BackgroundThe percentage of people aged 65 or older living in Poland is 13.6%, but 17.2% in Łódź. The aim of the study was to identify factors correlating with the self-rated quality of life of elderly inhabitants of cities applying for social help, on the basis of a cross-sectional study.MethodsThe study was conducted in Łódź, a large Polish city, between September 2011 and February 2012 in a group of people applying for help in the Municipal Social Welfare Centre. Four hundred and sixty-six respondents aged 65 or older were included in the study. The tool used in the study was an interview questionnaire. The respondents answered questions on their demographic situation, living conditions, financial, health and social situation. The authors also applied the WHOQOL-BREF Questionnaire, the Activities of Daily Living Scale (ADL) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GSOD). For statistical purposes, the authors used single- and multiple-factor regression and the Statistica 9.0 Program. The results were presented as an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI); the adopted significance level was p < 0.05. The authors applied the Pearson’s x2 test in order to evaluate the structure of the studied group and the subpopulation, who were aged 65 or older and using social help, throughout the city.ResultsLogistic regression confirmed that a high quality of life depends on the following variables: university education (OR = 2.31; p < 0.05), an income which is sufficient to live (OR = 1.63; p < 0.05), no heart palpitations (OR = 2.32; p < 0.05), stable blood pressure (OR = 2.32; p < 0.05), no headaches (OR = 1.55; p < 0.05), no pain in the chest (OR = 1.51; p < 0.01), no shortness of breath (OR = 1.51; p < 0.01), no tiredness (OR = 2.08; p < 0.05), a score on the Geriatric Depression Scale pointing to a lack of suspected depression (OR = 9.88; p < 0.001 if the person does not suffer from depression and OR = 6.33; p < 0.001 if there is uncertain depression) as well as not using nursing services, a score on the ADL Scale confirming the person’s fitness and participation in family gatherings.ConclusionsA subjective evaluation of the quality of life of the elderly depends on many factors. An identification of these factors might be helpful in implementing steps aimed at improving the quality of life of elderly people who, as a consequence, will need less social help: particularly nursing services.

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The aim of the study was an analysis of years of life lost due to cervical cancer in Poland in the period 2000 to 2015 with consideration given to differences related to education and place of residence. The study material was 28,274 death certificates of all female inhabitants of Poland, who died in 2000 to 2015 due to cervical cancer. In order to calculate years of life lost, the authors used indices: SEYLLp (Standard Expected Years of Life Lost per living person), SEYLLd (per deaths) and AAPC (Average Annual Percentage Change). The SEYLLp index (per 100,000) due to cervical cancer in Poland decreased from 394.3 in 2000 to 220.9 years of life in 2015 (AAPC = −3.6%). Women with university education lost the smallest number of years of life (SEYLLp = 139.0 in 2000 and 53.7 in 2015; AAPC = −5.4%), whereas those with elementary education had the greatest number of years of life lost (524.2 and 312.8; AAPC = −3.4%). Women living in rural areas lost on average 329.5 years in 2000 and 177.0 in 2015 (AAPC = −3.8%). In city areas, the values were 428.6 and 247.1 (AAPC = −3.4%). Many of the years of life lost could have been avoided by including more women, particularly those with elementary education, in screening examinations.

All medicinal products authorized in the European Union are subjects of constant drug-safety monitoring processes. It is organized in a pharmacovigilance system that is designed to protect human health and life by the detection, analysis and prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and other drug-related problems. The main role of the aforementioned system is to collect and analyze adverse drug reaction reports. Legislation introduced several years ago allowed patients, their legal representatives and caregivers to report adverse drug reactions, which caused them to be an additional source of safety data. This paper presents the analysis of EudraVigilance data related to adverse drug reactions provided by patients, their representatives, as well as those obtained from healthcare professionals related to medicines which belong to M01A anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic products, a non-steroid group. The objective of the study was to identify the changes in the number and structure of adverse reaction reporting after the introduction of pharmacovigilance (PV) obligations in EU. A review of scientific literature was also conducted to assess the differences in adverse reactions reported by patients or their representatives and by healthcare professionals. We also identified other factors which, according to literature review, influenced the number of adverse reaction reports provided by patients. Analysis of data collected from the EudraVigilance showed that from 2011 to 2013 the number of reports made by patients and their caregivers increased by approx. 24 percentage points, and then, from 2014, it constituted around 30% of the total of reported reactions every year, so patient reporting is an important part of pharmacovigilance system and a source of drugs’ safety information throughout their use in healthcare practice. Additionally, there was no interrelationship between the seriousness of reported adverse reactions and the overall number of patient reports when compared to reports form healthcare professionals.

Background: The aim of the study was to assess trends in mortality and the number of lost years of life due to breast cancer in the female population in the years 2000-2016, with consideration given to differences regarding the level of education and place of residence. Methods: The analysis was based on a database of the Central Statistical Office of Poland, containing information gathered from 92,154 death certificates of all Polish female inhabitants who died in the period 2000-2016 due to breast cancer. The SEYLL p (Standard Expected Years of Life Lost per living person), the SEYLL d (per deaths), the APC (Annual Percentage Change), the AAPC (Average Annual Percentage Change) were calculated to determine years of life lost. Results: The mean age of women who died from breast cancer increased in the study period from 64.7 years to 69.7. The SEYLL p index (per 100,000) increased to 776.8 years in 2016 (AAPC = 0.5%). The most unfavorable changes were observed in the group of women with secondary education. In 2004, the SEYLL p values started to grow at a rate of 2.3% and since 2011, they have been higher than amongst women with elementary education. In the years 2000-2016, the authors observed that SEYLL p was steadily declining (APC =-1.0%) in the group of inhabitants of rural areas, whereas with regards to city dwellers, the SEYLL p index has been increasing since 2004 (APC = 0.5%), which has resulted in increased disproportions regarding the place of residence. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that breast cancer is becoming a serious epidemiological problem in Poland. There is the need to intensify activities among women at highest risk group and it should be the starting point for making key decision in combating breast cancer.