ПоврзаноÑÑ‚ помеѓу злоупотребата, занемарувањето и травматÑките доживувања во детÑтвото Ñо ризичните однеÑувања штетни по здравјето на адолеÑцентите

The aim of this paper was to determine the relationship between abuse, neglect and traumatic experiences in childhood and harmful health risk behaviors in adolescents. Material and method: This is a retrospective cross-sectional survey comprising 1277  students  in the  fourth  year at secondary schools and the first- and second- year university students (aged 18 and above), conducted in the period 2010-2011 in the Republic of Macedonia. Eleven of 33 schools were randomly selected to participate in the study. All the first- and second-year students from four state universities (in Skopje, Bitola, Tetovo, and Shtip) were eligible to participate in the study. Results: From the sample of 1277 students enrolled in the study about 58.6% were female and 41.6% were male. Increasing child abuse and neglect and other negative traumatic experiences were strongly related to health risk behaviors in adolescents. Compared with those without childhood abuse and neglect and other traumatic  experiences, adolescents with four or more of those experiences had adjusted odds ratios as follows:  1.56 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05–2.32]  for smoking; 2.2 (95% CI: 1.11–4.43) for drug use; 3.46 (95% CI: 1.15–11.34) for early unplanned pregnancy and 3.35 (95% CI: 13.52–7.35) for suicide attempt.  Conclusion: Abuse, neglect and other  negative traumatic  experiences in childhood contribute to harmful health risk behaviors in adolescence population, when they have had four or more of these experiences. Abuse, neglect and other negative traumatic experiences in childhood are increasing the likelihood of involvement in smoking habits, drug use, early unplanned pregnancy and suicide attempt. Harmful health risk behaviors in adolescents should be addressed by implementing plans and programmes for prevention of abuse and neglect in childhood.Целта на овој труд беше да ја утврди поврзаноÑта помеѓу иÑкуÑтвата на злоупотреба, занемарување и травматÑки доживувања во детÑтвото Ñо ризичните однеÑувања штетни по здравјето на адолеÑценти- те. Материјал и методи: ИÑтражувањето претÑтавува ретроÑпективна Ñтудија на преÑек Ñпроведена во периодот  2010-2011 година  Ð²Ð¾ Република Македонија, на 1277 ученици од IV година Ñредно  ÑƒÑ‡Ð¸Ð»Ð¸ÑˆÑ‚е и Ñтуденти од прва и втора година  (18-20 години). Беше вклучен  Ñ€ÐµÐ¿Ñ€ÐµÐ·ÐµÐ½Ñ‚ативен Ñтратификуван при- мерок на ученици од единаеÑет Ñредни училишта, од вкупно триеÑет и три, избрани по Ñлучаен избор. Сите Ñтуденти од прва и втора година на факултетите при четири државни универзитети во Скопје, Битола, Тетово и Штип беа квалификувани за избор во примерокот. Резултати: Од вкупно 1277 Ñтуденти вклучени во иÑтражувањето 58,6% беа женÑки, а 41,6% машки иÑпитаници. ИÑтражувањето покажа дека Ñо зголемувањето на злоупотребата, занемарувањето и травматÑките доживувања во детÑтвото Ñе зго- лемува веројатноÑта од појава на ризични однеÑувања кај адолеÑцентите. Споредено Ñо адолеÑцентите кои немале иÑкуÑтво на злоупотреба, занемарување и травматÑки доживувања во детÑтвото, оние кои имале четири или повеќе од овие иÑкуÑтва беа Ñо поголема веројатноÑÑ‚ (коригирано во Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ð¾Ñ Ð½Ð° полот) за ризични однеÑувања, и тоа Ñледниве: 1,56 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1,05–2,32] за пушење; 2,2 (95% CI: 1,11–4,43) за злоупотреба на дроги; 3,46 (95% CI: 1,15–11,34) за рана непланирана бременоÑÑ‚ и 3,35 (95% CI:13,52–7,35) за обид за ÑамоубиÑтво. Заклучок: Злоупотребата, занемарувањето и травматÑките доживу- вања во детÑтвото придонеÑуваат за појава на ризични однеÑувања штетни по здравјето кај адолеÑцен- тите, кога бројот на травматÑките доживувања во детÑтвото изнеÑува четири или повеќе и тоа за појава на: пушење, злоупотреба на дроги, рана непланирана бременоÑÑ‚ и обид за ÑамоубиÑтво. Ðа ризичните однеÑувања штетни по здравјето за адолеÑцентите неопходно е да да им Ñе приÑтапи во рамките на плановите и програмите за превенција на злоупотреба и занемарување во детÑтвото

EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

This paper presents the employment condition of people with disabilities in the Republic of Mace­donia as well as the legal solutions for financial assistance at employing people with disabilities and some other issues related to that. The lack of job choice is also pointed out and the appropriate sug­gestions for introduction of more sophisticated vo­cations are given to improve the employment con­ditions

Factors Underlying Perceptions of Quality of Life Among Acne Patients in R. N. Macedonia

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is a disorder of the pilosebaceous units. It is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis notable for open/closed comedones, papules, pustules, nodules. It is characterized by open comedones, closed comedones and pustular nodules. Aim of study: To examine factors underlying the quality of life of people with acne. Materials and method: A total of 576 respondents were included in the study. Acne specific Quality of Life questionnaire was used for this purpose. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted, performed in private dermatological clinic as well as on-line. All analyses were conducted by using the SPSS.26 for Windows. Results and Discussion: 5.7 % were males and 94.3 percent were females. About 69.4% were aged between 15-25; 16.7 % between 26 to 30; 8.8% between 31 to 35 years old. Quality of life and emotional perception towards the social environment is demonstrated by the three components (self-perception of discomfort, functionality, and social factor). The reliability levels for the three components were .858 for self-perception of discomfort, .779 for functionality and .745 for the social factor. The factor analysis discovered three underlying factors: self-perception of discomfort, social factor and functionality in daily life. Conclusion: The findings confirm the general notion that people with acne have problems in quality of life and therefore special attention to psychological intervention should be given in the treatment of acne

Quality of life of cancer patients at palliative care units in developing countries: systematic review of the published literature

Purpose!#!This systematic review aims to summarize factors that influence the quality of life (QOL) of advanced cancer patients in palliative care (PC) in developing countries. Understanding this context in developing countries milieu is necessary; however, this outcome is rarely reported.!##!Methods!#!Following the PRISMA guidelines, the electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science were systematically searched using the search terms: QOL, cancer, PC, and names of all developing countries. Studies with less than ten subjects, qualitative or pilot studies, reviews, conference abstracts, and that reported validation of QOL questionnaires were excluded.!##!Results!#!Fifty-five studies from 15 developing countries in the African (n = 5), Latin America and the Caribbean (n = 10), and Asian (n = 40) region were included in the narrative synthesis. 65.4% were cross-sectional, 27.3% were cohort studies, 7.3% were RCTs or quasi-experimental studies. Around 30 QOL factors were studied with 20 different types of QOL instruments. Advanced cancer patients who were older, married/ever married, participated in additional care within PC, used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and practiced spirituality/religiosity showed higher QOL score. Low educational level and high depression were associated with a lower QOL.!##!Conclusion!#!Various factors affect QOL among cancer patients in PC. Patients valued the use of CAMs; however, the quality and safety aspects should be properly addressed. Important factors that influenced the QOL score were social and spiritual support. While there is a general need to develop PC strategies further, recognizing patients' needs should be prioritized in national cancer programs

Patterns of glioblastoma treatment and survival over a 16-years period: pooled data from the German Cancer Registries

Introduction!#!Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a primary malignant brain tumour characterized by a very low long-term survival. The aim of this study was to analyse the distribution of treatment modalities and their effect on survival for GBM cases diagnosed in Germany between 1999 and 2014.!##!Methods!#!Cases were pooled from the German Cancer Registries with International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third edition (ICD-O-3) codes for GBM or giant-cell GBM. Three periods, first (January 1999-December 2005), second (January 2006-December 2010) and a third period (January 2011-December 2014) were defined. Kaplan-Meier plots with long-rank test compared median overall survival (OS) between groups. Survival differences were assessed with Cox proportional-hazards models adjusted for available confounders.!##!Results!#!In total, 40,138 adult GBM cases were analysed, with a mean age at diagnosis 64.0 ± 12.4 years. GBM was more common in men (57.3%). The median OS was 10.0 (95% CI 9.0-10.0) months. There was an increase in 2-year survival, from 16.6% in the first to 19.3% in the third period. When stratified by age group, period and treatment modalities, there was an improved median OS after 2005 due to treatment advancements. Younger age, female sex, surgical resection, use of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, were independent factors associated with better survival.!##!Conclusion!#!The inclusion of temozolomide chemotherapy has considerably improved median OS in the older age groups but had a lesser effect in the younger age group of cases. The analysis showed survival improvements for each treatment option over time

Socioeconomic disparities in head and neck cancer survival in Germany: a causal mediation analysis using population-based cancer registry data

Purpose!#!Despite recent improvements in cancer treatment in Germany, a marked difference in cancer survival based on socioeconomic factors persists. We aim to quantify the effect of socioeconomic inequality on head and neck cancer (HNC) survival.!##!Methods!#!Information on 20,821 HNC patients diagnosed in 2009-2013 was routinely collected by German population-based cancer registries. Socioeconomic inequality was defined by the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation. The Cox proportional regression and relative survival analysis measured the survival disparity according to level of socioeconomic deprivation with respective confidence intervals (CI). A causal mediation analysis was conducted to quantify the effect of socioeconomic deprivation mediated through medical care, stage at diagnosis, and treatment on HNC survival.!##!Results!#!The most socioeconomically deprived patients were found to have the highest hazard of dying when compared to the most affluent (Hazard Ratio: 1.25, 95% CI 1.17-1.34). The most deprived patients also had the worst 5-year age-adjusted relative survival (50.8%, 95% CI 48.5-53.0). Our mediation analysis showed that most of the effect of deprivation on survival was mediated through differential stage at diagnosis during the first 6 months after HNC diagnosis. As follow-up time increased, medical care, stage at diagnosis, and treatment played no role in mediating the effect of deprivation on survival.!##!Conclusion!#!This study confirms the survival disparity between affluent and deprived HNC patients in Germany. Considering data limitations, our results suggest that, within six months after HNC diagnosis, the elimination of differences in stage at diagnosis could reduce survival inequalities

Quality Assessment of Studies Published in Open Access and Subscription Journals: Results of a Systematic Evaluation.

INTRODUCTION:Along with the proliferation of Open Access (OA) publishing, the interest for comparing the scientific quality of studies published in OA journals versus subscription journals has also increased. With our study we aimed to compare the methodological quality and the quality of reporting of primary epidemiological studies and systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in OA and non-OA journals. METHODS:In order to identify the studies to appraise, we listed all OA and non-OA journals which published in 2013 at least one primary epidemiologic study (case-control or cohort study design), and at least one systematic review or meta-analysis in the field of oncology. For the appraisal, we picked up the first studies published in 2013 with case-control or cohort study design from OA journals (Group A; n = 12), and in the same time period from non-OA journals (Group B; n = 26); the first systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in 2013 from OA journals (Group C; n = 15), and in the same time period from non-OA journals (Group D; n = 32). We evaluated the methodological quality of studies by assessing the compliance of case-control and cohort studies to Newcastle and Ottawa Scale (NOS) scale, and the compliance of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) scale. The quality of reporting was assessed considering the adherence of case-control and cohort studies to STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist, and the adherence of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist. RESULTS:Among case-control and cohort studies published in OA and non-OA journals, we did not observe significant differences in the median value of NOS score (Group A: 7 (IQR 7-8) versus Group B: 8 (7-9); p = 0.5) and in the adherence to STROBE checklist (Group A, 75% versus Group B, 80%; p = 0.1). The results did not change after adjustment for impact factor. The compliance with AMSTAR and adherence to PRISMA checklist were comparable between systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in OA and non-OA journals (Group C, 46.0% versus Group D, 55.0%; p = 0.06), (Group C, 72.0% versus Group D, 76.0%; p = 0.1), respectively). CONCLUSION:The epidemiological studies published in OA journals in the field of oncology approach the same methodological quality and quality of reporting as studies published in non-OA journals

Post-processing reproducibility of the structural characteristics of the common carotid artery in a Flemish population

Common carotid artery (CCA) intima-media thickness (IMT), lumen diameter, and maximum plaque thickness were assessed on ultrasound images. The objective of the study was to evaluate the intra- and inter-reader reproducibility of the measurements following a standardised protocol.status: publishe

Assessment of the methodological quality of case-control and cohort studies published in OA and non-OA journals using the Newcastle and Ottawa Scale (NOS).

<p>Assessment of the methodological quality of case-control and cohort studies published in OA and non-OA journals using the Newcastle and Ottawa Scale (NOS).</p