Pawel Zagozdzon

• Medical University of Gdansk

Background Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is estimated to cause more than 9 million deaths worldwide yearly. Some risk factors for IDH may be associated with religiosity/spirituality. Objective The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and ischemic heart disease. Material and methods A total of 333 partici...

(1) Background: Haemorrhagic strokes (HS), including intracerebral (ICH) and subarachnoid haemorrhages (SAH), account for approximately 10–15% of strokes worldwide but are associated with worse functional outcomes and higher rates of mortality, and financial burden than ischemic stroke. There is evidence that confirmed poor air quality may increase...

Objective The Blue Whale Challenge (BWCh), widely reported as a media hoax in 2017, was allegedly an online game encouraging teenagers to commit suicide. Method Google Trends identified the peak interest in the BWCh in March 2017. Tweets containing ‘suicide’ were analyzed, with each tweet reviewed for personal suicidal content. Data on suicide att...

Introduction: Despite declining trends in the first two decades of the 21st century, Poland remains a country with relatively high suicide rates. Developing national suicide prevention programmes starts from analysing trends in suicide rates and identifying high risk groups. The aim of this study was to examine suicide epidemiology trends in Poland...

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge of conspiracy theories and misinformation proliferated across social media platforms. Recognizing the severity of the issue, medical associations began to regard it as a significant threat to public health systems. The objective of this study was to quantify the proportion of COVID-19 misinformation...

Dear Colleagues, According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health disorders are widespread, affecting approximately one in eight individuals worldwide. Anxiety disorders and depressive disorders are the most frequently observed conditions in both males and females. Mental illnesses are the primary contributor to years lived with disa...

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide. The burden of disability after a stroke is also large, and is increasing at a faster pace in low-income and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Alarmingly, the incidence of stroke is increasing in young and middle-aged people (ie, age <55 years) globally. Should these trends...

(1) Background: More than 1.8 million people in the European Union die every year as a result of CVD, accounting for 36% of all deaths with a large proportion being premature (before the age of 65). There are more than 300 different risk factors of CVD, known and air pollution is one of them. The aim of this study was to investigate whether daily c...

BACKGROUND The Blue Whale Challenge (BWCh) was a widely reported media hoax in 2017, presented as a online game that encouraged teenagers to commit suicide. The actual link between this internet phenomenon and the suicide remains doubtful. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to analyze the scale of BWCh interest and the suicidal content in polish T...

Background and objectives The potential role of antipsychotics in increasing cardiovascular risk of mortality is still debated. The aim of this study was to assess the death risk associated with sequences of first-generation antipsychotic (FGA) and second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) prescriptions, including clozapine and lithium, and drugs for c...

In this case–control study, we assessed differences in daily spiritual experiences between patients with breast cancer diagnoses and healthy controls in relation to other breast cancer risk factors. The participants were 201 newly diagnosed Polish patients with breast cancer (58 ± 6 years) and 201 age-matched healthy controls. Spiritual experiences...

Clozapine can cause severe adverse effects. Few epidemiologic studies have considered the effect of clozapine use in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to assess mortality in elderly patients treated with clozapine in comparison to patients treated with first- or second-generation antipsychotics. We conducted a retrospective cohort study i...

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine general and specific in-hospital mortality rates, and to identify mortality risk factors. Methods: The study included 15,997 medical records of subjects who have been hospitalized at the Hospital for Patients with Neurotic and Psychiatric Diseases in Starogard Gdanski in 2005-2012. The study was...

Focus of Presentation During pandemic the social life has been transformed by new regimes of social distancing, face masks, and altered online education. The aim of this presentation is to review the recent philosophical concepts of biopolitics that bring an additional perspective to the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings The most important critical resp...

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The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for breast cancer in the Polish population. In total, 201 Polish women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and 201 one-to-one age-matched healthy controls participated in this case-control study. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, reproductive and menstrual history, medical history, life...

Introduction Population ageing constitutes an increasing medical, social, and economic burden worldwide. Optimal senior policy should be based on well-assessed knowledge on the prevalence and control of age-related diseases, multimorbidity, disabilities, and their social determinants. The objective of this paper is to describe the assumptions, meth...

Introduction: Epidemiological studies show a fairly constant association between socioeconomic status and smoking. However, associations between smoking and biological indicators of health status have not been well described. Objectives: To determine the relationship between smoking, biochemical risk factors, and sociodemographic characteristics...

Background/aim: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women around the world and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women. The knowledge about modifiable risk factors, such as diet, can be an acceptable, cheap and non-pharmacological prevention tool. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between diet...

Introduction Recent research on elderly patients suggests that use of antipsychotics may increase risk of hospitalization or death. These drugs have significant side effect burdens, many of them relating to cardiovascular health. Few observational epidemiologic studies looked at rates of use of antipsychotic medication and associated mortality in e...

While breast cancer is the most common cancer in women around the world, it is necessary to know the nutritional factors that can have both protective and negative effects on the risk of breast cancer. Unfortunately, the results of the research still do not give a definite answer to the question: which food products or food ingredients reduce, and...

Since the introduction of second generation antipsychotics (SGA) their use have extended far beyond schizophrenia. With increased usage of these agents, particular attention has been paid to their metabolic and cardiac side effects. This narrative review is an attempt to briefly summarize conclusions from recently published systematic reviews on ca...

Background: Literature demonstrates that analysis of internet search data is a useful tool in predicting the occurrence of illnesses and health-related behaviors. The aim of the study was to quantitatively present the trends in Google searches for the keyword "suicide" and to analyze its correlation with the number of suicides in Poland. Subjects...

Background: Literature demonstrates that analysis of internet search data is a useful tool in predicting the occurrence of illnesses and health-related behaviors. The aim of the study was to quantitatively present the trends in Google searches for the keyword "suicide" and to analyze its correlation with the number of suicides in Poland. Subjects a...

Objectives: In recent years antipsychotics have been increasingly used in the population of children and adolescents. The objective of this article is to profile the use of antipsychotic medications in a pediatric population in Poland based on data from the Pomeranian region (Northern Poland). Methods: The study was based on National Health Fund...

Objectives Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disorder with unfavorable prognosis despite implementation of specific PAH-oriented therapy. The aim of the study was to define predictors of poor prognosis in patients from one center treated according to the Polish National Health Fund program. Patients and methods Forty-seven consecutiv...

Introduction Ischemic stroke (IS) still constitutes a serious problem for public health worldwide. The data on its burden in Poland before 2009 is limited and came only from a few metropolitan areas. The aims of the study were To assess temporal trends in the hospital admissions, treatment, and outcomes of IS in Poland in 2009–2013, to identify ri...

Objectives: Quality of life and needforsocial support in persons diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) are to a large extent determined by the degree of their disability. The aim of the study was to analyze an association between specific forms of MS, subjectively perceived quality of life and social support. Methods: The study included subject...

Tuberculous sclerosis complex patients experience a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders throughout their lifetime, including intellectual, neuropsychological, social, behavioural, academic, and psychiatric levels. This article describes the case of a 25-year-old male patient admitted to a mental health hospital after a suicide attempt. He was dia...

Approximately 50% of patients do not adhere to medical therapy. Religious and spiritual factors may play an important role in determining medication compliance in mental illness. The aim of this paper is to review published evidence documenting a relationship between religion/spirituality (R/S) and treatment adherence in mental illness, in particul...

Indoor air quality is strongly affected by the contamination of ambient air and that related to building and finishing materials and to human activity. Poor ventilation of closed spaces facilitates retention of greater quantity of pollutants. Infants and children are at particular risk of exposure to indoor air pollutants as they undergo rapid phys...

The presented study investigates and compares the estrogenic and androgenic activities of commonly used diesters of phthalic acid (phthalates) using the XenoScreen YES/YAS assay. Phthalates are commonly used plasticizers in polymers dedicated for i.e. food and drug containers. Since phthalates are not chemically bonded to the polymer, they can leac...

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) is a well established metabolic marker of cardiovascular risk, however, its role in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has not been determined. Therefore we assessed whether LDL-C levels are altered in PAH patients, if they are associated with survival in this group and whether pulmonary hypertension (P...

Background The role of antipsychotics in influencing mortality of patients with mental disorders is still unexplained. Objective The aim of this study was to determine mortality rates of patients treated with atypical and typical antipsychotics and to compare these data with the mortality rates for the general population. Methods The study was base...

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency, co-occurrence, and risk factors for hematological complications at the time of diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Methods: This study included 1237 patients with CHC aged 18-88 years diagnosed in the years 1998-2010 in the Pomeranian region of Poland. Clinical data, cell blood count, liver biopsy, and...

Mortality caused by coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke (IS) in Poland is still among the highest in Europe. Because acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and IS share major common risk factors, it would be expected that trends in long-term mortality (LTM) and incidence of these two diseases would be similar. Nevertheless, better AMI acute phase...

Objective: Homelessness is associated with increased risks of mortality but it’s relationship to unemployment has not been investigated in the context of economic transition in East European countries. The aim of this study was to assess the association between homelessness and survival in a population of unemployed individuals in one region of nor...

Objective: Available evidence suggests that inflammation may be associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). This prospective and observational study aimed to assess whether plasma neopterin (NPT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels before and after electrical cardioversion (CV) predict AF recurrence. Methods: The study was designed as a prospective ob...

The aim of this study was to analyze whether the insertion of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) during infancy is related to higher morbidity. Moreover, we analyzed the structure of indications to PEG placement in various age groups of pediatric patients. The study involved medical data of children after PEG insertion from six Polish endosc...

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the general population. There are numerous factors associated with the incidence and relapse of AF. It seems that some of them, such as neurohumoral changes, may affect AF-related atrial structural remodeling and lead to recurrence of AF. Objectives: The study aimed to asses...

The study included 17 healthy amateur, volunteer, male athletes (aged 42 ±15 years), taking part in a 100 km run on a flat route. The participants practiced long distance running recreationally, which distinguished them from professional athletes. However, all athletes used a similar training regimen: training sessions were not regular (especially...

Introduction The potential role of antipsychotic treatment in affecting suicide rates and in explaining the increased mortality due to somatic disorders is still debated. The aim of this study was to assess mortality in individuals who were prescribed typical and atypical neuroleptics in one voivodship in Poland. Methods We conducted a retrospecti...

Small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBBO) was diagnosed in 22.5% of 40 children treated for 3 months with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Compared with those without SBBO, children with SBBO had higher frequency of abdominal pain, bloating, eructation, and flatulence. Patients with gastrointestinal symptoms after PPI treatment should be evaluated for...

Background: Patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35% are eligible for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placement for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD). This recommendation results in continuously growing waiting lists of patients who have been qualified for and are awaiting the procedure. Whiled...

Background Following the economic changes in Poland, increasing health discrepancies were observed during a period of 20 years, which may be partly attributable to the consequences of unemployment.AimsTo assess the association between unemployment, major cardiovascular risk factors and mental health.MethodsA cross-sectional study in which data were...

Recanalisation of chronic total occlusion (CTO) of coronary artery can be reflected by improvement in various clinical parameters. Revealing an increased parasympathetic activity would constitute an additional argument for performing this procedure. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of CTO recanalisation on baroreflex sensitivity (BRS)...

Purpose: To investigate the dose-response association between Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) level in serum (uU/ml) and 30-year risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and its key risk factors in adolescents. Methods: A cohort of 562 participants from the Sopkard 15 regional prevention program (mean age 14.1±0.1 years) had their TSH level, blood pr...

In this paper we present the study of the incidence of hepatitis B and C among health care workers in the Pomorskie voivodeship in the years 1999-2009. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between the certified occupational HCV and HBV infections and the age and duration of employment of infected health care workers. To analyze the...

Background The majority of studies show a substantially higher consumption of anxiolytics and antidepressants among women than among men and in the age bracket above 45 years. Aims To analyse association between the use of hypnotics/anxiolytics, and various characteristics of Polish women, including health-related quality of life. Method One thou...

Introduction: Recently, an increase has been observed in the number of patients suffering from diseases which are the consequence of an anti-health life style; therefore it is necessary to undertake proper actions in this area, including those addressed to hospital staff. Objectives: 1) Comparison of self-reported state of health and life style...

The relationship between religion and health has been the subject of growing interest in epidemiological research. The aim of this paper is to review the data on relationship between health-related behaviors associated with religiosity and reduced mortality and morbidity. In this review beneficial effects of religiosity on specific physical and men...

The purpose of this population-based study was to analyse the association between the health-related quality of life and rural residence among Polish females, including variables related to social environment and clinical characteristics. The snowball recruitment method was used to invite 1,560 women aged 45-60 to participate in the study. Particip...

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between P-wave duration on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiographic parameters of atrial electromechanical delay (EMD), as well as contraction synchrony during different atrial pacing modalities. Methods: In 57 patients with sinus node disease and prolonged sinus P-wav...

The application of molecular methods has enhanced and enlarged the diagnostics of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and its carriership. It allows for reliable epidemiological studies which are of importance to demography and genetic counseling. This study sought to evaluate the incidence of SMA in Poland, on the basis of the prevalence of the SMN1 gen...

Introduction: Malnutrition is associated with many chronic diseases in children. Chronically ill children with stated risk of malnutrition should be nutritionally treated. Aim of the study was evaluation of the efficiency and safety of home enteral nutrition in chronically ill children. Material and methods: We performed retrospective analysis of h...

Optimal right ventricular (RV) pacing site in patients referred for permanent cardiac pacing remains controversial. A prospective randomized trial was done to compare long-term effect of permanent RV apex (RVA) vs RV outflow tract (RVOT) pacing on the all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. A total of 122 consecutive patients (70 men, 69 +/-11 year...

Investigation of which atrial pacing modality provides atrial synchrony and the most physiological atrial contraction pattern in patients with brady-tachycardia syndrome. Fifteen healthy subjects and 57 patients with sinus node dysfunction, atrial fibrillation recurrences, and prolonged P-wave on the electrocardiogram treated with multisite atrial...

There were few reports about the relationship between unemployment and mortality in Central Eastern European countries experiencing economic transition. This study measures overall and cause-specific mortality rates in 47,247 subjects registered as unemployed in Danzig City and Danzig County for the period of 1999 and 2004 and compares them with th...

Since many people with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are asymptomatic, the occurrence of HCV infection and the role of risk factors among the health-care workers in Poland is unknown and not yet investigated. In order to determine the risk of HCV infection with regard to different occupational exposures and medical history, we carried o...

The quality assessment of the prophylactic examinations of employees in the context of professional qualifications of physicians, presented by the authors, distinguished four groups of physicians legally entitled to conduct these examinations: physicians specialized in occupational medicine or with equivalent specializations, general practitioners...

The aim of the study was to investigate far field R-wave sensing (FFRS) rate and characteristics at different right atrial (RA) positions in patients treated with multisite atrial pacing, with the RA lead implanted at the Bachmann's bundle (BB) area in 69 patients, in comparison to RA appendage (RAA) in 70 patients. All measurements were done durin...

The aim of the study was to assess efficacy and safety of a novel method of multisite atrial pacing, incorporating Bachmann's bundle (BB) and coronary sinus (CS) ostium pacing, which was implemented for the first time in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with intra-atrial conduction delay. This follow-up study included 97 patients with drug refract...

Descriptive epidemiology characterises frequency of appearance of given event (here decease) in dependence of many factors concerning a person, region or time of existence of given salubrious phenomena. The source of information was the official death registry that provides complete records of all deaths that took place in Pomeranian province. This...

The aim of the present work is the comparison of the health of the population in the Pomorskie Region (Voivodship) and Poland with that in European Union Countries, through an estimation of the mortality due to malignant tumors. In the Pomorskie Voivodship, the highest death-rate due to malignant carcinoma has been found among residents of large ci...

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent the first cause of morality in Poland. The main reasons are high prevalence and low detectability of main risk factors: arterial hypertension, diabetes and hyprelipidaemia. Epidemiological data indicate that the worst situation affects small town and village communities. For that reason the lead...

Recently, multisite atrial pacing has been suggested as an alternative therapy to prevent recurrences of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). A study was conducted to compare the acute effects of biatrial (BiA), left atrial (LA), and right atrial appendage (RAA) pacing on cardiac hemodynamics. In 14 patients with PAF and a BiA pacemaker (with lead...

The coronary disease is nowadays one of the main causes of death in Poland. To fight epidemy of the coronary disease, not only the prevention and proper treatment are necessary, but the sufficient availability of the diagnostic methods, as well. The aim of our work was to evaluate the availability of coronarography among the patients from Northern...

From public health perspective cardiovascular diseases are the major challenge in Poland. Monitoring the risk of death and its spatial variation is important tool in the assessment of environmental determinants of health. Crude and age-standardized cardiovascular mortality in the period of 1999-2001 in TriCity (Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia) was assessed i...

The relationship between social factors and health status is well known in medical sciences. However, the importance of methods implemented in the assessment of psychosocial health determinants has been addressed only recently. The combined perspective of epidemiology and sociology showed the need for the new science called social epidemiology. The...

Introduction: The aim of the study was to analyse stored intracardiac electrograms to examine the mechanisms initiating ventricular arrhythmias. Material and methods: We studied data from 135 consecutive patients with implanted ICD (Phylax - Biotronik). During mean follow-up of 24 months 468 episodes of ventricular arrhythmias were stored in ICD of...

Mechanisms inducing malignant ventricular arrhythmias — analysis of the electrograms stored in Holter memory of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators Introduction: The aim of the study was to analyse stored intracardiac electrograms to exam-ine the mechanisms initiating ventricular arrhythmias.