The authors aimed to examine potential relationships between work-related symptoms attributed to sick building syndrome (SBS) and certain psychological, somatic, and environmental factors. The multidisciplinary, cross-sectional study comprised 171 female subjects working in air-conditioned and naturally ventilated nonindustrial office buildings. The authors collected information concerning symptoms related to SBS and made assessments of quality of life by using appropriate questionnaires. They assessed the women's levels of emotional stability or neuroticism using the Cornell Index. They determined skin and airway reactivity markers and indoor microclimate data by using standardized methods. The study showed that the subjects had a high prevalence of fatigue (60.2%), sore and dry eyes (57.9%), and headache (44.4%), as well as a generally high score according to the SBS Index. Neuroticism and subjectively estimated physical health as well as the type of building ventilation significantly contributed to the prediction of the SBS Index, explaining 15% of the variance.

The aim of this study was to examine mental health and cognitive functions in older Croatian workers (50–65 years) taking into account their employment status, self-assessed health, and a set of demographic characteristics. We analysed the data collected on 650 older workers (71 % employed) in the Wave 6 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Unemployed workers reported symptoms of loneliness more often than the employed, while in rural areas unemployment was additionally associated with more pronounced symptoms of depression. Feeling of loneliness was also higher in those living without a partner in the household and in those with poorer health. In urban residents symptoms of depression were more severe in women, respondents with higher education, those living without a partner, and those who rated their health as poorer. As for cognitive functions, unemployment significantly predicted poorer subtraction in the rural subsample. Women in general showed less efficient numerical abilities. In the urban subsample poorer numerical abilities were also associated with lower education and living without a partner in the household. Better verbal recall was predicted by higher education and better self-rated memory. Higher scores in verbal fluency were predicted by urban residency and better self-rated health. Our results indicate that the protective factors for good mental health and cognitive functioning in older Croatian workers are being employed, having more education, living with a partner in the household, and being healthier. These findings stress the importance of implementing broader social policy strategies covering employment, education, and health.

As an important determinant of osteoporotic fracture risk, peak bone density tends to be higher in men than in women. The aim of this study was to see whether young men and women differed in the time and skeletal region of peak bone density. We also investigated the infl uence of diet and physical activity on bone mass. The study group included 51 male and 75 female students aged 19 to 25 years. Bone mineral density was measured for the spine, total femur, and the distal third of the radius using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Dietary data were obtained using a specially designed semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Bone mineral density (BMD; g cm -2) was higher in boys than in girls at all measured sites, while bone mineral apparent density (BMAD; g cm -3 ) was higher in girls. Age negatively correlated with bone mineral density in all measured sites except in the boys' spine. Sodium, protein, and fi bres were nutrients that signifi cantly correlated with bone mineral density. The study suggests that boys achieve peak bone density later than girls, and that this delay is the most prominent in the spine. In our study group, this difference could not be explained by different nutrition or the level of physical activity.

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ObjectivesOsteoprotegerin (OPG) has an important role in bone remodeling, and it has been proposed that the OPG gene might be a candidate gene for osteoporosis predisposition. Several studies have already assessed the connection between OPG gene polymorphism and bone mineral density (BMD). In this study we wanted to analyze the association of two polymorphisms in the OPG gene with BMD and bone turnover markers in women with and without osteoporosis.Material and methodsIn 22 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis (aged 65.6 ±12.6) and 59 women without osteoporosis (aged 60.8 ±8.7) we analyzed the association of two polymorphisms in the OPG gene with BMD, measured by dual energy absorptiometry and with bone turnover markers (crosslaps and osteoprotegerin). A163G, G209A, T245G and G1181C polymorphisms were determined.ResultsNo significant differences in age, anthropometry, number of fractures, osteocalcin and cross-laps were found between women with and without osteoporosis. Women with osteoporosis were significantly longer in postmenopause. Significantly more women with osteoporosis had AG polymorphism (p = 0.038) compared to women without osteoporosis, while no significant difference was found in prevalence of TT and GG polymorphism between patients with and without osteoporosis. No relationship was found between investigated polymorphism and bone turnover markers. A significant negative correlation between total hip BMD and crosslaps (p = 0.046) as well as between total hip T score and crosslaps (p = 0.044) was found in women without osteoporosisConclusionsPostmenopausal women with osteoporosis had AG polymorphism more frequently than women without osteoporosis. Our results indicate that A163G polymorphism could have an impact on higher bone loss in postmenopausal women.