SCORE performance in Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union: MONICA and HAPIEE results

Aims: The Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) scale assesses 10 year risk of fatal atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), based on conventional risk factors. The high-risk SCORE version is recommended for Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union (CEE/FSU), but its performance has never been systematically assessed in the region. We evaluated SCORE performance in two sets of population-based CEE/FSU cohorts. Methods and results: The cohorts based on the World Health Organization MONitoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease (MONICA) surveys in the Czech Republic, Poland (Warsaw and Tarnobrzeg), Lithuania (Kaunas), and Russia (Novosibirsk) were followed from the mid-1980s. The Health, Alcohol, and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study follows Czech, Polish (Krakow), and Russian (Novosibirsk) cohorts from 2002–05. In Cox regression analyses, the high-risk SCORE ≥5% at baseline significantly predicted CVD mortality in both MONICA [n = 15 027; hazard ratios (HR), 1.7–6.3] and HAPIEE (n = 20 517; HR, 2.6–10.5) samples. While SCORE calibration was good in most MONICA samples (predicted and observed mortality were close), the risk was underestimated in Russia. In HAPIEE, the high-risk SCORE overpredicted the estimated 10 year mortality for Czech and Polish samples and adequately predicted it for Russia. SCORE discrimination was satisfactory in both MONICA and HAPIEE. Conclusion: The high-risk SCORE underestimated the fatal CVD risk in Russian MONICA but performed well in most MONICA samples and Russian HAPIEE. This SCORE version might overestimate the risk in contemporary Czech and Polish populations

Socio-economic status over the life-course and depressive symptoms in men and women in Eastern Europe

Objective: Research into social inequalities in depression has studied western populations but data from non-western countries are sparse. In this paper, we investigate the extent of social inequalities in depression in Eastern Europe, the relative importance of social position at different points of the life-course, and whether social patterning of depression differs between men and women.Method: A cross-sectional study examined 12,053 men and 13,582 women in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Depressive symptoms (16 or above on the CESD-20) were examined in relation to socio-economic circumstances at three phases of the life-course: childhood (household amenities and father's education); own education; current circumstances (financial difficulties and possession of household items).Results: Pronounced social differences in depression exist in men and women throughout Eastern Europe. Depression was largely influenced by current circumstances rather than by early life or education, with effects stronger in Poland and Russia. Odds ratios in men for current disadvantage were 3.16 [95% CI: 2.57-3.89], 3.16 [2.74-3.64] and 2.17 [1.80-2.63] in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic respectively. Social variables did not explain the female excess in depression, which varied from 2.91 [2.58-3.27] in Russia to 1.90 [1.74-2.08] in Poland. Men were more affected by adult disadvantage than women, leading to narrower sex differentials in the presence of disadvantage.Limitations: Cross-sectional data with recall of childhood conditions were used.Conclusion: Current social circumstances are the strongest influence on increased depressive symptoms in countries which have recently experienced social changes. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Interconnection of demographic processes and economic growth

The article describes the main demographic trends and their impact on economic growth. Nowadays this problem is actual not only for Russia but for most other countries too. The text presents information about the negative effects of demographic situations and interconnection between these situations and economic growth. The goal of the study is to analyse the influence of demography on economic growth. The results of the work are given as recommendations in the field of demographic policy that can minimize the negative effects of these problems. This article is a great interest for researches dealing with the problems of sustainable economic growth

Optimization of frequency dependence of group time delay at the transmitting paths of the radar by the application of equalizers

This the problem of optimization of the grou

Combined gene essentiality scoring improves the prediction of cancer dependency maps

Correction: Volume: 51 Article Number: UNSP 102594 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.12.003Peer reviewe

Education, material condition and physical functioning trajectories in middle-aged and older adults in Central and Eastern Europe: a cross-country comparison

BACKGROUND: Two competing hypotheses, cumulative advantage/disadvantage and age-as-leveller, have been proposed to explain the contradictory findings on socioeconomic differences in health over the lifespan. To test these hypotheses, this investigation examined the influence of educational attainment and material condition on individual trajectories of physical functioning (PF) in unexplored ageing populations in Central and Eastern Europe. METHODS: 28 783 men and women aged 45–69 years selected from populations in seven Czech towns, Krakow (Poland) and Novosibirsk (Russia). PF was measured by the Physical Functioning Subscale (PF-10) of the Short-Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36) at baseline and three subsequent occasions. The highest educational attainment was self-reported at baseline, and material condition was captured by the sum score of 12 household amenities and assets. RESULTS: In all cohorts, participants with a university degree had the highest PF-10 score at baseline and slowest rate of decline in the score during follow-up, while the lowest baseline scores and fastest decline rate were found in participants with less than secondary education in all cohorts and in Russians with secondary education. Similar disparities in the baseline PF-10 score and decline rate were observed across tertiles of material condition, but differences in decline rates across the three tertiles among Czechs or between the lower two tertiles among Russians were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Disparities in PF by educational attainment and material condition among middle-aged and older adults in Central and Eastern Europe existed at baseline and widened during ∼10 years of follow-up, supporting the cumulative advantage/disadvantage hypothesis

FMRFamid-like neuropeptides as modulators of locomotory reactions in plant parasitic cyst nematodes

The purpose of the research is analysis of world literature dedicated to studies of physiological role and functional importance of FMRFamide-like neuropeptides – components of peptidergic nervous system in cyst nematode plant parasites using an example of 2nd stage larvae of potato and soy nematodes Globodera pallida and Heterodera glycines.The main physiological and functional characteristics of endogenous FMRFamid-like neuropeptides had been found in studies of functional role of flp genes expression of which was discovered in various nerve structures of potato and soy nematodes. The work shows the role of endogenous FMRFamid-like neuropeptides in such plant nematodes' behavior elements as locomotions promoting the parasites' life activity. The functional importance of flp genes coding these biologically active substances and possibilities of using data on physiological effects of neuropeptides on plant nematodes' activity for development of new anthelminthic precise effect drugs are discussed

Life Course Socioeconomic Position and Mid-Late Life Cognitive Function in Eastern Europe.

Objectives.To investigate whether the positive relation between socioeconomic position (SEP) across the life course and later life cognitive function observed in Western populations exists in former communist countries with apparently smaller income inequalities.Method.Structural equation modeling analysis of cross-sectional data on 30,846 participants aged 45-78 years in four Central and Eastern European centers: Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland), Kaunas (Lithuania), and six Czech towns from the HAPIEE (Health, Alcohol, and Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe) study. SEP was measured using self-reported childhood (maternal education, household amenities), adult (education), and older adult (current material circumstances) indicators. Latent variable for cognition was constructed from word recall, animal naming, and letter search

New approaches to the study of elementosis in obstetrics

To study macro- and micronutrients in the tissues of the placenta, umbilical cord, and uterus, as well as the erythrocytes of the mother-placenta-fetus system during pregnancy against the background of thyroid gland (TG) pathology of various origins, diabetes I, and gestational diabetes mellitus (DM