Malignant testicular tumour incidence and mortality trends.

AIM OF THE STUDY: In Poland testicular tumours are the most frequent cancer among men aged 20-44 years. Testicular tumour incidence since the 1980s and 1990s has been diversified geographically, with an increased risk of mortality in Wielkopolska Province, which was highlighted at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. The aim of the study was the comparative analysis of the tendencies in incidence and death rates due to malignant testicular tumours observed among men in Poland and in Wielkopolska Province. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from the National Cancer Registry were used for calculations. The incidence/mortality rates among men due to malignant testicular cancer as well as the tendencies in incidence/death ratio observed in Poland and Wielkopolska were established based on regression equation. The analysis was deepened by adopting the multiple linear regression model. A p-value < 0.05 was arbitrarily adopted as the criterion of statistical significance, and for multiple comparisons it was modified according to the Bonferroni adjustment to a value of p < 0.0028. Calculations were performed with the use of PQStat v1.4.8 package. RESULTS: The incidence of malignant testicular neoplasms observed among men in Poland and in Wielkopolska Province indicated a significant rising tendency. The multiple linear regression model confirmed that the year variable is a strong incidence forecast factor only within the territory of Poland. A corresponding analysis of mortality rates among men in Poland and in Wielkopolska Province did not show any statistically significant correlations. CONCLUSIONS: Late diagnosis of Polish patients calls for undertaking appropriate educational activities that would facilitate earlier reporting of the patients, thus increasing their chances for recovery. Introducing preventive examinations in the regions of increased risk of testicular tumour may allow earlier diagnosis.

[Awareness of health hazards in view of demonstrated behavioural patterns both conducive and detrimental to health]. / Swiadomosc zagrozen w aspekcie prezentowanych zachowan pro i antyzdrowotnych.

BACKGROUND: Credibility of physicians depends not only on their knowledge and achievements in therapies they manage but also on daily manifested behavioural patterns, directed at maintaining and augmenting own health as well as prevention of diseases. A patient will hardly trust members of medical staff if their health-related behaviour indeed contradicts the scientific evidence they quote. WORK'S OBJECTIVE: The study is chiefly aimed at establishing whether future physicians' awareness of health hazards, associated with behavioural patterns detrimental to health, e.g., cigarette smoking - does influence elimination of such attitudes. Oral hygiene among the studied group was also evaluated, and the potential relationship between the examined behavioural profiles verified. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Questionnaire-based diagnostic survey was employed. The study was conducted throughout the first half of 2012. Altogether 166 last-year students of Medical Faculty participated; questionnaire-return rate was 83%. The study is a part of a larger project, involving students of other City of Poznan universities. RESULTS: Most respondents estimate their health as "good" (60.08%). As far as their behavioural patterns are concerned the future physicians declare a detrimental-to-health lifestyle (49.40%). This self-assessment is reflected in their everyday conduct: 13.25% admit cigarette smoking while in 21.69% of the respondents dental defects exist. Preventive actions are also conspicuously rare among those who should be particularly convinced of their importance - 56.02% visit their dentist only having noticed an annoying change or experiencing toothache. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness of health-hazards associated with behavioural patterns influences the life-style of future physicians. Some individuals in the related group, despite the acquired professional knowledge, do not appear to modify their unfavourable behavioural profiles, and in a number of cases actually extend their scope. 2. Failure to augment one's well-being is of multifaceted nature. 3. University teachers should emphasise shaping not only of knowledge in the future health-care providers but also of their attitudes. Implementation in practice of this premise will ensure optimal effectiveness of the learning process and will enable the physicians become credible entities within a health-care system.

[Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity among patients with Type 2 diabetes]. / Palenie tytoniu, alkohol i aktywnosc fizyczna wsród pacjentów z cukrzyca typu 2.

The present article is focused on tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and necessary physical activity, and how they contribute to everyday life of diabetic patients. The article is based on a study comprising 106 such patients, treated in two leading centres of diabetological care in the City of Poznan. Fifty eight male and 48 female patients were examined. Eighty nine per cent of the studied group were convinced of the negative effect of tobacco smoking on human health, 9% - had no opinion in this matter while 2% - expressed rather astonishing, in the study's context, view on the supposedly beneficial influence of smoking on health. Forty three patients in the studied group never smoked, 47 - gave up the habit while 16 - still smoked. Analysis of the respondents' knowledge on the glycaemic effect of alcohol proved interesting. Only 54 persons knew that alcohol consumption considerably diminished level of glucose in the blood, occasionally leading to severe hypoglycaemia whereas 27 had no opinion on the matter, and 16 thought that alcohol actually increased the level of glucose in the blood. Three respondents did not think alcohol influenced a diabetic's body in any way. Thirty four per cent declared abstinence. Physical activity, in the view of 90% of the subjects, beneficially influenced the health of a diabetic patient, 5% - did not form an opinion about it, and another 5% suggested an unquestionably negative effect of physical effort on health. Daily physical activity, continued for at least 30 minutes, declared 53% of the examined group, 3 times a week - 13%, and 5 times a week- 8%. The remaining subjects exercised even less frequently or at all.

[Prevalence of tobacco smoking among nurses and the awareness of harmfulness of smoking habit]. / Rozpowszechnienie palenia tytoniu wsród pielegniarek a swiadomosc szkodliwosci nalogu.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking is one of several well documented harmful agents that people voluntarily expose to. Nurses are considered by society as the authority in the field of health, what means that they should take advantage of their accomplishments and references in procedures concerned with prophylaxis and smoking habit treatment. For these reasons - nurses' attitude to smoking is so crucial. Solving the problem of smoking within this profession is important for both nurses and their patients. AIM: The aim of the research was the assessment of prevalence of smoking among the nurses from the Lodz district and the knowledge about harmfulness of smoking. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were 74 respondents taken into account of nursing personnel: 73 female and 1 male. There was authors' questionnaire prepared for the study. RESULTS: Basing on the research - 40% of the nursing personnel were smokers. The majority of respondents (57%) smoke more than the half of pack of cigarettes and stress is the most common reason (47%). Currently smokers more often came from families where other members smoked cigarettes (63%). More than half of respondents (57%) do not mind smoking while their friends are in their own home. Studies showed that only 57 % smokers undertook attempts to stop smoking, mostly for health reason. Health and financial considerations were the cause of cessation of tobacco use by smokers in the past. CONCLUSION: Smoking by nursing personnel is wide. It is important to nursing personnel to be aware of the existence of the relationship between change in patient health behavior, and attitude of persons who learn them to live healthy. On the basis of self-knowledge regarding the scope of the harmful effects of smoking tobacco, the research showed that the level of knowledge had no significant effect on health behavior study of nursing personnel.

[Tobacco and alcohol use among the unemployed]. / Palenie papierosów i picie alkoholu wsród bezrobotnych.

There is no doubt today, that any amount of tobacco products use and excessive alcohol consumption are among the fundamental causes of diseases. The health situation of the unemployed is worse than employed. One of the consequences of unemployment and also ways of coping with it can be unhealthy behaviors. The aim of this paper is to present the prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption, and to identify their causes among the unemployed, and also to show possible changes in these behaviors as a result of finding themselves in a situation of employment deprivation. The results of this study have demonstrated that the unemployed often have anti-health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption with high frequency and single intake exceeding health standards. One of the important factors of smoking and drinking alcohol is a desire to reduce the emotional tension. Being outside the labor market affects the start of the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, but does not result in the cessation of consumption. It happens that the unemployment influence the reduction of consumption of alcohol and tobacco, and the key role is played by the economic factor.

[Cigarette smoking among children and adolescents on probation and their family and peer group]. / Palenie tytoniu wsród dzieci i mlodziezy objetej nadzorami kuratorskimi a rodzina i grupa rówiesnicza.

Smoking is one of the most prevalent and also one of the most unhealthy lifestyle elements. The aim of this paper is to present the incidence and causes of smoking among children and adolescents on probation, and examine how immediate social environment reacts to their smoking. The analysis was based on the results of 190 structured interviews taken from february to may 2010 among persons who are aged 11 to 17 years, living in the city of Poznan. It was found that cigarette smoking in the study population is common phenomenon, primarily correlated with age, but also to gender. Family and peer environment, not only does not constitute a buffer against smoking, but sometimes it reinforces the unhealthy behaviors.

[The prevalence of tobacco smoking and psychoactive substances use among students from High School of Country Economy in Kutno]. / Rozpowszechnienie palenia tytoniu i uzywania innych substancji psychoaktywnych wsród studentów Wyzszej Szkoly Gospodarki Krajowej w Kutnie.

The main aim of the study was to describe psychoactive substances prevalence among students and recognition of tobacco smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs reasons. Tobacco smoking was declared by 27.2% students, 26.1% of whom smokes regularly and 1.1% occasionally. The main reasons of tobacco smoking, in students opinion, were: addicted influence of nicotine, relaxing effects of smoking and smoking for company. According of the study, 6.5% respondents admitted drinking alcohol (77.2% drank occasionally) and 3.3% in the past had contact with drugs. The most famous drugs was marijuana.

[Prevalence of tobacco smoking among health-care managers]. / Rozpowszechnienie palenia papierosów wsród osób realizujacych funkcje kierownicze w zakladach opieki zdrowotnej.

A whole variety of new organisational solutions are being introduced nowadays, at an increasing pace, in health-care institutions, not always preceded by appropriate information related to the upcoming changes. The situation may be conducive to the feeling of discomfort and doubt among managerial staff, as to the ultimate result of imminent innovations. A necessity to relieve the perceived tension will then arise, for example, by way of smoking. The principal objective of the present study was to examine the occurrence of tobacco-smoking among the nursing executive personnel. Two groups of employees holding high-ranking positions in the nursing subsystem were included in the study. The initial part of the project was performed throughout the first quarter of 2010, and comprised 102 departmental female nurses. The concluding part is planned for October - November, 2010, and will address the second and third-level managers. A questionnaire-based, diagnostic survey was the employed research method. The questionnaires' return rate was 85%. The Fisher-Freeman-Halton test was applied in statistical calculations (for expected values < 5). The study revealed, so far, that the performance of managerial functions induced undesirable behavioural patterns, i.e., tobacco smoking. It also affected low self-assessment of their bio-psycho-social wellness. The majority of the respondents took part in various forms of in-service, refresher training which also included information concerning behavioural patterns detrimental to health. The latter influenced the participating nurses' self-assessment of the extent of their knowledge related to tobacco smoking and its harmful effect on their health.

[Smoking among the unemployed: impact of structural factors on lifestyle]. / Palenie tytoniu przez bezrobotnych: strukturalne zaleznosci stylu zycia.

In times of economic crisis, questions arise about its relationship to the state of public health. One of the responses might be to investigate health behaviors of people who suffer most from the crisis, which is the unemployed. This study focuses on the many links between smoking among the jobless and other aspects of their lifestyle as well as selected social factors. In our research, we used statistical methods and a questionnaire. based survey. The research was conducted in 2007 and it covered 1,068 unemployed persons registered with the District Employment Office in Poznan. The prevalence of smoking among the unemployed is higher than the national average and is associated with their socio-economic status, gender and such lifestyle aspects as the amount of alcohol consumed, the amount of free time, body mass index, the number of meals consumed, the number of persons the unemployed can rely on, and the amount of time devoted to exercise.

[Cigarette smoking among the unemployed registered with Poznan District Employment Office]. / Palenie tytoniu przez bezrobotnych zarejestrowanych w Powiatowym Urzedzie Pracy w Poznaniu.

The aim of this paper was to present the incidence and causes of smoking among those currently unemployed, and to show changes, if any, resulting from their continued joblessness. The analysis was based on the results of 1,068 surveys taken in 2007 among the unemployed registered with the District Employment Office in Poznan. It was found that cigarette smoking among the unemployed remains high and is associated with the respondents' gender, educational background, economic status and duration of unemployment. Severity of smoking increased more often for those unemployed on a short-term basis, with a number of smoked cigarettes per day more likely to decrease for those in medium- and long-term unemployment. Respondents quoted two equivalent reasons for smoking: wanting to have a cigarette and frustration.

[Smoking as an aspect of lifestyle among 18-year-old secondary school students in Poznan]. / Palenie papierosów jako aspekt stylu zycia wsród 18-letnich uczniów poznanskich szkól.

Smoking remains a serious health threat in Poland. The age of 18 years is set as a conventional and symbolic boundary when young people enter adulthood and, at the same time, gain legal access to cigarettes and alcohol. At this age, however, most smokers have already developed smoking habits. This study seeks to identify how prevalent is smoking among 18-year old learning adolescents, and what is its relation to certain social factors and students' lifestyle. In our research, we used statistical methods and a questionnaire-based survey. The research was conducted in 2007 and it covered 400 third-year secondary school students in Poznan. Smoking among adolescents remains at a relatively high level and is related to the type of school, fulfilment of material needs, subjective perception of a state of health, use of other drugs, and a chosen lifestyle.

[Rhythm of life of Poznan Medical University students' and hygienic norms]. / Rytm zycia studentów akademii medycznej w poznaniu w swietle norm higienicznych.

The influence of the lifestyle on one's health has been widely discussed in recent years. For individual to enjoy good health, both physical and psychological, fairly regular rhythm of life is needed, with sufficient time for work (study), rest and sleep. This article discus Medical University students' rhythm of life, especially amount of time devoted to study, rest and sleep. These results were compared with relevant hygienic norms. Medical students' rhythm differ from above norms and doesn't help maintaining good health or improving it.

[Health risk behavior among students of vocational schools]. / Ryzykowne dla zdrowia zachowania uczniów zasadniczych szkól zawodowych.

UNLABELLED: Behaviour of an individual person has a significant influence on the health. The stimulant abuse and lack of various safety regulations have an inefficient influence. The aim of the study was to identify the frequency of health risk behaviour among adolescents as well as the assessment of their level of health awareness. The investigated population consisted of third grade pupils from vocational schools in Poznan and Wagrowiec. Stereotypically, vocational schools' pupils are evaluated to have a low level of health awareness and to behave in unhealthy way. It was intended to find out if city versus small town young population differs on account of their health awareness and behaviour. A questionnaire was the basic tool to collect data. It was chosen because of its anonymity in order to guarantee honest answers. The results were analysed statistically using SPSS and Statistica programmes. Chi square and significance tests between two differences were used. The differences were statistically significant when p < 0.05. The results were subsequently analysed according to following independent variables: place of living, sex, parental education, the family economic self-evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The level of health awareness among the investigated population can be generally described as medium. 2. There were no differences in the level of health awareness between the city youth and the small town youth. 3. A large proportion of the youth had unhealthy behaviour. 4. City dwellers tended to behave recklessly more often. 5. The high level of health awareness was connected to less frequency of health risk behaviours.

[Personality as a determinant of the functioning of future preventive medicine doctors]. / Osobowosc jako wyznacznik funkcjonowania przyszlego lekarza medycyny profilaktycznej.

The paper presents the results of the research on the personality of 1st, 3rd and 6th year students of the Faculty of Medicine of Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences in Poznan. The concept of personality, which is a base of this research, embraces the five dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness, each of which includes six factors allowing for their separate classification. That is the so-called five-factor model of personality, which is most widely presented in the works of Ostendorf and Angleitner and Costy and McCrea. The doctor's personality is an important determinant of his or her functioning in the profession. It influences the vital elements of the effectiveness of their preventive actions such as: establishing maintaining of a good interpersonal contact, persuasion skills which may lead to a change of lifestyle and adopting a health oriented approach. Those tasks are and will remain to be of particular importance for the fact that the targets of contemporary medicine, which is directed at prevention of civilization diseases and their treatment.

[Shelter in Konczyce Male as an example of a rehabilitation centre]. / Metody pracy osrodków pomocy spolecznej jako instytucji rehabilitacyjnych na przykladzie Domu Pomocy Spolecznej w Konczycach Malych.

Polish society towards the end of the 20th century has passed the point of demographic senility. 16% of the population is older than 60 and 14% are registered disabled. A good proportion of the above groups is unable to function normally in their everyday lives and to some extent have to rely on shelters. Based on the existing demographic data a prediction can be made of continuous growth of the population of the disabled and elderly which necessitates further development of social care and rehabilitation institutions. In the paper shelters for mentally retarded are discussed. There are two objectives: to demonstrate the methods of work of such shelter, to find out if these methods contribute to the better functioning of the resident women. The basic technique for gathering data employed was the analysis of shelter residents' documents while additional technique was observation of the residents. Based on collected data we concluded that the residents participating in occupational therapy appeared to have better developed social skills, manual dexterity and physical fitness and are therefore more independent.