AimsIn patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), there is limited information on self-rated health (SRH). We aimed to examine the distribution of SRH and whether SRH is associated with mortality in patients with stable CHF. Methods and resultsWe enrolled 100 patients (71 + 11 years, 54% men, left ventricular ejection fraction 47 + 11%) in a prospective study with 48 months of follow-up. Self-rated health was assessed using a seven-grade descriptive scale: very good, good, quite good, average, quite poor, poor, and very poor. Median SRH was quite poor and the most frequent SRH (31 patients) was average. During an average follow-up of 1005 + 507 days, 58 patients died. More patients in the group that rated their health as quite poor or worse died (70% vs. 43%, P ¼ 0.008). In a Cox proportional hazard model, SRH as a seven-grade descriptive scale [hazard ratios (HR) 1.39, 95% CI 1.10-1.74] or as a median value (HR 2.13, 95% CI 1.23-3.69) predicted mortality. The association remained significant after adjustment for patient characteristics and biomarkers (P , 0.05 for both). ConclusionIn patients with stable CHF, SRH independently predicts mortality. This suggests that SRH could be used in everyday clinical practice to obtain important prognostic information beyond clinical examination and laboratory

To compare frequent with infrequent attenders at GPs' surgeries in a rural area in Slovenia with respect to morbidity, type of contact with the GP, referral pattern and the prescriptions given, a random sample of 623 records from a population-based register was analysed retrospectively. The frequent attenders had a higher proportion of contacts for malignant disease, mental disorder, and gastrointestinal disease. They also had a greater probability for a "superficial contact", were more likely to be referred to a specialist, were less likely to receive a psychotropic drug, and were more likely to receive a prescription for an antibiotic. We conclude that there are differences in morbidity between the two groups. The high referring pattern and the high proportion of "superficial contacts" of the frequent attenders may reflect poor doctor/patient relationship of this group.

IntroductionResearch on social networks in public health focuses on how social structures and relationships influence health and health-related behaviour. While the sociocentric approach is used to study complete social networks, the egocentric approach is gaining popularity because of its focus on individuals, groups and communities.MethodsOne of the participants of the healthy lifestyle health education workshop ‘I’m moving’, included in the study of social support for exercise was randomly selected. The participant was denoted as the ego and members of her/his social network as the alteri. Data were collected by personal interviews using a self-made questionnaire. Numerical methods and computer programmes for the analysis of social networks were used for the demonstration of analysis.ResultsThe size, composition and structure of the egocentric social network were obtained by a numerical analysis. The analysis of composition included homophily and homogeneity. Moreover, the analysis of the structure included the degree of the egocentric network, the strength of the ego-alter ties and the average strength of ties. Visualisation of the network was performed by three freely available computer programmes, namely: Egonet.QF, E-net and Pajek. The computer programmes were described and compared by their usefulness.ConclusionBoth numerical analysis and visualisation have their benefits. The decision what approach to use is depending on the purpose of the social network analysis. While the numerical analysis can be used in large-scale population-based studies, visualisation of personal networks can help health professionals at creating, performing and evaluation of preventive programmes, especially if focused on behaviour change.

AimTo validate the Slovenian version (SOC-13-SVN) of Sense of Coherence 13-item instrument (SOC-13) in Slovenian multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.MethodsA consecutive 134 Slovenian MS patients were enrolled in a cross-sectional study in 2013. The reliability of the SOC-13-SVN was assessed for internal consistency by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α), dimensionality by the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and criterion validity by Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between SOC-13-SVN global score and MSQOL-54 composite scores – Mental Health Composite score (MHC) and Physical Health Composite score (PHC).ResultsFor the SOC-13-SVN instrument as a whole, internal consistency was high (αtotal=0.88) while it was low for three subscales (αcomprehensibility=0.79; αmanageability=0.66; αmeaningfulness=0.69). The results of the CFA confirmed a three-factor structure with good fit (RMSEA=0.059, CFI=0.953, SRMR=0.065), however, the correlations between the factors were very high (rcomprehensibility/manageability=0.938; rcomprehensibility/meaningfulness=0.811; rmanageability/meaningfulness=0.930). The criterion validity analysis showed a moderate positive strength of relationship between SOC-13-SVN global score and both MSQOL-54 composite scores (MHC: r=0.597, p<0.001; PHC: r=0.437, p<0.001).ConclusionAnalysis of some psychometric properties confirmed that this instrument is a reliable and valid tool for use in Slovenian MS patients. Despite the three-dimensional structure of the instrument, the use of the global summary score is encouraged due to the low reliability of the subscale scores and high correlations between them.

Interobserver agreement in the application of the Sydney system to reversibility of gastritis after H. pylori was good. More strict criteria should be used for atrophy and to differentiate normal and mild chronic inflammation.

Our study confirmed differences in the prevalence of poor self-rated health across self-assessed social classes. Participants from lower self-assessed social class reported poor self-rated health most often and should comprise the focus of multisectoral interventions.

Special attention should be paid to oral health promotion for men, for those with low educational level, and for those belonging to the lowest social classes.

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