Anna Lipowicz

Socioeconomic status during childhood and health status in adulthood: The Wroclaw Growth Study.

It has been widely observed that socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with frequency of cardiovascular disease. Both men and women of low socioeconomic position have increased risk of cardiovascular disease morbidity and premature death. In this study the relationship between SES in childhood, and health status at the age of 50 years was examined. Socioeconomic status in childhood was measured using objective (fathers educational level and number of children in the family) and subjective (self-assessed SES in childhood declared in early adulthood) indicators. Data from the Wroclaw Growth Study were completed when subjects were 50 years old, and information concerning health status was added. The results indicated that the objective, universally used measures of SES in childhood such as fathers educational level and size of family did not show any essential relationships with health outcomes in adulthood, both for men and women. By contrast, retrospective, self-assessed SES (as better, average or worse as compared with peers) in childhood was significantly associated with the appearance of cardiovascular disease among women aged 50 years. Women who at the beginning of their adult life declared better socioeconomic condition in childhood were significantly healthier at the age of 50 years (OR=3.43; p=0.02). Moreover, this appeared to be independent of BMI, SES and life-style in adulthood. For men, retrospective self-assessed SES showed no relation to health status at the age of 50 years. The gender differences in the relationships between self-assessed SES in childhood and health status in adulthood are explained by possible selective premature mortality among men from lower childhood SES and/or sex differences in cognitive abilities.

The negative health consequences of unemployment: The case of Poland

In the 1990s Poland began to make a transition to a free-market economy: a transition accompanied by a variety of negative socio-economic developments, most notably a rise in unemployment. The aim of this study is to shed light on the relationship between occupational status (including unemployment) and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), by examining the experience of 542 men and 572 women between the ages of 40 and 50 of the town of Wroclaw in 2006. The Framingham Risk Score (FRS), which uses certain health and life-style parameters to predict the risk of major coronary problems over a 10-year period, was calculated, and the effect of occupational status on the FRS was assessed. The results showed that the FRS varied according to sex and to occupational status, with the highest FRS rating among unemployed men. Thus governmental policies to counter the adverse effects of unemployment should be developed to remedy the problem.

ALLOSTATIC LOAD AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IN POLISH ADULT MEN

This study considers the relationship between a cumulative index of biological dysregulation (allostatic load) and several dimensions of socioeconomic status (SES) and lifestyle in adult Polish males. The extent to which lifestyle variables can explain SES variation in allostatic load was also evaluated. Participants were 3887 occupationally active men aged 25-60 years living in cities and villages in the Silesia region of Poland. The allostatic load indicator included eleven markers: % fat (adverse nutritional intake), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (cardiovascular activity), FEV1 (lung function), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (inflammatory processes), glucose and total cholesterol (cardiovascular disease risk), total plasma protein (stress-haemoconcentration), bilirubin, creatinine clearance and alkaline phosphatase activity (hepatic and renal functions). A higher level of completed education, being married and residing in an urban area were associated with lower physiological dysregulation. The association between indicators of SES and allostatic load was not eliminated or attenuated when unhealthy lifestyle variables were included in the model. Smoking status and alcohol consumption played minimal roles in explaining the association between SES and allostatic load; physical activity, however, had a generally protective effect on allostatic load.

BMI, hypertension and low bone mineral density in adult men and women

The aim of this work was to estimate the body mass index (BMI) at which risk of hypertension is lowest in men and women, while concurrently considering the protective role of adipose tissue in osteoporosis. Healthy, occupationally active inhabitants of the city of Wrocław, Poland, 1218 women and 434 men were studied. BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, bone mineral density (BMD) of the trabecular compartment and distal radius of the non-dominant hand were recorded. Overweight in young women (≤45 years) was associated with increased risk of hypertension, whereas the risk of low bone mineral was decreased for the same BMI. In older women (>45 years), a BMI>27 was the threshold for increased risk of hypertension. In this age group, extremely slim women (BMI<21) had the highest risk of low bone mineral density. In younger males (≤45 years), risk of hypertension was lowest among the thinnest subjects (BMI<21). Increase in BMI over 21 kg/m(2) increased the risk of hypertension. The probability of low bone mineral density was the same in all BMI categories of men. In older men (>45 years), the thinnest (BMI<21) had higher risk of hypertension. To begin from BMI=25 kg/m(2), there was a monotonous increase in risk of hypertension in men. Higher risk for low bone mineral density was observed in older men with the BMI<23. Among younger adults, risk of hypertension and low bone mineral density increase at BMI≥21 kg/m(2) in men and BMI≥23 kg/m(2) in women. Among older men and women, the BMI threshold was 27 kg/m(2).

Secular trends in body height and body mass in 19-year-old Polish men based on six national surveys from 1965 to 2010.

The aim was to determine whether an intergenerational trend toward increased stature is slowing down, and whether body weight has recently increased among young men in Poland, as it has in Western European countries.

Influence of neurophysiological hippotherapy on the transference of the centre of gravity among children with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to present the influence of neurophysiological hippotherapy on the transference of the centre of gravity (COG) among children with cerebral palsy (CP). MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved 19 children aged 4-13 years suffering from CP who demonstrated an asymmetric (A/P) model of compensation. Body balance was studied with the Cosmogamma Balance Platform. An examination on this platform was performed before and after a session of neurophysiological hippotherapy. In order to compare the correlations and differences between the examinations, the results were analysed using Students T-test for dependent samples at p ≤ 0.05 as the level of statistical significance and descriptive statistics were calculated. RESULTS The mean value of the bodys centre of gravity in the frontal plane (COG X) was 18.33 (mm) during the first examination, changing by 21.84 (mm) after neurophysiological hippotherapy towards deloading of the antigravity lower limb (p ≤ 0.0001). The other stabilographic parameters increased; however, only the change in average speed of antero - posterior COG oscillation was statistically significant (p = 0.0354). CONCLUSION 1. One session of neurophysiological hippotherapy induced statistically significant changes in the position of the centre of gravity in the body in the frontal plane and the average speed of COG oscillation in the sagittal plane among CP children demonstrating an asymmetric model of compensation (A/P).

Evaluation of factors related to bone disease in Polish children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to evaluate factors related to bone formation and resorption in Polish children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis and to examine the effect of nutritional status, biochemical parameters and clinical status on bone mineral density. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study group consisted of 100 children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis with a mean age 13.4 years old. Anthropometric measurements, included body height, body mass and body mass index (BMI); bone mineral densitometry and biochemical testing were performed. Bone mineral density was measured using a dual-energy X-ray absorption densitometer. Biochemical tests included serum calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone and vitamin D concentrations, as well as 24-h urine calcium and phosphorus excretion. Pulmonary function was evaluated using FEV1%, and clinical status was estimated using the Shwachman-Kulczycki score. RESULTS Standardized body height, body mass and BMI were significantly lower than in the reference population. Mean serum vitamin D concentration was decreased. Pulmonary disease was generally mild, with a mean FEV1% of 81%. Multivariate linear regression revealed that the only factors that had a significant effect on bone marrow density were BMI and FEV1%. There were no significant correlations between bone mineral density and the results of any of the biochemical tests performed. CONCLUSIONS Nutritional status and bone mineral density were significantly decreased in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. In spite of abnormalities in biochemical testing, the factors that were found to have the strongest effect on bone mineral density were standardized BMI and clinical status.

Some evidence for health-related marriage selection

Married people live longer and are healthier than unmarried people. This can be explained in terms of marriage protection and marriage selection. The aim of the present study was to examine the direct effect of marriage selection on health status.

Impact of education and place of residence on the risk of metabolic syndrome in Polish men and women

⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Physiology, Medical University of Wroclaw, Poland. Tel.: +48 606742344. E-mail address: rskalik@fizjo.am.wroc.pl (R. Skalik). The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors including abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance, a proinflammatory and prothrombotic state. This syndrome is associated with an approximately 2-fold increase in risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The social gradient observed in MS could help explain socioeconomic inequalities in heart diseases. Hence, factors that causeMSmay also be important for the formation of social inequalities in stratification of CVD risk.MSmayalso offer a simple screening tool tofind subgroups at high risk of heart diseases. The economic transition period associated with political and social transformations in Poland since 1990 has contributed tomajor changes in lifestyle, dietary habits and knowledge of health promoting behaviours and influenced social stratification in this country. Some groups defined by their low educational and occupational status before the political and social transformation period experienced significant changes in income and lifestyle that might have influenced the body mass. Most of the evidences about inequalities in MS and impact of education and place of residence on development of MS have been gathered from Western industrialized societies so far. The latest results of SUNSET study by Agyemang C et al. demonstrate that low educationmay be associated with increased risk of MS among native white inhabitants but not among other ethnic groups in the Netherlands which is another evidence of inter-ethnic variations in the incidence of MS irrespective of the actual place of residence [1]. In our study we investigated the effect of the level of education and place of residence on the risk of development of MS among Polish population. A representative sample of 1648 adults (999 women and 649men), aged 25–85 years, from the local community of town of Jelcz-Laskowice (province of Lower Silesia, Poland) was examined (Table 1). The investigated individuals lived in a small town with a population of approximately 16 000 inhabitants or adjacent villages.Weused education as the sole criterion of adherence to a given social class because in Poland high correlation between three most often used predictors of social class, i.e. level of education, occupation and income is observed [2]. MS based on IDF criteria occurred significantly more often in men than in women whereas incidence of MS based on NCEP-ATP III-R criteria did not differ in both gender groups (Table 2). Generally in both sexes, MS was more frequent among town inhabitants as compared with inhabitants of villages. Percentage of men and women with MS increased with lowering the position of examined group on the social scale (Figs.1 and 2). The place of residence was a significant risk factor for developing MS in both genders. Men and women living in the urban area had a significantly higher risk of MS than individuals living in the countryside. Level of education significantly influenced the risk of MS only in women. Each step down in the level of education increased the risk of MS based on IDF criteria by 15% and by 26% when NCEP-ATP III-R criteria were used (Table 3). Among components of MS place of residence was significantly related to low HDL in men and low HDL and hyperglycemia inwomen (Table 3). Additionally, living in urban areas increased the risk of insulin resistance by 55% in men and 60% in women as compared with individuals living in the countryside. The low education significantly elevated the risk of abdominal obesity, arterial hypertension and hyperglycemia in women. None of the MS components was affected by level of education in men.

Model of Attenuation of Sound Stimuli in Prenatal Music Therapy

Studies on the process of acoustic stimulation in prenatal period require to assess the beneficial condition for child development, as well as characteristic sounds which could negatively affect the development of auditory system, brain or even entire body. It can be provided with the simplified model of sound attenuation in the uterus, which can be represented by first order passive low pass filter. On the basis of total harmonic distortion analysis for a single sound, a proposal indicating the sound reduction in the intrauterine environment is formulated. It is hypothesised that the sound stimuli in the uterus is not the same sound as the music in the source.