Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of suicidal thoughts, tendencies and suicide attempts in young people. An attempt was also made to identify factors which, according to those young people, contributed to their suicide attempts. Materials and method. The study involved 5,685 individuals aged 13-19 years. The participants were surveyed using an inquiry form designed by the study authors. Results. Suicidal behaviour in adolescents correlates with the female gender, intake of psychoactive substances, running away from home, being raised in a single-parent family, addiction of family members to alcohol, and experiences of violence. Conclusions. 1) Suicidal ideation was reported by 24.66%, suicidal plans-by 15.55%, and suicide attempts-by 4.37% of the adolescents studied. 2) Girls were significantly more likely to attempt suicide out of a sense of helplessness, loneliness, rejection and guilt, as well as conflicts with parents and peers. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to attempt suicide as a result of pressure from peers or cyber acquaintances. 3) Suicide attempts were significantly more common among girls than boys between the ages of 13-19, and significantly more common among young people living in urban areas than those living in the countryside. 4) Significantly more young people who reported suicidal thoughts and plans and suicide attempts than those not reporting such experiences were raised in single-parent families. 5) Compared with non-suicidal controls, young people who admitted to having suicidal thoughts and plans and to having attempted suicide, were significantly more likely to report alcohol abuse by parents and experiences of psychological and physical violence from family members.

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IntroductionAdipokines are regulatory molecules which act as mediators of the inflammatory, fibrotic and metabolic processes by interacting with the immune system.AimWe hypothesized that chemerin and visfatin by pro-inflammatory properties play a significant role in inflammation in systemic sclerosis. To address this hypothesis, we determined serum chemerin and visfatin levels in SSc patients, compared with the control group and defined the correlations with clinical and laboratory parameters in SSc patients.Material and methodsThe study included 48 Caucasian female patients with SSc and 38 healthy subjects of the control group. Serum concentrations of selected adipokines were measured using commercially available ELISA Kits.ResultsPatients with SSc had higher chemerin levels (209.38 ±55.35 ng/ml) than the control group (182.71 ±33.94 ng/ml) and the difference was statistically significant (Z = 2.14, p = 0.032). The highest chemerin levels were found in dcSSc patients (242.46 ±95.82 ng/ml). We indicated a positive correlation of chemerin and visfatin with levels of inflammatory markers: CRP (r = 0.35, p = 0.013 for chemerin; r = 0.41, p = 0.003 for visfatin) and ESR (r = 0.31, p = 0.03 for chemerin; r = 0.30, p = 0.03 for visfatin). What is more, chemerin manifested a statistically significant positive correlation with the concentration of complement component C3 (r = 0.47, p = 0.001) and C4 (r = 0.29, p = 0.049), whereas visfatin correlated with C4 levels (r = 0.32, p = 0.029).ConclusionsThe results of our study indicate that chemerin and visfatin as pro-inflammatory cytokines might represent new markers corresponding with inflammation in systemic sclerosis and might reflect the bridge between metabolism, inflammation and potentially, chemerin may also link inflammation with skin and lung fibrosis.

A b s t r a c tIntroduction: Leptin and adiponectin have recently received the attention of researchers as attractive biomarkers in systemic sclerosis (SSc) because of their role in the inflammatory process, vascular function and fibrosis. We hypothesized that leptin and adiponectin may be associated with disease activity and severity in patients with SSc. Aim: To compare serum leptin, adiponectin and leptin/adiponectin levels in patients with SSc and healthy controls and to evaluate their possible relationship with frequently used laboratory markers and clinical findings. Material and methods: The study included 48 Caucasian female patients with SSc and 38 healthy controls. Serum concentrations of leptin and adiponectin were measured in patients and controls using commercially available ELISA Kits (Quantikine ELISA Kit R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). The results were assessed by the Mann-Whitney U-test and Spearman's correlation test. Results: Leptin and adiponectin levels correlated with body mas index SSc patients (r = 0.495, p = 0.000398 and r = -0.306; p = 0.0342) in contrast to healthy controls (p = 0.070 and p = 0.256, respectively), and, in SSc patients only, a strong negative correlation was observed between leptin and adiponectin serum levels (r = -0.314; p = 0.0312). Diffuse form of the disease (dcSSc) was associated with significantly lower serum adiponectin levels (8638.62 ±10382.62). Active disease was associated with significantly lower leptin concentration (13700.49 ±18293.32) and there was a significant negative correlation between leptin serum level and activity index score (r = -0.342; p = 0.0185). Conclusions:The results of our study indicate that leptin levels might correlate with disease activity and subtype in SSc patients.

1. Self-injury is performed by 14% of adolescents aged 16-19 years, significantly more girls than boys. 2. Significantly more adolescents who perform self-injury, as compared to those who do not do it, use psychoactive substances, get drunk, report planning suicide, neglect school and more often consume alcohol. 3. Significantly more adolescents who perform self-injury, as compared to those who do not perform it, raised in a single parent family inform about alcohol addiction of a family member, conflicts with parents and the experienced psychological and physical violence experienced from their parents and peers. Significantly more girls who perform self-injury, as compared to those who do not perform it, experienced sexual abuse. 4. Performing self-injury by adolescents coexists with factors motivating to this type of behaviours: sense of helplessness, rejection, loneliness, sense of guilt, anger, impulsiveness, desire for revenge, school problems, conflicts with parents and peers.