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Background and Objectives : The issue of high rates of abortion among Serbian women has been previously highlighted, yet its social underpinnings are still not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the lifetime use of and intention to use contraception among women after having an abortion. Materials and Methods : A cross-sectional study was carried out from 2022 to 2024 at the Clinic for Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Clinical Center of Serbia. The study participants were women who underwent induced abortions at the clinic. They filled in an anonymous questionnaire examining their demographic data, life-style and habits, medical history, lifetime use of contraception and intention to use contraception after their abortion. Results : A total of 433 women aged 16 to 49 years (mean age 32.0 years) participated in the study. In our sample, 81.1% of women had ever used contraception, with condoms being the most common, while 18.9% never used any contraception. Around 70% of women expressed the intention to use contraception post-abortion. Women who were of Serbian ethnicity, who had a higher level of education, who had no chronic illnesses and who already had multiple children were more likely to ever use contraception. Being of Serbian ethnicity, having higher education level and chronic illnesses and not smoking were associated with the intention to use contraception post-abortion. Conclusions : Most women who had abortions used contraception at least occasionally during their reproductive life and had the intention to start using it again. Therefore, women need to be continuously reminded by their gynecologists of contraception possibilities.

Background: The Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) is used in clinics because of its validity and ease of use by patients., Objectives: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the internal consistency, reliability, and clinical validity of the Serbian version of the VHI-10., Method: In this cross-sectional study, we translated the original English version of the VHI-10 into Serbian, after which it was back-translated into English. The Serbian version of the VHI-10 was completed by 161 patients with voice disorders, divided into 4 groups according disease etiology (structural, neurological, functional, and inflammatory) and 73 healthy control subjects., Results: The VHI-10 internal consistency was 0.88. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient for VHI-10 test-retest reliability was ρ = 0.991 (p< 0.001). Patients with voice disorders had higher median total VHI-10 scores compared with controls (p< 0.001). The patients' Grade, Instability, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, and Strain (GIRBAS) scale scores were significantly correlated with the VHI-10 test scores (ρ = 0,682, p < 0.001) and VHI-10 retest scores (ρ = 0.716, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: The Serbian version of the VHI-10 had good validity and reliability and can be used by Serbian patients with voice disorders., (© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare cases with type 2 diabetes and their controls for the frequency of stressful life events and social support before the occurrence of the disease., Methods: The study of cases and their controls was undertaken in Belgrade. A case group comprised 179 subjects in whom type 2 diabetes was for the first time diagnosed in the 'Savski Venac' Medical Center during the period 2005-2007 year. The diagnosis was made by a specialist of internal medicine according to criteria of the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. For each case two controls were chosen among patients with trauma (fracture, reposition, internal/external fixation) who were treated at the 'Banjica' Institute for Orthopedic-Surgical Diseases during the same period. Cases and controls were matched by sex, age (±2 years) and place of residence (Belgrade). Data were collected on demographic characteristics, habits, personal history, stressful life events, social support and family medical history., Results: According to multivariate analysis low social support in personal history, such as relatives/friends help and financial assistance in solving problems, and bad management of monthly income were significantly positively related to type 2 diabetes. However, significantly more controls than cases had no financial insurance in case of urgent need, Conclusion: Examine psychosocial factors play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease in which both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the etiology., Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of T1DM., Methods: A retrospective technique was used to register all newly diagnosed cases of T1DM in Belgrade (Serbia) children at the age of 0- 14 yr between 1982 and 2005. The incidence was adjusted directly by age using the Segi's world population as the standard. A total of 702 cases was identified from the two sources: patients' records from two pediatric hospitals in Belgrade referent for the disease, and from the population based register., Results: The average annual age adjusted incidence rate of T1DM for Belgrade was 10.4/100,000 [95% confidence interval (95% CI)=3.8-15.4]. It was slightly higher in boys than in girls. The age-specific annual incidence rates (per 100,000) for the age groups 0-4, 5-9, and 10-14 were 5.5 (95% CI=4.5-6.7), 11.9 (95% CI=10.5-13.5), and 15.4 (95% CI=13.8-17.1), respectively. Over the 24 yr incidence rates significantly increased by 8.5% for boys and 3.0% for girls. The highest increase of incidence rate was in the 5-9 age group., Discussion: The results obtained are in line with data from other studies showing that the incidence of T1DM has been increasing in almost all populations worldwide.

Objectives: This study aimed at investigating the differences between internally displaced adolescents and adolescents from Belgrade in relation to socio-economic status and psychosocial functioning., Methods: The investigation was conducted in Belgrade in 2000 and comprised 560 high school adolescents aged 18.1 ± 0.9 years (response rate 88%)--32 participants were internally displaced from Kosovo 1 year after the NATO campaign in Serbia (1999) and 528 were adolescents who lived in Belgrade more than 10 years. A specific questionnaire was used to obtain data on employment of family members, housing conditions, socialization, school success, smoking, alcohol consumption, and psychoactive substance use. Cornell Medical Index was applied as the screening test for neuroticism., Results: Internally displaced adolescents had poorer housing conditions (p < 0.001), poorer school social relations (p < 0.001), and their school achievement was inferior (p < 0.002). The compared groups did not significantly differ in the frequency of smoking, alcohol consumption, psychoactive substance use, and neuroticism., Conclusion: Significant differences observed between internally displaced adolescents and adolescents from Belgrade in some components of both socioeconomic status and psychosocial functioning suggest adverse effects of displacement.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether different levels of education are associated with different atherosclerotic disease risk factors., Methods: The cross-sectional study, involving 388 consecutive patients with verified peripheral arterial disease, was performed in Belgrade. Formal education level was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status. Anthropometric parameters and data on cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed in participants with different levels of education. In the analysis, univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used., Results: Multivariate analysis showed that low education was significantly positively related to alcohol consumption (Odds Ratio - OR, 4.67; 95% confidence interval - CI, 1.80-12.12), increased triglycerides (OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.13-6.61), and physical activity during work (OR, 43.10; 95% CI 14.37-129.28), and negatively related to former smoking (OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.03-0.46) and sports and leisure - time physical activity (OR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.04-0.41 and OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.11-0.57). Medium education was significantly positively related to increased triglycerides (OR, 1.74; 95% CI 1.01-2.98) and increased LDL-cholesterol (OR 2.37; 95% CI, 1.35-4.18), and to physical activity during work (OR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.34-3.67), and negatively related to age (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92-0.98) and leisure - time physical activity (OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.30-0.74)., Conclusion: It can be concluded that if there are differences in the risk of the occurrence of peripheral arterial disease by education status, they could be only partly explained by differences in the observed atherosclerotic disease risk factors.