Self-reported participation in cervical cancer screening among Polish women in 2004–2019

Objectives: We aimed to assess self-reported participation in cervical cancer screening among Polish women between 2004 and 2019 and to identify the groups with the lowest participation rate. Material and methods: Data on declared participation in cervical cancer screening were obtained from the European Health Interview Survey from 2004 to 2019. Results: In 2019, 86.7% of Polish women aged ≥ 15 years declared that they had ever undergone a Pap test. Compared to 2004, the coverage of ever-screened women improved by 16.6 percentage points. The proxy population coverage was 72.9%. The highest proportion of women who underwent a Pap smear in the last three years was observed among those aged 35–44 years and 25–34 years (84.0% and 83.2%, respectively), and the lowest among women aged ≥ 75 years (20.5%). The proportion screened within the last three years also varied by education (up to lower secondary education 26.4%, up to post-secondary non-tertiary education 62.8%, and the highest level of education 83.7%), urbanization (large cities 66.7%, suburbs, and smaller cities 62.8%, and rural areas 59.0%), income (poorest households 42.5%, wealthiest households 70.6%), and declared health status (best 68.9%, worst 41.4%). The lowest participation in screening was observed in the southeastern regions and the highest in the northwestern regions of Poland. Conclusions: In Poland, in 2019, the approximate coverage of cervical cancer screening was high compared to other European countries and has improved over the last 15 years. A complete screening registry is required to confirm questionnaire-based self-reported data. Targeted interventions should be implemented to address low participation in the identified regions and socioeconomic groups

A cross-sectional analysis of ex-smokers and characteristics associated with quitting smoking: The Polish Norwegian Study (PONS)

Tobacco smoking remains a number one preventable risk factor of premature death worldwide. Findings of recent research show concurrent trends of lung cancer deaths in males and females in Europe. Although lung cancer death rates are consistently decreasing in male population, in women an upward trend is observed. The burden of tobacco-related harm can be prevented by smoking cessation. The main goal of this analysis is to identify the crucial correlates of successful smoking cessation in the middle-aged Polish population. The data came from 13 172 survey participants south-eastern part of Poland as part of the PONS cohort study established in 2010. A total of 6998 records of those who were either ex-smokers or current smokers at baseline were analyzed. We applied logistic regression and adjusted for sociodemographic covariates and health determinants. Characteristics related to being an ex-smoker as opposed to a current smoker included: older age [men: odds ratio (OR)=1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.05; women: OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.03-1.07], being married or living together, having secondary (OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.14-1.99) or higher (OR=2.30, 95% CI=1.75-3.18) education (women), full-time employment (men), alcohol consumer (women), being overweight (men: OR=2.85, 95% CI=2.26-3.59; women: OR=1.60, 95% CI=1.36-1.87) or obese (men: OR=3.47, 95% CI=2.67-4.51; women: OR=2.99, 95% CI=2.45-3.65), having normal fasting glucose and cholesterol blood level without any treatment (women), assessing their own health highly (9-10, on the scale from 1 to 10) and having at least one accompanying chronic disease (women, OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.07-1.45). These findings provide valuable information on characteristics of ex-smokers as well as behavioral and sociodemographic predictors of successful cessation. Such data expand our knowledge and can be used to design a more comprehensive and targeted group-specific tobacco control policy focused on increasing the number of ex-smokers

Ideal cardiovascular health is associated with self-rated health status. The Polish Norwegian Study (PONS)

Background The concept of ideal cardiovascular health emphasizes a more integrative definition of health to include protective biological factors and behaviors but it has not been investigated in relation to individuals' perspectives on their own health. Methods We used cross-sectional data of 10,687 participants, age 45\u201364 years, free of cardiovascular diseases. Ideal cardiovascular health was defined according to the American Heart Association criteria (7 metrics assessed at 3 levels: ideal, intermediate, and poor). A single-item of self-rated health (SRH) was recorded on a scale from 1 to 10. We adjusted for age, sex, education, place of residence, alcohol intake, chronic diseases and depression score in general linear and Poisson regression models. Results The study participants met an average of two ideal cardiovascular factors and rated their health around a mean (SD) of 6.8 (1.4). The mean number of ideal metrics met and the total cardiovascular health score displayed a graded association with increasing SRH ratings. Examining prevalence ratios, compared to participants with a lower SRH, those with a SRH = 7 were more likely to be physically active (PR 1.79, 95% CI 1.30\u20132.45), more likely to have an optimal BMI (PR 1.24, 95% CI 1.16\u20131.33) and more likely to have their blood pressure controlled (PR 1.24, 95% CI 1.12\u20131.38). Conclusions The prevalence of ideal cardiovascular behaviors and factors is low in the community. The association between ideal cardiovascular health and self-rated health suggests potential opportunity to motivate and deliver health promotion interventions. \ua9 2016 Elsevier Ireland Lt

Alcohol accounts for a high proportion of premature mortality in central and eastern Europe

Background: There is a west-east mortality gradient in Europe, more pronounced in men. The objective of this article was to quantify the contribution of alcohol use to the gap in premature adult mortality between three old (France, Sweden and United Kingdom) and four new (Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Poland) European Union (EU) member states for the year 2002. Russia was added as an external comparator. Methods: Exposure data were taken from surveys and per capita consumption records from the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Alcohol Database. Mortality data were taken from the WHO databank. The risk relationships were taken from published meta-analyses and from the WHO Comparative Risk Assessment project. Alcohol exposure and relative risk information was combined to derive alcohol-attributable fractions for relevant causes of premature mortality. Results: Alcohol consumption was responsible for 14.6% of all premature adult mortality in the eight countries, 17.3% in men and 8.0% in women. This proportion was clearly higher in the new EU member states and Russia compared with the comparison countries from the old EU. For men, Russia with 29.0 alcohol attributable premature deaths per 10 000 population had a more than 10-fold higher rate compared with Sweden (2.7 deaths/10 000). For women, the ratio between Hungary (5.0 alcohol-attributable deaths/10 000) and Russia (4.7 deaths/10 000) compared with Sweden (0.5 deaths/10 000) was almost as high, but the rates were much lower. The Czech Republic and Poland showed proportionally less alcohol-attributable premature mortality than the other new EU member states or Russia for both genders, which, however, was still higher than in any of the old EU member states. Conclusions: Alcohol is a strong contributor to the health gap between western and central and eastern Europe, with both average volume of consumption and patterns of drinking contributing to burden of disease and injury. Alcohol also contributes substantially to male-female differences in mortality and life expectancy. However, there are feasible and cost-effective measures to reduce alcohol-related burden that should be implemented in central and eastern Europe. \ua9 The Author 2007; all rights reserved