Abstract
Background
Over the past few decades, the number of international students has increased dramatically. These students have to adjust to unfamiliar social, cultural, and educational ...environments. The concept of acculturation has been applied in multiple studies on various health outcomes. This study investigated the relationship between acculturation and self-rated health (SRH) among international medical students.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted among international medical students at the University of Szeged, Hungary between April and October 2021. A total of 326 participants filled out questionnaires about sociodemographic characteristics, acculturation, and SRH. The modified Stephenson multigroup acculturation scale (SMAS) was used to assess the acculturation status; the scale defined acculturation as the degree of dominant society immersion (DSI, 12 items) and ethnic society immersion (ESI, 16 items). To measure SRH, participants were asked to rate their current general health and mental health. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and the multiple logistic regression model.
Results
32.5% of the students reported having poor general and 49.7% poor mental health. We have found that acculturation was associated with SRH in multivariable logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic characteristic. Bidimensional acculturation, such as ESI and DSI significantly influenced SRH as the likelihood of poor general health decreased (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.31–0.81, P = 0.005), when the ESI was higher, whereas the likelihood of poor mental health decreased (OR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.35–0.79, P = 0.002) if students had a greater DSI.
Conclusion
Both types of immersion can affect the students’ SRH. If the student could integrate better into their own ethnic group, their general health was better, and if they could strongly integrate into the Hungarian society, their mental health was more favorable. Acculturation measures should be promoted by academics and public health professionals in order to better understand their role in the behaviors, health outcomes, and health care use of medical international students. These findings will help professionals shape culturally sensitive prevention and counselling strategies for international student populations.
One of the key drivers for the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is non-prudent antibiotic (AB) use, which results in selection pressure towards relevant bacteria. Community ...pharmacists have pivotal roles in facilitating the prudent use of ABs that have been demonstrated by several studies worldwide. The aim of our present study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of community pharmacists related to AB use and infectious diseases in Hungary. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was performed among community pharmacists in Hungary with the use of an anonymous, structured and pilot-tested questionnaire. Data collection ran between January 2016 and January 2018; n = 339 community pharmacists nationwide were approached with our questionnaire, out of which 192 filled out our survey. Hungarian pharmacists have appropriate knowledge regarding ABs and antimicrobial therapy, and they realize the public health impact of the growing AMR. Twenty-five percent of participants admitted to giving out non-prescription ABs at least once in the last year. The age and presence of board-certified specializations were shown to be significant factors of self-perceived knowledge and professional attitudes. Educational strategies and interventions specifically aimed at focusing on identified shortcomings and changing certain attitudes could substantially improve AB dispensing and AB use, in addition to minimizing resistance.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the primary causes of pain and disability worldwide leading to patients having some of the worst health-related quality of life (QOL). The purpose of our study was to ...investigate the progression of the generic and disease-specific QOL of osteoarthritic patients going through total hip or knee replacement surgery and the factors that might alter the effect of surgery on QOL.
A longitudinal study was performed based on data collected from 120 OA patients who filled in the short version of the WHO's generic measure of quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) and the disease-specific Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) before and after surgery.
Domains related to physical health status showed relatively lower scores in patients before surgery. Patients reported a significant increase of QOL after surgery in the WHOQOL-BREF physical domain, especially if they were from the younger group (< 65 years, p = 0.022) or had a manual job (p = 0.008). Disease-specific QOL outcome results indicate that overall patients gained significantly better QOL in all domains of the WOMAC score. Patients with hip OA seemed to have the most benefit of their operation as they reported better outcome in WOMAC pain (p = 0.019), stiffness (p = 0.010), physical function domains (p = 0.011) and total score (p = 0.007) compared to knee OA patients.
There was a statistically significant improvement in all domains concerning physical functions in the study population. Patients also reported significant improvement in the social relationship domain, which indicates that OA itself as well as its management might have a profound effect on patients' life beyond the reduction of their pain.
The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing worldwide. Adults with abdominal obesity have been reported to have increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to examine ...whether non-obese subjects (body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m
) with abdominal obesity examined in the framework of the Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Programme had increased metabolic risk compared to participants without abdominal obesity.
A cross-sectional study was carried out in 5228 non-obese individuals. Data were collected between July 2012 and February 2016. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple logistic regression models were applied, odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) being the outcomes.
607 (11.6%) out of the 5228 non-obese individuals had abdominal obesity. The correlation analysis indicated that the correlation coefficients between BMI and waist circumference (WC) were 0.610 in males and 0.526 in females. In this subgroup, the prevalence of high systolic blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose, and high total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly higher. The logistic regression model based on these data showed significantly higher risk for developing high systolic blood pressure (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.20-1.94), low HDL cholesterol (OR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.09-3.89), and high trygliceride level (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.27-2.16).
There was a very high, significant, positive correlation between WC and BMI. Abdominal obesity was found to be strongly related to certain metabolic risk factors among non-obese subjects. Hence, measuring waist circumference could be recommended as a simple and efficient tool for screening abdominal obesity and related metabolic risk even in non-obese individuals.
Introduction: Genital hygiene is an important part of women’s health and is essential for protecting reproductive health. Women adopt many genital hygiene behaviors, which will have direct and ...indirect effects on genitals and possible sexually transmitted infections. This systematic literature review aimed to know the types of genital hygiene behaviors practiced by women and assess the relationship between genital hygiene behavior and genital infection.
Methods: A systematic search of the electronic databases, PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, JSTOR, and SAGE, for literature published between January 2001 and 2021. The keywords used were “genital hygiene behavior” AND “genital infections” AND “women OR female.” The inclusion criteria focused on genital hygiene behavior and the incidence of genital infection. The included full papers with observational research methods followed the PRISMA guidelines. After reading the full content of the included studies, key themes and concepts were extracted and synthesized.
Results: In total 383 articles were screened. Five articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The analysis revealed four categories related to genital hygiene behavior among women: underwear hygiene, bathing habits, menstrual hygiene, and coital hygiene. Genital infections included bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, and vulvovaginal candidiasis. The review showed that incorrect and inadequate genital hygiene behavior increases the risk of vaginal infection.
Conclusion:
A higher incidence of genital infections occurred in women with improper genital hygiene practices. It is necessary for health professionals to educate women about good genital hygiene practices in order to reduce the rate of genital infections.
Medical students are more likely to have various physical and psychological issues, but less information is available about the healthcare-seeking behaviour for physical and mental health issues. The ...aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting medical students' healthcare-seeking when visiting a general practitioner (GP) and/or psychologist.
688 medical students (326 International and 362 Hungarian,) participated in a cross-sectional study. The information was gathered using a self-administered online questionnaire and covered socio-demographic background, health behaviour, general and mental health status and healthcare-seeking. For analysing adjusted associations, multivariable logistic regression models were used.
Overall, 56.8% of medical students visit the GP; and 17.2%, the psychologist. Hungarian medical students visited the GP with chronic diseases, International medical students were more likely to visit a GP when they encountered sexual activity and had chronic diseases. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between sex, alcohol consumption, and perceived stress in the total sample of psychologist visits. When Hungarian medical students were in their clinical years and had a poor self-rated mental health, they were more likely to visit a psychologist. Whereas female international medical students and those who had poor self-rated mental health were more likely to seek psychological help.
Students visit a GP and/or psychologist is associated with a variety of factors, including socio-demographic background, health behaviours, and health issues. Medical schools should encourage help-seeking behaviours and early disclosure of medical students. Their ability to grasp healthcare attitudes and designing treatments will be important for both their academic success and future profession.
Adequate vitamin D (VD) intake during pregnancy is needed for fetal development and maternal health maintenance. However, while there is no doubt regarding its importance, there is not a unified ...recommendation regarding adequate intake. The main aim of our study was to measure the VD serum level of studied women, together with its potential influencing factors: demographic (i.e., age, level of education, relationship status and type of residence), conception and pregnancy related factors. Results are based on secondary data analyses of a retrospective case-control study of 100 preterm and 200 term pregnancies, where case and control groups were analyzed together. Data collection was based on a self-administered questionnaire, health documentation, and maternal serum VD laboratory tests. VD intake was evaluated by diet and dietary supplement consumption. According to our results, 68.1% of women took some kind of prenatal vitamin, and only 25.9% of them knew about its VD content. Only 12.1% of included women reached the optimal, 75 nmol/L serum VD level. Higher maternal serum levels were associated with early pregnancy care visits (
= 0.001), assisted reproductive therapy (
= 0.028) and advice from gynecologists (
= 0.049). A correlation was found between VD intake and serum levels (
< 0.001). Despite the compulsory pregnancy counselling in Hungary, health consciousness, VD intake and serum levels remain below the recommendations. The role of healthcare professionals is crucial during pregnancy regarding micronutrients intake and the appropriate supplementation dose.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex disease associated with chronic pain. Many patients treat their joint pain at a symptomatic level with over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications, often without the ...knowledge of their physicians. The aim of this study was to provide physicians with data about osteoarthritic patients' habits of pain management and to examine the explanatory factors of various ways of self-treatment.
A cross-sectional study involving 189 patients with hip or knee OA and scheduled for joint replacement surgery was carried out. Participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index and questions about their methods of alleviating pain.
2.6% of patients did not use anything to alleviate their pain, while 63% practiced a non-pharmacological method. Diclofenac was the most frequently used drug, followed by ibuprofen. Profession had the greatest impact on medication habits; patients doing manual work were significantly more likely to take OTC non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and use topical analgesics.
Patients utilized a wide variety of pain management techniques. They seemed to use well-known painkillers, even if their side effects were less desirable. Such patients require comprehensive pain management, including educational and behavioural interventions, complemented by topical and oral medication.
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