Intensity of menopausal symptoms and quality of life in climacteric women.

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 osteoporosis - negatively affected the quality of life of the respondents.

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks removed from skin of people and circumstances of being bitten - research from the area of Poland, 2012-2014.

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. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 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%). CONCLUSIONS: 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.

The effect of pre-emptive analgesia on the level of postoperative pain in women undergoing surgery for breast neoplasm.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Dynamic 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 METHODS: The 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. RESULTS: The 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).

Retrospective study of injury rates among children and adults in the Lublin Region of Poland.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: In Poland and worldwide, injury rates, as well as accident rates among children and adolescents still remain a social, health and economic problem, despite an attempt to inhibit the growing tendency of this phenomenon. OBJECTIVE: An attempt to evaluate current trends in injury rates among children and adolescents based on the example of two provinces in the Lublin Region of Poland during the period 2006-2010. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The retrospective study was conducted by the method of examination of documents, using the technique of content analysis. The research material was data from the Emergency Procedures Charts and Medical Emergency Team Response Charts, while the study group were children and adolescents aged from 6 weeks - 19 years, from the counties of Krasnik and Swidnik in the Lublin Region. RESULTS: Analysis of the research material showed that during the period examined the number of injuries and accidents in the study group remained on a constant level, with a slight decrease in the number of events at home, accompanied by an increase in the number of road accidents and events which occurred in the school environment and in a public place. It was also found that the spring-autumn season, and in particular the summer months, the age group 7-13 and male gender exerted an effect on the number of injuries and accidents. The analysis did not confirm that injuries related with employment of children and adolescents in agriculture and deaths due to external causes constituted a considerable percentage of the events registered. CONCLUSION: Analysis of trends should be a basis for the planning of prophylactic actions and the promotion of safety in all environments in which the study population functions.

An analysis of malignant tumour incidence in the male population of Poland in the period 2006-2010.

In the period 2006-2010, the National Cancer Registry indicated a gradual increase in the incidence of malignant tumours among men, from 64,092 thousand in 2006 to 70,024 thousand in 2010. In the reference period, the number of deaths due to malignant tumours among men oscillated around 52 thousand. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence of malignant tumours in the male population of Poland in the period 2006-2010. The study material comprised data obtained from the National Cancer Registry and from the Central Statistical Office, available on the websites of these institutions. The malignant-tumour incidence rate among the male population in 2006-2010 showed a slow but steady growth, while the death rate dropped slightly at the end of 2010. The hypothesis that the cancer-incidence risk grows with age has been proven, and a substantial increase in this risk is observed from the fourth decade of life. The most common malignant tumours in Poland in the analysed period included lung cancer, followed by prostate cancer and colorectal cancer. Future prophylactic and educational programmes should be addressed to men prior to reaching the age of increased cancer risk.

The state of nutrition and the self-assessment of symptoms of depression in the group of seniors living in the countryside of Lublin province - preliminary report.

INTRODUCTION: The 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. AIM: To define the relationship between the nutritional state of the elderly living in their home environment and the incidence of depression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The 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. RESULTS: During 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. CONCLUSIONS: In over 48% of respondents, including those living with their families, an intensification of depression symptoms was found.

Causes of late diagnosis of the reproductive organs' cancer in the opinion of suffering women from urban and rural areas of Lublin as an indicator of the condition of the early cancer detection system: a preliminary report.

INTRODUCTION: Tumours as well as the cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of deaths in Poland. This article contains excerpts from research on complex causes of late diagnosis of cancer among the region's residents. AIM OF THE STUDY: One of the specific aims of the research undertaken was to learn about subjective assessment of women suffering from cancer taking into account its late diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research was conducted on 130 women with diagnosed cancer of reproductive organs in the late stage of the disease, who were in oncological care. The method of diagnostic survey in the form of a questionnaire was developed for the study. RESULTS: The research reveals that the place of living has an impact on the opinions of suffering women as for the causes of late diagnosis of cancer and, secondly, that their oncological awareness is low. CONCLUSIONS: In the examined group, cancer awareness of women already having cancers - irrespective of the environment of settling, was low and did not constitute the grounds for taking pro-health decisions in the area of the early diagnostic testing of cancer. This fully confirms the need for the research on effective tools to increase the awareness, particularly in the population of healthy persons, including menopausal and postmenopausal women.The opinions indirectly indicate a weaker organization and effectiveness of the activities of the cancer prevention programs in the country than those organized in the city.

The tasks of a community nurse in the process of an early detection of type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes affects 3,000 individuals annually, whereas type 2 diabetes attacks about 60,000 people, which qualifies the illness to be the number 9 "killer" among Polish citizens. World health organisation prognoses that in the years of 2000-2025 the number of type 2 diabetes patients is going to double. This prognosis gives rise to a conclusion that diabetes prevention is becoming one of the priority tasks of all medical professionals and requires the necessity of changing and elaborating of effective, interdisciplinary prevention programs. The main aim of the study was a description of the tasks awaiting the community nurse in the process of an early diagnosis of diabetes. In the research, the analysis of the data included in the community nurse documentation--the family questionnaire, was used. The questionnaire is the document in which nurses in charge register the data concerning patients acquired in the community interview as well as the results of basic study values.

Health education and teleinformatics.

In the course of the last years, the development of teleinformatics caused that the Internet services have become more and more popular. The Internet means reaching new possibilities, which are provided by fast, easy and two-direction access to the required information. These features make the Internet one of the most important tools applied in health education increasing the knowledge, skill and motivation of an individual for health self-care.

Self-examination of breasts as an element of breast cancer prophylaxis.

Increased mortality, morbidity and incidence of neoplastic diseases, malignancy especially, has been observed in Poland for over 20 years. Death rate has increased from 19.34% to 22.13% in male population and from 16.68% to 18.48% in females in 1987-1996. The prognosis for 2010 estimates ca 70,000 deaths in males and ca 40,0000 in females. In the male population, among malignancies, lung cancer accounts for the biggest number of deaths. In the female population the first place is taken by breast cancer. Breast cancer is likely to develop in any age, however it increases significantly with age. Among the causes is the lack of knowledge about self-detection of alarming signs and symptoms within breasts that should arouse their concern. The purpose of the study was to answer the following questions: 1. Do young women know the technique of self-examination of the breasts? 2. Where did they learn about the necessity of breast self-examination? 3. Do they self-examine breasts?