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Copyright of Community & Physician / Toplum ve Hekim is the property of Turk Tabipleri Birligi / Turkish Medical Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-2) prevents the development of serious diseases has been shown in many studies. However, the effect of vaccination on outcomes in COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care is not clear. This is a retrospective multicenter study conducted in 17 intensive care unit (ICU) in Turkey between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Patients aged 18 years and older who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and followed in ICU were included in the study. Patients who have never been vaccinated and patients who have been vaccinated with a single dose were considered unvaccinated. Logistic regression models were fit for the two outcomes (28-day mortality and in-hospital mortality). A total of 2968 patients were included final analysis. The most of patients followed in the ICU during the study period were unvaccinated (58.5%). Vaccinated patients were older, had higher Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), and had higher APACHE-2 scores than unvaccinated patients. Risk for 28-day mortality and in-hospital mortality was similar in across the year both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. However, risk for in-hospital mortality and 28-day mortality was higher in the unvaccinated patients in quarter 4 adjusted for gender and CCI (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.06–1.99 and OR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.03–1.96, respectively) compared to the vaccinated group. Despite effective vaccination, fully vaccinated patients may be admitted to ICU because of disease severity. Unvaccinated patients were younger and had fewer comorbid conditions. Unvaccinated patients have an increased risk of 28-day mortality when adjusted for gender and CCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Balikesir Health Sciences Journal / Balıkesir Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Balikesir Health Sciences Journal (BAUN Health Sci J) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background We aimed to investigate the magnitude of occupational class (OC) and educational level (EL) inequalities in cardiovascular risk factors in Turkey from 2008 to 2016 and compare these inequalities with neighbouring European countries. Methods We used the Turkey Health Survey among a representative sample of the Turkish population. We estimated relative index of inequality (RII) for four cardiovascular risk factors (obesity/overweight, hypertension, diabetes, smoking) by OC/EL with an interaction term for survey year and compared selected results with neighbouring countries. Results Men with lower OC and EL smoked more (e.g. RII for EL = 1.40 [1.26–1.55]); however, the remaining risk factors were mostly lower in these groups. Women in lower socio-economic groups smoked less (e.g. RII for EL = 0.36 [0.29–0.44]), however, had higher prevalence of the remaining risk factors. Significant interactions with survey year were only found in a few cases. The pattern of inequalities in Turkey is largely similar to neighbouring countries. Conclusions Inequalities in cardiovascular risk factors are less systematic in Turkey than in most high-income countries, but ongoing trends suggest that this may change in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of falls, fear of falling (FOF) and related factors in individuals aged 80 and over living in the Balçova district of Izmir. Methods: One thousand and seventy‐five individuals aged 80 years or older participated. The dependent variables were falls and fear of falling. The independent variables were socio‐demographic and socio‐economic characteristics, health‐related characteristics and 'safety status of home' features. Results: The participants' mean age was 84.1 ± 3.7 (range, 80‐101) years, and 60.8% were female (n = 582). The prevalence of falls was 35.4% in the last year, and fear of falling was 86.6%. The risk factors for falls were number of chronic diseases, moderate and high fall risk, sleep disturbance and slippery bathroom floors, whilst for fear of falling they were number of chronic diseases, female gender, living alone and moderate or high fall risk. Conclusion: A monitoring program is indicated to address high fall and fear of falling prevalence among people aged 80 and over. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: After signing and approving the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Turkey amended laws on tobacco control in 2008 and also expanded the smoking ban in 2013 to include drivers in all vehicles. Four years later, this amendment does not seem as effective. The aim of this study was to observe violation of the law by the drivers and to analyze the association between gender of the driver, type of the vehicle, approximate age group definition of the passenger (either child or adult), and the law violation in two streets in Konak district, İzmir, Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, two observer teams were located in two different busy streets on the same afternoon and they collected data on the violation of the law, gender of the driver, approximate age group definition of the passengers (either adult or child), and type of the vehicle (special, taxi, or other commercial). Logistic regression for the violation of the law was conducted. RESULTS: Law violation prevalence is 7.2%. In univariate analysis, the gender of the driver and having at least one child as a passenger were associated with the violation of the law. In multivariate analysis, not having children increases (OR: 8.4) the risk of the violation of the law. CONCLUSION: The violation of the law was high, but the drivers seemed to be aware of the harms of smoking by looking at the increased risk of the violation in vehicles, in which no child was carried as passengers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The health and social care needs of people aged ≥ 80 years are a neglected topic., Aims: To determine the prevalence of unmet health and social care needs and associated factors in community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 80 years in Izmir District of Balçova, Turkey., Methods: There were 1075 participants aged ≥ 80 years. The dependent variables were unmet health and social care needs. Independent variables were sociodemographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics. The data were collected in face-to-face interviews conducted at the homes and analysed by multiple logistic regression model. Ethical approval was obtained from the Non-Invasive Research Ethics Board of Dokuz Eylul University Medical Faculty (2017/26-24)., Results: The mean age was 84.1 (3.7) years and 61.0% were female. Healthcare needs were expressed by 88.2% of the participants and 78.9% claimed that they had social care needs. Prevalence of unmet health and social care needs was 32.5% and 46.6%, respectively. Approximately 90.0% of their needs were covered by families. Perceived low-income status was a risk factor for unmet healthcare needs, and lack of social support was a risk factor for unmet social care needs. Additionally, not receiving formal education was a protective factor in unmet social care needs., Conclusion: Public health policy should be developed to enable better access to care, especially for the oldest people, considering that nearly one third of the participants in this study had unmet healthcare needs and almost half had unmet social care needs., (Copyright © World Health Organization (WHO) 2021. Open Access. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).)