Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Its Impact on Pediatric Lung Function, Aerobic Fitness, and Body Mass: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have documented the detrimental impacts of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure to a range of pediatric respiratory conditions, including asthma, bronchitis, and reduced lung function. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of SHS exposure on lung function, physical fitness, and body mass index (BMI) in children aged 10 to 14 years. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included children aged 10 to 14 years at the Elementary School "Trilj" in Trilj, Croatia. Data on SHS exposure were collected using a questionnaire. Antropometric and spirometry measurements were performed. Physical fitness was assessed using the shuttle run (BEEP) test. RESULTS: This study included 157 children, 89 (56.69%) boys and 68 (43.31%) girls. Children exposed to every day SHS in households had significantly lower values of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow (PEF) (p < 0.001) and higher z-score BMI levels (p = 0.018) in comparison to unexposed children. Logistic regression showed that children unexposed to SHS had higher odds for better results in the BEEP test (OR 62.45, 95% CI 21.26-179.24, p < 0.001). Children with poorer physical fitness, expressed by lower BEEP score levels, had significantly lower FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and PEF (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Every day SHS exposure in children was associated with poorer lung function, higher BMI, and poorer physical fitness.

Association of anti-diabetic drugs and covid-19 outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and chronic kidney disease: Nationwide registry analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and chronic kidney disease (T2DM-CKD) have a 5 times higher risk of developing severe SARS-CoV-2 infection than those without these 2 diseases. The goal of this study is to provide information on T2DM-CKD and COVID-19 outcomes, with an emphasis on the association with anti-diabetic medications. METHODOLOGY: Study is designed as a retrospective cohort analysis covering the years 2020 and 2021. Data from the National Diabetes Registry (CroDiab) were linked to hospital data, primary healthcare data, Causes of Death Registry data, the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination database, and the SARS-CoV-2 test results database. Study outcomes were cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 positivity, COVID-19 hospitalizations, and COVID-19 deaths. For outcome predictors, logistic regression models were developed. RESULTS: Of 231 796 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 in the database, 7 539 were T2DM-CKD (3.25%). The 2-year cumulative incidences of all three studies' outcomes were higher in T2DM-CKD than in diabetes patients without CKD (positivity 18.1% vs. 14.4%; hospitalization 9.7% vs. 4.2%; death 3.3% vs. 1.1%, all p<0.001). For COVID-19 hospitalization, protective factors were SGLT-2 inhibitors use (OR 0.430; 95%CI 0.257-0.719) and metformin use (OR 0.769; 95% CI 0.643-0.920), risk factors were insulin use (1.411; 95%CI 1.167-1.706) and sulfonylureas use (OR 1.226; 95% CI 1.027-1.464). For SARS-CoV-2 positivity protective factors were SGLT-2 inhibitors (0.607; 95% CI 0.448-0.823), repaglinide use (OR 0.765; 95% CI 0.593-0.986) and metformin use (OR 0.857; 95% CI 0.770-0.994). DPP-4 inhibitors showed a non-significant decrease in risk for COVID-19 death (OR 0.761; 95% CI 0.568-1.019). CONCLUSION: T2DM-CKD are heavily burdened by COVID-19 disease. Our results suggest no association between antidiabetic drugs and COVID-19 death outcome while SGLT-2 and metformin show to be protective against COVID-19 hospitalization and infection, repaglinide against infection, and insulin and sulfonylureas show to be risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization and infection. Further research in T2DM-CKD is needed.

Comparison of transvaginal sonographic cervical length measurement and Bishop score for predicting labour induction outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Induction of labour (IOL) is of increasing prevalence worldwide and reliable prediction of its successful outcome is important. Traditional clinical methods for predicting successful IOL outcomes have been supplemented with newer technologies. The aim of this study was to compare transvaginal sonographic (TVS) cervical length measurement with Bishop score in predicting labour induction outcomes. METHODS: This study included pregnant women with term pregnancy, indication for IOL and unfavourable cervix (Bishop score >6) who had TVS performed prior to IOL. Exclusion critetia were regular contractions, ruptured membranes, non-cephalic presentation, uterine scar and pregnancy complications potentially influencing study outcomes. Outcomes measured were successful IOL defined as achievement of active phase of labour and vaginal delivery. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. Statistical significance was defined as p<0.05. RESULTS: Among 112 studied participants, IOL was successful in 101 (90.2%) pregnant women. AUC for Bishop score >2 was 0.831 (95% CI, 0.744-0.917, p<0.001) and for cervical length <30 mm 0.679 (95% CI 0.514-0.844, p<0.052). A total of 81 (72.3%) pregnant women delivered vaginally; AUC for Bishop score >2 was 0.754 (95% CI 0.648-0.861, p<0.001) and for cervical length <30 mm 0.602 (95% CI 0.484-0.720, p=0.092) which was the only insignificant predictor. CONCLUSIONS: Bishop score >2 is a better predictor for both successful IOL and vaginal delivery among induced women with term pregnancy and unfavourable cervix compared to cervical length <30 mm.

Croatian diabetes registry (CroDiab) and implementation of standardised diabetes checklists using Joint Action CHRODIS Recommendations and Criteria.

INTRODUCTION: Standardized diabetes monitoring checklists is an efficient registry collection tool and diabetes care improvement aid. Aim of this study was to improve the management of diabetes according to international standards and based on Joint Action CHRODIS Recommendations and Criteria, and to improve general practitioners (GPs) awareness of importance of monitoring via diabetes checklists. POPULATION AND METHODS: Twenty-eight GPs and 1242 diabetic patients were included. GPs were divided in groups regarding the intensity of education and information provided. Quantitative analyses of diabetes quality indicators and their availability as well as qualitative study in intensive group were performed. RESULTS: Average number of patients with fulfilled checklists per GP increased from 20.2 to 30.8 (52.30%). Most GPs had positive attitude towards checklists but there is still a room for further improvement. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Checklists are perceived as positive initiatives by GPs; however, there are areas for further improvements. General practitioners education and feedback regarding the checklists may contribute to better monitoring of patients with diabetes.

Making Use of Comparable Health Data to Improve Quality of Care and Outcomes in Diabetes: The EUBIROD Review of Diabetes Registries and Data Sources in Europe.

Background: Registries and data sources contain information that can be used on an ongoing basis to improve quality of care and outcomes of people with diabetes. As a specific task of the EU Bridge Health project, we carried out a survey of diabetes-related data sources in Europe. Objectives: We aimed to report on the organization of different sources of diabetes information, including their governance, information infrastructure and dissemination strategies for quality control, service planning, public health, policy and research. Methods: Survey using a structured questionnaire to collect targeted data from a network of collaborating institutions managing registries and data sources in 17 countries in the year 2017. Results: The 18 data sources participating in the study were most frequently academic centres (44.4%), national (72.2%), targeting all types of diabetes (61.1%) covering no more than 10% of the target population (44.4%). Although population-based in over a quarter of cases (27.8%), sources relied predominantly on provider-based datasets (38.5%), fewer using administrative data (16.6%). Data collection was continuous in the majority of cases (61.1%), but 50% could not perform data linkage. Public reports were more frequent (72.2%) as well as quality reports (77.8%), but one third did not provide feedback to policy and only half published ten or more peer reviewed papers during the last 5 years. Conclusions: The heterogeneous implementation of diabetes registries and data sources hampers the comparability of quality and outcomes across Europe. Best practices exist but need to be shared more effectively to accelerate progress and deliver equitable results for people with diabetes.

Prevalence and impact of pre-pregnancy body mass index on pregnancy outcome: a cross-sectional study in Croatia.

The aim of this study was to determine the association of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy outcome among pregnant women in Croatia. Women who gave birth in Croatia in 2017 were categorised into four groups according to pre-pregnancy BMI and analysed regarding maternal characteristics and perinatal outcomes. Among 32,051 pregnant women, 5.3% were underweight, 65.5% had normal BMI, 20.4% were overweight and 8.8% were obese. Overweight and obese women had a higher prevalence of induction of labour and delivery by caesarean section compared to normal-BMI women (p < .001), while underweight and obese women had a higher prevalence of preterm birth (p < .001). Gestational diabetes (GD), gestational hypertension and preeclampsia were higher in overweight and obese group. Multivariate logistic regression model showed that older maternal age, higher BMI, GD, gestational hypertension and preeclampsia were significant predictors of having non-spontaneous onset of labour and of not delivering vaginally.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? Women with abnormal body mass index (BMI) compared to women with normal BMI have an increased risk of various complications during pregnancy and labour such as preterm birth and low birth weight for underweight women, and foetal macrosomia, labour induction and delivery by caesarean section for obese women.What do the results of this study add? This study was performed on a large national cohort of pregnant women and its results show that the majority of adverse perinatal outcomes present in obese women are also present among overweight women. Additional attention should be paid to women with a modest increase in BMI who present the majority of women with abnormal BMI.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Risks identified in this study must be acknowledged and taken into account when counselling and managing women before and during pregnancy and labour. Women must be encouraged throughout pregnancy to either gain weight or limit weight gain if they are in adverse BMI group.

Breastfeeding: A standard or an intervention? Review of systematic reviews.

Clinical trials designed to answer treatment-related questions typically compare an intervention group that receives a drug or other intervention to a control group that serves as a standard against which results of the intervention are evaluated. An observed divergence from this trend in research papers on breastfeeding led us to hypothesize that the majority of breastfeeding research designs assign breastfed children to an intervention group rather than the control group, although breastfeeding is a physiological way of feeding infants that may be considered as a general standard. Headlines and abstracts of 760 publications identified in 2 databases were checked, and a total of 68 systematic reviews were included in our review with the goal to see if breastfed children were mostly considered as the intervention or control group. Our review showed that in 79,41% of papers breastfed children were regarded as the intervention group. The results of these papers were usually presented in a manner to show breastfeeding was beneficial in comparison to formula-feeding - as if breastfeeding was a health intervention. This way of data presentation probably helps to form attitude that formula-feeding is the norm and breastfeeding an optional choice, a "superstandard" with certain health benefits. Therefore, all available studies that regard breastfeeding should be interpreted with caution. We suggest that authors, while conducting and reporting clinical trials, regard breastfed children as the control group, and non-breastfed children as the intervention group.

Early Basal Cortisol Level as a Predictor of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis Function After Pituitary Tumor Surgery.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of the early postoperative basal cortisol level in assessing the postoperative hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function after pituitary tumor surgery. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study that enrolled 83 patients operated for pituitary adenoma or other sellar lesions at the University Hospital Center Zagreb between December 2013 and April 2017 (44 nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas, 28 somatotropinomas, 5 craniopharyngiomas, 2 prolactinomas resistant to medical therapy and 4 other lesions - Rathke's cleft cyst, arachnoid cyst, chondroma and gangliocytoma). Exclusion criteria were Cushing's disease, chronic therapy with glucocorticoids prior to surgery and preoperative adrenal insufficiency. Early postoperative basal cortisol levels (measured on the second postoperative day) and the Synacthen stimulation test (performed 3 months after the surgery with the peak cortisol level of>500 nmol/L considered as a normal response) were analyzed to assess HPA axis function during follow-up. RESULTS: ROC analysis showed a cut-off of the basal cortisol level of ≥300 nmol/L measured on the second postoperative day to predict normal postoperative HPA axis function with the sensitivity of 92.31%, specificity of 87.14% and positive predictive value of 57.14%. CONCLUSION: The basal cortisol level on the second postoperative day is a valuable tool to predict integrity of the HPA axis after pituitary tumor surgery. Our data suggest that the cortisol level of ≥300 nmol/L accurately predicts adrenal sufficiency and that in these patients glucocorticoid therapy can be withdrawn.

Prevalence of somatic comorbidities among coronavirus disease 2019 patients in Croatia in the first pandemic wave: data from national public health databases.

AIM: To determine the prevalence of common somatic comorbidities among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive patients in Croatia in the first pandemic wave, and assess the differences in clinical outcomes depending on the presence of comorbidities. METHODS: We analyzed data from patients confirmed to be SARS-CoV-2-positive from February through May 2020. The data were obtained from clinical laboratories, primary health care providers, and hospitals. Previously recorded comorbidities, including diabetes, cancer, circulatory diseases, chronic pulmonary, and kidney disease, were analyzed. RESULTS: Among 2249 patients, 46.0% were men (median age 51 years; median disease duration 27 days). Hospitalization was required for 41.8% patients, mechanical ventilation for 2.5%, while 4.7% of all patients died. Patients who died were significantly older (median 82 vs 50 years, P<0.001) with a higher prevalence of all investigated comorbidities (all p's <0.001), more frequently required mechanical ventilation (34% vs 1%, P<0.001), and had shorter length of hospital stay (median 13 vs 27 days, P<0.001) with no sex preponderance. Patients requiring mechanical ventilation were significantly older (median age 70 vs 51 years, P<0.001), more frequently men (59.6% vs 45.7%, P=0.037), showed a higher prevalence of all comorbidities except ischemic heart and chronic kidney disease (all p's <0.001), and demonstrated a higher case-fatality rate (63.2% vs 3.2%, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 patients who died in the first pandemic wave in Croatia were more likely to suffer previous somatic comorbidities. This corroborates the findings of similar studies and calls for further research into the underlying disease mechanisms, hence providing ground for more efficient preventive measures.

Prevalence of diabetes five years after having gestational diabetes during pregnancy - Croatian national study.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of diabetes among women 5 years after having gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Also, we sought to determine whether women who develop diabetes after GD during pregnancy differ from women who do not develop diabetes after GD during pregnancy. METHODS: This longitudinal study was performed using data from medical birth certificates and CroDiab diabetes registry. Women burdened with gestational diabetes in Croatia in 2011 were followed up until year 2016. Those registered in CroDiab registry were recognised as new patients with diabetes. RESULTS: Among 40,641 deliveries in 2011, gestational diabetes was reported in 1181 (2.9%) women. Among them 853 (72.23%) were followed up in CroDiab diabetes registry and 32 (3.75%) were identified as new patients with diabetes. Median time from childbirth to onset of diabetes was 29.12 months. The diabetes group did not significantly differ to the group without diabetes according to age (p=0.587), level of education (p=0.549) or marital status (p=0.849) except that the diabetes group was significantly more obese than the group without diabetes (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Based on CroDiab diabetes registry data prevalence of diabetes 5 years after pregnancy complicated with gestational diabetes is 3.75% in Croatia. Women with gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and especially those with higher BMIs, are an important risk group for developing diabetes later in life so screening and preventive measures should be oriented toward them in primary care settings.

Diabetic Macular Edema: Traditional and Novel Treatment

Diabetes is one of the leading public health problems worldwide. Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the main cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes. Ideal metabolic control of diabetes is the primary goal of treatment and the basic way of preventing and stopping the progression of DME. Although laser photocoagulation has been the standard treatment of DME for nearly three decades, superior outcomes can be achieved with novel, intravitreal anti-VEGF and steroid therapy. Novel treatment option for DME depends on visual acuity and location/extent of macular thickening based on optical coherence tomography scans. According to the International Clinical Classification Scale, DME is divided into no center-involving DME and center-involving DME (CI-DME). New guidelines recommend intravitreal treatment as the treatment of choice for patients with CI-DME and moderate visual impairment. Patients with no CI-DME and mild visual impairment should be treated with modified ETDRS laser photocoagulation and closely observed. Vitrectomy is the treatment of choice for patients with a tractional component of DME. Nowadays, traditional treatment goal of preventing blindness in patients with DME has been changed by the new goal aiming to restore impaired vision, prevent further vision loss and improve visual function. Therefore, many trials addressing this new concept have been underway worldwide.

Impact of the Implementation of New WHO Diagnostic Criteria for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus on Prevalence and Perinatal Outcomes: A Population-Based Study.

Objectives. To determine the impact of the implementation of new WHO diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on prevalence, predictors, and perinatal outcomes in Croatian population. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed using data from medical birth certificates collected in 2010 and 2014. Data collected include age, height, and weight before and at the end of pregnancy, while perinatal outcome was assessed by onset of labor, mode of delivery, and Apgar score. Results. A total of 81.748 deliveries and 83.198 newborns were analysed. Prevalence of GDM increased from 2.2% in 2010 to 4.7% in 2014. GDM was a significant predictor of low Apgar score (OR 1.656), labor induction (OR 2.068), and caesarean section (OR 1.567) in 2010, while in 2014 GD was predictive for labor induction (OR 1.715) and caesarean section (OR 1.458) only. Age was predictive for labor induction only in 2014 and for caesarean section in both years, while BMI before pregnancy was predictive for all observed perinatal outcomes in both years. Conclusions. Despite implementation of new guidelines, GDM remains burdened with increased risk of labor induction and caesarean section, but no longer with low Apgar score, while BMI remains an important predictor for all three perinatal outcomes.

SOME INDICATORS OF HEALTH CARE STATUS IN CROATIA.

The article presents the basic principles of health care, health care measures and strategic objectives of these measures in Croatia. The health of the population does not depend solely on the activities of the health care system but also on various demographic indicators. Our success in implementing health care depends largely on the structure of health facilities and health workers. The Croatian health system in late 2013 had permanently employed 74,489 workers. Out of these, 77% were health care workers. Most health care workers had only secondary school education (37.7%); physicians represented 17.4% of the workforce. On assessing the health of the population, certain health indicators are of utmost importance. The leading cause of deaths were circulatory diseases (in 2012, 24,988 persons died, 585.5/100,000). Neoplasms were the cause of death in 13,940 persons (326.6/100,000), then injuries and poisoning (69.1/100,000), diseases of the gastrointestinal system (53.1/100,000), and respiratory diseases (50.4/100,000). Data are presented on the basis of diseases reported from several national registries (cancer, psychoactive drug abuse, the disabled, diabetes, and suicides). The importance of vaccination for the control of infectious diseases in Croatia is especially emphasized, as well as the experience and excellent results achieved in this area. The epidemiological situation in Croatia in terms of infectious diseases can be assessed as favorable. This is due to the general living conditions, which contributed to the entire health system, making Croatia equal to other developed countries of Europe and throughout the world.

The clinical course of patients with adrenal incidentaloma: is it time to reconsider the current recommendations?

OBJECTIVE: The current guidelines for the management of adrenal incidentaloma advise hormonal and radiological follow-up of patients for 2-5 years after the initial diagnosis. However, the vast majority of adrenal incidentaloma are non-functional benign cortical adenomas that require no treatment, so the routine application of the current strategies often results in a number of unnecessary biochemical and radiological investigations. The aim of this study was to analyse the clinical course of patients with adrenal incidentaloma and to provide a critical review of the current management strategy of the disease. DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study performed in the Croatian Referral Center for adrenal gland disorders. The study included 319 consecutive patients with adrenal incidentaloma, 174 of which were followed for at least 24 months. RESULTS: The vast majority of patients were diagnosed with benign adrenal masses, whereas in about 5% of them adrenal tumor corresponded to adrenal carcinoma or metastasis. Tumor density was found to be superior to tumor size in distinguishing benign adrenal masses from malignant tumors and pheochromocytomas. During the follow-up, no patient demonstrated a clinically significant increase in tumor size. In addition, no changes, either in metanephrines and normetanephrines or in the activity of renin-aldosterone axis, were observed during the follow-up. Six patients developed subclinical Cushing's syndrome (SCS) whereas eight patients with SCS showed biochemical remission during follow-up. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that the risk of an adrenal mass initially diagnosed as benign and non-functional becoming malignant or hormonally active is extremely low. Therefore, the clinical management of those patients should be tailored on an individual basis in order to avoid unnecessary procedures.

Prevalence of depression symptoms and associated socio-demographic factors in primary health care patients.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a growing public health problem still under-recognised in primary care settings. By focusing primarily on somatic complaints and diseases, general practitioners often fail to identify an underlying mental disorder. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of patients with unrecognised depression symptoms in general practice and identify associated socio-demographic factors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 769 patients without previous psychiatric disorder who attended their primary care physicians in the Health Centre Zagreb - Zapad in January 2011. Data on patients' age, sex, level of education, marital and employment status were collected. All participants completed The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. RESULTS: Among the 25.5% of participants whose Zung score was outside the normal range, 19.38% were mildly, 4.64% moderately, and 0.91% severely depressed. Statistically significant differences were observed among groups defined according to level of education, employment and marital status (p<0.001). Lower Zung scores were found in individuals with a higher level of education, who were unmarried, employed or still undergoing education. Multivariate logistic regression model revealed that older age (p<0.001), unemployment (p=0.001) or unmarried status (p=0.025) were significant predictors of depression symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed a high prevalence of depression symptoms among primary care patients who had not been previously suspected to have any psychiatric co-morbidity. Awareness of depression symptoms and disorders should be raised among general practitioners, focusing on older, unemployed and unmarried people.

Chronic dietary exposure to aristolochic acid and kidney function in native farmers from a Croatian endemic area and Bosnian immigrants.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Improvements in agricultural practices in Croatia have reduced exposure to consumption of aristolochic acid-contaminated flour and development of endemic (Balkan) nephropathy. Therefore, it was hypothesized that Bosnian immigrants who settled in an endemic area in Croatia 15-30 years ago would be at lower risk of developing endemic nephropathy because of reduced exposure to aristolochic acid. To test this hypothesis, past and present exposure to aristolochic acid, proximal tubule damage as a hallmark of endemic nephropathy, and prevalence of CKD in Bosnian immigrants were analyzed. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: In this cross-sectional observational study from 2005 to 2010, 2161 farmers were divided into groups: indigenous inhabitants from endemic nephropathy and nonendemic nephropathy villages and Bosnian immigrants; α-1 microglobulin-to-creatinine ratio >31.5 mg/g and eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) were considered to be abnormal. RESULTS: CKD and proximal tubule damage prevalence was significantly lower in Bosnian immigrants than inhabitants of endemic nephropathy villages (6.9% versus 16.6%; P<0.001; 1.3% versus 7.3%; P=0.003, respectively); 20 years ago, Bosnian immigrants observed fewer Aristolochia clematitis in cultivated fields (41.9% versus 67.8%) and fewer seeds among wheat seeds (6.1% versus 35.6%) and ate more purchased than homemade bread compared with Croatian farmers from endemic nephropathy villages (38.5% versus 14.8%, P<0.001). Both Croatian farmers and Bosnian immigrants observe significantly fewer Aristolochia plants growing in their fields compared with 15-30 years ago. Prior aristolochic acid exposure was associated with proximal tubule damage (odds ratio, 1.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 2.58; P=0.02), whereas present exposure was not (odds ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 0.75 to 2.30; P=0.33). Furthermore, immigrant status was an independent negative predictor of proximal tubule damage (odds ratio, 0.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.19 to 0.86; P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Bosnian immigrants and autochthonous Croats residing in endemic areas are exposed significantly less to ingestion of aristolochic acid than in the past. The prevalence of endemic nephropathy and its associated urothelial cancers is predicted to decrease over time.

Inflammation, haemostatic disturbance, and obesity: possible link to pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes.

PURPOSE: The pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is insufficiently understood but may possibly involve chronic, low-grade inflammation. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between inflammatory and haemostatic markers, other markers of endothelial dysfunction and anthropometric parameters, and their association with DR in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: According to the DR status patients were divided into three groups: no retinopathy, mild/moderate nonproliferative (NPDR), and severe NPDR/proliferative retinopathy (PDR). RESULTS: The groups did not differ in the levels of inflammatory and haemostatic markers, other markers of endothelial dysfunction, and anthropometric parameters. After dividing the patients according to the level of obesity (defined by BMI, WC, and WHR) into three groups ANOVA showed the differences in C-reactive protein according to the WC (P = 0.0265) and in fibrinogen according to the WHR (P = 0.0102) as well as in total cholesterol (P = 0.0109) and triglycerides (P = 0.0133) according to the BMI. Logistic regression analyses showed that diabetes duration and prolonged poor glycemic control are the main predictors of retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSION: Interrelations between obesity, inflammation, haemostatic disturbance, and other risk factors may possibly play an important additional role in endothelial dysfunction involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.

[Cost of diabetes complications treatment: effect of improving glycemic control, blood pressure and lipid status on the occurrence of complications and costs of disease treatment]. / Trosak lijecenja komplikacija secerne bolesti Ucinak poboljsanja kontrole glikemije, krvnog tlaka i lipidnog statusa na pojavu komplikacija i troskove lijecenja bolesti.

Chronic complications of diabetes are the main cause of mortality and disability in people with diabetes, while also leading to growing healthcare system cost burdens. In order to analyze the effects of possible interventions on the health of population and their effectiveness in reducing the cost of the healthcare system, we have made health-economic models of diabetes chronic complications development. The models simulated long-term effect of improving glycemic control, blood pressure and lipid status in patients over a period of 10 years. The simulation results showed that the total savings over the analyzed period could amount to over 2 billion HRK, as effective long term control of risk factors leads to a reduction in the development of complications and death in people with diabetes. Successful treatments of patients provide a variety of savings for each of the chronic complications, and are obtained by simulating the biggest savings in the cost of hospitalization and rehabilitation. The cost-effectiveness analysis leads to the conclusion that the more intensive patient's control and earlier application of a treatment is cost-effective, and change of the healthcare system activities is a necessity.

The changing pattern of cardiovascular risk factors: the CroHort study.

Croatia has a long tradition of non-communicable disease prevention, but also obstacles to the implementation of preventive programs related to the general attenuation of public health and primary health care sector. The aim of this study was to determine trends in behavioral and biomedical risk factors and evaluate primary non-communicable disease and cardiovascular prevention. Physical inactivity was a leading risk factor with increasing trend and prevalence of 33.9% and 38.9% in men and women in 2008. In 2008, obesity was present in 26.1% and 34.1%, and hypertension in 65.8% and 59.7% of men and women. During the follow-up only smoking and alcohol consumption in men decreased significantly, while alcohol consumption and obesity in women, and hypertension in both sexes significantly increased. In the present situation, with the existing trends and environment it will not be possible to stop negative trends. Revitalization of public health activities and primary health care is essential.