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Aim: 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. ----- Methods: 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. ----- Results: 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

Prema podacima Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije kardiovaskularne bolesti (KVB) uzrok su smrti 17,3 milijuna ljudi na razini svijeta, odnosno 30% ukupne smrtnosti, a na razini Europe odgovorne su za 47% svih smrti. U Hrvatskoj su također vodeći uzrok smrti s udjelom od 48,3% u ukupnom mortalitetu 2012. godine. Uzrok su smrti u 54,5% umrlih žena i 42,1% umrlih muškaraca. U bolničkom morbiditetu KVB su godinama na prvom ili drugom mjestu po broju hospitalizacija, izmjenjujući se s malignim bolestima. Stope hospitalizacija za KVB rastu s dobi i više su u muškaraca nego u žena u svim dobnim skupinama. Intenzivniji porast bolničkog morbiditeta počinje u dobi iznad 40 godina, desetak godina ranije od porasta smrtnosti. Posljednjih deset godina uočava se kontinuirani trend smanjenja smrtnosti zbog KVB, što je izraženije za cerebrovaskularne bolesti, nego za ishemijsku bolest srca i to osobito za dob 0-64 godine, no one su i dalje vodeći uzrok smrtnosti i pobola., According to the data provided by World Health Organization, the cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the cause of death of 17.3 million of people at an international level, or 30% of total mortality, whereas they account for 47% of all deaths at the European level. Even in Croatia, they are the major cause of death, ac- counting for 48.3% of total mortality in 2012. They are the cause of death of 54.5% of dead women and 42.1% of dead men. In hospital morbidity, CVDs have held the first or second place in the number of hospitalizations for years, alternating with malignant diseases. Hospitalization rates for CVD rise with age and are higher in men than in women in all age groups. Intense rise in hospital morbidity begins at the age of 40, ten years earlier than the rise in mortality. The period of the last ten years shows a continuing downward trend in mortality caused by CVD, which is more pronounced for cerebrovascular diseases, than for ischemic heart disease and especial- ly for the age from 0 to 64, but they are still the major cause of mortality and morbidity.

Background Injuries are the leading cause of death among children in Croatia. In recent decades, the work on monitoring and prevention of injuries has intensified, which led to a reduction of child mortality caused by injuries. Methods The data used in the research was collected from the routine mortality and morbidity statistics, the database of the World Health Organisation: European Detailed Mortality Database (DMDB), as well as from the results of the international project TACTICS (Tools to Address Childhood Trauma, Injury and Children’s Safety). Results In Croatia, in the last ten-year period from 2005 to 2014 has been noted a trend of reducing the mortality rates from total number of injuries (V01-Y98) among children aged 0–19. The highest age-specific death rate from injuries in children in the mentioned period was 14.6/100.000 (2005), and the lowest 7.1/100.000 (2014), which represents almost double reduction in mortality. The reason for this is primarily the trend of reducing the mortality rate due to traffic accidents (V01-V99) in children (8.6/100.000 (2005); 2.6/100.000 (2014)). The leading external causes of death from injury in the observed period were: traffic accidents, suicide, drowning, followed by poisoning and suffocation. According to the European DMDB database, Croatia has been positioned around the middle of the European scale with the standardised mortality rate from injury (0–19 years) 8.8/100 000 (2012). According to the research carried out in the framework of the international project TACTICS, it was noted that Croatia has a medium satisfactory child safety level in the area of unintentional child injury prevention. In the violence prevention area Croatia belongs to the European countries with progressive politics. Conclusions Although in the last few decades Croatia perceives a trend of reducing mortality from child injuries, further efforts in the area of monitoring, treatment and prevention of child injuries are needed.

Background The objective of this paper was to analyse mortality and morbidity from road traffic injuries in Croatia, as a contribution to the awareness of this public health. Methods The data used in the research was collected from the routine mortality and morbidity statistics, Ministry of Interior Data, European Health for All Database, as well as from the results of the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 (GSRRS). Results Traffic accidents and their consequences are still a serious public health problem in Croatia. They are the leading cause of child and youth mortality and the leading cause of premature deaths within the injuries group. Croatia has lately reported a noteworthy drop in road fatalities, despite the increase in number of drivers, motor vehicles and roads. According to the Ministry of Interior data, the road traffic injury (RTI) mortality rate for Croatia in 2005 was 13.4/100.000, only to drop to 7.3/100.000 in 2014. Injuries incurred in traffic accidents account for 21.3% of all injury-related hospitalizations in 2014. Croatia has achieved sustained reductions in traffic-related injuries and fatalities through effective road safety program and good level of enforcement of legislative related to the five key risk factors for road traffic injuries which was investigated in GSRRS: speed, drink–driving, failure to use motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints. Since 1994, Croatia has implemented the National Road Safety Program, and in April of 2011 the same national draft program was adopted for the 2011–2020 period. The primary objective of the National Road Safety Program is to halve the number of road deaths by 2020. Conclusions Though significant progress has been achieved in road safety, more systematic work will be dedicated to elevating the level of road safety in line with international initiatives and national guidelines.

Objective The objective of this paper was to show the analysis of mortality and morbidity from injuries by external causes (V01-Y98; ICD-10) in Croatia in the period 2004–2008, as a contribution to the knowledge of this public health problem. Materials and Methods Routine health morbidity and mortality statistics and WHO/HFA database were used and expressed as percentage shares, PYLLs as well as crude and standardised rates. Results On Croatias mortality scale in period 2004–2008 injuries with an average share of 5.7% in total mortality ranked third (2006 and 2008) or fourth (2004 and 2005) behind cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms and respiratory diseases. General mortality (average rate: 65.3/100 000) for injuries did not change significantly between 2004 and 2008. Given the premature mortality indicator potential years of life lost (age: 1–75) injuries ranked third, following after neoplasms and cardiovascular diseases. Suicides, traffic accidents and falls are the leading external causes of death. The standardised injury mortality for all ages was 53.3/100 000 in Croatia in 2006 (last available comparative data from WHO/HFA-DB). It surpassed the EU average (40.4/100 000), but remained lower than the European region average (76/100 000). With an average share of 7.9% in the causes of hospital treatment, injuries ranked sixth. Falls accounted for one third of the causes of injury-related hospitalisations, most commonly in persons older than 65. Conclusion Because they account for a large part of total mortality and morbidity, injuries represent a major public health problem in Croatia. A systematic implementation of preventive programmes is thus required.