Prevalence of Carcinogenic Genotypes of HPV-Infected Women in a Ten-Year Period (2014-2023) in Vojvodina, Serbia.

Background and Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its etiological role in the development of cervical cancer are well established. The cervical cancer mortality rate in Serbia is one of the highest among European countries, and this cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Serbian women aged from 15 to 44. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina. A total of 10,062 cervical specimens from Serbian women were collected and HPV tested in ten years. The study patients were divided into five age groups. HPV genotype testing was performed using a commercial kit to detect 14 high-risk (HR) HPV genotypes. Additionally, cervix cytology data have been available for patients tested in 2022 and 2023. Results: An overall positive rate was found in 43.3% of patients (4356/10,062). A single HPV infection (62.1%) was the main infection pattern. The most frequent HR HPV genotypes were HPV 16, 31, 52, 56, 39, and 51, comprising 62.3% of the detected genotypes, including multiple infections. A significant difference was noted in the HPV prevalence across the different age groups, with a bimodal distribution of HPV infection. The highest prevalence was recorded in the age group ≤ 30 and those after 61 years. Women diagnosed with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) were significantly older compared to others. HR HPV is the most prevalent in patients with HSIL cytological findings (76.5%). The most common type, according to age-specific distribution and cytological findings, was HR HPV 16. Conclusions: This study provides comprehensive data on HR HPV distribution among Serbian women, which can serve as a basis for subsequent monitoring of genotypic distribution. It is particularly significant considering they are missing in the updated ICO/IARC Report for Serbia, and the cervical cancer mortality rate in Serbia is one of the highest among European countries.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene services in health care facilities in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

Provision of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities is a priority at the global, national, and local levels. To inform improvements planning, conditions of WASH, waste management, and environmental cleaning were assessed in 81 facilities in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia, as part of a nationally representative survey in 2019. The survey included on-site checks, structured interviews, and drinking-water quality analysis. WHO/UNICEF indicators for WASH service levels and an advanced service level defined at the national level were applied. The results showed that all investigated facilities provided basic water services; 94% of facilities provided basic hygiene and waste management services; 58 and 2%, respectively, provided basic cleaning and sanitation services. Only 1% of investigated facilities met the basic level for all five WASH dimensions. Advanced service levels were only met for hygiene, waste management, and/or cleaning in 15-38% of facilities. In 33% of health care facilities, drinking-water quality was not in compliance with the national standards. The results revealed that there is a need for increased awareness and efforts to ensure basic provisions for sanitation, environmental cleaning, and drinking-water safety.

Purple Urine Bag Syndrome in a Home-Dwelling Elderly Female with Lumbar Compression Fracture: A Case Report.

Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is an uncommon, but usually benign, underrecognized clinical condition with the distressing presentation of purple, blue or reddish discoloration of a patient's catheter bag and tubing in the setting of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (UTIs). PUBS is the result of the complex metabolic pathway of the dietary essential amino acid tryptophan. Its urinary metabolite, indoxyl sulfate, is converted into red and blue byproducts (indirubin and indigo) in the presence of the bacterial enzymes indoxyl sulfatase and phosphatase. The typical predisposing factors are numerous and include the following: female gender, advanced age, long-term catheterization and immobilization, constipation, institutionalization, dementia, increased dietary intake of tryptophan, chronic kidney disease, alkaline urine, and spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, we present a case of PUBS in a home-dwelling elderly female patient with a history of long-term immobility after a pathological spinal fracture, long-term catheterization, constipation, and malignant disease in remission. Urine culture was positive for Proteus mirabilis. This state can be alarming to both patients and physicians, even if the patient is asymptomatic. Healthcare professionals and caregivers need to be aware of this unusual syndrome as an indicator of bacteriuria in order to initiate proper diagnostics and treatment.

Short-term health effects of air quality changes during the COVID­19 pandemic in the City of Novi Sad, the Republic of Serbia.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this research is to determine the change in outdoor air quality during the COVID­19 related state of emergency resulting in a lockdown and the potential health benefits for the urban population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During 53 days of the COVID­19 related state of emergency with a lockdown (March 15-May 6, 2020) in the Republic of Serbia, as well as in the corresponding periods of 2018 and 2019, data on the daily sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ground-level ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations were analyzed. The total mortality data were analyzed to estimate the impact of the COVID­19 related lockdown measures on the burden of health in a given population, attributed to the outdoor air quality in the City of Novi Sad, using AirQ+ software. RESULTS: The average daily concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, PM10 and SO2 were reduced by 35%, 34%, 23% and 18%, respectively. In contrast, the average daily concentration of O3 increased by 8%, even if the primary precursors were reducing, thus representing a challenge for air quality management. In the City of Novi Sad, a reduction in the average daily PM2.5 concentration of 11.23 µg/m³ was significant, which resulted in a quantified number of avoided deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution in the City of Novi Sad had a chance to be improved due to some preventive measures related to the infectious disease (the COVID­19 related lockdown), which in turn was the mitigation measure to air pollution with positive public health effects. The confirmed positive effects of the improved air quality on public health could also include raising collective resistance to mass non-communicable and infectious diseases such as COVID­19 and reducing economic costs. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(2):223-37.

The effect of age on mechanisms of exercise tolerance: Reduced arteriovenous oxygen difference causes lower oxygen consumption in older people.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of age on mechanisms of exercise tolerance. METHODS: Prospective observational study recruited 71 healthy individuals divided into two groups according to their age i.e. younger (≤40 years of age, N = 43); and older (≥55 years of age, N = 28). All participants underwent maximal graded cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing using cycle ergometer with simultaneous non-invasive gas-exchange and central haemodynamic measurements. Using the Fick equation, arteriovenous O2 difference was calculated as the ratio between measured O2 consumption and cardiac output. RESULTS: The mean age of younger and older participants was 26.0 ± 5.7 years, and 65.1 ± 6.6 years respectively. Peak O2 consumption was significantly lower in older compared to the younger age group (18.8 ± 5.2 vs 34.4 ± 9.8 mL/kg/min, p < 0.01). Peak exercise cardiac output and cardiac index were not significantly different between the younger and older age groups (22.7 ± 5.0 vs 22.1 ± 3.9 L/min, p = 0.59; and 12.4 ± 2.9 vs 11.8 ± 1.9 L/min/m2, p = 0.29). Despite demonstrating significantly lower peak heart rate by 33 beats/min (129 ± 18.3 vs 162 ± 19.9, p < 0.01), older participants demonstrated significantly higher stroke volume and stroke volume index compared to the younger age group (173 ± 41.5 vs 142 ± 34.9 mL/min, p < 0.01; and 92.1 ± 18.1 vs 78.3 ± 19.5 mL/m2, p < 0.01). Arteriovenous O2 difference was significantly lower in older compared to younger age group participants (9.01 ± 3.0 vs 15.8 ± 4.3 mlO2/100 mL blood, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Ability of skeletal muscles to extract delivered oxygen represented by reduced arteriovenous O2 difference at peak exercise appears to be the key determinant of exercise tolerance in healthy older individuals.

Salt Content in Ready-to-Eat Food and Bottled Spring and Mineral Water Retailed in Novi Sad.

INTRODUCTION: Salt intake above 5 g/person/day is a strong independent risk factor for hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Published studies indicate that the main source of salt in human diet is processed ready-to-eat food, contributing with 65-85% to daily salt intake. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to present data on salt content of ready-to-eat food retailed in Novi Sad, Serbia, and contribution of the salt contained in 100 g of food to the recommended daily intake of salt for healthy and persons with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. METHODS: In 1,069 samples of ready-to-eat food, salt (sodium chloride) content was calculated based on chloride ion determined by titrimetric method, while in 54 samples of bottled water sodium content was determined using flame-photometry. Food items in each food group were categorized as low, medium or high salt. Average salt content of each food group was expressed as a percentage of recommended daily intake for healthy and for persons with CVD risk. RESULTS: Average salt content (g/100 g) ranged from 0.36 ± 0.48 (breakfast cereals) to 2.32 ± 1.02 (grilled meat). The vast majority of the samples of sandwiches (91.7%), pizza (80.7%), salami (73.9%), sausages (72.9%), grilled meat (70.0%) and hard cheese (69.6%) had a high salt profile. Average amount of salt contained in 100 g of food participated with levels ranging from 7.2% (breakfast cereals) to 46.4% (grilled meat) and from 9.6% to 61.8% in the recommended daily intake for healthy adult and person with CVD risk, respectively. Average sodium content in 100 ml of bottled spring and mineral water was 0.33 ± 0.30 mg and 33 ± 44 mg, respectively. CONCLUSION: Ready-to-eat food retailed in Novi Sad has high hidden salt content, which could be considered as an important contributor to relatively high salt consumption of its inhabitants.

The impact of obesity on early mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND/AIM: It had been suggested that elevated body mass index (BMI) is a beneficial and preventive factor when it comes to the outcome for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). At the same time, obesity is strongly associated with coronary artery disease development. The aim of this study was to determine the significance of the obesity paradox in patients referred for CABG and to examine if a relationship exists between obesity and early coronary surgery outcome. METHODS: This study comparised 791 patients who had undergone isolated CABG over one year period (year 2010). The average age of patients was 62.33 +/- 8.12 years and involved 568 (71.8%) male and 223 (28.2%) female patients, while the mean logistic EuroSCORE was 3.42%. The patients were categorized into three distinct groups based on their BMI: I - BMI < 24.9 kg/m2; II - BMI 25-30 kg/m2; III - BMI > 30 kg/m2. Regression analysis was conducted to determine whether BMI was an independent predictor of early mortality after CABG. RESULTS: The majority of the cohort could be categorized as overweight (490/o) or obese (30%). There was no association between BMI and gender (p = 0.398). The overall early mortality was 2.15% (1.85% in the group I, 2.06% in the group II and 2.51% in the group III; p = 0.869). Univariate analysis showed that obesity cannot be regarded as an independent risk factor for early mortality following CABG (odds ratio 1.021, 95% confidence interval 0.910-1.145, p = 0.724). Duration of in-hospital period following the surgery was comparable within the BMI groups (p = 0.502). CONCLUSION: Compared to non-obese patients, overweight and obese individuals have similar early mortality rate following CABG. This study can substantiate the presence of obesity paradox only in terms that elevated BMI patients have comparable outcome with non-obese. Further research is needed to delineate potential underlying mechanisms that set off obesity to protective factor for coronary surgery.