Development and the initial validation of a new self-administered questionnaire for an early detection of health status changes in smokers at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (MARKO questionnaire).

Aim: To develop and do an initial validation of a new simple tool (self-administered questionnaire) that would be sensitive and specific enough to detect early changes in smokers leading to future development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: 224 consecutive participants (50.9% women), with mean±standard deviation age of 52.

Morningness-eveningness and daytime functioning in university students: the mediating role of sleep characteristics.

The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of sleep characteristics in the relationship between morningness-eveningness and three different aspects of daytime functioning: daytime sleepiness, depressive mood and substance use in university students. A multiple mediator model was proposed with sleep debt, poor sleep quality and bedtime delay at weekends as parallel mediators in these relationships. We analysed the data of 1052 university students aged 18-25 years who completed a modified version of the School Sleep Habits Survey, which included questions on sleep and the Composite Scale of Morningness, Sleepiness Scale, Depressive Mood Scale and Substance Use Scale.

WHOQOL-bREF questionnaire as a measure of quality of life in sarcoidosis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a short form of the WHOQOL questionnaire, the WHOQOL-BREF, which consists of 24 questions, in evaluating quality of life (QOL) in sarcoidosis patients. A group of 97 sarcoidosis patients and a matched group of 97 healthy controls took part in the study. Their QOL was examined by means of the WHOQOL-BREF, and the respiratory functions were measured in sarcoidosis patients.

Morningness-eveningness and sleep patterns of adolescents attending school in two rotating shifts.

School system in which classes are scheduled 1 week in the morning and the other in the afternoon, and in which students rotate schedule every week, fosters sleep irregularity. In this study, we examined morningness-eveningness of adolescents who were involved in such schedule of school time and explored relationship between their circadian preferences and sleep characteristics. A large sample of 2287 students between the ages 11 and 18 years (52% girls) from 24 schools in Croatia was studied.

State-trait arousal and daytime sleepiness after sleep restriction.

The importance of an arousal system in the regulation of sleepiness has been widely recognised in contexts of insomnia theory and research. Arousal is also incorporated in some general models of sleepiness and is considered one of the principal factors regulating sleepiness in a model by De Valck and Cluydts (2003), in which arousal has both state and trait components. In the present experimental study, we explored the effects of state and trait components of arousal on subjective sleepiness and sleep latency during daytime.

Regulation of sleepiness: the role of the arousal system.

Sleepiness is a widespread phenomenon in the busy industrial countries, and many studies have identified its significant negative impacts on individuals and society. Particularly important are the data that associate sleepiness with the risk of accidents at workplace and in transport, pointing to shift workers as the most vulnerable population. It is generally accepted that two basic physiological processes regulate sleepiness: homeostatic and circadian rhythmic processes.

Association of neuroticism with sick building syndrome, quality of life and psychomotor performance.

In a group of 221 healthy employees of both sexes the relationship between neuroticism, and perceived quality of life (WHOQOL), inadequate work organization (IWO), Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and speed and accuracy of simple reaction time was studied. The level of neuroticism was assessed by Cornell Index (C.I.

Educating adolescents about healthy sleep: experimental study of effectiveness of educational leaflet.

Aim: To evaluate how exposure to educational leaflet about healthy sleep affects knowledge about sleep in adolescents.

Methods: The study included students aged 15-18 years from 12 high schools (1209 participants; 85% of eligible study population). Multistage sampling was used and the selected schools were randomly assigned into two intervention groups and two control groups, according to the Solomon experimental design.

Is atopy related to neuroticism, stress, and subjective quality of life?

Different psychosocial characteristics have been associated with allergic disorders. The aim of this study was to examine whether atopic constitution and reports of allergic symptoms were related to personality trait of neuroticism, exposure to stressful life events and estimates of quality of life. Atopy was determined by skin prick test and reports of nasal and pulmonary allergy-related symptoms.

Sick building syndrome: psychological, somatic, and environmental determinants.

The authors aimed to examine potential relationships between work-related symptoms attributed to sick building syndrome (SBS) and certain psychological, somatic, and environmental factors. The multidisciplinary, cross-sectional study comprised 171 female subjects working in air-conditioned and naturally ventilated nonindustrial office buildings. The authors collected information concerning symptoms related to SBS and made assessments of quality of life by using appropriate questionnaires.

[Individual differences and sleep deprivation effects].

Contemporary lifestyle and different life circumstances often require that individuals restrict their sleep duration and change their sleep schedule. That often leads to sleep deprivation. Former studies showed that sleep deprivation effects on the physiological and psychological functioning of an individual depended on numerous factors such as type of sleep deprivation, previous sleep duration, time of day when the effects were examined, characteristics of tasks performed, and the subject's motivation.

Shiftworking families: parents' working schedule and sleep patterns of adolescents attending school in two shifts.

Objective: To explore whether parents' engagement in shift work affects the sleep habits of their adolescent children who attend school in two shifts.

Methods: The data were drawn from an extensive survey of sleep and daytime functioning of adolescents attending school one week in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The participants were 1,386 elementary and high school students (11-18 years old) whose parents were both employed.

Circadian components in energy and tension and their relation to physiological activation and performance.

The purpose of the study was to examine validity of R. Thayer's activation model regarding 24h variations of two subjective dimensions of activation (Energy and Tension), and their 24 h relations with indices of physiological activation and performance efficiency. The participants of the study (n = 28 females) spent 26 h under controlled laboratory conditions.

[Stress and allergy].

Stress is one of the components in the complex interaction of environmental, genetic, physiological, psychological, behavioural and social factors that can influence the body's ability to remain healthy or become healthy, to resist or overcome a disease. Stress can alter neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms of health and disease through various psychosocial processes. In addition, it can affect health through the impact on health-impairing behaviours and on compliance with medical regimens.