Objective
To investigate whether web searching for headache disorders presents some circannual rhythm.
Background
Studies support the influence of seasonal rhythms in primary headache disorders such ...as cluster headache (CH) and episodic migraine. We investigated whether internet users’ searching for headaches reflect these circannual rhythms.
Methods
This was an internet‐based study using the Google Trends (Google) platform. The 10‐year interest across four related topics (headache, migraine, tension‐type headache TTH, and CH) in 31 European countries was scanned.
Results
Significant differences between months were found for the topics “headache” and “migraine.” Interest in the former was superior in February (median for all countries, 61 25th–75th percentile, 45–80), October (61 44–75), and November (61 45–76). The lowest search volumes for headache appeared in July (52 37–66) (p < 0.001). Migraine was searched most commonly in November (56 40–73) and rarely in June (46.5 31–64) (p < 0.001). Differences were observed for the topic of headache in Northern Europe (p = 0.001) and for headache and migraine in Central Europe (p < 0.001 and p = 0.016 respectively) but not in the southern region. TTH and CH were apparently less searched and no evident trends regarding them were present (median, 22 0–44 for TTH and 15 0–33 for CH; direct popularity comparison: headache 56 44–63, migraine 16 12–24, TTH 2 1–2, and CH 2 1–2; between‐month differences, p = 0.168 and p = 0.081 respectively).
Conclusions
Public attention on headache‐related topics on the internet is distributed according to a significant trend of increased searching around spring and autumn. It suggests that a large number of patients may experience some level of seasonal variation in their headaches. Assessment of whether those temporal changes are present in clinical practice is necessary.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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 involving 26 639 patients who were 65 years of age or older and were receiving antipsychotic medication between 2008 and 2012. Cox proportional-hazards models were used to compare the risk of death between different groups of antipsychotics after controlling for age, sex, concomitant treatment with cardiovascular or metabolic medications. The use of antipsychotic medications other than clozapine was associated with a lower adjusted risk of death hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.79-0.99. The use of cardiac and antilipemic but not antidiabetic drugs was associated with a significantly lower risk of death in this population (hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.83-0.93; hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.58-0.75 and hazarad ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.96-1.24, respectively). These results suggest that clozapine is associated with an increased risk of death in the elderly. Although the study was based on administrative records linkage, its results suggest that attention should be paid to patients taking antipsychotics.
•Future physicians should have sufficient knowledge and awareness of the psychosocial aspects of epilepsy.•Nearly two hundred medical students from two universities in Poland filled a questionnaire ...about epilepsy and stigma.•Year of study correlates well with level of knowledge and awareness of stereotypes.•Students also completed short personality tests - personality did not have a strong impact on the results.•More emphasis should be put on basic information such as first aid during seizure.
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders. As a chronic disease, associated with long-term treatment with antiseizure medication, it can have a negative impact on patients’ quality of life. Moreover, patients are faced with a significant psychosocial burden associated with the stigma surrounding epilepsy. Medical professionals should be well educated and free of prejudices in order to provide adequate care for patients with epilepsy. The aim of the study was to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of epilepsy among medical students of years 1–6 in Poland and examine if certain personality traits influence students’ view of epilepsy.
The study was conducted using snowball sampling of 166 Polish medical students from Medical University of Gdansk and Medical University of Warsaw. Participants completed a survey which consisted of their subjective assessment of knowledge of epileptology, actual knowledge of epileptology, and their view of stereotypes about epilepsy. In addition, students completed the IPIP-BFM-20 personality questionnaire.
Polish medical students have sufficient basic knowledge about epilepsy (mean scores of students from both universities is 14 out of 25 points). There is still room for improvement, especially in the field of epidemiology, semiology, factors provoking seizures, antiseizure medications, and most importantly about first aid during seizure (e.g., 7% of respondents believed it is necessary to put something between teeth of a patient during seizure). Age and the year of study were well correlated with knowledge score (p = 0.008) and level of awareness of the stereotypes. We found that most personality traits do not have a strong impact on the level of knowledge about epilepsy.
Most students have a satisfying level of knowledge about epilepsy. Academic teachers should put more emphasis on first aid during seizures and awareness of psychosocial challenges associated with the disease. It is crucial for future physicians to not only possess sufficient theoretical knowledge, but also establish an empathetic doctor–patient relationship in order to provide better care for patients with epilepsy and other chronic diseases.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (April to May 2020), 6,169 Polish and 939 Italian residents were surveyed with an online questionnaire investigating socio-demographic information and ...personality traits (first section) as well as attitudes, position, and efficacy perceptions on the impact of lockdown (second section) and various health protection measures enforced (third section).
The "health protection attitude score" (HPAS), an endpoint obtained by pooling up the answers to questions of the third section of the survey tool, was investigated by multiple linear regression models, reporting regression coefficients (RC) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
Concerns for business and health due to COVID-19 were associated with a positive attitude toward risk reduction rules. By contrast, male sex, concerns about the reliability of information available online on COVID-19 and its prevention, along with the feeling of not being enough informed on the transmissibility/prevention of SARS-CoV-2 were associated with a negative attitude toward risk mitigation measures.
A recent literature review identified two social patterns with different features in relation to their attitude toward health protection rules against the spread of COVID-19. Factors positively associated with adherence to public health guidelines were perceived threat of COVID-19, trust in government, female sex, and increasing age. Factors associated with decreased compliance were instead underestimation of the COVID-19 risk, limited knowledge of the pandemic, belief in conspiracy theories, and political conservativism. Very few studies have tested interventions to change attitudes or behaviors.
To improve attitude and compliance toward risk reduction norms, a key intervention is fostering education and knowledge on COVID-19 health risk and prevention among the general population. However, information on COVID-19 epidemiology might be user-generated and contaminated by social media, which contributed to creating an infodemic around the disease. To prevent the negative impact of social media and to increase adherence to health protection, stronger content control by providers of social platforms is recommended.
Introduction and objective: Suicide is a significant global public health concern. Media reporting greatly influences suicide prevention efforts, with the Internet and social media playing a major ...role. Inappropriate reporting can undermine prevention, while responsible reporting can have a preventive effect. The World Health Organization and the International Association for Suicide Prevention have issued a set of guidelines for journalists, which are also available in the Polish language. This article is a preliminary report on suicide behaviour epidemiology reporting in the Polish media. Materials and methods: The study used data from the National Police Headquarters to analyse suicide attempts and deaths in Poland between 2017 and 2022. Population size data was obtained from the Statistics Poland website. News analysis was conducted using the BuzzSumo Enterprise Application to assess social media shares and engagements for the top 100 popular web pages with the keyword “suicide” in the Polish language news between 2017 and 2022. Results: The study found that media articles often omitted standardised indicators when reporting suicide statistics. The media focus on growing suicide mortality among children and adolescents was evident, while a similar trend among older adults received only limited attention. Additionally, some articles failed to distinguish between suicide attempts and deaths, used sensational language in the headlines, and did not consider changes in reporting methodologies, leading to potential misinterpretations of suicide-related data. Conclusions: Responsible reporting is crucial to prevent negative effects on public health. Understanding the association between suicide and misinformation can lead to targeted interventions and strategies to safeguard well-being.
Owing to their peculiar features and rare occurrence, ruptured blood blister-like aneurysms (BBAs) of the internal carotid artery are challenging by both surgical and endovascular approaches and ...their proper management is uncertain. We therefore aimed to define the currently optimal treatment of ruptured BBAs in terms of mortality, outcome, rebleeding, and recurrence.
An in-depth search of electronic databases, gray literature and internet resources for ruptured BBAs was performed and complemented by data retrieval during neurosurgical congresses. Clinical and radiological characteristics, intervention details, outcomes, and the impact factor of the source journal were pooled.
The pooled cohort comprised 311 patients. Neither surgical nor endovascular methods had an impact on clinical outcome, aneurysm regrowth, remote bleeding, or complication rate. By contrast, aneurysm clipping was a predictor of intraoperative bleeding (OR 6.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 34.3), and stent-assisted coiling increased the likelihood of a second treatment (OR 4.1; 95% CI 1.3 to 13.1), its conversion to another modality (OR 4.7; 95% CI 1.4 to 16.0), and incomplete aneurysm obliteration (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.0 to 6.6). Higher impact journals were more likely to publish papers on endovascular techniques, particularly flow-diverter stents.
None of the methods is unequivocally superior. Considering its inefficiency, stent-assisted coiling should be undertaken with caution. A time-delimited systematic review is needed to establish the most accurate treatment for ruptured BBAs.
Starting from almost no papers published by Polish students before 2005, the number now reaches about forty articles per year (based on Scopus advanced search performed on October 12, 2016). ......providing all medical students in Poland with knowledge on the use of evidence in health care has become even more important. ...we sought to meet our needs to learn about medical writing and critical reading through a reliable and readily accessible source of information written in our mother language. ...together with researchers across the country, we formed a nonprofit initiative that has now successfully published a handbook.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is complex and recurrent chronic pain after spinal surgery. Several important patient and surgery related risk factors play roles in development of FBSS. ...Inadequate selection of the candidates for the spinal surgeries is one of the most crucial causes. The guidelines suggest that conservative management featuring pharmacologic approaches and rehabilitation should be introduced first. For therapy-refractory FBSS, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is recommended in selected patients. Treatment efficacy for FBSS has increased over the years with the majority of patients experiencing pain relief and reduced medicinal load. Improved quality of life can also be achieved using SCS. Cost-effectiveness of SCS still remains unclear. However evidence for SCS role in FBSS is controversial, SCS can be beneficial for carefully classified patients.
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