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Geographical Locations - Czech Republic
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- (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 311
- CIA World Factbook : Czech Republic
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- Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers PRTRs) in the Czech Republic
"The basic meaning of information systems is that if people know the degree and source of pollution they are able to discuss the reduction of pollutant releases or various reparations for the environment damage directly with contaminators. The effectiveness of PRTR systems manifests in different spheres ( e.g. PRTR supports the introduction of the so-called clean technologies, creates new space for consulting firms, strengthens the so-called environmental supervision - either by state or by non-governmental organizations)"
Academic Institutions
National Policy and Related Documents
Reports, Guidelines, and Projects
- Associations between diet and (in)activity behaviours with overweight and obesity among 10–18-year-old Czech Republic adolescents
Objectives: To assess the prevalence of normal weight, overweight and obesity among 10–18-year-old Czech Republic adolescents and to assess the association between energy balance-related behaviours and overweight/obesity. Design: Cross-sectional data from ‘The 6th Nation-wide Anthropological Survey of Children and Adolescents 2001 Czech Republic’ have been used. Setting: Height and weight were objectively measured. Data on adolescents’ behaviours were assessed with self-reported questionnaires. Background variables were assessed by means of a parental questionnaire. Multi-level logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess behavioural risk factors of being overweight/obese. Subjects: Data on 31 228 adolescents aged 10–18 years were included in the present study. Results: The highest prevalence of being overweight or obese was found among boys and younger adolescents. Boys were more physically active, watched more television (TV) and used the computer more often than did girls. Being on a diet and skipping meals were positively associated with being overweight/obese, independent of gender. In boys (10–14 years old), inverse associations with being overweight/obese were found when being more physically active. Monitoring weight showed inverse relations with being overweight/obese in 15–18-year-old girls. Watching TV more than 7 h a week was positively associated with being overweight/obese in 15–18-year-old girls, and was found to be negatively associated in boys of the same age group. Conclusions: These behaviours should be targeted when preventing overweight and obesity among Czech Republic adolescents. Studies using better measures of energy balance-related behaviours are needed. [author abstract] [Public Health Nutrition, 13(10A), 1701–1707 (2010)]
- Cases of Salmonella Urbana in Finland, the Czech Republic and Latvia, January-February 2010
A cluster of 14 cases of Salmonella Urbana cases in Finland, the Czech Republic and Latvia were identified in January-February, 2010. The majority of cases (11) were male and children under 16 years of age. The investigation is currently ongoing and comparison of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles of the isolates suggests that the cases may have a common source of infection. [publication summary] [Euro Surveill. 2010; 15(11): pii=19511]
- Consensus recommendations for cervical cancer prevention in the Czech Republic: a report of the International Conference on Human Papillomavirus in Human Pathology (Prague, 1–3 May 2008)
A comparison of cervical cancer incidence and mortality in the Czech Republic with that from other countries shows that the burden of cervical cancer here is considerably higher than in Western Europe, where screening is widespread. In May 2008, the International Conference on Human Papillomavirus in Human Pathology was convened to review the latest evidence and to formulate consensus recommendations for the reduction of cervical cancer rates. The Czech Republic is spending considerable resources on cervical cancer prevention, but these resources are being used inefficiently. The current system is characterized by a lack of coordination and monitoring that leads to the over-screening of a minority of women while the majority of the target population are under-screened or not screened at all. It was recommended that a comprehensive, organized programme be implemented, coordinated by an independent administrative body with legal and budgetary responsibility. As the laboratory infrastructure and professional technical skills required for a quality-assured organized screening programme are already in place, implementation of this programme would not require much in the way of additional resources to produce substantial cost-effective reductions in cervical cancer rates. [author abstract] [J Med Screen 2008; 15: 207–210]
- Depressive symptoms in urban population samples in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic
Background: Relatively little is known about depression in countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union, especially Russia. Aims: To investigate the rates and distribution of depressive symptoms in urban population samples in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Method: Across-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected men and women aged 45^64 years (n=2151 in total, response rate 69%) in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland) and Karvina (Czech Republic).The point prevalence of depressive symptoms in the past week was defined as a score of at least16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. Results: In men the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 23% in Russia, 21% in Poland and19% in the Czech Republic; in women the rates were 44%, 40% and 34% respectively. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with material deprivation, being unmarried and binge drinking. The association between education and depression was inverse in Poland and the Czech Republic but positive in Russia. Conclusions: The prevalence of depressive symptoms in these eastern European urban populations was relatively high; as in other countries, it was associated with alcohol and several socio-demographic factors. [author abstract] [British Journal of Psychiatry (2006), 188, 359-365]
- Development of peritoneal dialysis and renal replacement therapy in the Czech Republic since the postcommunist transition
The healthcare system of the Czech Republic at the time the country was made part of the Eastern Bloc was characterized by scarcity of funds as a result of its poorly functioning economy combined with difficult access to up-to-date medical information because of restricted communication with Western democracies. These were the main causes for Czech medicine lagging behind that of industrialized nations. The political changes occurring in 1989 were soon followed by economic and societal changes that led to, among other things, badly needed healthcare reform, gradually involving all areas of medicine. This resulted in extending, over the period from 1989 to 2004, life expectancy at birth (from 71.8 to 75.8 years); this figure is still below the average of the 15 Western European nations that were European Union members prior to 1 May 2004 (79.4 years in 2004). The availability of all methods of renal replacement therapy also increased, particularly peritoneal dialysis, which was virtually unavailable prior to 1990. [publication summary] [Perit Dial Int 2007; 27: 196–202]
- Down syndrome, paternal age and education: comparison of California and the Czech Republic
Background: The association between maternal age and risk of Down syndrome has been repeatedly shown in various populations. However, the effect of paternal age and education of parents has not been frequently studied. Comparative studies on Down syndrome are also rare. This study evaluates the epidemiological characteristics of Down syndrome in two culturally and socially contrasting population settings, in California and the Czech Republic. Methods: The observed live birth prevalence of Down syndrome was studied among all newborns in the California counties monitored by California Birth Defects Monitoring Program from 1996 to 1997, and in the whole Czech Republic from 1994 to 1998. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 516,745 (California) and 475,834 (the Czech Republic) infants were included in the analysis. Among them, 593 and 251, respectively, had Down syndrome. The mean maternal age of children with Down syndrome was 32.1 years in California and 26.9 years in the Czech Republic. Children born to older mothers were at greater risk of Down syndrome in both populations. The association with paternal age was mostly explained by adjusting for maternal age, but remained significant in the Czech Republic. The association between maternal education and Down syndrome was much stronger in California than in the Czech Republic but parental age influences higher occurrence of Down syndrome both in California and in the Czech Republic. Conclusion: The educational gradient in California might reflect selective impact of prenatal diagnosis, elective termination, and acceptance of prenatal diagnostic measures in Californian population. [author abstract] [BMC Public Health 2005, 5: 69 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-5-69]
- eHealth Strategies – Country Brief: Czech Republic
The Czech Republic’s current national eHealth strategy document was created in 2007 and introduced to a wider public in 2008 by the Interdepartmental Committee for eHealth. Issues of eHealth and the areas which are of most urgent national interest were presented. Preceding this was the document "The Ministry of Informatics and the development of the Information Society in the Czech Republic” (2005) which describes concrete projects and steps towards creating the legal environment for the Czech information society. Prior to this was the document “National Action Plan eEurope: Czech Republic” which was published by Ministry of Informatics in 2002. In order to consider the Czech Republic’s position regarding eHealth interoperability objectives the following eHealth applications have been examined: patient summaries and electronic health records, ePrescription, standards and telemedicine. In overview the Czech Republic’s situation is as follows: The main development for electronic patient records is the IZIP EHR application, which was developed by IZP Inc. in 2003. Currently, the system is offered exclusively to insurees of the GHIC, which covers roughly 2/3 of the Czech population. At present the system is used by 10% of the population and over 1/3 of all healthcare institutions. The IZIP system is also intended for wide use in ambulance emergency services (EMS) in the Czech Republic and in 2006 a pilot project was run at the EMS facility in Hradec Králové. An ePrescribing module for the IZIP EHR system was developed in 2006 and planned for implementation in late 2009, however it has been put on hold due to governmental changes and legal issues will need to be clarified before implementation can go further. For standards the Ministry of Health follows a strategy of training and advising rather than legally prescribing use. International standards are in use in the Czech Republic to some extent and membership of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) is currently being considered. Telemonitoring and Teleconsulatation are the main varieties of Telemedicine projects currently underway in the Czech Republic as well as Teleconferences between healthcare professionals. One particular project has been developed by the insurance company of Interior Affairs of the Czech Republic whereby a portal was created with eCommunication functionality for General Practitioners (GPs). [exec summary] [European Commission, DG Information Society and Media, ICT for Health Unit, October 2010]
- Health, Health Care System and Active Ageing in the Czech Republic: Politics, Actors and Institutions
"Our research on active ageing policies has from the very beginning included health as a key determinant of life activities. If health deteriorates, the possibility of leading an active life is threatened and the forms of possible activities change radically. It is generally accepted that a health care system can influence the health status of an individual as well as a population by up to 20%. Most of health is thus significantly formed by other than systemic factors, which include lifestyle, risk behaviour, abuse of nicotine and alcohol etc. It is interesting that thus far we have not become used to linking these “non-systemic“ factors with a positive approach to ageing. If in contemporary societies there are debates about seniors and health, these are above all about diseases that affect the elderly and their negative economic impact on the budget of a given state. In the Czech Republic in the majority of debates about ageing the problem of seniors is presented as a problem of the economic sustainability of the health care system (apart from the pension system itself). Only very rarely we do encounter thoughts on health as involving a lifelong effort on the part of all actors and on healthy and productive ageing as a well-deserved final product of these intense efforts. Even more rare is the term health mentioned in concrete discussions about active ageing. In these cases health is usually taken for granted, as a factor that becomes a concealed precondition due to the fiscal necessity of keeping older employees in the labour market. In this report on the ActivAge project we would like to point out that health is a basic and necessary precondition of prolonged economic and social activity in older age. We also stress that health risks that individuals encounter from birth throughout their lives are among major barriers to active ageing." [The ACTIVAGE Project, WP 4, Czech Country Report, March 2005]
- Health and the Roma Community: analysis of the situation in Europe – Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain
"The Roma community is the largest ethnic minority in Europe and is characterised primarily by the situation of social exclusion and wide-ranging poverty experienced by a significant proportion of its members. Inadequate access to housing, education, employment and other needs, along with the existence of barriers to Roma access to health services and an ineffective use of these services due to their lack of adaptation and even to discrimination, all contribute to a range of avoidable injustices suffered by this community with regard to their health situation. These health inequalities are not reflected in reliable and up-to-date statistics or data, a fact which further hinders the planning of targeted interventions designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate inequality. The European project “Health and the Roma Community, Analysis of the Situation in Europe”, promoted by the Fundacion Secretariado Gitano, was implemented in 2007 to analyse the health situation of Europe’s Roma community, to address social inequalities in the area of health and to suggest policies and actions based on reliable knowledge designed to improve the health status of Europe’s Roma community and to reduce inequality. This project, funded by the European Union within the framework of the Public Health Programme, was implemented in seven European Union countries (Greece, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, Romania and Bulgaria) with the participation of public and private entities from the different participating countries and under the coordination of the Fundacion Secretariado Gitano." [EFXINI POLI – Local Authorities for Social, Cultural, Tourist, Environmental and Agricultural Development. Greece; FSG – Fundacion Secretariado Gitano. Spain; Office of the Council for Roma Community Affairs – Czech Republic; PDCS – Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia; REAPN – Rede Europeia Anti-Pobreza/Portugal; ROMANI CRISS – Roma Center for Social Interventions and Studies. Romania; and THRPF – The Health of Romany People Foundation. Bulgaria, Madrid 2009]
- Health care systems in transition: Czech Republic
The Health Care Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide an analytical description of a health care system and of reform initiatives in progress or under development. [Rokosova, Martina & Hava, Petr. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office on behalf of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policy, 2005]
- Health expectancy in the Czech Republic
"This report is produced by the European Health Expectancy Monitoring Unit (EHEMU) as part of a country series. In each report we present: (i) Life expectancies and health expectancies at age 65 based on activity limitation (HLY) for the country of interest and for the overall 25 European Union member states (EU25), using the SILC question on long term activity limitation for 2005, 2006 and 2007. As the SILC has been only recently initiated, to document trends we provide previous HLY series based on the disability question of the 1995-2001 European Community Household Panel (ECHP); (ii) health expectancies based on the two additional dimensions of health (chronic morbidity and self-perceived health) for the country of interest, based on SILC 2007; [and] (iii) a global analysis of health expectancies of European countries, based on the SILC 2007." [EHEMU Country Reports, Issue 3 - March 2010]
- Health promotion for older people in the Czech Republic in a European perspective
This article describes health promotion for older people in the Czech Republic from the European perspective1. It is based on findings from the European project healthPROelderly. Implementation of health promotion in the Czech republic [sic] as a new public health concept is outlined from the historical point of view. Structures and processes of health promotion in the Czech Republic are described in the context of social policy, demography and health. The European project healthPROelderly is presented and the outcomes of an international literature search statistically analysed. Participating countries were divided into three macro-regions according to their geographical location and political and historical tradition – Mediterranean, West-European and formerly East-European macro-regions. The outcome of correspondence analysis partially confirms the hypothesis on the cultural background of the health promotion activities and strategies. Concerning themes addressed by health promotion projects most countries belonging to the Mediterranean or “Western European” macro-regions have concentrated on similar themes whereas this is not valid for the countries of the “Former Eastern European” macro-region. The hypothesis on macro-regional similarities in relation to settings of health promotion projects was not confirmed. In the conclusions the location of the Czech Republic in an international perspective is discussed and three Czech selected best practice projects are evaluated in relation to the statistical findings. [author summary] [Cent Eur J Public Health 2010; 18 (2): 63–69]
- Mental Health Care System and Mental Health Expenditures in the Czech Republic
Background: Although the mental health care is a substantial component of the health system in the Czech Republic, there is a lack of information and research on mental health expenditures. Determining the level and profile of mental health expenditures is the first step in achieving awareness of the cost of mental illness to society. Aims of the Study: To describe the mental health care financing and delivery system in the Czech Republic and to estimate the mental health expenditures in 2001. The paper examines expenditures with regard to structure by type of service, relative share of total health expenditures, and relative share of the gross domestic product. It also makes international comparisons of mental health expenditures between the Czech Republic and other countries. Methods: The data discussed in this study come from the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic and from the General Health Insurance Fund of the Czech Republic. Mental health expenditures are defined as expenditures on services for patients with primary or first-listed diagnoses from Chapter V, Mental and Behavioural Disorders (F00-F99), of the Tenth Revision of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Different methods of allocation are used for various types of services. In addition, expenditures of sickness insurance related to mental illness are also estimated. Results: Mental illness is diagnosed and treated in about 4% of the population. The share of mental illness on the total morbidity in the population is approximately 2%. The share of mental health expenditures on both the total health expenditures (3.54%) and the gross domestic product (0.26%) is low when compared to levels in other developed countries. Psychiatric hospitals consume 35.6% of mental health expenditures; prescribed drugs and medical aid consume 33.2%; specialized outpatient services consume 17.4%; and shares of other services are relatively low. Implications for Health Care Policy Formulation: First, if the amount of expenditures allocated to mental health can be interpreted as an indicator of the government’s commitment to mental health, then, in comparison to other developed countries, mental health has a low priority in the Czech Republic. Second, the improved availability of data on morbidity and regular analyses of these data are needed and should yield fast and valuable results. [author abstract] [J Ment Health Policy Econ 7, 159-165 (2004)]
- Occupational Respiratory Diseases in the Czech Republic
This paper presents the profile of occupational respiratory diseases in the Czech Republic. In a retrospective study the author analyzes structure, causes, occurrence, and trends of occupational diseases. Between 1996 and 2000, a total of 2,127 new cases were recorded, of which 62.0% were pneumoconioses caused by dust containing free silica, 21.0% were occupational asthma or allergic rhinitis and the rest were divided between lung cancer (10.0%), asbestos-related disorders (4.4%) and variety of other respiratory diseases (2.7%). During the period of the investigations, the decreasing trend of occupational respiratory diseases, which began in 1992, has continued. [author abstract] [Industrial Health 2003, 41, 121–123]
- Outdoor Air Pollution, Low Birth Weight, and Prematurity
This study tested the hypothesis, suggested by several recent reports, that air pollution may increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes. This study analyzed all singleton live births registered by the Czech national birth register in 1991 in 67 districts where at least one pollutant was monitored in 1990-1991 (n = 108,173). Maternal exposures to sulfur dioxide (S02), total suspended particles (TSP), and nitrous oxides (NO.) in each trimester of pregnancy were estimated as the arithmetic means of all daily measurements taken by all monitors in the district of birth of each infant. Odds ratios of low birth weight (< 2,500 g), prematurity (< 37 weeks of gestation), and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR; < 10th percentile of birth weight for gestational age and sex) were estimated by robust logistic regression. The median (and 25th and 75th percentile) trimester exposures were 32 (18, 56) pg/m3 for S02; 72 (55, 87) pg/m3 for TSP; and 38 (23, 59) pg/m3 for NOx. Low birth weight (prevalence 5.2%) and prematurity (prevalence 4.8%) were associated with S02 and somewhat less strongly with TSP. IUGR was not associated with any pollutant. The effects on low birth weight and prematurity were marginally stronger for exposures in the first trimester, and were not attenuated at all by adjustment for socioeconomic factors or the month of birth. Adjusted odds ratios of low birth weight were 1.20 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11-1.30] and 1.15 (CI, 1.07-1.24) for a 50 pg/m3 increase in SO2 and TSP, respectively, in the first trimester; adjusted odds ratios of prematurity were 1.27 (CI, 1.16-1.39) and 1.18 (CI, 1.05-1.31) for a 50 pg/m3 increase in SO2 and TSP, respectively, in the first trimester. Low gestational age accounted for the association between SO2 and low birth weight. These findings provide further support for the hypothesis that air pollution can affect the outcome of pregnancy. [author abstract] [Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 108, No. 2, pp.173-176, February 2000]
- Policies on Health Care for Undocumented Migrants in EU27 – Country Report: Czech Republic
"Over the past years, the Czech Republic has had a net-immigration due to a rapidly growing economy and the demand for cheap, low skilled labour (esp. within the construction and manufacturing industry) and helped also by the organisation offered by mediators such as brokers and agencies. Since 1993, a long-term increase in the number of foreigners has been recorded - in 1993 there were only 77 668 foreigners staying in the Czech Republic. Since 1996, there has been a gradual rise in the share of permanent residence permits (mostly linked to family reasons) at the expense of long-term residence permits (chiefly economic migrants) – from approximately 23% to the current 43%. The reasons can be found primarily within legislation, where conditions for obtaining permanent residence have been eased. In 2007, 653 241 visas were issued (including 292 316 to Russian and 142 245 to Ukrainian citizens. Asylum seekers are not a significant group in the Czech migration context. Between 1994 and 2007, of 79 363 asylum seekers, only 1 969 gained asylum in the country (2.5%). In 2008, 1 650 asylum seekers applied for asylum in the Czech Republic. Among those, 320 came from Ukraine and 250 from Turkey (ibid.). The same year, 2 880 decisions were issued (in the first and second instance) and the rate of recognition was 15.5 % (in the first instance)." [Healthcare in NowHereland: Improving services for undocumented migrants in the EU, Work package 4, Policy Compilation and EU Landscape, Deliverabel No.6, MIM/Health and Society, Malmo University, April 2010]
- Relationship between parental locus of control and caries experience in preschool children – cross-sectional survey
Background: Due to high prevalence and serious impacts, childhood caries represents a public health issue. Behavioural risk factors such as locus of health control have been implicated in the development of the disease; however their association with childhood caries has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to assess the relationship between parental locus of health control and caries experience and untreated caries of their preschool children in a representative sample in Czech Republic, adjusting for relevant sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A representative sample of 285 preschool children and their parents was recruited. Study data included children's dental status recorded in nurseries and parental questionnaires with 13 attitudinal items regarding locus of control (LoC) in caries prevention. The association between parental locus of control and children's caries experience and level of untreated caries was analysed using logistic regression, adjusting for the effect of key sociodemographic variables. Results: There was a statistically highly significant linear trend between increased parental LoC and higher probability of the children to be free from untreated caries, independent from the effect of sociodemographic variables of children and parents. A similar highly statistically significant trend, although not entirely linear, and independent from sociodemographic variables was observed with respect to the chance of the children to be free from caries experience with increasing strength of parental LoC. After full adjustment, children in the strongest parental LoC quintile were 2.81 (1.23–6.42, p< 0.05) times more likely to be free from untreated caries in comparison to the weakest parental LoC quintile and 2.32 (1.02–5.25, p< 0.05) times more likely to be free from caries experience in comparison to the weakest parental LoC quintile. Conclusion: The findings support the hypothesis that higher internal parental LoC is associated with better control of both untreated caries and caries experience in their preschool children and highlight that a more internal LoC within the family is advantageous in the prevention of dental caries. [author abstract] [BMC Public Health 2008, 8: 208]
- Secular Trends: A Ten-Year Comparison of the Amount and Type of Physical Activity and Inactivity of Random Samples of Adolescents in the Czech Republic
Background: An optimal level of physical activity (PA) in adolescence influences the level of PA in adulthood. Although PA declines with age have been demonstrated repeatedly, few studies have been carried out on secular trends. The present study assessed levels, types and secular trends of PA and sedentary behaviour of a sample of adolescents in the Czech Republic. Methods: The study comprised two cross-sectional cohorts of adolescents ten years apart. The analysis compared data collected through a week-long monitoring of adolescents’ PA in 1998-2000 and 2008-2010. Adolescents wore either Yamax SW-701 or Omron HJ- 105 pedometer continuously for 7 days (at least 10 hours per day) excluding sleeping, hygiene and bathing. They also recorded their number of steps per day, the type and duration of PA and sedentary behaviour (in minutes) on record sheets. In total, 902 adolescents (410 boys; 492 girls) aged 14-18 were eligible for analysis. Results: Overweight and obesity in Czech adolescents participating in this study increased from 5.5% (younger cohort, 1998-2000) to 10.4% (older cohort, 2008-2010). There were no inter-cohort significant changes in the total amount of sedentary behaviour in boys. However in girls, on weekdays, there was a significant increase in the total duration of sedentary behaviour of the younger cohort (2008-2010) compared with the older one (1998-2000). Studying and screen time (television and computer) were among the main sedentary behaviours in Czech adolescents. The types of sedentary behaviour also changed: watching TV (1998-2000) was replaced by time spent on computers (2008-2010). The Czech health-related criterion (achieving 11,000 steps per day) decreased only in boys from 68% (1998-2000) to 55% (2008-2010). Across both genders, 55%-75% of Czech adolescents met the health-related criterion of recommended steps per day, however less participants in the younger cohort (2008-2010) met this criterion than in the older cohort (1998-2000) ten years ago. Adolescents’ PA levels for the monitored periods of 1998-2000 and 2008-2010 suggest a secular decrease in the weekly number of steps achieved by adolescent boys and girls. Conclusion: In the younger cohort, every tenth adolescent was either overweight or obese; roughly twice the rate when compared to the older cohort. Sedentary behaviour seems relatively stable across the two cohorts as the increased time that the younger cohort spent on computers is compensated with an equally decreased time spent watching TV or studying. Across both cohorts about half to three quarters of the adolescents met the health-related criterion for achieved number of steps. The findings show a secular decrease in PA amongst adolescents. The significant interaction effects (cohort x age; and cohort x gender) that this study found suggested that secular trends in PA differ by age and gender. [author abstract] [BMC Public Health 2011, 11:731 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-731]
- Syphilis and gonorrhoea in the Czech Republic: Surveillance report
Syphilis remains a public health problem in the Czech Republic and worldwide. The Czech Republic - until 1993 a part of Czechoslovakia - has a long tradition in public health activities, and STI surveillance is mainly focused on the infections traditionally called ‘venereal diseases’ - syphilis, gonorrhoea, chancroid, and lymphogranuloma venereum. Campaigns from the early 1950s, were successful in controlling syphilis and gonorrhoea; and chancroid and lymphogranuloma venereum infections are extremely rare. In late 1980s, a low incidence of newly reported syphilis cases was achieved (100-200 cases annually), while around 6500 cases of gonorrhoea were recorded annually during the same period. Health care and prevention of STI diseases in the Czech Republic are based on close cooperation between clinical departments and laboratory and epidemiological services of Environmental Health Offices. Annual statistics showing data on reported cases of ’venereal diseases’, based on ICD-10 codes, are available from 1959. Separate statistical data on other STIs are not available, and aggregated numbers only for Chlamydia trachomatis infections have been presented annually since 2000. Following the political and social changes in the Czech community in 1989, a distinct increase of syphilis was recorded. Between 50% and 60% of notified cases were classified as late latent or of unknown duration. The continuing annual occurrence of congenital syphilis (7-18 cases per year) reported during the 1990s has also been a very serious phenomenon. Cases have been concentrated in large urban areas with a high level of commercial sex activity, and a high proportion of cases is also noted in refugees. While the annual incidence of gonorrhoea gradually decreased from 1994 to 2001 (from 28.5 to 8.9 per 100 000 population), the incidence of syphilis increased in this period from 3.6 to 9.6 per 100 000 population (the highest value was 13.4 in 2001) and in 2000, for the first time in many years, it exceeded the incidence of gonorrhoea. [publication summary] [Euro Surveill 2004; 9: 18-20]
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