Beneficial effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to the uptake of influenza virus, pneumococcal, and herpes zoster adult vaccination - a narrative literature review.

Introduction And Objective: Analysis of factors influencing COVID-19 vaccination coverage in various countries raised the question whether the recent pandemic affected the vaccination rates of other pathogens in adults. Therefore, the aim of this review article was to analyse the literature to find potentially beneficial effects of the introduction of the large-scale vaccinations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, with regard to the influenza virus, pneumococcal and herpes zoster adult vaccinations, in order to identify factors and strategies to increase the uptake of these vaccines.

Review Methods: The review of the literature was based on scientific articles indexed in the PubMed Database published between 2022-2023, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fear of Illness and Convenient Access to Vaccines Appear to Be the Missing Keys to Successful Vaccination Campaigns: Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Decisions of Hospital Staff in Poland concerning Vaccination against Influenza and COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for two years as of 2022, and it is common knowledge that vaccines are an essential tool to mitigate the health, economic, and social fallout. Unfortunately, vaccine hesitancy is still a serious global problem, both in the general population and among healthcare workers. The authors used an original questionnaire to conduct an anonymous survey study in the University Clinical Hospital in Wrocław, Poland, in April and May of 2021 after acquiring consent from the Medical University of Wrocław, Poland Bioethical Committee.

Significant association of and genes with rural heroin dependence and relapse in men.

Introduction: Substance abuse significantly influences human health and may induce problems with social functioning worldwide. Numerous genetic and environmental risk factors, as well as their interactions, accelerate the development of drug addiction. Etiologically, the dopaminergic mesocorticolimbic reward pathways are related to psychoactive substance addiction, and the reward properties of heroin are connected with changes in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system.

Psychological factors and genetic characteristics of rural cannabis users.

Introduction: Marijuana is one of the most widely used psychoactive substance. There is evidence of genetic predisposition for addiction.

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate personality traits measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, combined with analysis of rs1079597 and rs1800498 located in the gene.

Occurrence and impact of back pain on the quality of life of healthcare workers.

Introduction And Objective: Back pain affects specific occupational groups, among which healthcare workers are the most predisposed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the interdependences between subjective disability and their correlation with pain intensity and quality of life assessment among professionally active medical workers, taking into account working, socio-demographic and health conditions.

Material And Methods: The cross-sectional study enrolled 110 professionally active medical workers (nurses, midwives, paramedics and physiotherapists).

Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections 12 Months After Communication and CRP Training: A Randomized Trial.

Purpose: C-reactive-protein (CRP) is useful for diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections (RTIs). A large international trial documented that Internet-based training in CRP point-of-care testing, in enhanced communication skills, or both reduced antibiotic prescribing at 3 months, with risk ratios (RRs) of 0.68, 0.

Alcohol Drinking Pattern Is Associated with Demographic Features of Primary Health Care Patients in Poland: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND The Optimizing Delivery of Health Care Interventions (ODHIN) project focused on the implementation of screening and brief intervention for hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption in primary health care. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether alcohol drinking pattern is associated with demographic features of primary health care patients in Poland and if it is possible to identify groups at highest risk for hazardous and harmful drinking. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study enrolled 8805 adult (mean age 54.

Impact of practice, provider and patient characteristics on delivering screening and brief advice for heavy drinking in primary healthcare: Secondary analyses of data from the ODHIN five-country cluster randomized factorial trial.

Background: The implementation of primary healthcare-based screening and advice that is effective in reducing heavy drinking can be enhanced with training.

Objectives: Undertaking secondary analysis of the five-country ODHIN study, we test: the extent to which practice, provider and patient characteristics affect the likelihood of patients being screened and advised; the extent to which such characteristics moderate the impact of training in increasing screening and advice; and the extent to which training mitigates any differences due to such characteristics found at baseline.

Methods: A cluster randomized factorial trial involving 120 practices, 746 providers and 46 546 screened patients from Catalonia, England, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.

Delivery of Brief Interventions for Heavy Drinking in Primary Care: Outcomes of the ODHIN 5-Country Cluster Randomized Trial.

Purpose: We aimed to test whether 3 strategies-training and support, financial reimbursement, and an option to direct screen-positive patients to an Internet-based method of giving brief advice-have a longer-term effect on primary care clinicians' delivery of screening and advice to heavy drinkers operationalized with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) tool.

Methods: We undertook a cluster randomized factorial trial with a 12-week implementation period in 120 primary health care units throughout Catalonia, England, Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden. Units were randomized to 8 groups: care as usual (control); training and support alone; financial reimbursement alone; electronic brief advice alone; paired combinations of these conditions; and all 3 combined.

Joint Assessment of Donor and Recipient hTERT Gene Polymorphism Provides Additional Information for Early Kidney Transplantation Outcomes.

BACKGROUND There are several genes and genetic loci affecting telomere length, including hTERT gene and BICD1 gene as well as polymorphisms within chromosome 18. It has been demonstrated that the age of the donor is a negative factor associated with long-term kidney allograft function, and that post-transplant complications accelerate transplanted organ aging, thus contributing to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decreases. The aim of this study was a joint assessment of donors' and recipients' hTERT and BICD1 genes as well as chromosome 18 polymorphisms with regard to early kidney transplantation outcomes.

Attitudes and Learning through Practice Are Key to Delivering Brief Interventions for Heavy Drinking in Primary Health Care: Analyses from the ODHIN Five Country Cluster Randomized Factorial Trial.

In this paper, we test path models that study the interrelations between primary health care provider attitudes towards working with drinkers, their screening and brief advice activity, and their receipt of training and support and financial reimbursement. Study participants were 756 primary health care providers from 120 primary health care units (PHCUs) in different locations throughout Catalonia, England, The Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden. Our interventions were training and support and financial reimbursement to providers.

Telomere Length Assessment for Prediction of Organ Transplantation Outcome. Future or Failure: A Review of the Literature.

Telomeres are located at each end of eukaryotic chromosomes. Their functional role is genomic stability maintenance. The protective role of telomeres depends on various factors, including number of nucleotides repeats, telomere-binding proteins, and telomerase activity.

Impact of primary healthcare providers' initial role security and therapeutic commitment on implementing brief interventions in managing risky alcohol consumption: a cluster randomised factorial trial.

Background: Brief interventions in primary healthcare are cost-effective in reducing drinking problems but poorly implemented in routine practice. Although evidence about implementing brief interventions is growing, knowledge is limited with regard to impact of initial role security and therapeutic commitment on brief intervention implementation.

Methods: In a cluster randomised factorial trial, 120 primary healthcare units (PHCUs) were randomised to eight groups: care as usual, training and support, financial reimbursement, and the opportunity to refer patients to an internet-based brief intervention (e-BI); paired combinations of these three strategies, and all three strategies combined.

Improving the delivery of brief interventions for heavy drinking in primary health care: outcome results of the Optimizing Delivery of Health Care Intervention (ODHIN) five-country cluster randomized factorial trial.

Aim: To test if training and support, financial reimbursement and option of referring screen-positive patients to an internet-based method of giving advice (eBI) can increase primary health-care providers' delivery of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)-C-based screening and advice to heavy drinkers.

Design: Cluster randomized factorial trial with 12-week implementation and measurement period.

Setting: Primary health-care units (PHCU) in different locations throughout Catalonia, England, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

Professional's Attitudes Do Not Influence Screening and Brief Interventions Rates for Hazardous and Harmful Drinkers: Results from ODHIN Study.

Aims: To determine the relation between existing levels of alcohol screening and brief intervention rates in five European jurisdictions and role security and therapeutic commitment by the participating primary healthcare professionals.

Methods: Health care professionals consisting of, 409 GPs, 282 nurses and 55 other staff including psychologists, social workers and nurse aids from 120 primary health care centres participated in a cross-sectional 4-week survey. The participants registered all screening and brief intervention activities as part of their normal routine.

Influence of folic acid supplementation on coagulation, inflammatory, lipid, and kidney function parameters in subjects with low and moderate content of folic acid in the diet.

Background: The human body requires folic acid (FA) to produce blood cells, secure cell division, and growth. Moreover, this vitamin is important in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Because the results of studies on the use of FA in the prevention of CVD are ambiguous, it seems necessary to conduct further research, which will explain in which cases supplementation is effective.

Management of respiratory tract infections in primary care in Poland--results of the happy audit 2 project.

Objective: The Polish results of the international Happy Audit 2 project are reported which objective was to present therapeutic decisions made by general practitioners (especially antibiotics prescribed) and diagnostic methods applied to patients with respiratory tract infections (RTI).

Material And Methods: [corrected] Following each visit of patient with respiratory tract infection, general practitioners participating in the study completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire included patient's data (age, gender), the duration of disease, clinical symptoms, diagnosis, prescribed antibiotics, additional testing as well as the influence of various factors on therapeutic decision.

Association between low-dose folic acid supplementation and blood lipids concentrations in male and female subjects with atherosclerosis risk factors.

Background: Folic acid (FA) is one of the B complex vitamins. It is thought that FA deficiency promotes atherosclerosis formation in arterial endothelium. FA, acting through reducing homocysteine (Hcy) levels, may contribute to decreased cholesterol (Ch) synthesis.

Effects of internet-based training on antibiotic prescribing rates for acute respiratory-tract infections: a multinational, cluster, randomised, factorial, controlled trial.

Background: High-volume prescribing of antibiotics in primary care is a major driver of antibiotic resistance. Education of physicians and patients can lower prescribing levels, but it frequently relies on highly trained staff. We assessed whether internet-based training methods could alter prescribing practices in multiple health-care systems.

Copper levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune-based disease of the connective tissue with still unknown etiology. Numerous studies have indicated the association between Copper (Cu) and ceruloplasmin (Cp) concentrations and pathogenesis of RA.

Objective: To compare the concentrations of Cu and Cp in different biological samples and their correlation with the inflammatory process, between a group of patients with RA and a control group of healthy individuals.

Homocysteine and metabolic risk factors in individuals with family history of premature ischemic stroke.

Introduction: Family history of stroke is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate selected metabolic risk factors and an association between the interaction of family history of premature ischemic stroke (PIS) and homocysteine (Hcy) levels with other risk factors in individuals with family histo ry of PIS.

Patients And Methods: The study involved 344 healthy individuals, including 143 with family history of PIS and 201 without family history of PIS (control group).

Implementing training and support, financial reimbursement, and referral to an internet-based brief advice program to improve the early identification of hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption in primary care (ODHIN): study protocol for a cluster randomized factorial trial.

Background: The European level of alcohol consumption, and the subsequent burden of disease, is high compared to the rest of the world. While screening and brief interventions in primary healthcare are cost-effective, in most countries they have hardly been implemented in routine primary healthcare. In this study, we aim to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of three implementation interventions that have been chosen to address key barriers for improvement: training and support to address lack of knowledge and motivation in healthcare providers; financial reimbursement to compensate the time investment; and internet-based counselling to reduce workload for primary care providers.

Amoxicillin for acute lower-respiratory-tract infection in primary care when pneumonia is not suspected: a 12-country, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Lower-respiratory-tract infection is one of the most common acute illnesses managed in primary care. Few placebo-controlled studies of antibiotics have been done, and overall effectiveness (particularly in subgroups such as older people) is debated. We aimed to compare the benefits and harms of amoxicillin for acute lower-respiratory-tract infection with those of placebo both overall and in patients aged 60 years or older.

Is there an effect of folic acid supplementation on the coagulation factors and C-reactive protein concentrations in subjects with atherosclerosis risk factors?

Introduction: Folic acid (FA) may delay the formation of atherosclerotic lesions. Increased plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF) are observed in cardiovascular disease, which leads to higher risk of thrombosis. Fibrinogen (Fb) is a well-documented risk factor of cardiovascular disease.

Attitudes toward preventive services and lifestyle: the views of primary care patients in Europe. the EUROPREVIEW patient study.

Background: For preventive interventions in general practice to succeed, patients' points of view must be taken into account in addition to those of GPs.

Objective: To explore patients' views and beliefs about the importance of lifestyle and preventive interventions, to assess their readiness to make changes to their lifestyle and their willingness to receive support from GPs.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey conducted by EUROPREV in primary care practices in 22 European countries.