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Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries

Publication . Cologna, Viktoria; Mede, Niels G.; Berger, Sebastian; Besley, John; Brick, Cameron; Joubert, Marina; Maibach, Edward W.; Mihelj, Sabina; Oreskes, Naomi; Schäfer, Mike S.; van der Linden, Sander; Ibadildin, Nygmet; Ishibashi, Maho; Islam, Mohammad Tarikul; Jeddi, Younes; Jin, Tao; Jones, Charlotte A.; Jungkunz, Sebastian; Jurgiel, Dominika; Kabdulkair, Zhangir; Kao, Jo-Ju; Abdul Aziz, Nor Izzatina; Kavassalis, Sarah; Kerr, John R.; Kitsa, Mariana; Klabíková Rábová, Tereza; Klein, Olivier; Koh, Hoyoun; Koivula, Aki; Kojan, Lilian; Komyaginskaya, Elizaveta; König, Laura; Abdulsalam, Suleiman; Koppel, Lina; Koren Nobre Cavalcante, Kochav; Kosachenko, Alexandra; Kotcher, John; Kranz, Laura S.; Krishnan, Pradeep; Kristiansen, Silje; Krouwel, André; Kuppens, Toon; Kyza, Eleni A.; Shamsi, Nurulaini Abu; Lamm, Claus; Lantian, Anthony; Lazić, Aleksandra; Lecuona, Oscar; Légal, Jean-Baptiste; Leviston, Zoe; Levy, Neil; Lindkvist, Amanda M.; Lits, Grégoire; Löschel, Andreas; Aczel, Balazs; López Ortega, Alberto; Lopez-Villavicencio, Carlos; Lou, Nigel Mantou; Lucas, Chloe H.; Lunz-Trujillo, Kristin; Marques, Mathew D.; Mayer, Sabrina J.; McKay, Ryan; Mercier, Hugo; Metag, Julia; Adinugroho, Indro; Milfont, Taciano L.; Miller, Joanne M.; Mitkidis, Panagiotis; Monge-Rodríguez, Fredy; Motta, Matt; Mudra, Iryna; Muršič, Zarja; Namutebi, Jennifer; Newman, Eryn J.; Nitschke, Jonas P.; Alabrese, Eleonora; Ntui, Ntui-Njock Vincent; Nwogwugwu, Daniel; Ostermann, Thomas; Otterbring, Tobias; Palmer-Hague, Jaime; Pantazi, Myrto; Pärnamets, Philip; Parra Saiani, Paolo; Paruzel-Czachura, Mariola; Parzuchowski, Michal; Aldoh, Alaa; Pavlov, Yuri G.; Pearson, Adam R.; Penner, Myron A.; Pennington, Charlotte R.; Petkanopoulou, Katerina; Petrović, Marija B.; Pfänder, Jan; Pisareva, Dinara; Ploszaj, Adam; Poliaková, Karolína; Alfano, Mark; Pronizius, Ekaterina; Pypno-Blajda, Katarzyna; Quiñones, Diwa Malaya A.; Räsänen, Pekka; Rauchfleisch, Adrian; Rebitschek, Felix G.; Refojo Seronero, Cintia; Rêgo, Gabriel; Reynolds, James P.; Roche, Joseph; Ali, Innocent Mbulli; Rödder, Simone; Röer, Jan Philipp; Ross, Robert M.; Ruin, Isabelle; Santos, Osvaldo; Santos, Ricardo; Schmid, Philipp; Schulreich, Stefan; Scoggins, Bermond; Sharaf, Amena; Alsobay, Mohammed; Sheria Nfundiko, Justin; Shuckburgh, Emily; Six, Johan; Solak, Nevin; Späth, Leonhard; Spruyt, Bram; Standaert, Olivier; Stanley, Samantha K.; Storms, Gert; Strahm, Noel; Altenmüller, Marlene; Syropoulos, Stylianos; Szaszi, Barnabas; Szumowska, Ewa; Tanaka, Mikihito; Teran-Escobar, Claudia; Todorova, Boryana; Toko, Abdoul Kafid; Tokrri, Renata; Toribio-Florez, Daniel; Tsakiris, Manos; Alvarez, R. Michael; Tyrala, Michael; Uluğ, Özden Melis; Uzoma, Ijeoma Chinwe; van Noord, Jochem; Varda, Christiana; Verheyen, Steven; Vilares, Iris; Vlasceanu, Madalina; von Bubnoff, Andreas; Walker, Iain; Amoako, Richard; Warwas, Izabela; Weber, Marcel; Weninger, Tim; Westfal, Mareike; Wintterlin, Florian; Wojcik, Adrian Dominik; Xia, Ziqian; Xie, Jinliang; Zegler-Poleska, Ewa; Zenklusen, Amber; Amollo, Tabitha; Zwaan, Rolf A.; Ansah, Patrick; Apriliawati, Denisa; Azevedo, Flavio; Bajrami, Ani; Bardhan, Ronita; Bati, Keagile; Bertsou, Eri; Betsch, Cornelia; Bhatiya, Apurav Yash; Bhui, Rahul; Białobrzeska, Olga; Bilewicz, Michał; Bouguettaya, Ayoub; Breeden, Katherine; Bret, Amélie; Buchel, Ondrej; Cabrera-Álvarez, Pablo; Cagnoli, Federica; Calero Valdez, André; Callaghan, Timothy; Cases, Rizza Kaye; Çoksan, Sami; Czarnek, Gabriela; De Peuter, Steven; Debnath, Ramit; Delouvée, Sylvain; Di Stefano, Lucia; Díaz-Catalán, Celia; Doell, Kimberly C.; Dohle, Simone; Douglas, Karen M.; Dries, Charlotte; Dubrov, Dmitrii; Dzimińska, Małgorzata; Ecker, Ullrich K. H.; Elbaek, Christian T.; Elsherif, Mahmoud; Enke, Benjamin; Etienne, Tom W.; Facciani, Matthew; Fage-Butler, Antoinette; Faisal, Md. Zaki; Fan, Xiaoli; Farhart, Christina; Feldhaus, Christoph; Ferreira, Marinus; Feuerriegel, Stefan; Fischer, Helen; Freundt, Jana; Friese, Malte; Fuglsang, Simon; Gallyamova, Albina; Garrido-Vásquez, Patricia; Garrido Vásquez, Mauricio E.; Gatua, Winfred; Genschow, Oliver; Ghasemi, Omid; Gkinopoulos, Theofilos; Gloor, Jamie L.; Goddard, Ellen; Gollwitzer, Mario; González-Brambila, Claudia; Gordon, Hazel; Grigoryev, Dmitry; Grimshaw, Gina M.; Guenther, Lars; Haarstad, Håvard; Harari, Dana; Hawkins, Lelia N.; Hensel, Przemysław; Hernández-Mondragón, Alma Cristal; Herziger, Atar; Huang, Guanxiong; Huff, Markus; Hurley, Mairéad

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

2025Journal article

Open access

Insights from the EQUALS4COVID19 study on migrant mental health in Portugal: a cross-sectional mixed-methods approach

Publication . Alarcão, Violeta; Candeias, Pedro; Stefanovska-Petkovska, Miodraga; Neves, Júlia; Pintassilgo, Sónia; Machado, Fernando Luís; Santos, Osvaldo; Virgolino, Ana; Santos, Ricardo; Heitor, Maria João; Costa, Andreia

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptive consequences in the economic, health, and educational sectors have impacted people's lives, contributing to a context of increased economic and social vulnerability. The pandemic has revealed and accentuated social inequalities and discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin. This study aimed to contribute to the promotion of the mental health and well-being of migrant populations living in Portugal via the definition of an analytical framework and recommendations emerging from the EQUALS4COVID19 project. Methods: To gather information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and resilience determinants among immigrants, a mixed-methods approach was implemented in 2022, combining a cross-sectional survey targeting immigrant adults in Portugal, focus groups with immigrants, focus groups with healthcare professionals, and in-depth individual interviews with stakeholders involved in the implementation of measures related to mental health and well-being during the pandemic. The analysis followed an integrated framework; quantitative data informed the script of qualitative data collection methods, and qualitative analysis informed the reinterpretation of quantitative data. Results: The survey with 604 Brazilian and Cape Verdean immigrants revealed that gender (being a woman) was associated with both psychological distress and depression-related symptomatology and that the perception of discrimination was a major risk factor for psychological suffering, while perceived social support and individuals' resilience characteristics were protective factors. Qualitative data provided deeper insights into these findings, revealing the ways mental health is affected by social structures, such as gender and ethnic hierarchies. Migrants tend to work in precarious jobs requiring physical presence, which, together with dense housing conditions, puts them at higher risk of infection. The deterioration of the economic conditions of the general population has also increased the perception of ethnic-racial discrimination, which was found to be related to the increase in insecurity and anxiety-related symptomatology among the migrant population. Newly arrived migrants, with reduced support networks, experienced a greater sense of insecurity as well as concern and anguish regarding relatives who live far away, in their home country. Migrant women reported greater family-related distress, including work-life balance problems. Conclusions: Proposals to address mental health inequalities should be considered in the context of the necessary global changes both at the societal level and in the delivery of mental health services. Additionally, they should be considered with the active involvement of migrants, families, and communities in the design and delivery of mental health promotion and care processes.

2024Journal article

Open access

Psychometric properties of the Functional Literacy Questionnaire among Portuguese adolescents

Publication . Martins, Raquel; Capitão, Carolina; Feteira-Santos, Rodrigo; Virgolino, Ana; Santos, Osvaldo

Background: Robust tools to assess self-reported adolescent functional health literacy are lacking. In Portugal, the only available tool is the Newest Vital Sign for Portuguese adolescents (NVS-PTeen), though presenting modest validity and reliability properties. A new instrument-the Functional Literacy Questionnaire (FLiQ)-was developed, inspired by the NVS-PTeen, but following the European Regulation for food labeling and targeting a balanced assessment of numeracy and verbal comprehension skills. This study aimed to evaluate several psychometric properties of the FLiQ when administered to Portuguese adolescents. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal observational study with three phases: (1) Delphi panel with health literacy experts; (2) self-administration of FLiQ and NVS-PTeen to adolescents in 7th to 9th grades; and (3) re-administration of FLiQ four weeks after baseline, to the same group of participants. Results: FLiQ's content validity was excellent, with an Average-Content Validity Index of .95. Overall, 372 adolescents (50.3% girls) aged between 12-17 years (median age: 13) participated in the study. Of these, 150 completed the test-retest assessment. Internal consistency was good (Kuder-Richardson Fornula-20 = .70), as well as test-retest reliability (Intraclass Coefficient Correlation = .82). FLiQ total score was weakly correlated with the school year (rho = .174), and moderately with Portuguese (rho = .348) and Mathematics grades (rho = .333). Factor analysis indicated a two-dimension structure, reflecting numeracy and verbal comprehension skills. Item response theory analysis revealed differences in difficulty and discrimination capacity among items, all with adequate fit values. Conclusion: FLiQ is a valid and reliable tool. It can be used to monitor functional health literacy levels in Portuguese adolescents.

2024Journal article

Open access

Contribution of haptoglobin phenotypic variation to the presence of hyperhomocysteinemia in type 2 diabetics with and without angiopathy

Publication . Ferreira, Isabel; Bicho, Manuel; Valente, Ana

Background/aim: The genetic polymorphism of haptoglobin (Hp) has been associated with several cardiovascular risk factors, but a possible relationship between Hp phenotypic variation and increased levels of homocysteine (Hcy) and cysteine (Cy) is still unknown. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the Hp polymorphism and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and hypercysteinemia (HCy) in type 2 diabetics (T2D) with and without angiopathy (AGP). Methods: A case-control study was carried out on 293 adults: Group I (GI) - 75 subjects with T2D and AGP; Group II (GII) - 75 subjects with T2D without AGP; Group III (GIII) - 143 controls. Plasma levels of Hcy, Cy and vitamin B6 were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and vitamins B9 and B12 determined by electrochemiluminescence (ECL). The Hp polymorphism was identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and peroxidase staining. The results were analyzed in SPSS®, version 26.0 with a significance of 95%. Results: Mean Hcy concentrations were significantly lower in carriers of the Hp2-2 phenotype (6.14 µM; p = 0.046) compared to the other genotypes. The presence of Hp2-1 is associated with an approximately 3.3 times greater probability of occurrence of HHcy (p = 0.015) and 3.7 times greater probability occurrence of HCy (p = 0.021) in T2D with AGP. Conclusion: The presence of the Hp2-1 phenotype is associated with the predisposition of HHcy and HCy in individuals with T2D and AGP, possibly through a positive heterosis mechanism. Carriers of the Hp2-2 phenotype appear to have a greater activation of the transsulfuration pathway in the Hcy cycle and consequent protection for its accumulation.

2024Journal article

Restricted access

Influence of functional variations in genes of neurotrophins and neurotransmitter systems on the development of retinopathy of prematurity

Publication . Fevereiro-Martins, Mariza; Santos, Ana Carolina; Marques-Neves, Carlos; Guimarães, Hercília; Bicho, Manuel

Retinal neurodevelopment, vascularization, homeostasis, and stress response are influenced by factors such as nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and erythropoietin (EPO). As retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a neurovascular retinal disease, this study analyzed the contributions of NGF (rs6330), BDNF (rs7934165), TH (rs10770141), and EPO (rs507392) genetic functional polymorphisms to the modulation of hematological and biochemical parameters of the first week of life and their association with ROP development. A multicenter cohort of 396 preterm infants (gestational age < 32 weeks or birth weight < 1500 g) was genotyped using MicroChip DNA and iPlex MassARRAY® platform. Multivariate regression followed univariate assessment of ROP risk factors. NGF (GG) genotype was associated with a higher ROP risk (OR = 1.79), which increased further (OR = 2.38) when epistatic interactions with TH (allele C) and BDNF (allele G) were present. Significant circulating biomarker differences, including bilirubin, erythrocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelet markers, were found between ROP and non-ROP groups, with variations depending on the polymorphism. These findings suggest that NGF (rs6330) and its interactions with related genes contribute to ROP risk, providing valuable insights into the genetic and biological mechanisms underlying the disease and identifying potential predictive biomarkers.

2025Journal article

Open access