The association between the biometeorological indicators and emergency interventions due to fainting: A retrospective cohort study.

The association of fainting with specific situations and circumstances, such as the sight of blood, response to pain, prolonged standing position and fatigue, is well recognized and described in medical literature. Clinical experience also indicates that specific, local physical conditions, such as exposure to heat or remaining in a small, stuffy room may also trigger fainting. This paper verifies the hypothesis concerning the association between atmospheric conditions and the incidence of fainting. This is a retrospective cohort study of data relating to fainting collected in the city of Olsztyn (Poland). In total, 10,449 emergency service interventions in the period 2012-2019 that concluded with the R55 (syncope and collapse) diagnosis according to the ICD 10 were analyzed. The obtained data were matched with meteorological data, including basic parameters (temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure) and complex parameters, with special attention given to the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). This index is derived from an analysis of human thermal balance and is particularly useful for describing the organism's response to thermal stress. Statistically significant differences in the occurrences of fainting depending on the season were revealed (more in the summer), but only for women. Among the analyzed meteorological and biometeorological parameters, statistical significance was found for parameters relating to temperature, with the greatest usefulness revealed for the UTCI. Periods with heat stress were more conducive to fainting, whereas the result for the general population was influenced by women in two age groups: 25-45 and 46-60. To our best knowledge, this is the first attempt worldwide to utilize the UTCI as a predictor of fainting. Our results confirmed the applicability of the UTCI as a universal biometeorological tool for the assessment of relationships between atmospheric conditions and the incidence of fainting.

Socioeconomic Characteristics, Health Risk Factors and Alcohol Consumption among the Homeless in North-Eastern Part of Poland.

BACKGROUND: Homelessness is a form of social pathology, which is for various reasons undesirable and as far as possible limited by efforts such as programmes that assist in transitioning out of homelessness. Because, as time passes, the homeless population undergoes both quantitative and qualitative changes, the process of developing these programmes requires up-to-date information on the extent and profile of this phenomenon that takes into account the characteristics of a given country. METHODS: A 12-month study of homeless individuals (ETHOS categories 1.1, 2.1 and 3.1) was conducted between December 2013 and November 2014 in Olsztyn, Poland. Demographic, sociological, psychological, and medical data were collected. RESULTS: The study population comprised 98 homeless individuals. The average homeless individual in our study population was a single (93.88%), most commonly divorced (59.18%), alcohol-dependent (78.57%), smoking (84.69%), middle-aged (54.33 years, SD 9.70) male (92.86%) with a low level of education (10.19 years of completed education, SD 3.09). The individual was most commonly an unemployed person suffering profound privation, living off various types of benefits, and spending a significant proportion of his income on alcohol and cigarettes. The person often resigned from social welfare due to his alcohol dependence. Almost a third of the study population (32.65%) declared that they occasionally went hungry. The principal source of food were meals provided by welfare services (89.80%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the design of the social welfare system for homeless people should always take into account issues related to alcohol dependence, and each homeless person should be evaluated for possible alcohol dependence. Institutionalised material support provided to homeless individuals should be organised in such a way as to minimise the risk of promoting alcohol and nicotine dependence.