ObjectivesTo determine oral health status, dental treatment needs, and to identify barriers that prevent easy access to dental care by elderly care home residents in Lodz.BackgroundStudies in many countries show that oral health status of elderly care home residents is poor and there is an urgent need to improve it.MethodsThe study included 259 care home residents, aged 65 years and older. The oral examination was performed. In face-to-face interviews, subjects were asked about frequency of cleaning teeth and/or dentures, whether they needed assistance, and whether the assistance was available; they were also asked about the perceived dental needs, and about the time since their last visit to a dentist and the purpose of the visit. If they had not visited the dentist in the past 12 months, they were asked about reasons for failing to visit the dentist.ResultsForty-six percent of the subjects were edentulous. Only 5.8% of all participants had a sufficient number of functional natural teeth. Dental treatment was found to be necessary in 59.8% of the respondents. One in four subjects reported reduced ability of correctly cleaning teeth and dentures themselves, of whom only one-third were helped by others. An insufficient level of hygiene was found in every other subject. About 42% of residents had not visited a dentist for over 5 years, mainly due to organizational reasons.ConclusionExpanding the current scope of medical care for the elderly care home residents to include dental care would improve their currently poor oral health status.

Objectives: The level of dental awareness of a pregnant woman affects the sanitary condition of her own teeth and the health of the child to be born. Poor oral health is considered to be a probable risk factor for the pre-term birth or low birth weight. The aim of this work was to assess the level of oral health knowledge that determines oral health condition of pregnant women in Poland. Material and Methods: Empirical data were obtained from the National Monitoring of Oral Health and Its Determinants, financed by the Ministry of Health. This socio-epidemiological study assessed oral health status and dental health awareness, which affects that status. Study subjects included 1380 pregnant women at the age ranging from 15 to 44, randomly-selected from urban and rural environments. Dental health status was recorded in the clinical examination sheets supplied by the World Health Organization, and the socio-medical data were recorded in the questionnaire interview sheets. Results: Almost 3/4 of the pregnant women evaluated their dental health as unsatisfactory or poor. Over 60% of the pregnant women rated their knowledge and practical skills concerning care of their own teeth and of the child to be born as limited, inadequate or none. Only 40% of the pregnant women provided right answers to the questions about dental issues. Conclusions: Low oral health awareness results in poor oral health status of the study subjects. A statistical pregnant woman has a total of 13 teeth showing the symptoms of tooth decay or caries. Over 70% of the pregnant women developed gingivitis or periodontitis. There is an urgent need in Poland to make the European principle of treating pregnant women as a dentally vulnerable group obligatory.

(1) Background: An analysis of work-related accidents in paramedics in Poland by presenting the model and trend of accidents, accident rates and by identifying causes and results of accidents; (2) Methods: A retrospective analysis of medical documentation regarding work-related accidents in a multi-specialist hospital, located in central Poland, in the period 2005–2015. The study group included paramedics who had an accident while being on duty; (3) Results: According to hospital records, 88 paramedics were involved in 390 accidents and 265 injuries caused by sharp instruments. The annual accident rate was 5.34/100 employed paramedics. Most of the accidents occurred at night. The most common reason for the accident was careless behaviour of the paramedic, which resulted in joint sprains and dislocations. Injuries accounted for a huge portion of the total number of events. As many as 45% of injuries were not officially recorded; (4) Conclusion: High rates of work-related accidents and injuries caused by sharp instruments in paramedics are a serious public health problem. Further studies should be conducted in order to identify risk factors of accidents, particularly injuries, and to implement preventative programmes, aiming to minimise rates of occupational hazards for paramedics.

Background. The increasing incidence of metabolic diseases such as obesity or diabetes have made them a major public health problem. Increasing oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species, which initiate the oxidative adverse changes in the cell, is mentioned, among other risk factors, to underlie these diseases. Vitamin A, C and E are listed among the non-enzymatic mechanisms counteracting this phenomenon. Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with cardiovascular diseases.

BackgroundMaintaining good physical fitness and oral function in old age is an important element of good quality of life. Disability-related impairment of oral function contributes to a deterioration of the diet of older people and to the reduction of their social activity.ObjectivesInvestigate the association between masseter muscle tension, dental status, and physical fitness parameters.Materials and methodsTwo hundred fifty-nine elderly care home residents (97 men, 162 women; mean age, 75.3±8.9 years) were involved in this cross-sectional study. Their chewing ability was evaluated by masseter muscle tension palpation, differences of masseter muscle thickness, self-reported chewing ability, number of present and functional teeth, and number of posterior tooth pairs. Masseter muscle thickness was measured by ultrasonography. To assess physical fitness, hand grip strength and the timed up-and-go test were performed. Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index and body cell mass index (BCMI), calculated on the basis of electrical bioimpedance measurements. Medical records were used to collect information on systemic diseases and the number of prescribed medications. Subjects were also evaluated for their ability to perform ten activities of daily living.ResultsNinety-seven percent of the subjects suffered from systemic diseases. The three most prevalent illnesses were cardiac/circulatory 64.5%, musculoskeletal 37.3%, and endocrine/metabolic/nutritional 29.3%. Of the participants, 1.5% were underweight and more than one third (34.4%) were overweight. Malnutrition (BCMI below normal) was found in almost half (45.2%) of the subjects. Only 5.8% had a sufficient number of functional natural teeth. Statistically significant correlations were found between palpation of masseter muscle tension and perceived chewing ability, number of present teeth, number of functional teeth, number of posterior tooth pairs, timed up-and-go, hand grip strength, body mass index, BCMI, and activities of daily living. In a multivariate model, after adjusting for age, sex, and education, subjects with higher BCMI, higher hand grip strength, and more present teeth had a significantly higher chance of strong masseter muscle tension.ConclusionThere is a relationship between chewing ability and physical fitness in elderly people. Efficiency of masseter muscles is related to physical fitness in the elderly. Masseter muscle tension examined by palpation can be used in public dentistry as one of the indicators of quality of life.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the effect of age and chosen factors related to aging such as dentition, muscle strength, and nutrition on masticatory muscles electromyographic activity during chewing in healthy elderly women.BackgroundWith longer lifespan there is a need for maintaining optimal quality of life and health in older age. Skeletal muscle strength deteriorates in older age. This deterioration is also observed within masticatory muscles.MethodsA total of 30 women, aged 68–92 years, were included in the study: 10 individuals had natural functional dentition, 10 were missing posterior teeth in the upper and lower jaw reconstructed with removable partial dentures, and 10 were edontoulous, using complete removable dentures. Surface electromyography was performed to evaluate masticatory muscles activity. Afterwards, measurement of masseter thickness with ultrasound imaging was performed, body mass index and body cell mass index were calculated, and isometric handgrip strength was measured.ResultsIsometric maximal voluntary contraction decreased in active masseters with increasing age and in active and passive temporalis muscles with increasing age and increasing body mass index. In active masseter, mean electromyographic activity during the sequence (time from the start of chewing till the end when the test food became ready to swallow) decreased with increasing age and during the cycle (single bite time) decreased with increasing age and increasing body mass index. In active and passive temporalis muscles, mean electromyographic activity during the sequence and the cycle decreased with increasing age, increasing body mass index, and loss of natural dentition. Individuals with natural dentition had significantly higher mean muscle activity during sequence and cycle in active temporalis muscles than those wearing full dentures and higher maximal activity during cycle in individuals with active and passive temporalis muscles than in complete denture wearers.ConclusionDecrease in electromyographic activity of masticatory muscles in elderly women is related to age, deterioration of dental status, and body mass index.

blood pressure or hypertension treatment, fasting hyperglycemia or diagnosed type 2 diabetes, abnormal lipid profile (hypertriglyceridemia and/or low HDL-cholesterol) A -research concept and design; B -collection and/or assembly of data; C -data analysis and interpretation; D -writing the article; E -critical revision of the article; F -final approval of article AbstractBackground. Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a coexistence of metabolic risk factors affecting the development of cardiovascular diseases. Reactive oxygen species, which are excessively produced in MS, participate in its pathogenesis. Vitamins A, C and E are an important part of the non-enzymatic antioxidative barrier in humans. Objectives. The aim of the study was to estimate plasma vitamin A, C and E levels and the intake of these vitamins from the diet in patients with MS. Material and Methods. The study included 182 patients with MS, 94 men and 88 women, aged 30-65 years (mean 57.31 ± 8.28 years). The control group was comprised of 91 subjects, 56 men and 35 women, aged 41-65 years (mean 57.75 ± 5.84 years). The MS diagnosis was based on IDF criteria. The determination of the serum level of vitamin A, C and E was performed using the spectrophotometric method. The food intake was assessed by 24-h dietary recall. Results. The mean plasma vitamin A, C and E levels were significantly lower in MS patients than in the controls (p = 0.05). No correlation was found between vitamin A, C and E intake from the diet and their plasma concentrations in MS patients. Plasma vitamin A, C and E deficiency was observed significantly more often in MS patients than in the control group (15.38% vs. 2.19%, 79.12% vs. 8.79% and 60.45% vs. 5.49%, p < 0.0001, respectively). BMI was the one factor significantly affecting the mean value of vitamin A, C and E levels in MS patients. Conclusions. MS patients demonstrated significantly lower plasma levels of vitamin A, C and E compared to the healthy subjects. Lower plasma levels of antioxidant vitamins with their high intake from the diet indicate antioxidant barrier impairment in MS patients (Adv Clin Exp Med 2016, 25, 4, 689-700).

(1) Background: To determine paramedics’ frequency of contact with blood and other body fluids, as well as the analysis of knowledge of paramedics about blood-borne infections, their attitudes to patients infected with blood-borne viruses, and the post-exposure procedures implemented by paramedics; (2) Methods: An anonymous questionnaire among 190 paramedics working in various health care facilities in Poland (adjusted response rate, 76.3%); (3) Results: 78% of paramedics had contact with potentially infectious material at least several times a week. Paramedics’ knowledge on transferring infection was insufficient. Paramedics with longer employment time and better professional experience suffered fewer injuries with used needles/medical tools (p = 0.079). Most frequently reported factors that prevented the use of personal protective equipment were emergency situations (19.5%), skin irritations and contact allergies (19%) and, in the case of protective gloves, reduced manual dexterity (16%). In total, 82% of paramedics were concerned about the risk of being infected with HIV, HBV or HCV as a result of performing their job. In total, 97% of paramedics behaved more carefully while caring for infected patients. In total, 90% of the paramedics never refrained from performing the specific procedures necessary to help the patient whom they knew to be infected; (4) Conclusions: Despite the paramedics’ insufficient theoretical knowledge about the risk of blood-borne infections, the emphasis in the training of future paramedics should be on classes perfecting practical skills, because growing experience significantly reduces the risk of injury.