A growing interest in the usability of saliva has been observed recently. Using saliva as a diagnostic material is possible because it contains a varied range of composites, organic and inorganic like proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, which are secreted into saliva. Moreover, this applies to drugs and their metabolites. Saliva collection is noninvasive, and self-collection is possible. There is a lack of risk of injuries related to injection with needle, and it is generally safe. Human saliva has been successfully used, for example, in the diagnosis of many systemic diseases like cancers, autoimmunological diseases, infectious diseases (HIV, hepatitis, and malaria), and endocrinological diseases, as well as diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Also, it is used in toxicological diagnostics, drug monitoring, and forensic medicine. The usefulness of saliva as a biological marker has also been extended to psychiatry. The specificity of mental illness and patients limits or prevents cooperation and diagnosis. In many cases, the use of saliva as a marker seems to be the most sensible choice.

Generally, antidepressants improved IBS symptoms. In comparison with placebo, tricyclic therapy for IBS was more effective than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Antidepressants might be an alternative therapy for patients suffering from IBS, especially diarrhea-predominant IBS.

Suicides and suicidal behaviors are very important causes of mortality and morbidity and have become a serious global problem. More than 800,000 people die from suicide every year. Previous researches have established that lipids play an important role in the pathogenesis of suicide. Moreover, lipid levels might be a biological marker of suicide. A lot of researchers have tried to identify biological markers that might be related to depressive disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and suicidal behavior. It was also important to consider the usefulness of an additional tool for prevention actions. Metabolic deregulation, particularly low total cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins-cholesterol levels may cause higher suicide risk in patients with these psychiatric disorders.

More than 600 million people are aged 60 years and over are living in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that this number will double by 2025 to 2 billion older people. Suicide among people over the age of 60 is one of the most acute problems. The factors strongly associated with suicide are mentioned: physical illnesses, such as cancer, neurologic disorder, pain, liver disease, genital disorders, or rheumatoid disorders. Moreover, neurologic conditions, especially stroke, may affect decision-making processes, cognitive capacity, and language deficit. In addition to dementia, the most common mental disorders are mood and anxiety disorders. A common symptom of these disorders in the elderly is cognitive impairment. This study aimed to present the relationship between cognitive impairment due to dementia, mood disorders and anxiety, and an increased risk of suicide among older people. Dementia is a disease where the risk of suicide is significant. Many studies demonstrated that older adults with dementia had an increased risk of suicide death than those without dementia. Similar conclusions apply to prodromal dementia Depression is also a disease with a high risk of suicide. Many researchers found that a higher level of depression was associated with suicide attempts and suicide ideation. Bipolar disorder is the second entity in mood disorders with an increased risk of suicide among the elderly. Apart from suicidal thoughts, bipolar disorder is characterized by high mortality. In the group of anxiety disorders, the most significant risk of suicide occurs when depression is present. In turn, suicide thoughts are more common in social phobia than in other anxiety disorders. Suicide among the elderly is a serious public health problem. There is a positive correlation between mental disorders such as dementia, depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety and the prevalence of suicide in the elderly. Therefore, the elderly should be comprehensively provided with psychiatric and psychological support.

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Background. the use of over-the-counter (otC) medications without consulting a doctor has become increasingly common. Objectives. to compare the scale of self-treatment in a population of students of the Medical university of bialystok in 2012 and 2017. Material and methods. the study included 217 students in 2012 and 220 students in 2017, and used a proprietary questionnaire. Results. a total of 78.8% of students in 2012 and 86.4% in 2017 were familiar with the meaning of the abbreviation otC. when using an otC drug for the first time, most students consulted a nurse (66.4%) in 2012, while in 2017, students usually consulted a family member (68.8%). headache was the main reason for using otC drugs (89.4% in 2012, and 92.7% in 2017). the use of analgesics (87.1%) and the use of otC medicines in accordance with the leaflet (47%) predominated in 2012, while vitamin therapy (83.2%) took first place in 2017. when purchasing otC medications, students usually based their decision on their own experience (63.1% in 2012 and 84.1% in 2017). a total of 35.5% of the students in 2012 and 39.1% in 2017 always read the leaflet. Conclusions. self-medication was practiced by most students in both years, with lack of time for a medical appointment being the main reason. over the last 6 months, the students most often used prescription and non-prescription drugs simultaneously.

Introduction: Facebook is the most popular socialnetworking website in the world. It is estimated that it currently has more than 350 million users worldwide. Purpose; To assess the risk of addiction to Facebook the risk of addiction to Facebook among students of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Medical University of Białystok in Poland. Materials and methods: This study included 440 student Facebook users. The original survey, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) as well as a Self-Assessment Test were used (FAT). Results: Twenty-seven percent of the sample have had Facebook accounts for one to two years. Fortyfive percent of the respondents had 91 to 300 Facebook friends. Ninety-four percent of the respondents reported that they do not think about Facebook when they are disconnected from it. A similar number of students reported that it is possible for people to become addicted to Facebook. Forty-seven percent of the respondents were convinced that they would be able to recognize a Facebook addict. The average number of points scored on the FAT test was 16.2 ± 21.1 points; the average on the self-assessment was 44.7 ± 20.1 points; the average on SWLS scale was 15.3 ±5.24 points. Five percent of students demonstrated features of Facebook addiction as well as low selfesteem and life satisfaction. Conclusions: Problematic use of Facebook affected a small percentage of respondents who had low self-esteem and self were dissatisfied with their lives.

<b>Introduction</b>: Nursing is one of those medical professions that are inseparably associated with being in continuous contact with other people, and it is worth noting that there are things that cannot be acquired in the course of an education. These include conscience and empathy as subjective and ultimate standards of morality, which help nurses make morally good decisions and that represent criteria for assessing their behavior. <b>Purpose</b>: To assess the effect of nurses' religious beliefs on their empathy and life satisfaction. <b>Materials and methods</b>: The study included 150 nurses and 150 nursing students, using our own questionnaire, the Empathy Understanding Questionnaire (KRE) by Węgliński and The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). <b>Results</b>: The mean level of KRE-based empathic understanding was 65.7  9.4 points, which indicates that it was relatively high. The lowest level was 39, and the highest was 92 points. Mean SWLS score was about 20 points, which indicates that the studied nurses were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their life. Respondents with the highest level of empathy would discontinue treatment due to their beliefs or they would choose another unspecified solution. No significant correlations were found between the levels of empathy and life satisfaction and the opinion on the role of religious beliefs in the choice of nursing profession, and regarding religion as an obstacle in performing work-related tasks. <b>Conclusions</b>: Nurses showed relatively high levels of empathy and average levels of life satisfaction. The importance of nurses’ religiousness in making therapeutic decisions did not correspond with life satisfaction nor their level of empathy.