Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1)
COVID-19 severe pneumonia: Prospective multicentre study on demands on intensive care capacities
Olga Džupová, Michal Moravec, Hynek Bartoš, Peter Brestovanský, Tomáš Tencer, Tomáš Hyánek, Jan Beroušek, Zdeňka Krupková, František Mošna, Tomáš Vymazal, Jiří Beneš
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):3-8 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6672 
Objectives: The aim of the study was to obtain data on demands on the intensive care capacities to treat COVID-19 patients, and to identify predictors for in-hospital mortality. Methods: The prospective observational multicentre study carried out from 1 March till 30 June 2020 included adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with respiratory failure requiring ventilatory support or high-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO). Results: Seventy-four patients, 46 males and 28 females, median age 67.5 (Q1-Q3: 56-75) years, were included. Sixty-four patients (86.5%) had comorbidity. Sixty-six patients (89.2%) were mechanically ventilated, four of them...
Distribution of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Europe during the first 12 peak weeks of outbreak
Hana Zach, Martina Hanová, Mária Letkovičová
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):9-13 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6394
Objective: The aim of the study was to identify similar WHO European countries in COVID-19 incidence and mortality rate during the first 12 peak weeks of pandemic outbreak to find out whether exact coherent parts of Europe were more affected than others, and to set relationship between age and higher COVID-19 mortality rate. Methods: COVID-19 cases and deaths from 28 February to 21 May 2020 of 37 WHO European countries were aggregated into 12 consecutive weeks. The fuzzy C-means clustering was performed to identify similar countries in COVID-19 incidence and mortality rate. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and log-log linear regression...
Annual influenza vaccination effect on the susceptibility to COVID-19 infection
Betul Erismis, Semsi Nur Karabela, Fatma Eksi, Faruk Karandere, Bekir Dogan, Fatih Okay, Melih Filiz, Hakan Kocoglu, Halim Issever, Mehmet Hursitoglu, Kadriye Kart Yasar
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):14-17 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6573
Objectives: We aimed to study the effect of seasonal influenza (flu) vaccination on the susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: A total of 203 healthcare workers of a pandemic centre of Istanbul, Turkey, were included in this retrospective study. According to the presence or absence of flu vaccination, participants were divided into group 1 and group 2. A comparison of the rate of COVID-19 was done between these two groups. Also, the mean age and the sex ratio of females/males were evaluated and compared between these two groups. Results: Group 1 participants (n = 65) were older than participants in group 2 (n = 138) (p <...
Rubella and tick-borne encephalitis vaccination rates among staff and students at Austrian University of Applied Sciences
Elisabeth Mara, Tamara Kacic, Lisa Zobl, Thomas Pekar
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):18-22 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6014
Objectives: Rubella and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are infectious diseases caused by viruses. Rubella is an air-borne infection. TBE, on the other hand, is transmitted by virus-infected ticks. Both diseases show specific symptoms after an incubation period of approximately 10 days. The Austrian vaccination plan recommends vaccinations against both viruses, as only these can protect against both infectious diseases. Because of both, an increase in measles infections and the high endemic rate of TBE in Austria, our goal was to evaluate the vaccination rate, antibody titre and general level of knowledge with respect to these two infections amongst...
Coexistence of asthmatic and non-respiratory allergic symptoms in children of Batumi Region, Georgia: occurrence and association with known diagnosis of asthma
Vakhtang Beridze, Tamar Bakhtadze, Sophio Beridze, Karaman Phagava, Ivane Chkhaidze, Grzegorz Marek Brożek, Jan Eugeniusz Zejda
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):23-27 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6143
Objectives: Our recent studies showed that in children in the Batumi region, Georgia, underdiagnosis of asthma is 65%, and that not all children with known asthma had a history of allergic disorders. So, we decided to assess the association of known diagnosis of paediatric asthma with asthma-like symptoms and non-respiratory allergic symptoms and diseases using questionnaire-derived data provided by respiratory health survey. Methods: Subjects of the cross-sectional population-based study were 3,239 urban and 2,113 rural children aged 5-17 years whose respiratory status was assessed using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood...
Sick building syndrome among healthcare workers and healthcare associates at observed general hospital in Slovenia
Sedina Kalender-Smajlović, Mateja Dovjak, Andreja Kukec
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):28-37 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6108
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the possible associations between self-perceived sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms among healthcare workers and healthcare associates and self-perceived parameters of indoor work environment quality. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April 2019. Validated standardized evaluation tools (MM 040 NA Hospital 2007 and MM 040 NA Office 2007) were used for estimating the prevalence of SBS among observed populations. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests for assessing possible associations in SBS symptoms between healthcare workers and associates were used. Results: The response...
Impact of obesity on risk of cancer
Karolina Krupa-Kotara, Dominika Dakowska
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):38-44 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5913
Epidemiological data consistently show sustained upward trend in the incidence of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimated that in 2018 more than 18 million people were diagnosed with cancer, and in about 9.6 million cases cancer could be the cause of death. At the same time, an increasing percentage of overweight and obesity is observed in both adults and children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2016 over 1.9 billion (39% of the population) of adults were overweight, of which over 650 million (13%) were obese. Obesity is closely related to the risk of cancer development. Excessive body weight is...
Prevalence and predictors of smoking, quit attempts and total smoking ban at the University of Turku, Finland
Walid El Ansari, Abdul Salam
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):45-55 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6576
Objectives: The current study employed socio-demographic, health and lifestyle, and academic variables to assess the prevalence and independent predictors of daily smoking, attempts to quit smoking, and agreement with total smoking ban at university. Methods: Students at the University of Turku (1,177) completed an online questionnaire that assessed socio-demographic, health and lifestyle, and academic characteristics, and three smoking variables (smoking, attempts to quit, agreement with total smoking ban at university). Bivariate relationships and multiple logistic regression assessed relationships between student characteristics and the three smoking...
Validity and reliability of Turkish version of Beliefs About Third-Hand Smoke scale: BATHS-T
Dursun Çadirci, Nuray Kivanç Terzi, Ragip Terzi, Fatma Gökşin Cihan
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):56-61 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6578
Objective: Exposure to third-hand smoke (THS) poses health risk, especially for children. THS is mostly ignored in Turkey. The aim of this study is to adapt the Beliefs about Third-Hand Smoke (BATHS) scale to Turkish. Methods: The BATHS scale consists of 9 items, and the data collected from 273 people was considered sufficient for analyses in this methodological study. The BATHS scale is translated into Turkish and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed for the construct validity analysis of the scale. Results: The correlation between the overall BATHS scale and its two sub-dimensions was 0.937 (p < 0.001), and the correlation between...
Negative trends in outpatient care of addicted patients in Hungary
Miklós Péter Kalapos
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):62-67 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5419
Objectives: This article investigates how the numbers of registered addict patients have changed in the last three decades in Hungary and whether the predicted HIV epidemic among intravenous drug users has occurred. Methods: Data were collected from the Annual Reports of the National Bureau of Statistics and National Epidemiological Centre as well as from the medical records of the author. Results: The total number of registered alcoholics decreased by about 75% during the investigated period. This decrease was more pronounced among males than females. After initial increase, the number of registered drug addicts showed stagnation with an about 50%...
Nutritional status of the free-living elderly
İsmail Özkaya
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):68-75 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5925
Objectives: Measuring malnutrition is difficult in all settings and confused with the signs of aging. Mini nutritional assessment is an effective tool designed to identify older adults who have a risk of developing malnutrition. Methods: Three hundred and one free-living elderly who lived with their family or alone were included in the study. Nutritional screening was performed with mini nutritional assessment and mini nutritional assessment short form. Dietary intake was assessed by a 3-days weighted food record. Results: According to mini nutritional assessment in the 65-74 years young-old group, malnutrition, risk of malnutrition, and normal nutrition...
International evidence for the effectiveness of the front-of-package nutrition label called Nutri-Score
Valentina A. Andreeva, Manon Egnell, Mathilde Touvier, Pilar Galan, Chantal Julia, Serge Hercberg
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):76-79 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6239
Objectives: Front-of-package nutrition labels are intended to easily convey to consumers comprehensible information about the nutritional composition of pre-packaged food and are thus a tool in the combat against the growing prevalence of nutrition-related disorders, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer. The objective of the present narrative review was first to describe Nutri-Score and then to synthesize some of the international scientific evidence for its effectiveness. Guided by scientific data and collective expertise, France formally adopted labelling of pre-packaged food with the 5-colour Nutri-Score...
Prominent epidemiologist Vladimír Zikmund passed away
Jana Prattingerová, Vladimír Príkazský
Cent Eur J Public Health 2021, 29(1):80