Coronary computed tomographic prediction rule for time-efficient guidewire crossing through chronic total occlusion: insights from the CT-RECTOR multicenter registry (Computed Tomography Registry of Chronic Total Occlusion Revascularization).

Objectives: This study sought to establish a coronary computed tomography angiography prediction rule for grading chronic total occlusion (CTO) difficulty for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background: The uncertainty of procedural outcome remains the strongest barrier to PCI in CTO.

Methods: Data from 4 centers involving 240 consecutive CTO lesions with pre-procedural coronary computed tomography angiography were analyzed.

Motherhood after the age of 35 in Poland.

Postponing motherhood is a widespread phenomenon across developed countries, however only few studies look into very late motherhood in post-socialist countries using individual level data. In this study, I look at the context of the first childbirth in Poland in the midst of the political transformation of 1989. Employing sequence analysis I reconstructed life trajectories of women who experienced the transition to adulthood during the late 1980's and the early 1990's and have just completed their fertility histories.

Market choices driven by reference groups. An evolutionary approach.

The present paper tries to answer analytically how much the reference group influence can affect an actual market share of a particular brand or product. It is found that the increase of the size of a reference group and the probability of following the majority within the reference group may lead to the temporary modest prevalence of one brand. This result requires a relatively large size of a reference group and a high probability of following the majority within the reference group.

Cost-effectiveness versus Cost-Utility Analyses: What Are the Motives Behind Using Each and How Do Their Results Differ?-A Polish Example.

Objectives: We aimed to compare the use of cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-utility analysis in health technology assessment in Poland.

Methods: We analyzed all the submissions (155) made to the Polish Agency for Health Technology Assessment in the period 2007 to 2011, with 316 intervention-comparator comparisons reporting incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) or incremental cost-utility ratios (ICURs). We compared ICERs and ICURs when both were reported (31%), determined factors associated with reporting one or the other, and tested the precision of their assessment.

Reduced functionality in everyday activities of patients with self-reported heart failure hospitalization--population-based study results.

Aim: To assess daily functioning and geriatric conditions of older subjects suffering from heart failure (HF) as compared to the general population.

Methods And Results: The data were collected as part of the nationwide PolSenior project (2007-2011). Of 4979 individuals (age range 65-104 years), data on self-reported HF hospitalization were available for 4795 subjects (96%).

Factors affecting breast cancer treatment delay in Turkey: a study from Turkish Federation of Breast Diseases Societies.

Background: One of the most important factors in breast cancer (BC) mortality is treatment delay. The primary goal of this survey was to identify factors affecting the total delay time (TDT) in Turkish BC patients.

Methods: A total of 1031 patients with BC were surveyed using a uniform questionnaire.

Cost accounting models used for price-setting of health services: an international review.

The aim of the article was to present and compare cost accounting models which are used in the area of healthcare for pricing purposes in different countries. Cost information generated by hospitals is further used by regulatory bodies for setting or updating prices of public health services. The article presents a set of examples from different countries of the European Union, Australia and the United States and concentrates on DRG-based payment systems as they primarily use cost information for pricing.

Role of smoking in regional variation in mortality in Poland.

Aims: We assess the effect of smoking on regional disparities in mortality in Poland and its contribution to the change in regional disparities during the last two decades.

Design, Setting And Participants: We used population-level mortality data from the population registry for 379 Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS)-4 Polish regions for 1991-93 and 2008-10.

Measurements: The importance of smoking was assessed by smoking-attributable mortality (SAM) derived using a simplified indirect Peto-Lopez method.

Global, regional, and national levels of neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

Background: Remarkable financial and political efforts have been focused on the reduction of child mortality during the past few decades. Timely measurements of levels and trends in under-5 mortality are important to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) target of reduction of child mortality by two thirds from 1990 to 2015, and to identify models of success.

Methods: We generated updated estimates of child mortality in early neonatal (age 0-6 days), late neonatal (7-28 days), postneonatal (29-364 days), childhood (1-4 years), and under-5 (0-4 years) age groups for 188 countries from 1970 to 2013, with more than 29,000 survey, census, vital registration, and sample registration datapoints.

Levels of FSH, LH and testosterone, and sperm DNA fragmentation.

Objective: Having an offspring is the most important human biological goal, which is necessary for survival of the human species. Lack of offspring is a phenomenon concerning approximately 15% of married couples in Poland. In a half of the cases, a causative agent is the male factor infertility problem.

Cognitive functions, apolipoprotein E genotype and hormonal replacement therapy of postmenopausal women.

Objective: The results of many studies revealed that estrogen plus progestogen therapy (EPT) may modify dementia development risk in relation to the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) polymorphisms. However, the mechanism and subsequently clinical importance of such an effect are still unexplained. The objective of this study was to explore the influence of EPT on cognitive functioning of women in their postmenopausal life in relation to APOE polymorphism.

The educational gradient in marital disruption: a meta-analysis of European research findings.

A large number of empirical studies have investigated the effects of women's education on union dissolution in Europe, but results have varied substantially. This paper seeks to assess the relationship between educational attainment and the incidence of marital disruption by systematizing the existing empirical evidence. A quantitative literature review (a meta-analysis) was conducted to investigate the temporal change in the relationship, net of inter-study differences.

Impact of the shift to neonatal noninvasive ventilation in Poland: a population study.

Objective: This study was undertaken to document the real impact of a directed shift in the standard of neonatal practice to a pervasive use of noninvasive respiratory support.

Design: Before-after observational study.

Setting: All 18 neonatal ICUs in the capital region of Poland.

Tourist activity of young people as a factor contributing to their health and proper development.

Introduction And Objective: The aim of this paper is to assess the level of tourist activity of pupils and students from schools in Warsaw, as well as factors influencing this level of activity.

Methods: A two-part questionnaire was used that included questions related to participation in tourist trips (day, long, short, and trips abroad) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).

Results: Among the analyzed factors (gender, level of school, level of physical activity), only the level of school turned out to be the factor which significantly (p=0.

Delays in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer: a multinational analysis.

Background: Reducing treatment delay improves outcomes in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to determine factors influencing patient- and system-related delays in commencing breast cancer treatment in different countries.

Methods: A total of 6588 female breast cancer patients from 12 countries were surveyed.

Diverse Effects of Women's Employment on Fertility: Insights From Italy and Poland: Diverses conséquences de l'emploi des femmes sur la fécondité: quelques informations à partir des cas de l'Italie et de la Pologne.

In this paper, we look into how country-specific factors shape the interrelationship between childbearing and women's labor supply. To this end, we compare Italy and Poland, two low-fertility countries where the country-specific obstacles to work and family reconciliation are similarly strong but which differ in the history of women's labor supply and the extent to which couples' material aspirations are satisfied by men's earnings. Our findings show that women's employment clearly conflicts with childbearing in Italy, while in Poland women tend to combine the two activities, despite the similar difficulties they face.

Socio-demographic determinants of participation in swimming amongst working residents of warsaw.

The aim of research is to assess the correlation between socio-demographic factors and swimming activity among the working population of Warsaw. The questionnaire survey included 4405 randomly selected residents of Warsaw. The correlation between the swimming activity and the variables characterizing the socio-demographic structure of the respondents were assessed by log-linear modelling.

Is physical activity of medical personnel a role model for their patients.

Introduction And Objective: Sedentary lifestyle and other health behaviors such as smoking or alcohol consumption are well documented risk factors of several diseases. Numerous works by doctors and other healthcare professionals have been dedicated to the study of smoking and alcohol consumption. In contrast, the prevalence of physical activity of doctors or other medical personnel, who are well positioned to provide physical activity counseling to patients, remains almost unknown.

What Influences Recommendations Issued by the Agency for Health Technology Assessment in Poland? A Glimpse Into Decision Makers' Preferences.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the factors that are associated with positive (supporting public funding) and negative recommendations of the Agency for Health Technology Assessment in Poland.

Methods: Two independent analysts reviewed all the recommendations publicly available online before October 7, 2011. For each recommendation, predefined decision rationales, that is, clinical efficacy, safety, cost-effectiveness, and formal aspects, were sought, either advocating or discouraging the public financing.

Costs of smoking-attributable productivity losses in Poland.

In Poland smoking poses a severe socioeconomic problem. Not only does tobacco consumption cause an increase in direct medical costs due to the necessity for treatment of smoking-attributable diseases, but it also generates indirect costs due to productivity losses. The aim of this paper was to estimate the annual productivity loss due to smoking in Poland from the societal perspective and to compare the obtained results with the equivalent research in other selected countries (Germany, Sweden, and USA).

Socio-demographic and leisure activity determinants of physical activity of working warsaw residents aged 60 to 69 years.

The purpose of the study was to assess factors determining physical activity in persons at the age of 60-69 years in an urban area. The study included 262 working residents of Warsaw at the initial period of old age. The study utilized a questionnaire consisting of two parts.

Medical, psychological and socioeconomic aspects of aging in Poland: assumptions and objectives of the PolSenior project.

Both descriptive and longitudinal studies of aging are nowadays a subject of growing interest in different countries worldwide. However, in Poland and other Central-Eastern European countries, such comprehensive, nationally representative, multidimensional studies were never performed in the past in elderly population. The present paper describes the PolSenior project including its objectives, sample selection and structure, methods, fieldwork procedures and study flow.

Employment first, then childbearing: women's strategy in post-socialist Poland.

Poland experienced a rapid fertility decline after the end of the socialist regime in 1989. At the same time, it became much more difficult, especially for women, to act on their determination to find and keep paid employment. To investigate whether women postponed childbearing until they found a job, we undertook a simultaneous estimation of transitions to childbirth and entry to and exit from employment.

Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves--caveats quantified.

Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) have become widely used in applied health technology assessment and at the same time are criticized as unreliable decision-making tool. In this paper we show how using CEACs differs from maximizing expected net benefit (NB) and when it can lead to inconsistent decisions. In the case of comparing two alternatives we show the limits of the discrepancy between CEAC and expected NB approach and link it with expected value of perfect information.

Kin influence on female reproductive behavior: the evidence from reconstitution of the Bejsce parish registers, 18th to 20th centuries, Poland.

The phenomenon of kin-oriented help, according to inclusive fitness theory, should be of crucial importance with respect to the process of reproduction. This is due to the fact that the devoted time and resources might indirectly contribute to the reproductive performance of a donor. This study aimed at analyzing the kin effects on fertility in order to check whether help received from kinsmen enhance a recipient's reproduction in terms of parity transition risk, completed fertility, and the number of survivors.