Introduction. Arterial hypertension (HT) affects 10.4 million adult Poles, and the blood pressure (BP) control rate is only 26%. Beyond any doubt, high blood pressure results in cardiovascular (CV) target organ damage, which markedly influences national healthcare programs. Childhood introduced cardiovascular prophylaxis offers oppor tunities to decrease incident HT and delay or even eliminate its consequences. Therefore we have decided to study the level of knowledge on HT and CV disease (CVD) among random 1st and 2nd grade high school students in Tricity, Poland. Material and methods. Questionnairebased study was conducted voluntarily in two selected high schools of the Tricity agglomeration, Poland, in 2000 and repeated in 2016. All participants were presented with a 38item ques tionnaire on cardiovascular risk factors knowledge as well as students' health habits. Results. Studied group consisted of 615 students (57.6% females) at the age of 16, mean BMI 20.89 ± 2.95 kg/m

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Background: Unhealthy habits (poor diet, smoking and hazardous alcohol drinking) often originate from early-life. We assessed the knowledge on selected cardiovascular and cancer risk factors, healthy habits and its implementation among adolescents and the correlation with their place of residence. Materials and methods: A survey-based study (38-item inventory) was conducted among adolescents from urban and rural-urban areas recruited in two Tricity high-schools and one junior high school from Gniewkowo, respectively. Results: A total of 410 students (59% girls) from Tricity and 287 (51% girls) from Gniewkowo completed the inventory. The mean age was 15.3 years. Students from Gniewkowo spend weekly 8.9 ± 6.2 hours on structured physical activity, which contrasts with 5.5 ± 4.5hrs in Tricity (P < 0.001). Gniewkowo residents restrained from alcohol consumption in 38.7% vs. 31.1% in Tricity (P = 0.04); were active smokers at 9.4% vs. 4.2% (P = 0.007); regular fruits and vegetables consumption was low in both Gniewkowo and Tricity 11.8% vs. 8.6% (P = 0.19); respectively. The awareness of the risk factors of non-communicable diseases was more common amongst Tricity adolescents. This was consistently coupled with the knowledge on preventive methods. Conclusions: The level of knowledge on common non-communicable disease risk factors is higher among teenagers from urban areas, however this does not necessarily translate to more frequent introduction of healthy lifestyle.

Background: Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with hypertension outnumbers the prevalence reported in the general population. Concurrently, majority of patients remain undiagnosed. Given the fact that untreated OSA contributes to ineffective hypotensive treatment, and higher rate of complications is ascribed to hypertension, early OSA diagnosis and its elimination constitutes one of the key clinical goals. Polysomnography comprises a golden standard in sleep apnea diagnosis, however it is a time-consuming and expensive procedure which requires hospitalization. Therefore, we assessed the utility of simplified polygraphic (PG) studies in the OSA screening of patients with hypertension requiring regular tertiary care. Material and methods: The study was conducted in the Outpatient Tertiary Care Clinic of the Medical University Hospital of Gdansk. We enrolled consecutive patients regardless of OSA symptoms presence (n = 243), as well as patients with OSA suspicion (n = 75). A total of 318 patients (39% females) were subjected to ambulatory, onenight polygraphic study (ApneaLink™). The following signals were recorded: airflow (pressure cannula), respiratory movements, and pulse oximetry. Additionally, anthropometrics, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), selected clinical symptoms, and drug-regimen were recorded. Results: Three hundred and eight (97%) patients completed the study (10 dropouts due to study failure). Patients were 57.7 ± 11.5 years old, had BMI = 30.0 ± 5.0 kg/m 2 , and average ESS = 5.7 ± 4.6. 65.3% of all patients were characterized by AHI ≥ 5 (62.2% vs. 74.7% in Random vs. Symptomatic group, respectively; P = 0.49), whereas 27.6% of patients were diagnosed with AHI ≥ 15 (23.6% in Random group and 40.0% in Symptomatic group). In logistic regression analysis, nocturia (> 2) increased the odds of AHI ≥ 30 diagnosis approximately 3.5 times in a fully adjusted model. Conclusions: Our results justify routine polygraphic screening of hypertensive patients requiring tertiary care. Abridged medical history may substantially increase the odds for positive screening.