings from averted TB burden. From a health system perspective, adolescent/adult vaccination was cost-effective in 64 of 105 LMICs. From a societal perspective (including productivity gains and averted patient costs), adolescent/adult vaccination was projected to be cost-effective in 73 of 105 LMICs and cost-saving in 58 of 105 LMICs, including 96% of countries with higher TB burden. When considering the monetized value of health gains, we estimated that introduction of an adolescent/adult vaccine could produce $283 to 474 billion in economic benefits by 2050. Limited data availability required assumptions and extrapolations that may omit important country-level heterogeneity in epidemiology and costs. TB vaccination would be highly impactful and cost-effective in most LMICs. Further efforts are needed for future development, adoption, and implementation of novel TB vaccines.

Дозорный эпидемиологический надзор за ВИЧ-инфекцией среди беременных женщин Республики Каракалпакстан

HIV/AIDS remains one of the major global public health concerns of today. In low-income countries, HIV/AIDS remains among the top three leading causes of death for women of childbearing age.The purpose of the study: to evaluate the indicators of the sentinel epidemiological control service for HIV infection among pregnant women in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.Methods. We studied the indicators of the sentinel epidemiological control service for HIV-infected and pregnant women in the Republic of Karakalpakstan for 2011-2021.Results. The highest rate of long-term incidence of HIV-infected women was recorded from 2015 to 2020. Between 2011 and 2021, 440,236 pregnant women were tested for HIV, with the incidence being high in 2014-2016. In 2011, the level of HIV/AIDS infection was 13.4 per 100,000 population, while in 2013 it was 14.1, in 2016 it was 12.5. And by 2021, the number of HIV-infected women will increase again. It has been established that the incidence of HIV infection among women, including pregnant women, varies from year to year. Also, when analyzing the incidence of HIV in the regions, it was found that the incidence in the regions is not the same.Conclusions. In the Republic of Karakalpakstan, HIV infection is more often detected among women, and it has been established that the mode of transmission is sexual. According to social status, it is noted more among the rural population, a predisposition to the disease among young people of reproductive age, epidemiological characteristics and criteria for antiretroviral therapy are recommended.Key words: HIV/AIDS, prevalence, pregnant women, reproductive age, sexual partner, risk group.

Респираторно-синцитиальная инфекция – современное состояние проблемы

The review shows the main current data concerning the etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, features of the clinical picture, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). We studied the influence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on the severity of the disease depending on age, concomitant pathology, genetic factors. Over the past decades, manifest forms of infection have become more frequent in the elderly, especially with weakened immunity with the development of severe forms of the disease with damage to the lower respiratory tract. During the systematization, the importance of epidemiological surveillance for RSV was determined. Data on the incidence of RSV on the territory of the subjects of Russian Federation with a high degree of probability cannot reflect the true picture, due to the lack of alertness of primary care doctors and specialists providing medical care in the inpatient departments. This is accompanied by the complexity of diagnostics and laboratory differential diagnosis with other respiratory infections. The problem is aggravated due to the lack of effective etiotropic therapy, as well as the availability of only passive immunization for children under two years of age from the means of specific prevention. Thus, these aspects raise a number of important issues for epidemiological and medical-preventive services. Keywords: bronchiolitis, pneumonia, respiratory syncytial infection, respiratory syncytial virus

Chapter 10: Oral Health-Related Quality of Life and Coronal Caries.

Dental caries is the most prevalent oral health disease and affects the health of individual and populations. The conventional disease metrics do not represent the impact of caries on people's lives. Oral-health-related quality of life measures were developed to help understand which aspects of dental caries have the greatest impact on well-being. How these measures were developed follows a standardized process of development and testing, with the ultimate aim of the entire process being that they be used in clinical dentistry, dental epidemiology, and health services research. There has been ongoing debate about whether these measures have adequate discriminative ability for the wide range of caries experience, and whether they are responsive to changes in disease experience. Whether these measures are "perfect" or not, what we do know after two decades is that numerous studies have found them to be sufficiently discriminative for caries in adults and children alike. There is also evidence for their responsiveness, chiefly from studies of children undergoing dental treatment under general anesthetic for early childhood caries. The influence of environmental, social, and psychological characteristics is another consideration in how people self-rate their oral health. Is there a need to improve the quality of these measures by refining existing ones or developing new ones which may represent those broader concepts? Regardless of the future, the most pressing challenge is the need for health systems work to ensure the routine use of these measures in clinical and public health practice.

Impact of virgin land development on morbidity and mortality from diphtheria in Kazakhstan

Authors consider the development of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan in the 1950s–1960s which led to an unprecedented anthropogenic intrusion into the environment. The huge concentration of people in the northern steppe regions of Kazakhstan led to the spread of dangerous infectious diseases among which diphtheria was of particular concern of the health authorities of the republic. Authors made an attempt to analyze the issues of the spread of this disease in Tselinny district in the early 1960s and the history of its control in this article. The basic methods of medical services to prevent spreading of this infectious disease have been identified. The authors concluded that imperfect of medical service, violation of the regulations on vaccination and revaccination, inefficiency of medical and sanitary education of the population of virgin areas as well as other factors were the causes of diphtheria resistance against measures of sanitary and epidemiological services of the republic.

The status and roles of the 406th Medical General Laboratory of the U.S. Army, 1946-1953.

In 1946, the U.S. Army established the 406th Medical General Laboratory as the central medical research institute for their new Asia-Pacific-occupied area. The primary mission of the 406th medical laboratory was to supplement the epidemiologic, sanitary, and diagnostic services available in other medical facilities and hospitals, and to investigate outbreaks of disease and conditions which affect or may affect the health of the people in the occupied area. At the time of its establishment, the 406th laboratory had considerable difficulties securing researchers, but it solved the related problems by actively cooperating with Japanese medical researchers and research institutes. According to the statistics in 1947, the 406th laboratory consisted of 46% of its total research personnel, Japanese researchers. The 406th medical laboratory's professional research departments included the department of Pathology, Serology, Bacteriology, Medical Zoology, Chemistry, Virus and Ricketts, Entomology (established in 1949), and Epidemiology (established in 1951). All research departments played a central role in the Asia-Pacific region in their professional fields. For example, the department of Pathology functioned as the "histopathology center of all hospitals in Japan, Korea, and the Mariana-Bonin Command" under the provision of "Army Regulation 40-410," and the department of Chemistry was called an "analytical chemistry laboratory for the Far East Command" because it performed various chemical experiments for many medical facilities in the area with insufficient research facilities.

Women’s Health and Gynecology: Old Challenges and New Insights

The complexity of women's health goes far beyond medical and surgical knowledge and the achievements of the clinical specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology, spanning not just the research dimensions of molecular biology, genetics, epidemiology, or health services but also being influenced by gender, social, and psychological relevant factors [...].

The ecological and epidemiological situation of tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis in the Republic of Tatarstan for the period of 2017–2021

Of the huge order of parasitoform mites in the circulatory chain of the occurrence of existing pathogens and new pathogens of infections joining them, a significant role belongs to ixodic mites (I. persulcatus Sch., I. ricinus Lin.). These blood-sucking parasites are the main carriers of more than 10 nosological forms of zoonotic infections identified in the Republic of Tatarstan. Of these, a special place in the regional pathology is occupied by Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis. Despite the relative duration of monitoring of natural focal infections in Tatarstan, the problem of this group of diseases has not disappeared and requires close attention and analysis of the current epidemiological and epizootological state. Based on our own research and stock materials of sanitary and epidemiological services, the ranking of enzootic territories representing a certain degree of risk of infection of the population in the Republic of Tatarstan by tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis in the context of administrative territories was carried out. In the region, for the period of 20172021, there was a decrease in the intensity of infection of the tick-borne encephalitis population (5 cases in 5 years). At the same time, a high degree of risk of infection of the population with Lyme borreliosis was revealed.

Підготовка кадрів для вітчизняної системи охорони громадського здоров’я: виклики та перспективи

The purpose of this work is to analyze the current state and develop basic proposals for the further development of the draft National Plan for the Development of Human Resources for the Public Health System in the intersectoral and intersectoral direction – «Health care in all government policies» based on an assessment of the best practices of foreign and domestic experience. Materials and methods: The research material was the documents of international and domestic professional organizations, publications on international experience in training personnel on the fundamental principles of preventive public health. We used data from our preliminary research on the assessment of basic health systems and analyzed scientific data on current public health issues. To solve the tasks set in the work, a set of methods was used: historical, analytical, comparative, systematic approach. Results: Emerging threats and emergencies in the field of public health in recent years included the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the failure of global health systems to effectively deal with such challenges. For the development of new effective health care systems, it is necessary to change the paradigm and policies in personnel training using advanced and effective practices of international and domestic schools of preventive medicine, incl. on the example of organizing the experience of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of Ukraine to control the safe environment of human life and counteract biological threats. Conclusions: It is advisable to identify those domestic developments in the training of personnel for the field of public health that have no corresponding analogues at the international level and initiate expansion of cooperation with relevant European associations, for example, the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), the Public Health Accreditation Agency (APHEA); the European Public Health Association (EUPHA); EuroHealthNet; European Public Health Alliance (EPHA); European Health Management Association (EHMA).

F.F. Erisman and the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of Russia

Introduction. The foundations of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of Russia were established by the founders of domestic hygiene. The purpose of the study is to analyze the results of the scientific, practical and publication activities of F.F. Erisman in the formation and development of the state sanitary and epidemiological service of the country. Materials and methods. A historical expert-analytical study was carried out. The materials of the analysis are the main results of the activities and publications of F.F. Erisman in the field of sanitary-hygienic and epidemiological research. Results. The spectrum of activities of F.F. Erisman laid the foundation for the development of a number of hygienic disciplines. F.F. Erisman is the author of the first domestic hygiene manuals, which made a real breakthrough and influenced the life and health of many generations of Russians, manager of large-scale sanitary inspections. F.F. Erisman laid the foundations for the experimental-laboratory and social-hygienic directions of Russian hygiene. F.F. Erisman was the founder of the Hygienic Institute at the Moscow Imperial University and the sanitary station attached to it. On the basis of this institution the Moscow Sanitary Institute was subsequently created and became as Federal Scientific Center of Hygiene named after F.F. Erisman of the Federal Service for Supervision in Protection of the Rights of Consumer and Man Wellbeing. Limitations. The limitation of the study is due to the analysis of the activities and contribution to the creation of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of Russia by one, but an outstanding hygienist of the 19th century, Professor F.F. Erisman. However, this does not distort the essence of the development of the domestic medical and sanitary business. Conclusion. The scientific and managing foundations for the development of sanitary and epidemiological rules and hygienic standards, the development and implementation of state policy and legal regulation in the field of sanitary and epidemiological safety, the arrangement of sanitary and epidemiological supervision, are largely laid down in the works and activities of the outstanding hygienist of Russia - F.F. Erisman.

Professional Society of Hygienists, Toxicologists and Sanitary Doctors: 130 years in the provision of sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population of Russian Federation

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the 100th anniversary of the formation of the sanitary and epidemiological service of Russia and the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the hygienic society by F.F. Erisman. The purpose of the study is to give a historical analysis of the activities of the All-Russian Society of Hygienists and Sanitary Doctors. Materials and methods. Based on the principle of historicism, an expert and analytical study of the activities of the professional community of hygienists and sanitary doctors in 1892-2022 was carried out. The analysis used materials on the activities of prof. F.F. Erisman and the Moscow Hygienic Society under him, as well as the All-Union and All-Russian Congresses of Hygienists and Sanitary Doctors. Results. The main stages of the creation and development of the All-Russian Society of Hygienists, Toxicologists and Sanitary Doctors, the training of personnel for the sanitary service of the country, which celebrates 100 years since its foundation, are presented. The role of F.F. Erisman in the activities of the Moscow Hygienic Society and his students and followers in the work of the All-Union and All-Russian Society of Hygienists and Sanitary Doctors is traced. Limitations. The study is limited to studying the role of the All-Russian Society of Hygienists in ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being in the historical interval of 1892-2022. Conclusion. The congresses of the society of hygienists and sanitary doctors summarized, analyzed the results achieved, discussed scientific problems and ways to solve them, mobilized their members to solve them. The positive activity of the society of hygienists and sanitary doctors is due to the active work of its members in ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population of the Russian Federation.

DETERMINATION OF THE HAZARD OF RECREATIONAL WATER USE IN THE CITY KHARKIV (UKRAINE)

The use of polluted water bodies for recreation carries the threat of an outbreak of infectious diseases. A new method for determining the integral indicator of the occurrence of infectious diseases due to recreational water use is proposed. The cause of infectious disease can be not only swimming in water bodies, but also poor-quality food or drinking water, as well as soil pollution on the territory of beaches. Therefore, in the study of infectious diseases associated with recreational water use, it is proposed to calculate weighting factors separately for food products (Ff), drinking water of centralized water supply (Fdvc), drinking water of non-centralized water supply (Fdvd), surface water in places of mass recreation of people ( Fwr) and soil in the beach zone (Fsb) on the basis of research carried out by the bodies of the state sanitary and epidemiological service. Based on the data of state statistics by using a new method, an integral indicator of the occurrence of infectious diseases as a result of recreational water use in the city of Kharkiv was determined. The application of the proposed method will make it possible to make a scientifically based decision regarding the management of water resources and the protection of public health. The authors of the article conducted a study of the quality of surface water according to hydrochemical and bacteriological indicators in the summer of 2021 on 6 beaches of the city Kharkiv. On all beaches, there is a significant excess of the values of biogenic and bacteriological indicators, which creates a threat of infectious diseases. The risk values correspond to the 4th and 5th class of danger (high and very high impact on public health). The analysis of the evaluation of the weighting coefficients allows to determine the main causes of the development of infectious diseases in order to make scientifically based decisions on ensuring comfortable living conditions for the population. Identifying all possible sources of pollution, being aware of changes that may negatively affect water quality, and providing adequate information to the population are important preventive measures for public health protection. Keywords: public health, recreational water use, infectious disease, pollution sources, Kharkiv city.

Memories of participation in the work to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident

More than 36 years have passed since the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. During these years, a huge number of articles, books, films devoted to this human-made disaster have been published in scientific journals and mass media. The article presents the memoirs of the author – a participant in solving the problems that arose during the liquidation of the consequences of the accident. Specialists of the Institute of Radiation Hygiene worked in the contaminated territories of the Bryansk region, Belarus together with the sanitary and epidemiological service, conducted training seminars for various groups of the public in order to educate and teach the rules of behavior in the current situation. Specialists of the Institute compiled reports on the radiation situation based on data from all sanitary and epidemiological services in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on the radioactive state of environmental objects. Based on scientific data, Methodological guidelines and recommendations on the prevention of radiation anxiety, on the work of specialists with medical doctors and other group of population were prepared. Texts of lectures on the effects of radiation on health were written and published in the Znanie society.

Stages of radiation monitoring on the territory of the Tula region affected in consequence of the Chernobyl NPP accident

More than half of the Tula oblast territory was contaminated following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This article describes the stages of radiation hygiene monitoring of objects in the habitat in the Tula region impacted by radioactive contamination. Information is given on changes in radioactively contaminated areas at different periods after the accident. An assessment is made of the radiological situation at the initial “iodic” period of the accident, the subsequent “cesium” period, and at the current stage. A description is given of work done by the oblast’s state sanitary and epidemiological service based on radiation monitoring results for reducing the radiation exposure of the population at different stages of supervision. Information is supplied on high levels of gamma background up to 35 mkSv/h during the “iodic” period. Tabulated data are supplied on exceeding the tentative maximum permissible level of iodine-131 content in dairy products produced in Plavski district, the most contaminated area in the region. Data are given on laboratory tests on food products for total beta activity in 1986-87 and the frequency of exceeding the permissible level of cesium-137 content during 1986. The above permissible content of radionuclides in food products was registered only in 1986 due to surface contamination of plants, while in wild mushrooms this took place as late as 2004. Currently, the proved content of cesium-137 and strontium-90 in food products is determined only by the radio-chemical method. A table is supplied showing results of radio-chemical research on major dose contributing food products from 2010 to 2021. The article supplies a table with numeric values of annual average effective doses of radiation sustained by the population of settlements located in the Chernobyl radioactively contaminated zone during 1986 through 2021. The dose of the population’s exposure to the Chernobyl radiation since 1994 does not exceed 1 mSv/year. In 2021, the population’s annual effective dose in 98.3% of settlements amounted to less than 0.2 mSv/year.

Social Policy of the state in the healthcare system: the revival of the Semashko Model

The relevance of the study is due to the growing positive interest in the Semashko model in modern Russia from the “medical” and “historical” parts of the scientific community, medical specialists, the population of Russia and the state. The article uses general documents, speech by top public officials, official statistics. The overthrow of the Semashko model in early post-Soviet Russia was due to public demand for market-oriented models, epidemiological transit. However, new circumstances (a new public demand for socially oriented models, a new epidemiological wave, as well as a permanent shortage of personnel and underfunding) forced the state to turn again to the experience of the Semashko model. A new epidemiological wave has raised questions: on the return to the centralization of management and financing and on the re-optimization of epidemiological resources. The official authorities proposed to centralize the management of the sanitary and epidemiological service and the means of compulsory health insurance (CHI) in the budget of the Federal Health Insurance Fund. It is also planned to expand the epidemiological base through the construction of new hospitals, increase the staff of epidemiologists and infectious diseases doctors.

О современных проблемах кадрового обеспечения организаций и учреждений дезинфекционного профиля в Санкт-Петербурге

The article analyzes the development of a system for training personnel of organizations and institutions of a disinfection profile, as part of the sanitary and epidemiological service as a whole. The main tasks of staffing organizations and institutions of the disinfection profile, which require an immediate solution, are noted. Keywords: sanitary and epidemiological service, organizations and institutions of disinfection profile, secondary vocational education in the specialty 32.02.01 "Medical and preventive business."

Overlap between dengue, Zika and chikungunya hotspots in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

BackgroundArboviruses represent a threat to global public health. In the Americas, the dengue fever is endemic. This situation worsens with the introduction of emerging, Zika fever and chikungunya fever, causing epidemics in several countries within the last decade. Hotspot analysis contributes to understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics in the context of co-circulation of these three arboviral diseases, which have the same vector: Aedes aegypti.ObjectiveTo analyze the spatial distribution and agreement between the hotspots of the historical series of reported dengue cases from 2000 to 2014 and the Zika, chikungunya and dengue cases hotspots from 2015 to 2019 in the city of Rio de Janeiro.MethodsTo identify hotspots, Gi* statistics were calculated for the annual incidence rates of reported cases of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya by neighborhood. Kendall’s W statistic was used to analyze the agreement between diseases hotspots.ResultsThere was no agreement between the hotspots of the dengue fever historical series (2000–2014) and those of the emerging Zika fever and chikungunya fever (2015–2019). However, there was agreement between hotspots of the three arboviral diseases between 2015 and 2019.ConclusionThe results of this study show the existence of persistent hotspots that need to be prioritized in public policies for the prevention and control of these diseases. The techniques used with data from epidemiological surveillance services can help in better understanding of the dynamics of these diseases wherever they circulate in the world.

Rise and Development of Sanitary and Hygienic Surveillance in Pediatric Hygiene: Celebrating the Centenary of the Russian Sanitary and Epidemiological Service

Introduction: Information about the rise and development of the system of sanitary inspection in institutions for children and adolescents is scattered and scarce in scientific publications. This fact has determined the purpose of the study to analyze the history of the Russian sanitary surveillance in pediatric hygiene in the 19th to 21st centuries. Materials and methods: We analyzed scientific papers and historical sources, including government and departmental regulations and guidelines, reviews, works of hygienists published in 1936–2021 and related to the formation of the system of sanitary inspection and providing for safe conditions in institutions for children and teenagers. Of more than 150 papers reviewed, we selected 31 sources found eligible for inclusion. Results: School doctors were the first to conduct sanitary surveillance at the end of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, school health organizations, and later the departments of the municipal health bureaus, solved a wide range of tasks, including those of hygiene, pediatrics, and epidemiology. At the stage of formation, sanitary inspection was carried out in close contact with teachers and specialists from related branches. After the revolution, the absence of the national sanitary legislation was replenished by government acts enforcing hygienic standards important for protecting health of the child population. The improvement and update of the regulatory framework, forms and methods of sanitary control in children’s institutions became feasible in the early 1960s owing to the intensive development of pediatric hygiene as a scientific discipline. Conclusion: Priority tasks of surveillance in children’s institutions varied depending on socio-economic realities, infectious and general disease rates, changes in education, and the development of related branches of hygiene, epidemiology, pedagogy, construction industry, and jurisprudence. This was accompanied by elaboration and improvement of the legislative framework, forms and methods of sanitary control and inspection of children’s institutions. The emergence of new health risk factors for the child population requires appropriate control and surveillance activities enabling a timely response to contemporary challenges.

Weather and landscape drivers of the regional level of pest occurrence in arable agriculture: A multi-pest analysis at the French national scale

Limiting crop pests while favouring environmentally friendly practices is challenging. It is required to identify the main drivers of infestation for multiple pests at different scales. In particular, large scale approaches are missing, while they could contribute to increase the predictability of pest infestation. In this study, the French national Epiphyt dataset (part of the national epidemiological monitoring service) was used to assess the relative importance of weather and landscape drivers on the between-region variability in the level of occurrence of some agricultural pests. Using a regional resolution, we analysed the proportion of occurrence of slugs, cereal aphids and oilseed rape pests over 181 small agricultural areas (‘regions’) across France in 2018. The mean proportion of occurrence per region was 0.17 for slugs, 0.25 for cereal aphids and 0.61 for oilseed rape pests. Weather variables were more explanatory than landscape ones for the proportion of occurrence of slugs and oilseed rape pests while the two types of variables had a similar level of explanation for the regional proportion of aphid occurrence. Slugs were favoured by high winter temperatures, high soil wetness index and important proportions of hedgerows in the region but negatively influenced by high winter rainfalls. Cereal aphids and oilseed rape pests were negatively influenced by the regional proportion of grassland. Additionally, the winter air humidity and the proportion of perennial crops in the region decreased the proportion of occurrence of oilseed rape pests. We detected no effect of the proportion of host crop or the proportion of organic farming in the region. This study emphasises that, in line with findings derived from more local studies, weather characteristics are an important driver of the regional level of pest occurrence in arable fields; it also highlights that the proportion of grassland at the regional scale could be a key tool to design insect-pest suppressive landscapes.