Menopause is a difficult period in a woman's life, associated not only with the end of menstruation, but also with symptoms such as hot flashes, sweating, dizziness, and palpitations which occur due to fluctuations in the hormones oestrogen and progesterone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of women (aged 48-55 years) in the physical, mental and social spheres, to determine the intensity of menopause symptoms and to ascertain whether the above indicators are influenced by sociodemographic factors. The study was conducted by diagnostic survey using two tools -the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire for the measurement of the quality of life and the Kupperman index, which measures the severity of menopause symptoms. A total of 161 women not using hormone replacement therapy were examined. In their case, the intensity of menopause symptoms was moderate. The respondents assessed their functioning in the social sphere with the highest number of points (3.65) and in the physical sphere with the lowest number of points (3.14). The intensity of menopause symptoms positively correlated with the evaluation of the quality of life by the respondents. Higher assessment of the quality of life was reported by women working in a given period of time, with good material status, sexually active. The respondents suffered from chronic diseases, most often arterial hypertension. The occurrence of chronic diseases -arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetes and osteoporosisnegatively affected the quality of life of the respondents.
Introduction. During feeding, the tick sucks blood from the host along with the pathogens that are in the blood, simultaneously exchanging its own pathogens with the host. Humans can also be a host. It is important to understand the most typical circumstances in which people might become infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. This knowledge will help to prepare health education programmes aimed at the prevention of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Objective. The aim of the study was to determine the percentage of ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, depending on the circumstances of getting bitten. Materials and method. The research material consisted of ticks acquired from people who had been bitten, and questionnaires completed by these people. 510 ticks were acquired from 257 females and 253 males. Following delivery of a tick for testing, the stage of its development was determined and a molecular assay of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA performed. Results. A positive result of the nested-PCR test was obtained in 78 ticks, which represents 15.30% of all ticks. The infected ticks were collected from male (41 ticks -52.56%) and female subjects (37 ticks -47.44%). The biggest number of infected ticks were collected in autumn (54 ticks -69.23%) and from people who had been into forests (44 ticks -56.41%). Among the people from whom the infected ticks were acquired, the dominating group included persons over 16 years of age (53 persons -67.95%) and children aged 0-5 years (16 persons -20.51%). One in four infected ticks were acquired from the southwestern (20 ticks -25.64%) and eastern regions of Poland (21 ticks -26.92%). Conclusion. Infestation of ticks infected with Lyme disease spirochete in this study proved to be variable and depend on the season, the area of tick attack and the region in Poland. The results of the study clearly show that ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi inhabit all regions of Poland. The results are consistent with National Institute of Hygiene data which indicates that Lyme disease cases are recorded in all regions of Poland.
IntroductionThe incidence of malnutrition increases together with the number of chronic diseases and medications taken daily. There are also other factors causing changes in the nutrition of the elderly, raising the risk of undernourishment. Such factors include difficulties with daily shopping, meal preparation and other everyday activities, hindering access to food with proper quantitative and qualitative properties. The nutritional state of the elderly is influenced not only by somatic disorders, but also by mental disorders such as depression.AimTo define the relationship between the nutritional state of the elderly living in their home environment and the incidence of depression.Material and methodsThe described sample consisted of 116 (100%) elderly persons living in the Lubelskie Voivodeship, using the services carried out within primary healthcare. The nutritional state of the elderly was assessed with the use of the full version of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire. In order to determine the intensity of depression symptoms, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) (the 15-item version by Yesavage) was applied.ResultsDuring analysis of the impact of depression on malnutrition risk, a correlation with a high statistical significance level was found. Malnutrition was significantly more often identified in people in whom the GDS scale revealed severe depression (p = 0.00002). The risk of depression has a substantial impact on nutritional state. The nutritional state of the elderly deteriorates together with the increase of the risk of depression.ConclusionsIn over 48% of respondents, including those living with their families, an intensification of depression symptoms was found.
Aim of the studyDynamic development of research on pain has resulted in the formulation of the concept of pre-emptive analgesia, which involves administration of analgesics before the first pain-producing stimulus appears. It is meant to prevent increased sensitivity to pain in the postoperative period. The aim of this study was to assess the possibilities of modifying the intensity of postoperative pain evaluated with the visual analogue scale (VAS) in patients after surgical treatment for breast neoplasm offered by pre-emptive analgesia.Material and methodsThe intensity of postoperative pain was measured immediately after the surgery as well as 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours later in 100 women who had undergone surgery for breast tumour. The correlation between experienced pain and the type of analgesic administered pre-emptively, including metamizole, tramadol, ketoprofen, and placebo was examined. The effect of other correlates such as the extensiveness of surgery, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate on the level of experienced pain as well as the usefulness of physiological parameters for its assessment were also analysed.ResultsThe conducted study demonstrated the effectiveness of tramadol (p = 0.004) and ketoprofen (p = 0.039) administered half an hour before the beginning of surgery, but there was no similar effect in the case of metamizole (p = 1.0). A positive correlation was observed between the level of experienced pain and blood pressure values (p < 0.001). Heart rate does not seem to be significantly linked with the intensity of experienced pain (p = 0.157).
This paper presents the analysis of medical rescue team interventions related to cases of hypothermia over the period 2008–2012 in a selected area of the Lublin Region, in southeast Poland. We compared the interventions to weather conditions, based on the bioclimatic Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). This paper focuses on cases of hypothermia on days with at least slight cold stress, when the UTCI value is < 9°C. The results show that the most frequent interventions in cases of hypothermia are during relatively low heat load involving cold stress, corresponding with air temperatures (at low wind velocities) oscillating around zero (approximately ±5degC). Although we can prevent hypothermia and cold‐related diseases, even in the twenty‐first century there are people suffering due to cold. This paper contains advice for policymakers assisting the prevention of hypothermia in the most vulnerable groups of society.
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