[Comparison of the incidence, treatment and prognosis of myocardial infarction in Hungary's differently developed districts]. / A szívinfarktus incidenciája, a betegek ellátásának és prognózisának összehasonlítása Magyarország különbözo fejlettségu járásaiban.

INTRODUCTION: Several international studies have already confirmed the importance of the socioeconomic status of acute myocardial infarction patients in terms of patient care and prognosis. To our knowledge, a nationwide examination of this kind has not yet taken place in Hungary. The investigation of this problem field was made possible by the fact that from January 1, 2014, all healthcare providers must record the data of patients treated with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in the database of the Hungarian Myocardial Infarction Registry (HUMIR). OBJECTIVE: In this study, the authors searched for an answer to whether the complex development index (CDI) in Hungary's 174 districts and 23 capital districts influences the treatment and prognosis of acute myocardial infarction patients. METHOD: Based on the CDI worked out by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, the authors divided the Hungarian districts into low (CDI_L), medium (CDI_M) and high (CDI_H) CDI groups according to their values. They examined the incidence, hospital treatment and prognosis of acute myocardial infarction in these administrative-territorial units. The HUMIR included 66,253 patients treated by myocardial infarction between 2015 and 2019. Their place of residence could be identified based on the zip code and in which district it was located. In the examined population, 29,101 patients with ST-elevation (STEMI) and 37,152 without ST-elevation (NSTEMI) received treatment for acute myocardial infarction. RESULTS: In the population over 15 years of age, the age-standardized incidence of STEMI was 68.8 per 100,000 inhabitants a year in the CDI_L group and 52.7 per 100,000 inhabitants a year in the CDI_H group. Almost the same values were found in all three CDI subgroups of NSTEMI incidence (69.5 and 67 per 10,000 inhabitants a year). The frequency of percutaneous coronary intervention in the case of STEMI was higher than in NSTEMI, but within the groups, CDI did not influence the performance of this treatment. In the case of STEMI, the rates of patients who underwent percutaneous coronaria intervention in all three CDI subgroups (CDI_L, CDI_M, CDI_H) were 83.5%, 83.7%, 83.5%, while in the case of NSTEMI they were 57.4%, 57.7%, 57.3%. The authors applied a Cox multivariate regression analysis to examine myocardial infarction mortality. The CDI did not affect the 30-day mortality rates in the case of any myocardial infarction: the hazard ratio (HR) values were 0.906 and 0.914 (p = 0.04659; p = 0.04686) in the case of STEMI, while 1.067 and 1.001 (p = 0.16520; p = 0.98933) in the case of NSTEMI. In the case of a STEMI diagnosis, the risk of the 30-364-day and the 1-year mortality in the subgroup of CDI_H was significantly lower (HR = 0.822 and 0.816) than in the subgroup of CDI_L (p = 0.00096 and p = 0.00001). In the case of NSTEMI diagnosis, the authors found a difference in the risk of beyond 1-year mortality by comparing the districts in the subgroup of CDI_L with the districts in CDI_H: in the latter case, the HR of the mortality was 0.876, which was significantly lower (p = 0.00029) than in the subgroup of CDI_L. CONCLUSION: The CDI has independent prognostic significance in determining the late prognosis of acute myocardial infarction patients. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(47): 1862-1871.

Translating Scientific Knowledge to Government Decision Makers Has Crucial Importance in the Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In times of epidemics and humanitarian crises, it is essential to translate scientific findings into digestible information for government policy makers who have a short time to make critical decisions. To predict how far and fast the disease would spread across Hungary and to support the epidemiological decision-making process, a multidisciplinary research team performed a large amount of scientific data analysis and mathematical and socioeconomic modeling of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hungary, including modeling the medical resources and capacities, the regional differences, gross domestic product loss, the impact of closing and reopening elementary schools, and the optimal nationwide screening strategy for various virus-spreading scenarios and R metrics. KETLAK prepared 2 extensive reports on the problems identified and suggested solutions, and presented these directly to the National Epidemiological Policy-Making Body. The findings provided crucial data for the government to address critical measures regarding health care capacity, decide on restriction maintenance, change the actual testing strategy, and take regional economic, social, and health differences into account. Hungary managed the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic with low mortality rate. In times of epidemics, the formation of multidisciplinary research groups is essential for policy makers. The establishment, research activity, and participation in decision-making of these groups, such as KETLAK, can serve as a model for other countries, researchers, and policy makers not only in managing the challenges of COVID-19, but in future pandemics as well.

"Air pollution is bad for my health": Hungarian children's knowledge of the role of environment in health and disease.

This study describes beliefs and knowledge of harmful environmental factors and environment-borne disease in 9- to 11-year-olds' (N=448) using the "draw-and-write" technique as a method of data collection. Most respondents described the man-made environmental risks (such as car transportation or noise pollution) as direct effects; however, in their interpretations, lifestyle (e.g., smoking) and other effects (e.g., pollen pollution) also received considerable emphasis. Although many did not describe a specific disease as environment-borne diseases, the most mentioned among the children were infectious diseases followed by allergy. The results of this study draw the attention to the relationship between health and environmental consciousness.