Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is, next to obesity and asthma, the most common chronic disease in children in Poland. The results of T1D treatment strongly depend on the patient’s compliance with therapeutic recommendations, which entails the use of necessary health services. Based on a retrospective analysis of the data on health services provided in 2016–2020 to over 15.5 thousand patients with T1D in Poland, we assessed the compliance of the actual model of treatment of T1D in children with the current guidelines. It was found that only about 50% of patients received the number of diabetes consultations corresponding to the recognized standards, with about 15% of children with T1D remaining outside the public healthcare system. In the case of many outpatient services (ophthalmological, neurological, mental health), the number of consultations was extremely low—one order of magnitude lower than in general population and dropped even lower in 2020. This shows that the health needs of children with T1D are not being met within the public healthcare system. The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant limitations in access to healthcare in Poland. Compared to the pre-pandemic period there was a significant decrease (−27% compared to 2019) in the number of hospitalizations, and a substantial increase (+22% compared to 2019) in the number of diabetic ketoacidoses (DKA) cases. The proportion of hospitalizations caused by DKA rose to 8.9% compared to 7.3% in 2019.

Physicians play a key role in combating tobacco use. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and behaviors toward smoking cessation and vaping cessation interventions among physicians in Poland; to identify factors shaping physicians’ behaviors toward smoking and vaping cessation interventions; and to assess differences in the tobacco cessation interventions recommended for cigarette smokers and users of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in 2018 among physicians attending mandatory public health training courses delivered at the School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland. The questionnaire included 25 questions related to tobacco product use and smoking cessation interventions. Data were obtained from 423 physicians (64.3% female; mean age 32.0 ± 5.8 years) with response rate of 84.6%. Current cigarette smoking was declared by 7.8% of participants; 1.9% of participants were e-cigarette users and 1.9% used heated tobacco. Smoking cessation interventions were offered more often to patients who smoked cigarettes than those who used e-cigarettes (p < 0.001). Physicians’ behaviors toward smoking cessation and vaping cessation interventions were associated with (p < 0.05) physicians’ smoking status and self-declared knowledge about smoking cessation methods. Among physicians in Poland, discussion of smoking cessation was not common behavior and limited mainly to identification of smoking status.

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide. The study aimed to present an epidemiological analysis of hospitalization related to diabetes mellitus in Poland between 2014 and 2020 as well as to analyze changes in diabetes-related hospital admissions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is a retrospective analysis of the national registry dataset of hospital discharge reports on diabetes-related hospitalizations in Poland between 2014 and 2020. The number of diabetes-related hospitalizations varied from 76,220 in 2016 to 45,159 in 2020. The hospitalization rate per 100,000 has decreased from 74.6 in 2019 to 53.0 in 2020 among patients with type 1 diabetes (percentage change: −28.9%). An even greater drop was observed among patients with type 2 diabetes: from 99.4 in 2019 to 61.6 in 2020 (percentage change: −38%). Both among patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, a decrease in hospitalization rate was higher among females than males (−31.6% vs. −26.7% and −40.9% vs. −35.2% respectively). When compared to 2019, in 2020, the in-hospital mortality rate increased by 66.7% (60.0% among males and 65.2% among females) among patients hospitalized with type 1 diabetes and by 48.5% (55.2% among females and 42.1% among males) among patients hospitalized with type 2 diabetes. Markable differences in hospitalization rate, duration of hospitalization, as well as in-hospital mortality rate by gender, were observed, which reveal health inequalities.

IntroductionRegular monitoring of public awareness of diabetes is necessary to provide effective educational and preventive strategies. This study aimed to assess (1) public knowledge and awareness of diabetes among adults in Poland, as well as (2) to identify sociodemographic factors associated with public awareness of diabetes.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey was carried out between 24 and 27 June 2022, on a non-probability random quota sample of 1,051 adults in Poland. The questionnaire included ten questions related to the awareness of risk factors, symptoms, and complications of diabetes.ResultsAmong the respondents, 10.5% had diabetes and 43.8% declared that they have a history of diabetes in their family. Only 17.3% of respondents declared a good level of knowledge of diabetes. Out of 10 symptoms of diabetes analyzed in this study, high blood sugar (80.7%) and chronic fatigue (74.6%) were the most recognized. Out of 8 diabetes risk factors analyzed in this study, overweight/obesity (80.4%) and unhealthy diet (74.1%) were the most recognized diabetes risk factors, while only 22.7% of respondents indicated tobacco use. The diabetic foot was the most recognized diabetes complication (79.8%), but approximately half of the respondents indicated vision problems (56.9%), kidney damage (52.1%), or cardiovascular diseases (50.2%) as diabetes complications. Female gender, having higher education and having a family member with diabetes were the most im-portent factors associated (p &lt; 0.05) with a higher level of awareness of diabetes.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated insufficient public awareness of diabetes among adults in Poland. Gender and educational level were the most important factors significantly associated with the awareness of the selected aspects of diabetes, while self-reported financial situation and place of residence had none or marginal influence. The presented data manifest the importance of adopting a comprehensive education strategy regarding diabetes in Poland

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is, next to obesity and asthma, the most common chronic disease in children in Poland. T1D is not only a medical challenge, but it also affects all areas of a sick child’s life and family functionality. New forms of therapy facilitate the daily management of the disease, but their availability is limited and partly dependent on socioeconomic status. This study aimed to assess the incidence and interrelationships between the child’s health condition and the applied therapy model, and selected aspects of the child’s family functionality and access to health and care services. The survey involved 206 child and youth caregivers with T1D who are members of Facebook support groups. The analysis of the obtained results revealed the existence of links between family income level and the type of insulin therapy applied. Children from families with a better financial situation (subjective and objective) were more likely to have additional medical consultations and make more frequent control visits. In families with a higher level of income, the T1D-induced restriction of child activity was less frequent. Living outside of urban centers was associated with a reduced availability of care or educational facilities adapted to take care of a child with T1D. No statistically significant correlations were observed between demographic and economic factors and the child’s health status expressed by the occurrence of complications. The incidence of the latter, however, affected the child’s family situation.