European health examination surveys - a tool for collecting objective information about the health of the population.

Background: Representative and reliable data on health and health determinants of the population and population sub-groups are needed for evidence-informed policy making; planning and evaluation of prevention programmes; and research. Health examination surveys (HESs) including questionnaires, objective health measurements and analysis of biological samples, provide information on many health indicators that are available not at all or less reliably or completely through administrative registers or health interview surveys.

Methods: Standardized cross-sectional HESs were already conducted in the 1980's and 1990's, in the framework of the WHO MONICA Project.

Social patterning in grip strength, chair rise, and walk speed in an aging population: the Czech HAPIEE Study.

Background: The aim was to examine the association of objective measures of physical functioning (PF) with education and material circumstances and the decline in PF with age by socioeconomic position (SEP).

Methods: In 3,205 subjects (60-75 years) from the Czech Republic, we assessed relationship between PF, SEP, and age. Linear regression was used to assess PF measures and SEP measures.

Depressive symptoms and levels of C-reactive protein: a population-based study.

Background: Depression and depressive symptoms have been repeatedly linked to elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) but questions remain as to the statistical robustness of the association and particularly whether the association between depression and CRP reflects the presence of a chronic disease.

Methods: A random sample of 6,126 men and women aged 45-69 years was examined in a cross-sectional study in seven towns in the Czech Republic. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) scale.

Socio-economic status over the life-course and depressive symptoms in men and women in Eastern Europe.

Objective: Research into social inequalities in depression has studied western populations but data from non-western countries are sparse. In this paper, we investigate the extent of social inequalities in depression in Eastern Europe, the relative importance of social position at different points of the life-course, and whether social patterning of depression differs between men and women.

Method: A cross-sectional study examined 12,053 men and 13,582 women in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic.