The association between air pollutions and emergency hospitalizations due to COPD and asthma across 16 Polish cities: population-based study.

Objectives: In recent years numerous initiatives aimed at reducing air pollution have been undertaken in Poland. The general objective was to examine the correlation between air pollution measured by the level of particulate matter ≤10 μm in diameter (PM) and emergency hospitalizations due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in 16 Polish cities (capitals of the regions).

Material And Methods: The authors aimed to diagnose the situation across 16 cities over a 5‑year period (2014-2019).

Use of individual antihypertensive drug classes and combination therapies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland: a cross-sectional, nationwide study in the years 2019-2021.

Introduction: The 2018 European Society of Cardiology / European Society of Hypertension guidelines recommended the use of combination therapy, especially in the form of single‑pill combinations (SPCs), for treatment of hypertension.

Objectives: We assessed adherence to these recommendations after their publication and during the COVID‑19 pandemic in Poland.

Patients And Methods: The frequencies of using individual antihypertensive drug classes and their combinations were analyzed for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 in all patients who filled at least 1 prescription for an antihypertensive drug, using information from a database covering all prescriptions filled in Poland.

Heart failure with reduced, mildly reduced, and preserved ejection fraction: outcomes and predictors of prognosis.

Introduction: Recently, a stratification of the heart failure (HF) phenotypes, which classifies HF into 3 subtypes based on ejection fraction, has been introduced. Before that, clinical trials and registries have been mainly devoted to HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). As a result, data on long‑term survival trends for individual HF phenotypes are scarce.

Patients' Expectations and Preferences for the Organizational Conditions of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme in Poland: A Qualitative Analysis.

(1) Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a serious health problem in Poland as well as many European Union countries. The study aimed to describe factors that, from the patient's perspective, could increase the attendance rate and regularity of participation in the colorectal cancer screening programme (SP); (2) Methods: The qualitative approach was applied. The study involved six focus interviews conducted with 24 respondents (12 women and 12 men) aged 40-49, who had at least one first-degree family member diagnosed with CRC and persons aged 50-65, living in five selected voivodships (provinces) of Poland.

Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with heart failure with reduced, mildly reduced, and preserved ejection fraction.

Introduction: There is still little information regarding a detailed description and predictors of different subtypes of heart failure (HF) in the Polish population.

Objectives: This study sought to characterize the differences between hospitalized patients with HF divided into HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF; EF ≥50%), mildly reduced EF (HFmrEF; EF 40%-49%), and reduced EF (HFrEF; EF <40%), and to identify factors related to each HF subtype.

Patients And Methods: Patients from the hospital database whose hospitalization was coded as HF‑related between 2014 and 2019 were included in the analysis.

Management and predictors of clinical events in 75 686 patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Although mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) has decreased substantially over the last few decades in many countries, MI remains a major threat to public health.

Aims: To assess the number and outcomes of patients hospitalized for acute MI in Poland in 2018 as well as proportions of patients participating in cardiac rehabilitation and undergoing invasive cardiac procedures following discharge.

Methods: We used public databases.

The Potential Benefits of the Influenza Vaccination on COVID-19 Mortality Rate-A Retrospective Analysis of Patients in Poland.

In this study,we used publicly available data from the Centrum e-Zdrowia (CeZ) Polish Databank proposing a possible correlation between influenza vaccination and mortality due to COVID-19. We limited our search to the patients with positive COVID‑19 laboratory tests from 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2021 and who filled a prescription for any influenza vaccine during the 2019-2020 influenza season. In total, we included 116,277 patients and used a generalized linear model to analyze the data.

Innovative Managed Care May Be Related to Improved Prognosis for Acute Myocardial Infarction Survivors.

Background: Mortality following discharge in myocardial infarction survivors remains high. Therefore, we compared outcomes in myocardial infarction survivors participating and not participating in a novel, nationwide managed care program for myocardial infarction survivors in Poland.

Methods: We used public databases.

Estimating global injuries morbidity and mortality: methods and data used in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study.

Background: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria.

Methods: In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation.

Occupational risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection: the Polish experience.

Objectives: The disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), termed COVID-19, is asymptomatic or mild in most cases. These patients do not need treatment in hospital and can be isolated at home. To date, most studies have been conducted among inpatients with severe COVID-19.

Changes in disease burden in Poland between 1990-2017 in comparison with other Central European countries: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

Background: Systematic collection of mortality/morbidity data over time is crucial for monitoring trends in population health, developing health policies, assessing the impact of health programs. In Poland, a comprehensive analysis describing trends in disease burden for major conditions has never been published. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides data on the burden of over 300 diseases in 195 countries since 1990.

Morbidity and mortality from road injuries: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

Background: The global burden of road injuries is known to follow complex geographical, temporal and demographic patterns. While health loss from road injuries is a major topic of global importance, there has been no recent comprehensive assessment that includes estimates for every age group, sex and country over recent years.

Methods: We used results from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study to report incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, deaths, years of life lost and disability-adjusted life years for all locations in the GBD 2017 hierarchy from 1990 to 2017 for road injuries.

Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors in Child and Adolescent Health, 1990 to 2017: Findings From the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2017 Study.

Importance: Understanding causes and correlates of health loss among children and adolescents can identify areas of success, stagnation, and emerging threats and thereby facilitate effective improvement strategies.

Objective: To estimate mortality and morbidity in children and adolescents from 1990 to 2017 by age and sex in 195 countries and territories.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This study examined levels, trends, and spatiotemporal patterns of cause-specific mortality and nonfatal health outcomes using standardized approaches to data processing and statistical analysis.

Global, Regional, and Country-Specific Lifetime Risks of Stroke, 1990 and 2016.

Background: The lifetime risk of stroke has been calculated in a limited number of selected populations. We sought to estimate the lifetime risk of stroke at the regional, country, and global level using data from a comprehensive study of the prevalence of major diseases.

Methods: We used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016 estimates of stroke incidence and the competing risks of death from any cause other than stroke to calculate the cumulative lifetime risks of first stroke, ischemic stroke, or hemorrhagic stroke among adults 25 years of age or older.

Zinc and copper concentration do not differentiate bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the zinc and copper concentration in the group of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: 110 patients with the diagnosis of BD and 114 with MDD were qualified to the study. To assess the levels of microelements, the flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) was used in the case of zinc and the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was used in the case of copper.

Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in the adult Polish population - Multi-center National Population Health Examination Surveys - WOBASZ studies.

Introduction: Hypertension is one of the main risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. The first aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence, awareness and treatment of hypertension as well as treatment effectiveness (blood pressure < 140/90 mm Hg) in a representative sample of the Polish population over the age of 19, examined in the WOBASZ II program. The second aim was to assess the changes in these parameters between 2003-2005 (WOBASZ study) and 2013-2014 in adults aged 20-74.

Renal Denervation in Resistant Hypertension and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Randomized Proof-of-Concept Phase II Trial.

Unlabelled: It has been postulated that catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) may lower blood pressure (BP) and improve severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in resistant hypertensive patients. The aim of our study (NCT01366625) was to investigate in a prospective randomized trial the effect of RDN on BP and clinical course of OSA. Sixty patients with true resistant hypertension coexisting with moderate-to-severe OSA (apnea/hypopnea index, ≥15) were randomly allocated to RDN group (30 patients) and to control group (30 patients).

Global, Regional, and National Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years for 29 Cancer Groups, 1990 to 2016: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study.

Importance: The increasing burden due to cancer and other noncommunicable diseases poses a threat to human development, which has resulted in global political commitments reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan on Non-Communicable Diseases. To determine if these commitments have resulted in improved cancer control, quantitative assessments of the cancer burden are required.

Objective: To assess the burden for 29 cancer groups over time to provide a framework for policy discussion, resource allocation, and research focus.

Trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control among Polish adults 75 years and older during 2007-2014.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess changes in the prevalence, awareness, and treatment of hypertension and its effectiveness between 2007 (WOBASZ Senior study) and 2013-2014 (WOBASZ II) in a sample of the Polish population over the age of 75 years.

Methods: Sampling had three stages, stratified according to voivodeships, type of community, and gen-der. Finally, the WOBASZ II study included 467 persons (290 women and 177 men).