Unfavourable birth outcomes of the Roma women in the Czech Republic and the potential explanations: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: Data on the health status of the Roma people in Central and Eastern Europe are sparse and the reasons for their poor health are not clear. The objective of this study was to quantify the differences in birth outcomes between Roma and non-Roma mothers in the Czech Republic and to investigate the potential causes of such differences. METHOD: A population-based study recruited 8938 non-Roma and 1388 Roma hospitalised singleton births that occurred in two Czech districts (Teplice and Prachatice) between 1995 and 2004. During their stay in hospital, mothers completed a questionnaire on their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and maternal smoking and alcohol consumption. Data on maternal height and weight and on infants' birth weight and gestational age were taken from hospital records. RESULTS: Birth weight and gestational age of Roma infants was 373 (SE 15) g and 0.92 (0.05) weeks, respectively, lower than in non-Roma infants. Controlling for demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural factors reduced these differences to 133 (18) g and 0.57 (0.06) weeks, respectively (all p-values < 0.001). In terms of binary outcomes, the Roma vs. non-Roma odds ratios were 4.5 (95% CI 3.7–5.4) for low birth weight (< 2500 g), 2.8 (2.2–3.4) for preterm birth (< 37 weeks of gestation), and 2.9 (2.5–3.4) for intrauterine grown retardation (<10(th )percentile of birth weight for gestational age); controlling for all covariates reduced these odds ratios to 1.7 (1.3–2.2), 1.5 (1.1–2.0) and 1.3 (1.0–1.6), respectively. Maternal education made the largest contribution to the ethnic differences; the role of health behaviours was relatively modest. CONCLUSION: There are striking differences in birth outcomes between Roma and non-Roma mothers. The causes of these differences are complex but largely socioeconomic

Regional socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity as predictors of regional infant mortality rate in Slovakia

OBJECTIVE: Exploring the associations of regional differences in infant mortality with selected socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity could offer important clues for designing public health policy measures. METHODS: Data included perinatal and infant mortality in the 79 districts of the Slovak population in 2004. Linear regression was used to analyse the contribution of education, unemployment, income and proportion of Roma population on regional differences in perinatal and infant mortality rates. RESULTS: All the explored socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity individually contributed significantly to both perinatal and infant mortality, with the exception of income. In the model exploring the influence of all these variables together on perinatal and infant mortality, only the effect of the proportion of Roma population remained significant. This model explained 34.9% of the variance for perinatal and 36.4% of the variance for infant mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Living in Roma settlements indicates an accumulation of socioeconomic disadvantage. Health literacy, health-related behaviour and many other factors might contribute to the explanation of the differences in infant mortality, and a better understanding of these processes might help us to design tailored interventions

Zespół nocnego odżywiania, aktywność fizyczna i BMI studentów wyższej uczelni

There is not a region in the world untouched by the obesity epidemic. Once just a problem of wealthy nations, obesity now impacts countries at all economic levels. The night-eating syndrome (NES) consists of evening hyperphagia or nocturnal eating. However, it is not consistently related to elevated BMI and physical activity (Nolan et al., 2012). We have evidence that the prevalence of NES is higher among overweight-related people, than in a general community. Nevertheless, the exact relationship between this syndrome, physical activity and obesity remains unclear. The reasons for the discrepancies found in the literature include varying diagnostic criteria and a wide range of study population characteristics. The aim of our cross sectional study, that is part of VEGA project “Selected risk factors of obesity and its prevention by physical activity” No.1/1343/12, was to investigate the relationship between the night-eating pattern, physical activity (PA) and BMI on a sample of university freshmen and fresh-women (774 males / 1142 females) with a mean age of 21,46 years (SD = 2.33).We found positive association between eating late, physical activity and BMI. However, we recognized some differences between sexes in physical activity and eating habits.Wszystkie regiony świata są dotknięte przez epidemię otyłości. Do niedawna problem ten dotyczył jedynie krajów rozwiniętych gospodarczo, teraz również problem mają kraje mniej rozwinięte i słabo rozwinięte gospodarczo. Zespół nocnego jedzenia (zespół odżywiania nocnego NES – night eating syndrom) obejmuje późne (hyperfagie) i nocne jedzenie. Istnieją różne poglądy na temat związku pomiędzy NES a wzrostem wskaźnika masy ciała i aktywnością fizyczną, a zależności opisywane w literaturze są niejednoznaczne (Nolan i in., 2012). Mamy dowody, aby twierdzić, że występowanie NES jest bardziej widoczne u osób z większą nadwagą niż u pozostałej populacji. Jednak dokładny związek pomiędzy NES i aktywnością fizyczną i otyłością pozostaje nieokreślony. Powodem tej rozbieżności wyników badań są różne kryteria diagnostyczne, jak również różnorodność badanej populacji. Celem naszego przekrojowego badania, które jest częścią projektu VEGA „wybrane czynniki ryzykowych faktorów otyłości i jej profilaktyka aktywnością fizyczną” No.1/1343/12, było zbadanie relacji między NES, aktywnością fizyczną i BMI studentów (774 mężczyzn / 1142 kobiet) ze średnią wieku 21,46 lat (zakres = 2,33). Stwierdziliśmy pozytywny związek między NES, aktywnością fizyczną i BMI. Z drugiej strony, zaobserwowaliśmy różnice między płciami, NES i aktywnością fizyczną

Biosensors for the Diagnosis of Celiac Disease: Current Status and Future Perspectives.

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy initiated and sustained by the ingestion of gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. It is caused by a dysregulated immune response toward both dietary antigens, the gluten proteins of wheat, rye, and barley, and autoantigens, the enzyme tissue transglutaminase (TG2). The small intestine is the target organ. Although routine immunochemical protocols for a laboratory diagnosis of CD are available, faster, easier-to-use, and cheaper analytical devices for CD diagnosis are currently unavailable. This review focuses on biosensors, consisting of a physicochemical transducer and a bioreceptor, as promising analytical tools for diagnosis of CD and other diseases. Examples of recently developed biosensors as well as expectations for future lines of research and development in this field are presented. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York

Histopathology and indicators of borderline ovarian tumours with microinvasion in bitches

The authors present two cases of borderline ovarian tumours with microinvasion in bitches with variable clinical significance. The first case documents a four-year-old female Weimaraner diagnosed with a tumour on the right ovary during a veterinary check-up, using USG examination, which was then surgically removed. Histological examination revealed a clear cell borderline tumour of the ovary with microinvasion. The second case is represented by a necropsy sample from a 52-month-old female German shepherd which died a day before the planned hysterectomy due to undertreated pyometra. During necropsy, a developed form of bilateral ovarian tumour was found. An additional histological examination diagnosed a serous borderline tumour with microinvasion of both ovaries. This paper discusses the histopathological and clinical aspects involved in the prognosis of borderline ovarian tumours in bitches, This concerns the possibility of a change for a more aggressive form of the behaviour of these tumours and their immunohistochemical profile, then the risk of implant metastases and, finally, the time point of diagnosis, intervention and therapy. Even histologically verified well-differentiated forms of borderline ovarian tumours with microinvasion in bitches can show variable clinical significance and, therefore, in similar cases, only a good or only a bad prognosis of the disease should not be expected