Background: Taking care of a child with Cerebral Palsy (CP) may be linked with adverse effects in the parents’ physical and mental health. The causes of anxiety and depression symptoms associated with childcare are still not fully understood. Aim: To assess the intensity of anxiety and depression symptoms in parents of children with CP compared to a control group and to identify selected mental health predictors. Design and Methods: Data were collected from 301 respondents, including 190 parents of children with CP (study group) and 111 parents taking care of children developing normally (control group). Intensity of anxiety and depression was rated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scale. Gross Motor Function Classification System for Cerebral Palsy (GMFCS), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), Berlin Support Social Scales (BSSS) scales and a specially designed questionnaire were used to assess the predictors. The investigated variables included the children’s and the parents’ characteristics, as well as environmental factors. The analyses applied Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, M(SD) as well as multiple regression. Results: The level of anxiety and depression was clearly higher in the parents of children with CP–the mean levels of anxiety and depression in the study group and the controls amounted to 8.1 vs. 4.7 and 6.8 vs. 3.7, respectively. The factors associated with intensity of anxiety and depression in the parents of children with CP included lack of social support, mainly perceived and received support, unsatisfying parental health status, poor economic status of the family, as well as difficult living conditions, sense of coherence, loneliness, the parent’s gender, and the child’s intellectual disability. Conclusions: Identification of significant anxiety and depression predictors, understood as modifiable factors, should be considered in determining and planning comprehensive support for a child with CP and his/her primary parental caregiver.

Aim of the studyTo present the changes in the incidence of cancers of the head and neck organs in south-eastern Poland and in the whole country in the years 1990-2012.Material and methodsA retrospective analysis the incidence of cancers of the head and neck organs in south-eastern Poland in the years 1990–2012. Statistical methods used for cancers of ICD-10 C00-C14 and C30-C32.ResultsFor Poland, the absolute number of cases was 123,120 in the years 1990-2012. For males, the number of cases per year increased from 4468 in 1990 to 4953 in 2012, and for females from 816 to 1442.The percentage share of tumours of the head and neck in all malignant tumours decreased from 10.0% to 6.5% for males and from 2.1% to 1.9% for females.In the years 1990–2012 in south-eastern Poland, for males, the absolute number of cases per year decreased from 335 in 1990 to 286 in 2012. For females, a minimal increase in cases was from 63 to 64 cases. The percentage share of tumours of the head and neck in all malignant tumours decreased from 12.2% to 6.7% for males and from 2.7% to 1.8% for females.ConclusionsIncidences of cancers of the head and neck organs in Poland have seen a slight upward trend in the absolute number of cases over the last two decades. In Poland a decrease in the incidence of cancer of the larynx was reported, with an increase in the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer.

No abstract