Smoking prevalence among the adult population of Kosovo: Results of STEPS survey 2019

Aim: Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. The vast majority of these deaths occur in low – and middle-income countries, and the gap is expected to widen further in the coming decades. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of smoking among Kosovo adults by gender, age group and type of smoking.Methods: A population-based survey was conducted among people aged 18-69 years from April 2018 to June 2019 using the WHO STEPs instrument. 2800 randomly selected households were approached using multistage cluster sampling, and 2695 agreed to participate in the survey (response rate 96.2%).Results: According to the findings of our study, 25.7% of the population aged 18-69 years was a current smoker (men 35.3% vs. women 15.9%) and 90.1% of them smoked tobacco products on a daily basis (Men 91.5% current smokers on daily basis vs. Women 87.1% on daily basis). Smokers started smoking at an average age of 19.3 years. Women started smoking significantly later than men, at the age of 20.9 years, compared to 18.6 years for men, and the younger age group started smoking earlier. The average smoking duration is 19.3 years, with no gender differences (Men 19.5 years vs. Women 19.0 years average smoking duration). On average, 97.4% of daily smokers smoke manufactured cigarettes.Conclusion: Smoking prevalence was high among Kosovo adults, especially men and the majority of them smoke on daily basis

Hepatitis C in several risk groups: Literature review

Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the distribution of hepatitis C in selected risk groups such as haemodialysis patients, pregnant women, healthcare workers, HIV-HCV co-infected patients, patients with mental health diseases and piercing and tattoo procedures. Furthermore, it aimed at evidencing common transmitting routes and highlighting the importance of preventive measures among these groups.   Methods: The literature review was conducted using online databases (Medline) with search query involving the keyword “hepatitis C” in conjunction with keywords describing risk groups such as "dialysis", or "haemodialysis", or "pregnancy", or "pregnant", or "mental health", or "tattoo", or "piercing", or "HIV", or "health professionals”.   Results: After assessing all the retrieved publications, 39 of them were considered for inclusion: 17 on haemodialysis patients, 7 on pregnant women, 8 on HIV-HCV co-infection and 7 publications on health professionals, patients of mental health wards and piercing and tattoo procedures. The high rate of hepatitis C is still a high problem and in some cases it is considered as a new issue, as in the case of pregnancy. Some of the transmission routes have been identified earlier, such as the HIV-HCV co-infection but some, such as piercing and tattoo, are becoming new transmission routes. Health professionals are still identified as high risk group while mental health patients are a potentially high risk group.   Conclusion: Even though some patients are routinely screened for hepatitis C, there are indications for performing such a routine test in other groups. In almost all of the risk groups, it is advocated to use stricter preventive measures and to disseminate knowledge on risks of hepatitis C.   Conflict of interest: None declared

Hepatitis C in several risk groups: Literature review

Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the distribution of hepatitis C in selected risk groups such as haemodialysis patients, pregnant women, healthcare workers, HIV-HCV co-infected patients, patients with mental health diseases and piercing and tattoo procedures. Furthermore, it aimed at evidencing common transmitting routes and highlighting the importance of preventive measures among these groups.   Methods: The literature review was conducted using online databases (Medline) with search query involving the keyword “hepatitis C” in conjunction with keywords describing risk groups such as "dialysis", or "haemodialysis", or "pregnancy", or "pregnant", or "mental health", or "tattoo", or "piercing", or "HIV", or "health professionals”.   Results: After assessing all the retrieved publications, 39 of them were considered for inclusion: 17 on haemodialysis patients, 7 on pregnant women, 8 on HIV-HCV co-infection and 7 publications on health professionals, patients of mental health wards and piercing and tattoo procedures. The high rate of hepatitis C is still a high problem and in some cases it is considered as a new issue, as in the case of pregnancy. Some of the transmission routes have been identified earlier, such as the HIV-HCV co-infection but some, such as piercing and tattoo, are becoming new transmission routes. Health professionals are still identified as high risk group while mental health patients are a potentially high risk group.   Conclusion: Even though some patients are routinely screened for hepatitis C, there are indications for performing such a routine test in other groups. In almost all of the risk groups, it is advocated to use stricter preventive measures and to disseminate knowledge on risks of hepatitis C.   Conflict of interest: None declared

Epidemiological profile and incidence of brain tumors in Kosovo

Aim: Brain tumors (BT) are neoplasms developed in intracranial tissues and the meninges. The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiological features of brain tumors diagnosed and treated at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (UCCK), the only healthcare institution in Kosovo that diagnosis and treats malignancies.    Methods: A 3-year retrospective study (2019-2021) was carried out in the Neurosurgical Clinic, Radiology Clinic, and Institute of Pathology, of UCCK. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare age distribution between males and females. Results: A total of 227 patients were treated for BT at the UCCK during the three-year period under investigation (that is 2019-2021). There were 119 males (52.4%) and 108 (47.6%) females. The incidence rate of BT for the year 2021 was 4.7/100,000 inhabitants. BT were most common in the age groups: >50 years (n=178, 78.4%), 25-50 years (n=33, 14.6%), whereas 13 cases (5.7%) were children from the age-group ≤14 years. Almost one third of the patients (33.9%) were from Prishtina region, followed by Peja region (18.5%) and Mitrovica region (13.2%). From the overall number of cases (n=227), 31.3% (n=71) were benign and 66.1% (n=150) were malignant tumors. The average age of brain tumor patients was 58.4±18.3 years. The most prevalent histological type of BT was meningioma WHO gr. I (n=57, 25.1%) followed by glioblastoma WHO gr. IV (n=43, 18.9%) with similar appearances in both genders. Most often, tumors had supratentorial/intra-axial localization (63.4%). Conclusion: Adults over 50 years old represent the most affected age-group for BT in Kosovo. Meningioma, and glioblastoma were the most frequent BT in Kosovo adults. Further studies are needed to assess the long-term outcome of patients with BT in Kosovo