Quality of life in patients with psoriasis

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease. It is characterized by the occurrence of periods of exacerbation and remission. Symptoms appear in the second or third decade of life. There are many types of psoriasis, such as plaque, inverse, erythroderma psoriasis and specific parts of the body. Another form of pustular psoriasis is. There is also psoriatic arthritis, which is manifested by inflammation of the articular tissues. Various methods of treatment that are dependent form of the disease and location of lesions. Additionally, to relieve lesions uses physical procedures. Psoriasis as a chronic disease can affect quality of life. Aim of study: The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of psoriasis on quality of life and overall spheres such as psychology, physical fitness and meeting the social roles of patients. Materials and methods: The study included 466 people with psoriasis including 370 women and 96 men. The sample was classified by adults, regardless of place of residence and time since diagnosis. 70% of respondents were in the group of 18-40 years. Anonymous diagnostic survey conducted over the internet using a questionnaire SKINDEX-29. Results: Patients assessed their quality of life as good. Variables such as gender, age, BMI or the time of diagnosis does not differentiate the assessment of quality of life. Patients assessed their worst quality of life in the psychological aspect. During the analysis did not show any statistical significance in the comparison of the data obtained. Conclusions: Psoriasis does not reduce the overall quality of life of patients and has no significant impact on the various aspects: psychological, physical, psychosocial functioning. There is no relationship between gender, age, BMI, duration of the disease and the overall quality of life. Used a questionnaire is not a reliable method for testing the quality of life of patients with psoriasis

Satisfaction of Polish pharmacists with completed training in the field of qualification and vaccination against COVID-19

Introduction The coronavirus pandemic in Poland required quick responses. After the invention of the Covid-19 vaccine, the main strategic goal became to vaccinate as many Poles as possible in the shortest time. This required the involvement of all medical services, including pharmacists. Qualifications to perform full vaccination services were acquired during courses organized by the Center for Postgraduate Medical Education. Almost 9,000 pharmacists have acquired qualifications for vaccinations, not all of them have decided to provide them in pharmacies. The aim of the study was a preliminary analysis of pharmacists' satisfaction from completed qualification courses to perform the protective vaccination service against Covid-19. Material and methods The study in the form of an online questionnaire was conducted among 403 professionally active pharmacists who completed a qualification course to provide the Covid-19 vaccination service. The questions concerned, among others, the assessment of the content delivery and skills during the course, as well as the usefulness of the content in practice. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis. Results The vast majority of the surveyed pharmacists, regardless of their work experience, were satisfied with the completed qualification courses. Pharmacists with more than 10 years of work experience rated the theoretical part of the course better than their younger colleagues. For the practical part, there were no differences between the groups. The majority of pharmacists assessed the method of transferring practical skills as good or very good and indicated the usefulness of the acquired content and skills in practice. Conclusions The courses organized by the Center for Postgraduate Medical Education turned out to be satisfactory in the opinion of Polish pharmacists. It seems important to look for factors affecting the lack of provision of the Covid-19 vaccination service by some qualified pharmacist

Thermographic Assessment of Skin Temperature Changes following Partial Body Cryostimulation (PBC) in Football Players

Infrared thermography has been widely used to visualize skin temperature in human science. One of the important areas of its application is the analysis of changes in body surface temperature as a result of the use of physical medicine treatments in post-exercise regeneration in sports. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cutaneous temperature response in selected body areas and the range of chosen markers of skeletal muscle damage to partial body cryostimulation (PBC) as a method of post-match regeneration. Fourteen football players underwent PBC after a match. Thermographic analyses of anterior and posterior surfaces of the body were performed before and immediately after the treatment. Before, directly after, and 24, 48, and 72 h after the match serum creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were evaluated. After PBC, a significant (p ≤ 0.001) decrease in skin temperature (Tsk) in all analyzed areas occurred. The greatest drop was observed in the areas of the thighs (∆ = 9.96–11.02 °C); the smallest temperature drop occurred in the areas of the upper and lower part of the back (∆ = 6.18−6.70 °C) and in the area of the chest (∆ = 6.80 °C). The most significant positive relationships between the magnitude of change in Tsk of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the thighs, body fat, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure have been shown. There were no significant differences between temperatures in selected areas in relation to the sides of the body, both before and after PBC. The range of temperature changes confirms the stimulating effect of PBC. The course of changes in the concentration of CK and AST indicates a potentially beneficial effect of PBC on the course of post-workout regeneration, without side effects. Maintaining a constant body temperature during PBC comes at the expense of thermoregulatory mechanisms leading to a lower body surface temperature

Satisfaction of Polish pharmacists with completed training in the field of qualification and vaccination against COVID-19

MALEC, Stanisław, KNYSZYŃSKA, Anna & KLESZCZEWSKI, Tomasz. Satisfaction of Polish pharmacists with completed training in the field of qualification and vaccination against COVID-19. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023;13(3):90-97. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.13.03.013 https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/41634 https://zenodo.org/record/7554016 The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 21, 2021. No. 32343. Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences). Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159. Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu). © The Authors 2023; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 31.12.2022. Revised: 17.01.2023. Accepted: 20.01.2023. Satysfakcja polskich farmaceutów z odbytych szkoleń w zakresie kwalifikowania oraz wykonywania szczepień przeciw COVID-19 Satisfaction of Polish pharmacists with completed training in the field of qualification and vaccination against COVID-19 Stanisław Malec1, Anna Knyszyńska2*, Tomasz Kleszczewski3 1 Wydział Ochrony Zdrowia, Państwowa Uczelnia Zawodowa im. Edwarda F. Szczepanika w Suwałkach, ul. Teofila Noniewicza 10, 16-400 Suwałki , Apteka Arnika Suwałki, ul. Nowomiejska 15, 16-400 Suwałki; [email protected]; ORCID: 0000-0002-3178-2872 2 Zakład Nauk Humanistycznych i Terapii Zajęciowej, Pomorski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Szczecinie, Chłapowskiego 11, 71-103 Szczecin; [email protected]; ORCID: 0000-0003-4030-3527 – *autor do korespondencji 3 Zakład Biofizyki, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku, ul. Jana Kilińskiego 1, 15-089 Białystok; [email protected]; ORCID: 0000-0002-0250-8698 Streszczenie Wprowadzenie. Pandemia koronawirusa SARS Cov-19 na świecie i w Polsce wymagała szybkich reakcji ze strony państwa. Po wynalezieniu szczepionki przeciw Covid-19 głównym strategicznym celem stało się zaszczepienie jak największej liczby Polaków w jak najkrótszym czasie. Wymagało to zaangażowania wszystkich służb medycznych w tym także farmaceutów. Kwalifikacje do wykonywania pełnych usług szczepienia nabywane były podczas kursów organizowanych przez Centrum Medycznego Kształcenia Podyplomowego. Mimo nabycia kwalifikacji do szczepień przez niemal 9 tysięcy farmaceutów, nie wszyscy zdecydowali się na ich świadczenie w aptekach. Celem pracy była wstępna analiza satysfakcji farmaceutów z odbytych kursów kwalifikacyjnych do wykonywania usługi szczepienia ochronnego przeciw Covid-19. Materiał i Metody. Badanie w formie kwestionariusza ankiety online przeprowadzono wśród 403 czynnych zawodowo farmaceutów, którzy odbyli kurs kwalifikacyjny do świadczenia usługi szczepienia przeciw Covid-19. Pytania dotyczyły między innymi oceny przekazywania treści oraz umiejętności podczas kursu a także przydatności treści w praktyce. Zebrane dane poddano analizie statystycznej wykorzystując odpowiednio dobrane testy. Wyniki. Znacząca większość badanych farmaceutów bez względu na ich staż pracy była usatysfakcjonowana z odbytych kursów kwalifikacyjnych. Farmaceuci ze stażem pracy dłuższym niż 10 lat lepiej od młodszych stażem kolegów oceniali część teoretyczną kursu. Dla części praktycznej nie odnotowano różnic między grupami w zależności od stażu pracy. Większość farmaceutów oceniało sposób przekazywania umiejętności praktycznych w sposób dobry bądź bardzo dobry oraz wskazywało na przydatność uzyskanych treści oraz umiejętności w praktyce. Wnioski. Kursy organizowane przez Centrum Medycznego Kształcenia Podyplomowego okazały się satysfakcjonujące w opinii polskich farmaceutów. Istotnym wydaje się poszukiwanie czynników wpływających na brak wykonywania usługi szczepienia ochronnego przeciw Covid-19 przez część wykwalifikowanych do tego farmaceutów. Słowa kluczowe: Covid-19; szczepienia; farmaceuci; kurs kwalifikacyjny Abstract Introduction The coronavirus pandemic in Poland required quick responses. After the invention of the Covid-19 vaccine, the main strategic goal became to vaccinate as many Poles as possible in the shortest time. This required the involvement of all medical services, including pharmacists. Qualifications to perform full vaccination services were acquired during courses organized by the Center for Postgraduate Medical Education. Almost 9,000 pharmacists have acquired qualifications for vaccinations, not all of them have decided to provide them in pharmacies. The aim of the study was a preliminary analysis of pharmacists' satisfaction from completed qualification courses to perform the protective vaccination service against Covid-19. Material and methods The study in the form of an online questionnaire was conducted among 403 professionally active pharmacists who completed a qualification course to provide the Covid-19 vaccination service. The questions concerned, among others, the assessment of the content delivery and skills during the course, as well as the usefulness of the content in practice. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis. Results The vast majority of the surveyed pharmacists, regardless of their work experience, were satisfied with the completed qualification courses. Pharmacists with more than 10 years of work experience rated the theoretical part of the course better than their younger colleagues. For the practical part, there were no differences between the groups. The majority of pharmacists assessed the method of transferring practical skills as good or very good and indicated the usefulness of the acquired content and skills in practice. Conclusions The courses organized by the Center for Postgraduate Medical Education turned out to be satisfactory in the opinion of Polish pharmacists. It seems important to look for factors affecting the lack of provision of the Covid-19 vaccination service by some qualified pharmacists. Keywords: Covid-19; vaccinations; pharmacists; qualification cours

Body composition and depression in people with metabolic syndrome aged over 55 years

Background . Aging is a physiological process during which a number of adverse and irreversible organ involution changes, leading to a reduction in functional capacity of the body, both in physical and mental terms. The risk of chronic disease and depression increases with age. Objectives . Analysis of body composition and depression in people over 55 years of age with metabolic syndrome. Material and methods . The study group is 157 persons aged 55–69 years (112 women and 45 men). The authors analyzed body composition by electrical bioimpedance analyzer (Jawon IOI 353). In addition to the assessment of depression a questionnaire involving 30-point Geriatric Depression Scale was used. Results . In the study group women scored significantly lower than men on the average values of lean body mass, and an average of 7% higher than the value determining the percentage of body fat. The vast majority (70.7%; n = 111) patients showed no signs of depression. It has been shown that women with major depression had significantly higher mean values of body fat compared to women characterized by the absence or a mild depression. Conclusions . Diagnosis of depression in the elderly may be difficult due to the presence of the “masked depression”. There is a trend indicating the relationship between the prevalence of depressive symptoms and weight and body composition of people over 55 years of age, but in order to verify it the authors need to continue the study on increased number of research groups, perhaps taking into account different environmental factors

Body composition and depression in people with metabolic syndrome aged over 55 years

Background . Aging is a physiological process during which a number of adverse and irreversible organ involution changes, leading to a reduction in functional capacity of the body, both in physical and mental terms. The risk of chronic disease and depression increases with age. Objectives . Analysis of body composition and depression in people over 55 years of age with metabolic syndrome. Material and methods . The study group is 157 persons aged 55–69 years (112 women and 45 men). The authors analyzed body composition by electrical bioimpedance analyzer (Jawon IOI 353). In addition to the assessment of depression a questionnaire involving 30-point Geriatric Depression Scale was used. Results . In the study group women scored significantly lower than men on the average values of lean body mass, and an average of 7% higher than the value determining the percentage of body fat. The vast majority (70.7%; n = 111) patients showed no signs of depression. It has been shown that women with major depression had significantly higher mean values of body fat compared to women characterized by the absence or a mild depression. Conclusions . Diagnosis of depression in the elderly may be difficult due to the presence of the “masked depression”. There is a trend indicating the relationship between the prevalence of depressive symptoms and weight and body composition of people over 55 years of age, but in order to verify it the authors need to continue the study on increased number of research groups, perhaps taking into account different environmental factors

Gender-Specific Differences in Concentrations of Biochemical Parameters in Persons over the Age of 90

The ageing process is a phenomenon leading to an emergence of a web of interrelated biological processes producing significant changes in the human body. The aim of the paper was to analyse gender-specific differences with regard to selected biochemical parameters in longevity. The study was conducted in Poland in 2017. The study population comprised of long-lived individuals, both living at home and staying at residential care homes. There were 90 people of both genders (69 women and 21 men) aged between 90 and 103 years (mean = 92.36; SD = 2.98). The biochemical markers of longevity in the studied patients were identified by assessing their pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory status in various metabolic aspects. The analysis of biochemical variables revealed numerous statistically significant differences, both in the study group as a whole and between the genders. The ageing process is extremely complex, but understanding it will allow for a real intervention in life extension. Research into the processes involved in ageing and longevity will enable a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for them, and to enjoy those processes in good health

The Role of Iron Metabolism in Fatigue, Depression, and Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of autoimmune origin for which there is currently no available cure. In the course of MS, next to neurological disorders, patients often present with chronic fatigue syndrome and depressive disorders, which impact on their daily function and quality of life. The aim of study was to analyse the relationship between serum parameters of iron metabolism and the severity of fatigue, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in MS patients. Methods: The study sample consisted of 90 people with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, age range 19–67 years, whose functional status evaluated using the Expanded Disability Status Scale in 90% of the participants did not exceed 3.5 points. Venous blood samples were collected for blood cell count determination and for the purposes of obtaining serum analysed for the concentrations of iron, ferritin, transferrin, transferrin saturation, unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC), and total iron binding capacity (TIBC). The participants were also evaluated according to the Fatigue Severity Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis. Results: Ferritin levels were significantly correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms (r = −0.22; p = 0.04) and quality of life assessment (r = 0.22; p = 0.04) in the MS patients. Moreover, the severity of fatigue and depressive symptoms was significantly linked to a deterioration in quality of life. Conclusions: Ferritin deficiency in MS patients is associated with an exacerbation of depressive disorders and a decline in quality of life. Symptoms of fatigue in MS patients are inversely proportional to mood and quality of life