Professional activity of Polish peri- and postmenopausal women

Introduction: The menopausal transition as one of the stages in women’s life can bring many ailments which complicate the accomplishment of professional duties. The situation of women on the Polish job market is determined by many barriers and stereotypes which impede women’s access to jobs and professional promotions. Material and methods : The aim of the study was to estimate the professional status and job satisfaction of women aged 40-65. The research was carried out by a survey method, a poll technique in the period from January to March 2016. An original questionnaire consisting of 35 questions was used as a research tool. Results: The analysis of obtained results shows that the arithmetic mean of the age of women in full-time employment was 51.84 years whereas the arithmetic mean of the age of women in part-time or seasonal employment was 52.64. Women aged 45-60 were characterised by a significantly lower job satisfaction than women over 60 years of age. The highest percentage of women in full-time employment lived in large cities. The financial situation of working women determined their job satisfaction. Well-off respondents were more pleased with their jobs than women in a worse financial situation. Conclusions : There is a strong need of education about counteraction of gender and age discrimination on the Polish labour market. The struggle against discrimination requires support on each level of the state administration through the implementation of numerous regulations facilitating the final period and resumption of women’s professional activity

Valorization of the Photo-Protective Potential of the Phytochemically Standardized Olive (Olea europaea L.) Leaf Extract in UVA-Irradiated Human Skin Fibroblasts

Leaves of Olea europaea are a by-product of the olive oil industry and a dietary supplement with acknowledged antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity but underestimated photoprotective potential. We investigated the protective effects of the LC-PDA-MS/MS standardized ethanol-water extract of olive leaves (OLE), containing 26.2% total phenols and 22.2% oleuropein, with underlying mechanisms against the UVA-induced oxidative damage in human dermal fibroblasts. Hs68 cells were pre-treated (24 h) with OLE (2.5–25 μg/mL) or the reference antioxidants, quercetin and ascorbic acid (25 μg/mL), followed by irradiation (8 J/cm2). OLE significantly reduced the UVA-induced DNA damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction and increased the thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) expression and post-radiation viability of fibroblasts by inhibiting their apoptosis. Both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathways appeared to be inhibited by OLE, but the activity of caspase 9 was the most reduced. We hypothesized that the TrxR up-regulation by OLE could have prevented the UVA-induced apoptosis of Hs68 cells. In addition, a significant decrease in UVA-induced secretion levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) was shown in human lymphocyte culture in response to OLE treatment. In summary, our results support the beneficial effect of OLE in an in vitro model and indicate its great potential for use in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry as a topical photoprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory agent

Men’s knowledge about osteoporosis and its risk factors

Introduction : Until recently osteoporosis was seen mainly as a woman’s problem. However, in the last ten years there has been rising awareness in society that osteoporosis constitutes an inseparable element of getting old for men as well. The aim of the research was to evaluate men’s knowledge about osteoporosis and its risk factors contributing to the development of the disease. Material and methods: The study included 205 men aged 20-60. The examined men were patients of selected healthcare centres in Lublin Voivodeship. The study was conducted between September 2014 and April 2015. The research was performed by means of the survey method, using a poll technique. Purposive sampling and an original questionnaire were used. Gathered material was subjected to descriptive and statistical analysis. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were applied. The statistical significance level was set at = 0.05. IBM SPSS Statistics software was used to perform the statistical analysis. Results : The respondents’ level of knowledge about osteoporosis and its risk factors can be estimated as average. The polled men showed better knowledge on osteoporosis risk factors (M = 59.78) than general osteoporosis knowledge (M = 53.71). Significant differences were found between the respondents’ education and their general osteoporosis knowledge as well as between the respondents’ living conditions and their knowledge about osteoporosis risk factors. Conclusions : Because of the insufficient level of knowledge about osteoporosis and its risk factors in the male population it is advisable to launch prevention programmes aimed at men focusing on this issue