Attitudes regarding vaccination on the example of COVID-19 prevention.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccines for public use were approved at the turn of 2020 and 2021. The level of vaccination coverage against COVID-19 in Poland is one of the lowest in Europe. Despite scientific studies there are people who are afraid of vaccinations and spread false information about them. Vaccinations against COVID-19 allowed to learn about the attitudes of people who decided to be vaccinated, which can be used to improve the effectiveness of the infectious diseases prevention in the work and public environment. The aim of the study was to analyze the main reasons determining a decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was carried on among all the people who decided to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lódz. All vaccinated people completed an anonymous survey containing questions related to the most important factors, which encouraged them to undergo this vaccination. RESULTS: The study involved 945 people vaccinated against COVID-19. Statistical significance was revealed between 3 different reasons (one's own health, stress-free work, safe travelling and easier access to entertainment) for getting vaccinated and age, gender and a form of employment. The authors also found statistical significance of the correlation between the age, gender, education and form of employment of the respondents and the reason for choosing the specific vaccine product. CONCLUSIONS: Despite evidence presented by scientists about the effectiveness and safety of vaccinations, many people refused and still refuse to receive the vaccine. In order to increase the readiness of the population for vaccinations against COVID-19 and subsequent ones, if there is a need to limit new epidemics, the following should be done: introduce activities to raise health awareness, intensify strategies and campaigns aimed at increasing public trust in available vaccines against COVID-19, devolop individualized messages that contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2024;75(2):123-131.

Recognition COVID-19 as an occupational disease in Poland - definition, criteria and recommendation.

A major challenge over the pandemic period was to establish the criteria for recognizing COVID-19 as an occupational disease. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has attempted to estimate the incidence of COVID-19 in individual occupational groups and economy sectors in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and to identify possible factors increasing the transmission of the virus at workplaces. Legal regulations of various countries in the world allow COVID-19 to be recognized as an accident at work and/or an occupational disease. In Poland, an occupational disease is defined as a disease caused by harmful factors occurring in the work environment or connected with performing a given job, included in the official list of occupational diseases. When assessing occupational exposure in the healthcare sector, it should be considered that healthcare workers include all persons in contact with patients or their biological material, as well as employees who are not medical professionals but who share a common space with patients due to the nature of their work. The latter group includes administrative and technical employees, control and rescue service workers, people supporting medical staff, and employees of nursing homes. In the case of non-medical occupations, the decision to recognize COVID-19 as an occupational disease should be made on an individual basis, after confirming a significant risk of contracting a SARS-CoV-2 virus infection at the workplace and in the absence of evidence of a non-occupational source of infection. An assessment of occupational exposure should always include evaluating the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2023;74(5):435-42.

Shift work, body mass index and associated breast cancer risks in postmenopausal women.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Shift work increases the risk of breast cancer, but the mechanisms is still under discussion. This study evaluates the relationship between breast cancer and shift work on the basis of overweight and obesity among postmenopausal women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined this association using data from a case-control study carried between 2015 and 2019. The study involved 111 postmenopausal women with breast cancer and the same number of control participants. A self-reporting questionnaire was used for data collection. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to find correlations between variables and determine the strength of relationships. RESULTS: A 2.65-fold risk of breast cancer (OR=2.65; 95% CI: 1.34-5.22) was found among shift work women, compared with postmenopausal women not performing shift work. The association was modified by body mass index, showing a risk rate 9.84 times higher (OR=9.84; 95% CI: 2.14-45.19) among shift work and overweight women, compared to non-overweight women who had never been shift workers. CONCLUSIONS: About 49% of controls and 72% of cases had ever worked in a job that required shift work. The risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women is associated with shift work, especially among overweight women. Some preventive measures to reduce the risk of breast cancer, in particular regarding a healthy lifestyle and weight control in this group of working women, should be implemented.

Monkeypox (Mpox) and Occupational Exposure.

Recently, there has been a significant increase in interest in biological risk factors, which are increasingly perceived as an important problem in occupational medicine. Exposure to harmful biological agents may be associated with the deliberate use of microorganisms in the work process or with unintentional exposure resulting from the presence of biological risk factors in the work environment. Monkeypox (mpox) is a viral infectious disease that may afflict humans and non-human primates. Since May 2022, mpox has occurred in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and Africa, with some 76,713 cases (75,822 in locations that have not historically reported mpox) and 29 total deaths reported to date. Between 2018 and 2021, several cases of mpox were reported worldwide in high-income countries (Israel, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States: Texas and Maryland). We conducted a literature search in PubMed and Google Scholar web databases for occupational exposure to mpox. The highest work-related risk for mpox transmission has been noted among healthcare professionals, people working with animals, and sex workers. There is general agreement that a paramount issue to avoid transmission of infection in occupational settings is an appropriate decontamination of often-touched surfaces and usage of appropriate personal protective equipment by the workers at high risk of infection. The group that should especially protect themselves and be educated in the field of early symptoms of the disease and prevention are dentists, who are often the first to detect the symptoms of the disease on the oral mucosa.

Role of copeptin in diagnosis and outcome prediction in patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND/CONTEXT: Heart failure (HF) is a heterogeneous condition characterized by increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 studies was conducted to evaluate the role of copeptin in diagnosis and outcome prediction in HF patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic literature search for clinical trials reporting copeptin levels in HF patients was performed using EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, and Google Scholar. Articles from databases published by 2 January 2022, that met the selection criteria were retrieved and reviewed. The random effects model was used for analyses. RESULTS: Pooled analysis found higher mean copeptin levels in HF vs. non-HF populations (43.6 ± 46.4 vs. 21.4 ± 21.4; MD= 20.48; 95% CI: 9.22 to 31.74; p < 0.001). Pooled analysis of copeptin concentrations stratified by ejection fraction showed higher concentrations in HFrEF vs. HFpEF (17.4 ± 7.1 vs. 10.1 ± 5.5; MD= -4.69; 95% CI: -7.58 to -1.81; p = 0.001). Copeptin level was higher in patients with mortality/acute HF-related hospitalization vs. stable patients (31.3 ± 23.7 vs. 20.4 ± 12.8; MD= -13.06; 95% CI: -25.28 to -0.84; p = 0.04). Higher copeptin concentrations were associated with mortality and observed in all follow-up periods (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis showed that elevated copeptin plasma concentrations observed in HF patients are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, thus copeptin may serve as predictor of outcome in HF.

Could Self-Reported Body Sizes Be an Alternative Tool for Assessing Breast Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women?

BACKGROUND: The use of self-reported body size as an alternative tool to estimate body weight for health risk assessment is not widely reported, especially in relation to breast cancer. Therefore, we examined the association between breast cancer and body-mass index (BMI) and the usefulness of pictograms. METHODS: The case-control study was conducted among postmenopausal women from 2015 to 2019. The study involved 151 women with breast cancer and 67 control subjects. Data were collected by a self-reported detailed questionnaire. RESULTS: An increased, 4.13-fold risk of breast cancer (OR = 4.13; 95% CI [1.69, 10.28]) was observed for women with BMI 25.0-29.9 kg/m2 compared to women with normal BMI (18.5-24.9 kg/m2), whereas the association in the case of obese women was not statistically significant. An increased risk of breast cancer was observed for pictogram scores 3-4 (OR = 8.95; 95% CI [3.22, 24.88]) and for the highest level of self-reported body size, pictograms ≥ 5 (OR = 3.20; 95% CI [1.13, 9.09]). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of breast cancer is associated with an increased BMI and visual overweigh and obesity. The results suggest that a self-reporting alternative tool can be used to assess the prevalence of overweight/obesity, particularly in situations where no other tools are available.

How the Intensity of Night Shift Work Affects Breast Cancer Risk.

Background-In 2019, the IARC concluded that "night shift work is probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), based on limited evidence from human epidemiological studies and sufficient evidence of cancer and strong mechanistic evidence in experimental Animals." The negative health consequences of night shift work may depend on how the night shifts are scheduled. The aim of this study was to investigate how the characteristics of night work affect the risk of developing breast cancer. Methods-A case-control study was conducted in 2015-2019 in the Lodz region. The case group included 494 women with breast cancer, while the control group included 515 healthy women. Results-Night work was found to be the third most important factor regarding breast cancer after a high BMI and a short or no breastfeeding period and before factors such as early menstruation, late menopause, no pregnancy, and smoking. The harmful effects of night work were influenced by its intensity, frequency, rotation, and the number of night shift years worked. Night work increases the breast cancer risk by 2.34 times, and high-intensity night work increases the breast cancer risk by 2.66 times. Conclusions-Appropriate ergonomic recommendations for night shift work for employers should be considered.

Night Shift Work-A Risk Factor for Breast Cancer.

Shift work is considered a risk factor for some health problems. This study aimed to determine whether night shift work is a significant factor for breast cancer risk. The case-control study was conducted from 2015-2019 in the Lódz region. The case group included 494 women diagnosed with malignant breast cancer; the control group included 515 healthy women. The research tool was an anonymous questionnaire. In the case group, the percentage of women working shift work was 51.9%, whereas in the control group, it was 34.1% (OR = 2.08 (95% CI: 1.61; 2.69)). A more insightful examination of shift work showed that only night work has a significant impact on breast cancer (OR = 2.61 (95% CI: 1.94; 3.53)). Even after considering the effect of other possible cancer factors (like high BMI, smoking, early menstruation, late menopause, pregnancy history, age, place of living, education), the odds of developing cancer were twice as high in the group of shift workers (OR = 2.20 (95% CI: 1.57; 3.08)). Considering a significantly higher risk of cancer among people working at night and a high percentage of such employees in Poland, the government should consider special action in the prophylactic treatment of cancers.