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BackgroundTobacco use is the second major cause of morbidity and the 4th most common health risk factor in the world. Medical professionals have a critical role in the process of smoking cessation both as advisers and behavioural models for the citizens. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of smoking among health care professionals, their smoking habits and personal attitudes toward smoking, role and the responsibility of health care professionals in the prevention of smoking.ResultsOut of the total number of examinees, 175 (35,1%) are active smokers, 29 (5,8%) are former smokers, and 295 (59,1%) are non-smokers. Nurses with secondary education disagree the most with the claim that passive smoking is more harmful to health (χ2 test, p = .008), also with the claim that the introduced Smoking Act is fair to smokers (χ2 test, p = .021). More nurses with secondary education disagree completely or partially that one should pay attention to smoking in the presence of non-smokers (χ2 test, p = .012).ConclusionTraining programs for health care workers are needed to improve their ability in smoking cessation techniques to provide active support to their patients.

Perinatal depression is a state which should be given more attention. The recognition of perinatal depression during pregnancy allows health medical workers to observe pregnant women at risk and then to make preventive and clinical interventions. The risk for perinatal depression is higher in pregnant women with more expressed depressive and anxiety symptoms. Pregnant women with suicidal thoughts are more anxious and depressed.

This study aimed to test the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-enriched hen egg consumption on serum lipid and free fatty acid profiles, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, and microvascular reactivity in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Forty CAD patients participated in this study. Of those, 20 patients had acute CAD (Ac-CAD), and 20 patients had chronic CAD (Ch-CAD). The control group (N = 20) consumed three regular hen eggs/daily (249 mg n-3 PUFAs/day), and the n-3 PUFAs group (N = 20) consumed three n-3 PUFA-enriched hen eggs/daily (1053 g n-3 PUFAs/day) for 3 weeks. Serum n-3 PUFA concentration significantly increased (in all CAD patients), while LDL cholesterol and IL-6 (in Ac-CAD patients), and hsCRP and IL-1a (in all CAD patients) significantly decreased in the n-3 PUFAs group. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity significantly decreased, and forearm skin microvascular reactivity in response to vascular occlusion (postocclusive reactive hyperemia (PORH)) remained unchanged in both the n-3 PUFAs and control groups in total CAD, Ac-CAD, and Ch-CAD patients. Potentially, n-3 PUFA-enriched hen eggs can change the free fatty acid profile to a more favorable lower n6/n3 ratio, and to exhibit mild anti-inflammatory effects but not to affect microvascular reactivity in CAD patients.

Background: The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) has been developed through extensive and qualitative research. Numerous studies have confirmed the reliability and validity of the DSES among different populations. Most of the studies have shown association of the DSES with physical and psychological well-being. Purpose: The current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the DSES in the Croatian population. Method: The 16-item scale was translated through standard translation/back-translation procedures. The scale was afterwards applied to a sample of 535 test subjects (49% men and 51% women), mean age 42.6 years. Results: The coefficient of reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.945) is very high. The coefficients of discriminant validity were satisfactory for 15 items, whereas only one item (14) has a coefficient of less than 0.30. The factor analysis after oblique rotation resulted in two related factors: the relationship with God and relationship with others. Using these two factors explained the 66.1% of the variance. Conclusion: Based on the data, it can be concluded that DSES has satisfactory psychometric characteristics and can be applied to the Croatian population, but its correlation with other religious and non-religious constructs should be verified in further research. OPEN ACCESSReligions 2015, 6 713