Trends in cerebrovascular diseases mortality in Serbia, 1997-2016: A nationwide descriptive study

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. Objectives Over the last decades, mortality from cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) has decreased in many countries. The aim of this study was to assess the trends of CVDs mortality in Serbia. Methods Descriptive epidemiological study. Age-standardised rates (ASRs) for CVDs mortality were assessed by joinpoint regression analysis to identify significant changes in trends and estimate annual per cent changes with 95% CI. The age-period-cohort analysis has been used to describe variations in mortality. Results Over this 20-year period, there were 312 847 deaths from CVDs, with the overall average annual ASR of 148.4 per 100 000. The trend of ASRs from CVDs mortality in males in Serbia showed a significant joinpoint: rates insignificantly decreased from 1997 to 2005 by '0.8% per year (95% CI '1.7% to 0.2%) and thereafter rapidly decreased by '5.0% per year (95% CI '5.6% to '4.5%). A joinpoint for females was found in 2006: the mortality trend was first significantly decreasing by '1.0% per year (95% CI '1.9% to '0.0%) and then sharply falling down by '6.0% per year (95% CI '6.8% to '5.3%). Results of age-period-cohort analysis indicated that the relative risk for CVDs mortality showed statistically significant (p<0.05) cohort and period effects, as well as the net drift and local drifts in Serbian population. The trends in mortality for all subtypes of CVDs were similar in both sexes: trends significantly decreased for most subtypes, with the exception of a significant increase for cerebral infarction. Conclusions After a decade of increase, CVDs mortality rates are declining in last decade in Serbia. However, mortality rates from CVDs remain exceedingly high in Serbia. Differences in mortality trends of the stroke subtypes should be taken into account in the creation of both prevention and treatment guidelines

Psychometric properties of the world health organization’s quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire in medical students

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Background and Objectives: Studies on the effects of studying on a medical student’s quality of life are sparse. The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire is a widely used scale that enables the assessment and international comparisons of the quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire among Serbian medical students. Material and Methods: We conducted a crosssectional study that involved 760 medical students at a state medical faculty at the University of Kragujevac, Serbia. The reliability of the WHOQOL-BREF was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and test–retest analysis, and the validity was examined using principal component analysis, with Promax rotation method. Results: Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the whole WHOQOL-BREF scale was 0.896. Internal reliability for all domains was above 0.70, except for the domain “Social Relationships” (0.533). The test–retest reliability for all domains was significant at p < 0.01 level, showing good stability of the scale. Principal component analysis with Promax rotation method indicated four main components that explained 49.5% of variance. Conclusion: The Serbian version of the WHOQOL-BREF scale showed satisfactory psychometric properties that facilitate estimation of the quality of life of medical students

Comparison of lung diffusing capacity in young elite athletes and their counterparts

Background: The influence of exercise on the pulmonary function is controverse, some studies have reported no sports influence, while the others have found positive correlation. Aim: To evaluate and compare the sports influence on pulmonary function: spirometry (VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC), lung diffusing capacity (DLCO) and coefficient of the CO gas transfer (KCO) in two elite athletes groups and healthy sedentary controls. Method: Equally divided into aerobic and anaerobic group, 60 elite athletes were recruited, as well as 43 age-matched, healthy sedentary controls. All of the participants performed basic anthropometric measurements, spirometry, DLCO and KCO at rest. Kruskal–Wallis one way ANOVA test was used to determine differences between groups; Mann–Whitney U test was used for inter-groups differences and Pearson coefficient for pulmonary variables and anthropometric parameters correlation. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS computer statistic program, version 20. Results: No differences were found in pulmonary characteristics (spirometric function values, DLCO and KCO) in athletes and non-athletes at rest, as well as between aerobics and anaerobics. There were no correlations between the anthropometric parameters and the investigated respiratory function tests. DLCO (%) correlated positively with height in athletes playing anaerobic type of sport (karate and taekwondo) (p = 0.036; r = 0.544), and negatively in sedentary control group (p = 0.030; r = −0.560). Regarding KCO, no differences were found. Conclusion: Spirometry indices and DLCO are not influenced either by aerobic or anaerobic training type, so benefits of sports on pulmonary indices or DLCO was not confirmed. Keywords: Athletes, Diffusing capacity, Transfer coefficien