Kidney cancer is estimated to be responsible for more than 400 000 new cancer cases and 180 000 cancer deaths a year. Its incidence is increasing in the majority of developed countries, due to an ...increased prevalence of recognized risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use and obesity, as well as incidental findings on unrelated diagnostic imaging procedures. Mortality is decreasing in the majority of European countries, due to improvements in treatment and stage at diagnosis shift with more tumors being diagnosed at an early stage. In this paper, we present kidney cancer incidence and mortality trends in Croatia using joinpoint regression analysis. The incidence was rising throughout the 2001-2019 period, with an annual percent change (APC) of 2.5%; more so in men (APC of 2.5%) than in women (APC of 2.2%). Mortality increased during the 2001-2014 period (APC of 2.4%), but started to decrease in recent years (APC -2.7%, 2014-2020). Unlike sex differences observed in other European countries, with more favorable mortality trends found in women, our study showed a constant increase in mortality in women (APC of 1.2%) and a recent decrease in mortality in men, starting in 2013 (APC of -2.8%), after a period of increase from 2001 (APC of 3.3%).Kidney cancer is estimated to be responsible for more than 400 000 new cancer cases and 180 000 cancer deaths a year. Its incidence is increasing in the majority of developed countries, due to an increased prevalence of recognized risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use and obesity, as well as incidental findings on unrelated diagnostic imaging procedures. Mortality is decreasing in the majority of European countries, due to improvements in treatment and stage at diagnosis shift with more tumors being diagnosed at an early stage. In this paper, we present kidney cancer incidence and mortality trends in Croatia using joinpoint regression analysis. The incidence was rising throughout the 2001-2019 period, with an annual percent change (APC) of 2.5%; more so in men (APC of 2.5%) than in women (APC of 2.2%). Mortality increased during the 2001-2014 period (APC of 2.4%), but started to decrease in recent years (APC -2.7%, 2014-2020). Unlike sex differences observed in other European countries, with more favorable mortality trends found in women, our study showed a constant increase in mortality in women (APC of 1.2%) and a recent decrease in mortality in men, starting in 2013 (APC of -2.8%), after a period of increase from 2001 (APC of 3.3%).
Undiagnosed hypertension in Croatia Ivičević Uhernik, Ana; Kralj, Verica; Čukelj, Petra ...
Croatian medical journal,
02/2023, Letnik:
64, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
To determine the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension in Croatia, and to assess its association with various demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health care usage factors.
We used the data ...from European Health Interview Survey wave 3, conducted in Croatia in 2019. The representative sample consisted of 5461 individuals aged 15 years and older. The association of undiagnosed hypertension with various factors was assessed with simple and multiple logistic regression models. The factors that contribute to undiagnosed hypertension were identified by comparing undiagnosed hypertension with normotension in the first model and with diagnosed hypertension in the second model.
In the multiple logistic regression model, women and older age groups had lower adjusted odds ratio (OR) for undiagnosed hypertension than men and the youngest age group. Respondents living in the Adriatic region had a higher adjusted OR for undiagnosed hypertension than those living in the Continental region. Respondents who did not consult their family doctor in the previous 12 months and those who did not have their blood pressure measured by a health professional in the previous 12 months had a higher adjusted OR for undiagnosed hypertension.
Undiagnosed hypertension was significantly associated with male sex, age from 35 to 74, overweight, lack of consultation with a family doctor, and living in the Adriatic region. The results of this study should be used to inform preventive public health measures and activities.
Colorectal cancer is a malignant neoplasm which has an increasing incidence and represents a global public health problem. The majority of patients are diagnosed after the age of 50, and the risk of ...developing it over lifetime is 5%. Development of preventive, diagnostic and treatment methods has resulted in a significant reduction in mortality and other negative clinical outcomes. Precisely because of the efficient method of prevention and early detection of this disease, numerous countries, including Croatia, have organized national colorectal cancer screening and monitoring programs. However, these programs are primarily organized for the population with the usual, i.e. average risk of developing colorectal cancer. High-risk groups include persons with endoscopically detected and removed colon polyps, persons surgically treated for colon cancer, persons with a positive family history of colorectal cancer, persons with inflammatory bowel diseases, individuals and families with hereditary disorders or genetic mutations that increase the risk of this disease several fold, persons with acromegaly, and patients who have undergone ureterosigmoidostomy. Recommendations for the detection and monitoring of high-risk groups are often not defined clearly, and some of the existing ones are based mostly on scarce scientific evidence. It is commonly accepted that screening in high-risk groups should start at an earlier age, with shorter intervals between follow-ups. The basic diagnostic method for screening and monitoring in these patient groups is endoscopic monitoring, or colonoscopy. The aim of this review paper is to present the characteristics of the abovementioned risk groups and provide clear screening recommendations.
The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the results of contemporary research and practices linked to foster care placement matching and the preparation of foster parents and children for ...their placement world-wide, with special reference to the existing practice in the Republic of Croatia. The success of foster care outcomes is closely related to and depends on, among other things, the quality of the conducted assessment and selection of the most appropriate form of alternative placement concerning the child’s needs, quality of preparatory process and matching, i.e. adjustment of the characteristics of the child and potential foster parents. Matching is a complex process that comprises a series of actions and making a number of decisions which are influenced by various organisational and external factors, as well as those related to the characteristics of an individual case and to the decision-makers. All these factors are described and explained in the paper. Furthermore, the paper emphasises the importance of the timely preparation of the child and the foster family for the arrival of the child for whom it was determined on the basis of the matching process that the placement in that family is in their best interest, but also of the preparation of the parents and family of the child for the experience of removal of the child and entrusting the child to another family. There is no defined model of the foster care placement matching process in the Republic of Croatia. Therefore the author intends to draw attention to it and to arouse scientific and professional interest in this topic in the Republic of Croatia. Key words: alternative childcare; foster care; foster care placement matching; process of preparing for placement
Cilj rada je dati pregled rezultata suvremenih istraživanja i praksi vezanih uz proces uparivanja djeteta i udomitelja i njihove pripreme na smještaj u svijetu, uz osvrt na postojeću praksu u ...Republici Hrvatskoj. Uspješnost ishoda udomiteljstva usko je povezana i ovisi, između ostalog i o kvaliteti provedene procjene i izbora najprikladnijeg oblika alternativnog smještaja s obzirom na potrebe djeteta, kvaliteti provedenog pripremnog procesa te uparivanja (eng. matching), odnosno usklađivanja obilježja djeteta i potencijalnih udomitelja. Uparivanje je složen proces koji obuhvaća poduzimanje niza radnji i donošenje niza odluka, na koji utječu različiti organizacijski i vanjski čimbenici kao i oni vezani za obilježja pojedinog slučaja i donositelja odluka. Svi ovi čimbenici opisani su i pojašnjeni u radu. Nadalje, u radu je istaknuta i važnost pravovremene pripreme kako djeteta tako i udomiteljske obitelji za dolazak djeteta za koje je temeljem procesa uparivanja procijenjeno da je smještaj u toj obitelji u njegovom/njezinom najboljem interesu, ali i pripreme roditelja i obitelji djeteta na iskustvo izdvajanja i povjeravanja djeteta nekoj drugoj obitelji. U Republici Hrvatskoj ne postoji definirani model prakse uparivanja udomitelja i djeteta. Stoga je namjera autora ovim radom skrenuti pozornost te potaknuti znanstveni i stručni interes za ovu temu u Republici Hrvatskoj.
To determine the prevalence of common somatic comorbidities among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive patients in Croatia in the first pandemic wave, and assess the differences in clinical ...outcomes depending on the presence of comorbidities.
We analyzed data from patients confirmed to be SARS-CoV-2-positive from February through May 2020. The data were obtained from clinical laboratories, primary health care providers, and hospitals. Previously recorded comorbidities, including diabetes, cancer, circulatory diseases, chronic pulmonary, and kidney disease, were analyzed.
Among 2249 patients, 46.0% were men (median age 51 years; median disease duration 27 days). Hospitalization was required for 41.8% patients, mechanical ventilation for 2.5%, while 4.7% of all patients died. Patients who died were significantly older (median 82 vs 50 years, P<0.001) with a higher prevalence of all investigated comorbidities (all p's <0.001), more frequently required mechanical ventilation (34% vs 1%, P<0.001), and had shorter length of hospital stay (median 13 vs 27 days, P<0.001) with no sex preponderance. Patients requiring mechanical ventilation were significantly older (median age 70 vs 51 years, P<0.001), more frequently men (59.6% vs 45.7%, P=0.037), showed a higher prevalence of all comorbidities except ischemic heart and chronic kidney disease (all p's <0.001), and demonstrated a higher case-fatality rate (63.2% vs 3.2%, P<0.001).
COVID-19 patients who died in the first pandemic wave in Croatia were more likely to suffer previous somatic comorbidities. This corroborates the findings of similar studies and calls for further research into the underlying disease mechanisms, hence providing ground for more efficient preventive measures.
This paper explores the impact of marketing mix instruments on the students’ satisfaction in faculties in the Republic of Serbia and Spain, with the aim of determining how significant the effects of ...each marketing mix tool and their combinations are in relation to satisfaction of students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The detailed literature review is provided in the theoretical part, which contributes to a better understanding of terms like marketing in higher education, marketing mix instruments in higher education and students’ satisfaction. Data were collected from 896 respondents, who are all students at the faculties in Serbia and Spain, and were obtained using the questionnaire purposefully composed for this research. The methods used to highlight any gaps in this marketing mix practice and the relative customer–student satisfaction in HEIs are statistical analyses (descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis and t-independent samples tests), leading to the general conclusions regarding the following: by improving marketing mix instruments (service, distribution, human factor, physical evidence, service process) we can, and by improving (price, promotion) we cannot, improve students’ satisfaction in higher education institutions. The general conclusions clearly highlight what needs to be improved in practice in higher education institutions to improve students’ satisfaction, especially students’ loyalty, students’ choices, students’ satisfaction with the quality of the marketing mix instruments at the faculty, students’ satisfaction with expectation which they had upon enrolment and student satisfaction with the public image of the faculty, which is the main goal of these institutions.
This research examines the difference in the level of entrepreneurial orientation among university employees within the European Union compared to university employees in non-EU countries. The EU ...Member States included in the research are the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia, and the non-EU countries include the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Montenegro, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republic of Northern Macedonia. In the sample of 1474 respondents, the ENTRE-U scale was used to measure the entrepreneurial orientation of universities, and multivariate analysis of MANOVA variance was used for data processing. The ENTRE-U scale has proven applicable not only to developed countries but also developing countries. Moreover, it proved that being a member of the European Union in this part of Eastern Europe does not significantly affect the entrepreneurial orientation of universities.
Wine production in the Republic of Serbia has a long tradition and potential for improvement, given the agro-climatic and other conditions. The aim of this paper is to analyze the competitiveness ...factors of wineries in the Republic of Serbia. The findings show that the wine industry is developing, but its' competitiveness is at a relatively low level. In order to strengthen the competitiveness of the wine sector, it is necessary to define and implement a strategy, which will include activities such as modernization of grape processing technology, new investments and investment in human resources, marketing, winemakers' association and creating a stimulating business climate. Without state support, a significant increase in the competitiveness of wineries cannot be expected. Since interest in wine production has been recently growing, it is to be expected that the wine production, as well as its' export will increase, thus achieving significantly greater economic effects.
The goal of the research was to investigate the effect of dietary natural or biotic additives such as garlic, black pepper, and chili pepper powder in poultry nutrition on sustainable and economic ...efficiency of this type of production. A total of eight dietary treatments with 1200 broiler chickens of hybrid line Hubbard were formed, with four replicates. During the experimental period, chickens were fed with three period mixtures diets of different average costs: Starter compound mixture two weeks (0.38 €/kg in all treatments), grower compound mixture next three weeks (0.36, 0.38, 0.40, 0.41, 0.46, 0.39, 0.42, and 0.39 €/kg, respectively), and finisher compound mixture for the final week (0.34, 0.36, 0.38, 0.39, 0.44, 0.37, 0.40, and 0.37 €/kg, respectively). The experiment lasted a total of 42 days. Upon finishing the experiment, results have shown statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences regarding the European broiler index (EBI) as one of the indicators of economic efficacy. The EBI was lowest in the control treatment (220.4) and significantly higher in experimental treatments (298.6), respectively. In cost, a calculation included the cost of feed and used natural or biotic supplements in chicken nutrition. The findings of the study of economic efficiency revealed that the cost per treatment rises depends on the natural additive used. Economic efficiency analysis showed that the most economical natural additive with the lowest cost is garlic (0.68 €/kg), while the most uneconomical is treatment with black pepper with the highest cost of body weight gain (0.82 €/kg). This higher cost of the gained meat is minimal as a consequence of a much healthier and more nutritious food meant for human use, which often promotes sustainable aspects, compared to conventional and industrialized poultry production.
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