Search

Introduction: Many epidemiological studies have shown that there are numerous risk factors for acute coronary disease. The aim is to determine the effect of risk factors on the echocardiographic changes and quality of life in patients treated with different methods 1 year after myocardial infarction. Methods: The research was a prospective–retrospective, clinical, epidemiological study and was conducted at the Clinic of Cardiology, University Clinical Center Sarajevo. Patients were divided into four groups based on the therapy treatment they got. The patients were divided into four groups based on the therapy treatment they received. The first group consisted of 40 patients who had had myocardial infarction and were treated with medications. The patients in the groups II and III were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) [who immediately after incident underwent primary PCI or delayed PCI], and each group consisted of 40 patients. The group IV consisted of 40 patients, who underwent surgical revascularization (coronary artery bypass surgery). After the treatments have finished, an echocardiogram was performed on every patient. The Short Form (SF)-36 health survey was used for testing the life quality. Echocardiogram and the quality of life (QoL) testing were repeated a year after the treatment. Results: The study included 160 patients with a history of myocardial infarction, of which 130 (81.3%) were men, and 30 (18.8%) were women. The average age in the total sample was 54.9 ± 8.8 years. The review of risk factors’ presence showed that in the total sample, most present was hypertension with 134 (83.8%), smoking with 120 (75.0%), and hypercholesterolemia with 110 or 68.8% of patients. Hypertension showed a statistically significant negative effect on the SF-scales only in the group III according to the mental health (P = 0.020), social functioning (P = 0.013), and pain (P = 0.011). A statistically significant effect of smoking was observed in the group III according to left ventricular internal dimension in end-diastole (P = 0.000) and left ventricular internal dimension in end-systole (P = 0.001) in the sense that smokers have the higher values of these parameters, and negative to ejection fraction (EF) (P = 0.001) in the sense that smokers have lower EF. In the group IV, positive correlation was observed to EF (P = 0.038), and negative toward the mitral regurgitation (P = 0.032). Conclusion: High blood pressure negatively affected the QoL. Smoking is negatively associated with all observed echocardiographic parameters in all the groups except with the size of the left atrium.

Introduction: Bosnia and Herzegovina has a high prevalence of smoking among women, especially among health care professionals. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of the social environment of women employed in health institutions in relation to the cigarettes smoking habits.Methods: The study included 477 women employed in hospitals, outpatient and public health institutions in Sarajevo Canton Bosnia and Herzegovina. We used a modifi ed questionnaire assessing smoking habits of medical staff in European hospitalsResults: The results showed that 50% of women are smokers, with the highest incidence among nurses (58.1%) and administrative staff (55.6%). The social environment is characterized by a high incidence of colleagues (60.1%) and friends who are smokers (54.0%) at the workplace and in the family (pConclusion: Workplace and social environment support smoking as an acceptable cultural habit and is contributing to increasing rates of smoking among women.

Objectives. The aim of this research was to detect the presence of depressive symptoms among the student population at a Faculty of Medicine, as well to determine the correlation between the socio-demographic characteristics and students’ lifestyle and depressive symptoms.Subjects and Methods. Of 800 students enrolled and asked to participate, 412 responded to the survey. The study included Students from all 6 years of studies. The degree of depressive symptoms was measured by a 21-item revised form of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). We built bivariate logistic regression models to study whether age, gender, housing accommodation, year of medical training, and school success status (Grade Point Average - GPA) were associated with depressive symptoms. The results are reported as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results. The study revealed that almost one third of students reported BDI >16 (30.1%). The present study did not find any association between BDI scores and study year or age difference, but we found that there was an association between housing accommodation and depressive symptoms. Students who lived with their parents had lower BDI scores than those who lived in a dormitory. The results of this study showed there is a negative correlation between physical activity and depressive symptoms in students, as well as that there is a positive correlation between depressive symptoms and substance abuse. Conclusion. Overall, our study confirms that the factors associated with an increase in medical students’ depressive symptoms are housing accommodation, a lack of physical activity and substance abuse. Regarding failing a year of study at the medical school, as well as gender and age differences, we did not find any significant difference between students with higher compared to those with lower depressive symptoms.