Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3)

Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes and subtypes in Croatia: 2008-2015

Adriana Vince, Snježana Židovec Lepej, Jasna Bingulac-Popović, Manuela Miletić, Sendi Kuret, Sanda Sardelić, Ivana Baća Vrakela, Ivan Kurelac

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):159-163 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5021  

Objective: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotyping is an important part of pre-treatment diagnostic algorithms as it guides the choice of therapeutic regimens. The aim of this study was to analyse the distribution of HCV genotypes in patients with chronic hepatitis C from Croatia in the period 2008-2015. Methods: The study enrolled 3,655 anti-HCV positive patients with available results of HCV genotyping from the three largest national HCV genotyping laboratories. Results: The majority of HCV-infected individuals enrolled in the study were male (70.7%). Analysis of age distribution in a subset of 2,164 individuals showed a mean age of 40.9 years (SD 11.77...

Continued smoking versus spontaneous quitting among pregnant women living in a high risk environment

Peter Balázs, Andrea Grenczer, Ildiko Rákóczi, Kristie L. Foley

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):164-170 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5048  

Objectives: In Hungary, 37% of women living in poverty were smokers in 2012. There are no valid data of pregnant women's spontaneous smoking cessation. Methods: Our retrospective cohort study (2009-2012) targeted the most underdeveloped regions with an estimated 6-8.5% of Roma population. The sample (N = 12,552) represented 76% of the target population i.e. women in four counties in a year delivering live born babies. Chi-square probe and multivariable logistic regression model (p < 0.05) were used to assess relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and spontaneous cessation. Results: Prior to pregnancy, the overall smoking rate was...

Community-based survey as a basis for evidence-based public health: children living in Upper Silesian Industrial Zone

Michał Skrzypek, Małgorzata Kowalska, Joanna Kobza, Agata Wypych, Elżbieta M. Czech, Ewa Niewiadomska, Małgorzata M. Bała

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):171-176 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5130  

Objective: The aim of the study was to estimate changes in the prevalence of respiratory diseases and disorders between 2003/2004 and 2011/2012 in 13-16 years old children living in Bytom, one of the biggest cities in the Silesia agglomeration and provide the evidence for local policy makers. Methods: Data from two cross-sectional surveys, based on the Polish version of the International Study of Allergy and Asthma in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, conducted in 2003/2004 and 2011/2012 was used. Response rate in the first and the second survey was 68% and 35%, respectively. The number of analyzed observations was 4,041 and 707 from the first and the...

Respiratory toxicity of TiO₂ nanoparticles after intravenous instillation: an experimental study

Marta Hurbánková, Katarína Volkovová, Soňa Wimmerová, Danica Henčeková, Štefánia Moricová

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):177-182 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5222  

Objective: Nanomaterials are materials consisting of particles having one or more dimensions smaller than 100 nm. Nanoparticles (NP) have different properties and effects in comparison with the same particle materials of larger size. They can penetrate through various membranes and get from the bloodstream to other organs in the body. Therefore, in our experiment we have dealt with the impact of nanoparticles TiO₂ instilled intravenously (i.v.) (to a tail vein of an animal) on the selected parameters of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). The aim of our study was to determine whether TiO₂ nanoparticles do pass through the vascular system...

Psychosocial and physiological risks of shift work in nurses: a cross-sectional study

Belén Leyva-Vela, Francisco Jesús Llorente-Cantarero, Silvia Henarejos-Alarcón, Alejandro Martínez-Rodríguez

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):183-189 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4817  

Objectives: Many jobs are associated with psychological or social risk factors. Knowledge of occupational diseases is essential for adopting rational control measures. The aim was to study and describe frequent social, psychological and physiological risk factors for nurses. Methods: Psychological and social risks were evaluated in nurses with regular or irregular shifts. In addition, differences between nurses or nursing assistants were studied. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, Eating Attitudes Test, Profile of Mood State, Athens Insomnia Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Minnesota Leisure Time were administered. Results: Nursing assistants...

A new potential biomarker in early diagnosis of firefighter lung function impairment: dynamic thiol/disulphide homeostasis

Meşide Gündüzöz, Servet Birgin İritaş, Lütfiye Tutkun, Murat Büyükşekerci, Sultan Pinar Çetintepe, Ceylan Bal, Murat Alişik, Serpil Erdoğan, Hinç Yilmaz, Özcan Erel

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):190-194 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4972  

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between urinary arsenic, oxidative stress, assessed by thiol/disulphide homeostasis, and lung diseases in firefighters. Methods: The study conducted among the municipality-based male firefighters (n = 100) who were admitted to occupational diseases clinic for periodic medical examination. The control group consisted of non-exposed male office workers (n = 50). Urinary arsenic levels, thiol/disulphide homeostasis parameters of participants were determined. Also, lung diseases were assessed by chest X-ray and pulmonary function tests. Results: The mean age and work year did not differ...

Risk indicators for road accident in Poland for the period 2004-2017

Witold Pawłowski, Krzysztof Goniewicz, Katarzyna Naylor, Mariusz Goniewicz, Dorota Lasota

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):195-198 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4791  

Objective: The aim of the research was to assess the prevalence, effects and risk factors for motor vehicle accidents (MVA) in the years 2004-2017 in Poland. Method: We merged secondary data from the Prevention and Analysis Office of Road Traffic Headquarters of Police and Central Statistical Office of Poland. Results: Our results suggest that several thousand people are killed on Polish roads annually, and tens of thousands are injured. Road crashes represent the leading cause of death for Polish men up to 44 years of age. The most common causes of road crashes in Poland include failure to comply with the road traffic rules and low driving skills....

Evaluation of oral health status of children in pretreatment and after treatment for 18 month

K. Görkem Ulu Güzel, Melis Akyildiz, Gülçin Doğusal, Sultan Keleş, Işil Sönmez

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):199-203 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5079  

Objective: Dental caries is an important public health issue worldwide. In developing countries preventive dentistry is not common; hence, oral and dental health problems continue to generate serious economic and social issues. The aim of this study was to assess oral health and the incidence of dental caries in systemically healthy children aged 3-14 years, provide education on oral hygiene motivation, conduct the necessary preventive and restorative procedures, and reassess caries development at the 6-, 12-, and 18-month post-treatment follow-up. Methods: Systemically healthy children aged 3-14 years who applied to the Paediatric Dentistry Clinic,...

Test-retest reliability of selected HBSC items measuring problem behaviour among Slovak and Czech adolescents

Jana Holubčíková, Michal Kudláček, Jan Širůček, Andrea Madarasová Gecková

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):204-208 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4662  

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability of selected items based on self-reports, measuring problem behaviour in the Slovak and Czech version of the HBSC survey questionnaire. Methods: The data from test-retest study, based on an international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study and consistent with its methodology, were analysed. A sample of 580 primary school pupils (51.2% of boys), grades five and nine participated in a test and retest with a four-week interval. Six items concerning problem behaviour were evaluated overall and stratified by gender and age. Results: Analyses of test-retest reliability...

Association between computer game type, playing time and sense of coherence in Lithuanian adolescents

Ruta Ustinavičienė, Lina Škėmienė, Dalia Lukšienė, Ričardas Radišauskas, Gintarė Kalinienė, Paulius Vasilavičius

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):209-214 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4731  

Objective: As an excessive gaming is the addiction of the 21th century, purpose of our study was to investigate how sense of coherence interacts with gaming time, choice of various games types, age and gender characteristics. Our task was to evaluate relationship between computer gaming and an adolescent's sense of coherence. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on a self-reported questionnaire was performed among the representative samples of 1,806 adolescents aged 13-18 years. Adolescents reported the amount of time spent gaming computer games, types of games, as well as sense of coherence. The relations between the choice of computer games type,...

A study on stress, depression and suicidal ideation according to sexual behaviours among Korean adolescents

Eunmi Lee, Yujeong Kim

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):215-222 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4804  

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine stress, depression and suicidal ideation in Korean adolescents according to their sexual behaviours, such as experience of sexual intercourse, time of first sexual intercourse, and sexual intercourse after alcohol drinking. Methods: This study was conducted as a secondary data analysis using the raw data of the 9th Korea Youth Risk Behaviour Web-based Survey (KYRBWS-IX) conducted in 2013. The survey sampled 75,149 secondary school students, and 72,435 of them were included in this analysis. Results: Stress level, depression and suicidal ideation were significantly higher in adolescents with experience...

Assessment of changes in somatic characteristics based on the level of physical activity in women who undertook weight reduction course

Tereza Sofková, Miroslava Přidalová

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):223-227 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4678  

Objective: Obesity is a chronic disease in modern age and finding approach to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of obesity has its place among the priorities of modern medicine and related fields. Important component in programmes to reduce overweight and obesity is regular physical activity (PA), which plays vital role in the comprehensive approach to the treatment of obesity. Primary objective of our study was to assess changes in somatic characteristics following eleven weeks of PA in overweight and obese women aged 30 to 60 years. Methods: Our research sample consisted of 221 women who were classified according to the level of PA carried...

Gender-associated differences in the prevalence of central obesity using waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio, and that of general obesity, in Slovak adults

Melinda Csongová, Katarína Volkovová, Martin Gajdoš, Radana Gurecká, Ivana Koborová, Aurélia Líšková, Katarína Šebeková

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):228-233 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4719  

Objectives: Central obesity represents an increased risk to develop cardiovascular diseases. Guidelines of international societies suggest estimating central obesity by measuring waist circumference (WC). Robust statistical data in literature provide evidence on the superiority of waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) over WC and body mass index (BMI) for detecting cardiometabolic risk in both genders. Based on measurements of weight, height and waist circumference we compared the prevalence of central obesity using both the above mentioned criteria in the apparently healthy Slovak adults, and compared the prevalence of central obesity to that of general obesity...

Low health literacy and excess body weight: a systematic review

Maria Michou, Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos, Vassiliki Costarelli

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):234-241 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5172  

Objective: There is recent evidence that poor health literacy (HL) could be implicated in the aetiology of obesity and could be an important reason behind obese people's inability to encounter difficulties in overcoming obesity issues. The current study reviews the recent scientific evidence investigating the possible link between poor HL levels and excess body weight in adults and children. Methods: The authors performed a thorough systematic computer-assisted literature search from 1 January 2005 up to 31 May 2017. Only English original studies in healthy people, investigating the relationship between HL and excess body weight, were included. Results:...

Expansion of lactation support services to neonatal intensive care unit

Iva Holmquist, Vanda Boštíková, Hana Střítecká, Hana Zmrzlá, Radek Pohnán, Anna Mydlilová

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):242-244 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5200