Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Jan 2012
Risk of Lyme disease at various sites and workplaces of forestry workers in eastern Poland.
Knowledge about the seasonal activity of various stages of the Ixodes ricinus tick is of great importance while developing models of the circulation of pathogens transmitted by ticks in a given environment, as well as while evaluating the risk of infection with these pathogens among individuals performing work in this environment. The objectives of the study was determination of the relative activity of Ixodes ricinus ticks occurring at 4 different workplaces of workers employed in one randomly selected forestry inspectorate, and the comparison of this activity to the Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence in ticks collected from the above-mentioned working stands. Ticks were collected by dragging a woollen flag over lower vegetation and litter along the paths and edges of a forest in July and September 2011 at the following sites and workplaces: acquisition of timber, growing of forest, forest cultivation and forest protection. ⋯ Nevertheless, the statistical analysis showed the significant difference in total infection rates only between timber acquisition and growing of forest sites (p=0.049), and between growing of forest and forest cultivation sites (p=0.049). The study showed also the lack of relationship between the ticks' activity and Borrelia burgdorferi infection of ticks at individual places and sites of work of forestry workers. In conclusion, forestry workers employed at such stands of work as timber acquisition, growing of forest, forest cultivation and forest protection are nearly at the same risk of Borrelia burgdorferi infection.
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Dec 2011
Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and IFG in the prospective cohort 'PONS' study - baseline assessment.
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in the Polish-Norwegian Study (PONS) population in Poland. ⋯ The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in study population was generally high, but especially high in males, and the awareness of diabetes in the population was generally low. Among participants with known diabetes more than half was not well controlled.
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Dec 2011
Prevalence of obesity - baseline assessment in the prospective cohort 'PONS' study.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population of Świętokrzyskie Province in Poland. ⋯ Almost 80% of the PONS population were either overweight or obese; therefore, the PONS population is at increased risk of developing obesity-related diseases.
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Dec 2011
Prevalence of hypertension in a sample of Polish population - baseline assessment from the prospective cohort 'PONS' study.
The aim of this cohort study was to evaluate the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors in the studied population. ⋯ The studied group had a high prevalence of hypertension (61.7%), which was less frequent and better controlled in the studied females than in the males. No significant difference was observed between the urban and rural populations. Level of education had significant impact on the prevalence of hypertension.