ABSTRACT Background: Electronic cigarettes are used to deliver nicotine to consumers. E-cigarettes are claimed to be an alternative method for smoking cessation. The use of electronic cigarettes is increasing among young people, especially current and former smokers. It is unknown what the harm or benefit that result from e-cigarettes’ use of the individuals on the well-being. Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the prevalence of e-cigarettes use and exposure among college-based health care students. Also to assess the awareness level and beliefs in regard to electronic cigarettes use among the college-based health care students. Methods: 217 college-based health care undergraduate students from nursing, nutrition and respiratory therapy programs were surveyed in this study. The survey was composed of 17 questions in regards to the awareness, prevalence of e-cigarettes use and beliefs about e-cigarettes use. The data analysis included descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA. A significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The response rate was 98.1%, 87% of the respondents were female and 70% were between the ages of 19-25 years. Most of the respondents were nursing students (47.5%); followed by nutrition students (29.5%); and respiratory therapy students (23%). Most of the respondents were non-smokers (83.4%); former smokers were 13.8%; and smokers were 2.8%. Almost all the respondents had heard of e-cigarettes (99.5%), and 21.2% had tried e-cigarettes at least once in their lifetime. The mean awareness score was 5.1 (SD 0.11); smokers showed the highest mean awareness score of 6.0±2.28. The majority of the participants disagreed that e-cigarettes are less dangerous than traditional cigarettes or can help smokers to quit; and more than half of the participants disagreed that e-cigarettes are used only by smokers. There was a significant difference among male (5.71±1.51) and female (5.03±1.71) in regards to the e-cigarettes awareness level (p=0.047). The awareness level was significantly different among respondents who had previously used e-cigarettes (5.63±1.49) than participants who have not tried e-cigarettes at least once during their lifetime (4.98±1.72) (p=0.021) Conclusion: This study found that most of the students in the college of nursing and health professions were not e-cigarettes’ users. People who have tried e-cigarettes, have friends who have tried e-cigarettes as well. Furthermore, curiosity is the major reason that led them to try e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes’ awareness is high among smokers and e-cigarettes’ users; older students seem to have higher awareness than younger students. There were general disagreements on the use of e-cigarettes as a less dangerous alternative to tobacco cigarettes to help smokers to quit. Finally, male and female participants showed significant differences in their awareness of e-cigarettes.

Objective: to assess the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and spondyloarthropathy (SpA) in Vilnius, Lithuania. Methods: 3 prevalence studies were conducted: 1. Registry-based study of the prevalence of RA and SLE; 2. Population-based study of the prevalence of RA and SLE (interview conducted by mail); 3. Poulation-based study of the prevalence of RA and SpA (interview conducted by telephone). Results: according to the Vilnius RA and SLE registry, the prevalence of RA in Vilnius at the end of year 2004 was 0,14% (95% CI 0,13-0,15), and the prevalence of SLE was 0,0174% or 17,4/100 000 (95% CI 0,0137-0,0218). The population-based study, conducted by mail, revealed 15 RA and 2 SLE cases, accounting for a prevalence rate of RA of 0,37% (95% CI 0,21-0,62), and a prevalence of SLE rate of 0,0498% (95% CI 0,006-0,180). The standardized prevalence rate according to age and sex in the Vilnius population showed an RA prevalence of 0,32% (95% CI 0,18-0,57). The population-based study, conducted be telephone, detected 16 RA and 13 SpA cases, resulting in a crude prevalence of 0,76% (95% CI 0,44-1,24) for RA and 0,62% (95% CI 0,33-1,06) for SpA. The standardized prevalence rate according to age and sex in the Vilnius population showed an RA prevalence of 0,51% (95% CI 0,29-0,96) and a SpA prevalence of – 0,75% (95% CI 0,38-1,40). / Darbo tikslas: nustatyti reumatoidinio artrito (RA), seronegatyvių spondiloartropatijų (SpA) bei sisteminės raudonosios vilkligės (SRV) paplitimą Vilniaus mieste. Darbo metodika: Buvo atlikti 3 tyrimai: 1. RA ir SRV paplitimo Vilniaus mieste apskaičiavimas, remiantis Vilniaus miesto RA ir SRV sergančių asmenų duomenų baze; 2. RA ir SRV paplitimo Vilniaus mieste populiacinis tyrimas, apklausiant Vilniaus miesto gyventojus paštu; 3. RA ir SpA paplitimo Vilniaus mieste populiacinis tyrimas, apklausiant Vilniaus miesto gyventojus telefonu. Rezultatai: remiantis Vilniaus miesto RA ir SRV sergančiųjų duomenų baze, RA paplitimas Vilniaus mieste 2004m. pabaigoje buvo 0,14% (95% PI 0,13-0,15). Apskaičiuotas SRV paplitimas Vilniuje 2004m. pabaigoje buvo 0,0174% arba 17,4/100 000 gyventojų (95% PI 0,0137-0,0218). Atlikus RA ir SRV paplitimo tyrimą (apklausą paštu), nustatyta, kad RA paplitimas Vilniuje yra 0,37% (95% PI 0,21-0,62), o SRV paplitimas – 0,0498% (95% PI 0,006-0,180). RA paplitimas buvo standartizuotas pagal amžių ir lytį, remiantis 2004m. pradžios Vilniaus miesto populiacija, apskaičiuotas standartizuotas RA paplitimas yra 0,32% (95% PI 0,18-0,57). Atlikus RA ir SpA paplitimo tyrimą (apklausą telefonu), apskaičiuotas RA paplitimas buvo 0,76% (95% PI 0,44-1,24), o SpA paplitimas - 0,62% (95% PI 0,33-1,06). RA ir SpA paplitimas buvo standartizuotas pagal amžių ir lytį, remiantis 2004m. pradžios Lietuvos populiacija, apskaičiuotas standartizuotas RA paplitimas yra 0,51% (95%... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Darbo tikslas: nustatyti reumatoidinio artrito (RA), seronegatyvių spondiloartropatijų (SpA) bei sisteminės raudonosios vilkligės (SRV) paplitimą Vilniaus mieste. Darbo metodika: Buvo atlikti 3 tyrimai: 1. RA ir SRV paplitimo Vilniaus mieste apskaičiavimas, remiantis Vilniaus miesto RA ir SRV sergančių asmenų duomenų baze; 2. RA ir SRV paplitimo Vilniaus mieste populiacinis tyrimas, apklausiant Vilniaus miesto gyventojus paštu; 3. RA ir SpA paplitimo Vilniaus mieste populiacinis tyrimas, apklausiant Vilniaus miesto gyventojus telefonu. Rezultatai: remiantis Vilniaus miesto RA ir SRV sergančiųjų duomenų baze, RA paplitimas Vilniaus mieste 2004m. pabaigoje buvo 0,14% (95% PI 0,13-0,15). Apskaičiuotas SRV paplitimas Vilniuje 2004m. pabaigoje buvo 0,0174% arba 17,4/100 000 gyventojų (95% PI 0,0137-0,0218). Atlikus RA ir SRV paplitimo tyrimą (apklausą paštu), nustatyta, kad RA paplitimas Vilniuje yra 0,37% (95% PI 0,21-0,62), o SRV paplitimas – 0,0498% (95% PI 0,006-0,180). RA paplitimas buvo standartizuotas pagal amžių ir lytį, remiantis 2004m. pradžios Vilniaus miesto populiacija, apskaičiuotas standartizuotas RA paplitimas yra 0,32% (95% PI 0,18-0,57). Atlikus RA ir SpA paplitimo tyrimą (apklausą telefonu), apskaičiuotas RA paplitimas buvo 0,76% (95% PI 0,44-1,24), o SpA paplitimas - 0,62% (95% PI 0,33-1,06). RA ir SpA paplitimas buvo standartizuotas pagal amžių ir lytį, remiantis 2004m. pradžios Lietuvos populiacija, apskaičiuotas standartizuotas RA paplitimas yra 0,51% (95%... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Objective: to assess the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and spondyloarthropathy (SpA) in Vilnius, Lithuania. Methods: 3 prevalence studies were conducted: 1. Registry-based study of the prevalence of RA and SLE; 2. Population-based study of the prevalence of RA and SLE (interview conducted by mail); 3. Poulation-based study of the prevalence of RA and SpA (interview conducted by telephone). Results: according to the Vilnius RA and SLE registry, the prevalence of RA in Vilnius at the end of year 2004 was 0,14% (95% CI 0,13-0,15), and the prevalence of SLE was 0,0174% or 17,4/100 000 (95% CI 0,0137-0,0218). The population-based study, conducted by mail, revealed 15 RA and 2 SLE cases, accounting for a prevalence rate of RA of 0,37% (95% CI 0,21-0,62), and a prevalence of SLE rate of 0,0498% (95% CI 0,006-0,180). The standardized prevalence rate according to age and sex in the Vilnius population showed an RA prevalence of 0,32% (95% CI 0,18-0,57). The population-based study, conducted be telephone, detected 16 RA and 13 SpA cases, resulting in a crude prevalence of 0,76% (95% CI 0,44-1,24) for RA and 0,62% (95% CI 0,33-1,06) for SpA. The standardized prevalence rate according to age and sex in the Vilnius population showed an RA prevalence of 0,51% (95% CI 0,29-0,96) and a SpA prevalence of – 0,75% (95% CI 0,38-1,40).

Bakgrund: Fotboll är en sport som präglas av knäskador, muskelbristningar och stukningar. Mycket fokus ligger kring hur man på bästa sätt kan undvika och förebygga att ens främsta resurs, spelarna, undviker att bli skadade och på bästa sätt kan producera resultat för klubben de tillhör. Studier har visat på att skadeprevalens är något som ökar i och med en ökad träningsmängd och att många skador är en följd av både muskelsvaghet och fel sorts träning. Många av dessa undersökningar menar på att man i dagsläget tränar fel och att träningen mer måste fokuseras på de fysiska krav som ställs inom den idrott man utövar, i detta fall fotboll. Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning har varit att se om det finns någon korrelation mellan typ av träning, träningsmängd och skadeprevalens inom herrfotboll. Metod: Studiens syfte har besvarats med hjälp av en strukturerad enkät som skickats ut via en web-länk till aktivt fotbollspelande män. Undersökningen har involverat 100 respondenter från olika divisioner. All data som samlats in har analyserats i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat: Resultatet som framkom visade på att det enbart fanns en signifikant korrelation mellan hur mycket respondenterna tränade styrketräning på egen hand och hur ofta de var skadade (P = 0,02). Diskussion/Slutsats: Det spelar ingen roll hur mycket man tränar kollektivt samt hur pass mycket man tränar kondition på egen hand när det handlar om skadeprevention. Det som visade sig signifikant var att skadeprevalensen minskade linjärt med en förhöjd individuell styrketräningsdos. / Background: Soccer is a sport that´s characterized by knee-injuries, muscle-strains and sprains. There´s a lot of time and energy being spent on preventing your most important resource, the players, from being injured and keeping them on the field, so that they can produce results for the club.  Previous studies have shown that injuries occur more often due to an increased training-dosage and that most of the injuries occur due to muscle-weakness and improper training. Many of these studies are arguing that teams need to change how they conduct their training and that they need to be more specific to the sport, in this case soccer. Objective: The purpose of this survey was to see if there´s a correlation between what you´re training, how much you´re training and the prevalence of injury in male soccer. Method: This has been done using a structured questionnaire (survey) that’s been shared using a web-link that’s been sent out to active soccer-playing men. The study has consisted of 100 soccer-players from different divisions. All the data has been processed in the statistical program SPSS. Results: The results only showed significant correlations between how often the players trained individual strength-training and the prevalence of injury (P = 0,02). Discussion/conclusion: The results showed that there wasn’t any significant correlation between how often you train collectively ore how often you train cardio by yourself. The only significant result showed that there was a linear correlation between the prevalence of injury and how often you do individual resistance training.

Tyrimo tikslas – aprašyti bendruosius virusinių hepatitų, ŽIV ir kitų lytiškai plintančių infekcijų dėsningumus ir įvertinti HAV, HBV, HCV infekcijos paplitimą neatlygintinų kraujo donorų, duodančių pirmą kartą kraują, populiacijoje. Metodika. Tyrimui vykdyti gautas Vilniaus regioninio biomedicininių tyrimų etikos komiteto leidimas. Atlikta pirmą kartą neatlygintinai duodančių kraujo donorų anoniminė anketinė apklausa VŠĮ Nacionaliniame kraujo centre. Imunofermentiniu metodu buvo nustatomi: anti-HAV ir anti-HCV, anti-HBcor, anti-HBs, HBsAg. Nukleino rūgščių amplifikacijos testas taikytas HBV DNR ir HCV RNR nustatymui. Įvertinant ŽIV ir kitų lytiškai plintančių infekcijų ir virusinių hepatitų tendencijas buvo taikytas Mantel‘io testas ir paprastoji tiesinė regresija. Virusinių hepatitų serologinių žymenų paplitimas išreiškiamas procentais, įverčio tikslumui įvertinti apskaičiuotas pasikliautinis intervalas (PI) 95%, kategorinių duomenų analizei panaudotas χ² testas ir Fišerio tikslusis testas. Rizikos veiksnių įtaką vertinta taikant binarinę logistinę regresiją. Duomenų suderinamumui vertinti pasirinktas Hosmer‘io-Lemeshow‘o χ2 suderinamumo kriterijus. Vertinant, kaip modelio teoriniai dydžiai atitinka realiuosius, naudotas Cox’o ir Snell’o kriterijus, klasifikacinė analizuojamų požymių lentelė. Veiksnių įtaka įvertinta panaudojant šansų santykį su 95 % PI. Skirtumas statistiškai reikšmingas, kai p ≤ 0,05. Rezultatai. Tyrime dalyvavo 200 kraujo donorų. Analizei... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim: to describe epidemiology of the viral hepatitis A, B, C, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STD) and to estimate prevalence of HAV, HBV, HCV infections among first time non-remunerated blood donors population. Methodology: The study received approval from Vilnius Regional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee. First time non-remunerated blood donors participated in anonymous questionnaire survey in NGO National Blood Center. For anti-HAV, anti-HCV, anti-HBs, anti-Hbcor and HBsAg detection was used immunoenzyme method and for HBV DNR ir HCV RNR - nucleic acid amplification test. The Mantel trend test and linear regression method was used to evaluate the trend of viral hepatitis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The prevalence of viral hepatitis serological markers was expressed in percentage points, the precision was evaluated at the confidence intervals (CI) of 95%, the comparison of categorical data was made using χ2 test and Fisher‘s exact test. For data analysis the following tests were used: for the risk factors – binary logistic regression; goodness of fit – Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 test; Cox and Snell R Square, Classification Table. The statistical significance level p ≤ 0.05. Results: A total of 200 respondents haven been interviewed. Only 188 first time non-remunerated blood donors were selected for further analysis. Respondents minimum of age was 18 and maximum - 52 (Mean=22,6; Med=20,0), 47,9 % (n=90) of them were males, 52,1... [to full text]

Smoking rates among senior students have been related to smoking initiation in younger students. Opportunities to select smoking friends may be one explanation, however our understanding of this process has been limited by cross-sectional designs. <br ><br /> The purpose of this longitudinal study was to determine whether senior student smoking rates a) predict smoking initiation in younger elementary school students, controlling for individual exposure to family and friends who smoke and b) are related to the selection of smoking friends, increasing risk of smoking initiation as a result. <br ><br /> This study involved secondary data analysis of 2798 students from 84 Ontario elementary schools involved with the Third Waterloo Smoking Prevention Project (WSPP3). Grade 8 students completed a questionnaire at baseline to obtain the percentage of senior students who smoke in each school. Students in grade 6 completed a similar questionnaire at baseline, and were surveyed again in grades 7 and 8. Multilevel regression analyses were used to examine school and individual characteristics simultaneously. <br ><br /> Each 5% increase in the senior student smoking rate at a school increased the risk that a non-smoking grade 6 student would try smoking more than once by grade 8 (OR 1. 05) and that a non-smoking grade 6 student with no smoking friends would gain a smoking friend by grade 7 (OR 1. 10). Students who remained non-smokers in grade 7 but gained a smoking friend were more likely to try smoking more than once by grade 8 (OR 4. 31). <br ><br /> In schools where a high proportion of senior students smoked, younger students were more likely to initiate smoking, and gain a smoking friend. Anti-smoking policies and interventions may be more urgently required in these schools to lower senior student smoking rates and reduce initiation among younger students. Tailoring the intensity and content of programs to match the needs of schools is one way to potentially maximize effectiveness.

Previous studies have established that for some people a typical day at work starts with immense feelings of distress, anxiety and irritability caused by workplace bullying. Not only does bullying behaviour in the workplace have a negative impact on a person’s professional life, but it is also detrimental to the effectiveness of the organisation. A survey focussing on the perceived exposure to bullying and victimisation in the workplace was administered to a sample of 159 employees employed by a mine in Mpumalanga. The results uncovered that more than a quarter of the participants reported that they had experienced workplace bullying. The study also discovered that line managers experienced more negative acts than senior managers. While those who only experience a brief spell of bullying behaviour at work survive their experience relatively unscathed, previous studies have also indicated that others are affected in a significant physical and psychological way. In conclusion this study determined that workplace bullying is an actual occurrence, not only internationally but also in South Africa. Employees and employers can therefore only benefit from understanding this unique workplace phenomenon. This article provides the opportunity for employed people to recognise the nature and prevalence of workplace bullying in order to prevent it from becoming a silent epidemic. Researchers generally accept that bullying is behaviour that is aggressive or negative and carried out repeatedly. Previous research established that bullying can occur in any context where people interact. This article open by synthesising a conceptual framework of negative acts as an interactive form of organisational behaviour from the available literature. Empirical research was done in order to investigate the prevalence of negative acts. The study found that more than a quarter of the participants had experienced bullying at some stage during their career with managers and supervisors predominantly reported as the perpetrators. The study also found that behaviour that tends to isolate individuals was generally reported as the most frequently experienced form of negative acts. By understanding workplace bullying both employers will be able to implement influence strategies aimed at dealing with this workplace phenomenon at levels of protection, intervention and dispute resolution. In conclusion it has been established that workplace bullying is not only a real problem in international workplaces, but also in South Africa. This means that employers not only have to cope with the consequences of employees performing badly but also behaving badly. This article presents an opportunity to understand negative behaviour in the workplace. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The application of multiple medications has successively increased during a number of years and has thereby increased the potential risks of adverse drug reactions, interactions and non-adherence to drug therapy. This may result in unnecessary health expenditure, directly due to redundant drug sales, and indirectly due to the increased hospitalization caused by drug-related problems. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the occurrence and development of drug use, multiple medication, and polypharmacy in an entire national population by using individual-based data on dispensed drugs. The studies (I-V) in the thesis are based on data of dispensed prescription drugs for up to 6.2 million individuals obtained from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. The data in the studies cover different periods of time between July 2005-Sept 2008, and the data have been analyzed on the basis of epidemiological measures and statistical methods. The major conclusions of the studies are: the prevalence of dispensed drugs and multiple medications was extensive in all age groups and was higher for females than for males. Multiple medications should be regarded as a risk in terms of potential drug-drug interactions and adverse drug reactions in all age groups (I). Regional differences in the prevalence of polypharmacy were observed and partly explained by the regional age distribution in Sweden. The use of a novel weighted polypharmacy index indicated regional differences in drug therapy for individuals with polypharmacy (II). The number of drugs used by an individual not only increased the potential risks associated with multiple drug use, but also the potential burden of an increased therapeutic intensity, especially for elderly (III). Individuals with ten or more drugs accounted for almost fifty percent of the total acquisition costs of dispensed drugs. Therefore, interventions with a focus on the reduction of the number of prescription drugs for the small group of patients with a large number of different drugs may also result in a substantial reduction in the total drug costs (IV). In spite of national and regional efforts to reduce polypharmacy, the prevalence of polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy and the mean number of drugs per individual continued to increase in Sweden 2005-2008 (V). The observed year-by-year increase in polypharmacy underlines the importance of monitoring the development of drug use in all ages. Individual-based registers studies of dispensed drugs provide high quality data and could serve as the basis for further research and also in terms of training health care personnel. It can also be used as a base for interventions and the evaluation of drug use. To enable better comparisons on drug use and its consequences, there is a need for standards concerning measurements, classification and criteria which encompass all types of medications. For clinicians, there is a need for information concerning the patient’s actual use of all different types of medications.

Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD) is the most common circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Persons with DSPD have great difficulties falling asleep and waking up at conventional times. To diagnose DSPD this delayed sleep-wake rhythm should cause social impairment and distress for the individual. Evening melatonin and morning bright light are the recommended treatments. The overall aim of this thesis was to evaluate at-home treatment with Light therapy (LT) and the feasibility of adding cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to LT in DSPD, furthermore prevalence, diagnostic aspects and associated factors were investigated. Study I included 673 randomly selected individuals aged 16–26 years. The prevalence of DSPD was 4.0%. Unemployment (defined as an absence of educational or work activities) and an elevated level of anxiety were associated with DSPD. In study II, dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) was measured in healthy adults. Time for DLMO DLMO (Mean±SD) was 20:58±55 minutes. Studies III, IV, and V present results from a randomized controlled trial examining the feasibility of CBT as an additive treatment to LT with scheduled rise times, in persons with DSPD. Sleep onset and sleep offset was significantly advanced from baseline (03:00±1:20; 10:22±2:02 respectively) to the end of LT (01:27±1:41; 08:05±1:29, p&lt;0.001 respectively). This advancement was predicted by consistent daily usage of the LT-lamp. At the follow-ups after LT and CBT or LT alone, sleep onset remained stable, sleep offset was delayed, and sleep difficulties were further improved, but there was no significant group interaction over time. There was a significant group interaction over time in the severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, both in favor of the LT+CBT group. Conclusively, DSPD was common among adolescents and young adults and it was associated with unemployment and elevated levels of anxiety. DLMO appeared in the expected time range in healthy working adults. At-home treatment with LT with scheduled rise times advanced sleep-wake rhythm and improved sleep difficulties in DSPD. Even though sleep-wake rhythm was not further advanced or better preserved in the participants that received LT+CBT compared to LT alone, the addition of CBT to the treatment regimen was feasible and well accepted.

Purpose: The purpose was to examine the maternal influences on the development of infant oral biofim and dominant bacterial strains of at risk populations. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design to examine factors influencing biofilm colonization and the identification of bacterial strains transmitted from mother to child. Participants were enrolled in Children’s Health Involving Parents of Greater Richmond (CHIP). Plaque and saliva samples were collected from mothers and their children ages 6-36 months. The colonized oral bacteria strains of the mother infant dyads were then compared. Oral bacterial strain identification was completed using the HOMIM Forsythe microbe identification array. Examination for concordant strains was done using the statistical boot strap shuffle in Excel. Results: Forty-one CHIP families were involved in the pilot study. Participants were predominantly non-white , less than high school education 46.3%, and their average age was 29.1 years. Mothers had a caries prevalence of 87.8% and the infant’s caries rate was 26.7%. To date n=14 pairs of the n=41 samples have been processed and analyzed using the HOMIM microarray. Twelve paired samples were not processed due to non-detectable levels of bacterial DNA. Fifteen samples are currently being processed by HOMIM Forsyth. Predominate species transferred from mother to child include S. Oralis, S. parasanguinous, S. mitis, Slakia, and S. anginosis. 425 unique strains of bacteria were analyzed on the array with a maternal concurrence rate of 33%. Conclusion: When comparing total bacterial populations in the oral environment a concurrence of transmission from mother to child was 33%. Higher rates of vertical transmission were observed in S. Oralis, S. sanguinous, and Slakia.