Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2)
Smoking and damages of reproduction: evidence of ELSPAC
Kukla L., Hrubá D., Tyrlík M.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):59-63
The international longitudinal prospective ELSPAC study also includes women from the Czech Republic: the results sum up data from 4530 women from City of Brno and District of Znojmo who had different exposure to active and passive smoking. Anamnestic data were collected by fulfilling the internationally unified questionnaires during pregnancy and at the 2nd month after delivery. Gynaecologists, obstetricians and pediatricians, using the unified procedures, were collecting objective data in the course of the pregnancy, delivery, monitoring health status of women and newborns. Significant differences were found between smoking and non-smoking...
The outcome of infertility treatment by in-vitro fertilisation in smoking and non-smoking women
Crha I., Hrubá D., Fiala J., Ventruba P., ®áková J., Petrenko M.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):64-68
The former and current smoking habits of 159 patients treated for infertility by means of IVF/ET technique were observed. The data were verified by a cotinine examination in urine. The basal levels of gonadotropines before treatment, the process and outcome of ovarian stimulation, oocyte fertilisation and incidence of pregnancy were observed. There were no differences between smokers and non-smokers in terms of their age and professional risks; smoking correlated with a lower level of education. The overall response of active smokers to hormonal stimulation was worse than that of non-smokers: a lower number of mature follicles (12.3 vs. 16.2) and a...
Premature mortality in lung cancer as an indicator of effectiveness of tobacco use prevention in a gender perspective - a comparison between Poland and Sweden
Wramner B., Zatoński W., Pellmer K.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):69-73
This contribution presents a comparative analysis of the probability of premature overall deaths and lung cancer mortality for men and women between one Nordic country - Sweden - and one country in transition in central Europe, namely Poland. Furthermore the study compares the pattern of smoking prevalence for both sexes in the two countries. Male lung cancer mortality is constant in Sweden during the last two decades, which is completely contrary to the trend in Poland with a long period of increase followed by a slow decrease during the last years. Lung cancer mortality for women in both countries is on a continuous increase and the rate is exactly...
Role of genetic factors in development and progression of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas
Souček P.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):74-78
Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms with wide variation in histologic features, immunologic phenotype, molecular abnormalities, clinical presentation, and disease progression. New molecular techniques have significantly increased understanding about the molecular background for development of NHL and it has been possible to identify typical genetic abnormalities in specific NHL subtypes. Some of the genetic changes and alterations in predisposing genes related to NHL are reviewed in this article. The reviewed information suggests that it is of great importance to look for reliable diagnostic tools for screening of population...
Epidemiology of invasive meningococcal infections of children in Slovenia during 1993-1999
Paragi M., Kraigher A., Cizman M., Gubina M., Caugant D.A.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):79-82
Invasive strains of Neisseria meningitidis isolated from sterile body fluids of children aged 0-14 years were intentionally collected in nine Slovenian laboratories, and sent to the laboratory of the National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana for final evaluation. From 1993-1999 we collected 53 invasive strains from children presented in this study. The incidence rate of invasive diseases in children shows that there is a rapid fall from 4.74/100,000 in 1993 to 0.90/100,000 in 1999. Invasive diseases predominated in children in the age group 0-1 year (19.6 cases per 100,000 children); followed by the age groups 2-4 years, 5-9 years and 10-14...
Does alcohol protect against ischaemic heart disease in Bulgaria? A case-control study of non-fatal myocardial infarction in Sofia
Genchev G.D., Georgieva L.M., Weijenberg M.P., Powles J.W.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):83-86
BACKGROUND: Many observational studies have shown that alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). IHD mortality has generally fallen in established market economies but not in some countries of Eastern Europe. Since the level of consumption of saturated fat does not explain these differences in trends, other associations with risk need to be explored. We investigated whether alcohol consumption also presents a U or J-shaped association with IHD risk in a case-control study in Bulgaria. METHODS: Cases (n = 155) were admissions to the cardiology unit, Central Clinical Hospital, Sofia, aged 45 to 69, with...
Pilot study of risk behaviour, voluntary HIV counselling and HIV antibody testing from saliva among inmates of prisons in Slovakia
Staneková D., Ondrejka D., Habeková M., Wimmerová S., Kučerková S.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):87-90
OBJECTIVE: To implement a pilot study of risk behaviour and HIV infection using HIV antibody testing from saliva to improve the situation as regards HIV/AIDS infection in prison institutions in the Slovak Republic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study comprised adult and juvenile males of grade one correction categories and prisoners from the prison for juveniles in Martin, as well as females prisoners in Nitra. Preventive activities were implemented in May 1998 in the form of discussions concerning topics related to HIV/AIDS infection. Saliva was collected for the presence of HIV antibodies and a questionnaire regarding sexual practice was completed....
On the need to teach evidence-based preventive medicine to health professionals
Jedrychowski W., Maugeri U., Jedrychowska-Bianchi I.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):91-94
In the last decade evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become popular between clinicians and epidemiologists as a tool to facilitate the translation of scientific research into clinical practice. In public health, this approach is important for health protection, different levels of disease prevention, and health promotion practice. EBM concept applicable to public health follows the same principles, but some additional aspects have to be considered. For example, in preventive medicine, there is the strong need to compare the relative effectiveness of various interventions in prolonging survival or preventing the occurrence or complications of a disease,...
Pattern recognition of respirable dust particles by a back-propagation artificial neural network
Wippel R., Pichler-Semmelrock F.P., Köck M., Kosmus W.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):95-101
A back-propagation neural network was used as a pattern recognition tool for LAMMA mass spectral data. Standard EPA source profiles were used as training and test data of the net. The elemental patterns (10 elements) of the sum of 100 mass spectra of fine dust particles were presented to the trained nets and satisfactory recognition (> 50 %) was obtained.
Potential application of immobilized and perfused hepatocytes in environmental toxicology studies
Farghali H., Lincová D., Kmoníčková E., Bencko V.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):102-105
Conventional cellular models have contributed significantly to the understanding of many aspects of cell physiology and molecular biology. In these models cells are metabolically less active, due to the inefficient oxygenation and waste product buildup. Therefore perfusion methods for the cells are expected to improve cell activities. Cells have to be fixed in or on an appropriate inert carrier or support, which enables cellular perfusion, maintains integrated cellular functions and makes a bioreactor. Since isolated hepatocytes are extensively used in biomedical studies including those dealing with environmental pollutants or toxins and in xenobiotic...
Frequency of occurrence of cytomegalovirus and Chlamydia pneumoniae in lymphocytes of atherosclerotic patients
Al-Amro A.A., Al-Jafari A.A., Al-Fagih M.R., Tajeldin M., Qavi H.B.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):106-108
Forty-three blood samples from atherosclerotic donors and 28 samples from normal individuals were analyzed to determine the frequency of occurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA sequences in lymphocytes of Saudi Arabian donors using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). In non-atherosclerotic donors, no CMV DNA was detectable and only one sample was positive for C-pneumoniae DNA sequences. Of the 43 atherosclerotic patients, 22 were infected with CMV, 23 were infected with C-pneumoniae and 11 showed no infection. Thirteen of the 43 donors showed simultaneous infection with both CMV and C-pneumoniae. These results demonstrate...
Injuries among children - some cost considerations in USA
Grivna M.
Cent Eur J Public Health 2001, 9(2):109-112
Unintentional and intentional injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under the age of 19. The large number of premature death and disabilities due to injury and accompanying high economic cost, including public sector expenditures, emphasize the need to reduce the burden of injury. Productivity losses are greater from injury than from the three other leading causes of death - heart disease, stroke and cancer. Implementation of known injury-control interventions can substantially reduce the incidence, severity, and accompanying cost of injury. Because financial resources are limited, decision-makers need to consider the...