The aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between the morning level of serum cortisol and perceptive experience of optimism in a selected group of 60 patients with newly diagnosed cancer who were treated at Mostar University Clinical Hospital during a one-month period. Patients and methods: The morning level of serum cortisol was measured in all patients following the verification of oncological disease. The patients also filled out a questionnaire of socio-demographic data, as well as the scales for optimism/pessimism assessment. Results: The average morning serum cortisol level was within the reference values in the majority of patients, independently of their perceptive experience of optimism/pessimism. There was no significant difference in the morning level of serum cortisol among the subgroups of patients high and low on the scale of optimism, as well as the scale of pessimism. No correlation existed between the serum cortisol morning level and expressed optimism/pessimism, as well. The great majority of respondents had secondary and lower education, was retired or unemployed, and suffered lower socio-economic conditions of life. Therefore, their access to medical information and their knowledge of cancer modern treatment options and possibilities were restricted, what may also have an influence onto perceptive experience of optimism/pessimism. Conclusion: The results concerned with the perceptive experience of optimism/pessimism assessment were not a consequence of stress reaction but they were more correlated to general personal characteristics, the level of education, and socio-economic status of patients. The results do not confirm the impact of morning serum cortisol level onto physiological reactions to stressful conditions and situations in selected group of patients with de novo carcinoma.

AIM The aim of this study was to determine the difference in the prevalence of burnout syndrome in preclinical and clinical teaching doctors of Mostar School of Medicine in the academic year 2011/2012. Special attention was also focused on finding out the possible difference between the syndrome incidence that was correlated to gender and years of service. The main hypothesis was that the probability of burnout syndrome incidence was higher in the group of female clinical teaching doctors having more years of service. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study involved 62 people with high academic education employed at Mostar School of Medicine who were surveyed during a randomly selected consecutive 3-month period (February to May) of the academic year 2011/2012. The data were prospectively collected through a standardized questionnaire survey. The studied parameters were gender, years of work experience and the engagement in preclinical or clinical departments of the Medical School. RESULTS The survey showed that 43 out of 62 (69.4%) respondents did not suffer the burnout syndrome, while moderate syndrome was recodred in 19 (30.6%) of them. No person had serious symptoms of the syndrome. The difference between the respondents who suffered the syndrome and those who did not was not statistically significant (P=0.002). Considering the gender of respondents, statistically significant differences were not confirmed (P=0.444). Considering the years of service, the highest incidence of the syndrome was found in people with more work experience (in the group of 21-25 years), but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (P=0.271). Observing the work in preclinical and clinical departments, because of the limited number of patients we could not confirm the hypothesis. The syndrome had affected 13 (21%) clinical teaching doctors and 6 (9,7%) preclinical doctors, while the differenece between them was not statistically significant (P=0.054). CONCLUSION Considering the results of this research, it has not been proven that the burnout syndrome occurred more frequently in doctors who were involved in clinical teaching than in doctors who tought in preclinical departments. Also, there was no difference in the appearance of the syndrome that was related to gender and years of service.

BACKGROUND Children with Down syndrome (DS) are an everyday casuistry of pediatric clinical medicine. The prevalence of DS is dependent on socio-demographic and cultural conditions of a community. Antenatal screening is not carried out mainly due to religious views, and the prevalence of DS in our region is really considered a "natural phenomenon". The aim of the study was to analyze some epidemiological characteristics of infants with Down syndrome in the western region of Herzegovina in the period between year 1994-2013. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of hospital records of children who were supervised and treated at Children's Hospital through the twenty-year period. RESULTS In this period there were 44,100 liveborn infants. Down syndrome was detected in 78 children (54 male and 24 female). The prevalence is estimated at 1.8/1,000 of live births. Aborted fetuses and stillbirths were not analyzed. 37 (47%) of the parent couples were over 35 years of age. Out of that 65 cytogenetic analysis, a regular type of trisomy 21 was found in 94% of cases, and the translocation in 6%. From major malformations (MM) heart failure was more often present (47%), then the anomaly of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems. Ten children (12%) died, most often in the early period of infancy due to complications of the cardiovascular system. CONCLUSION The prevalence of DS throughout these two decades has been uniform in the region of western Herzegovina. Improvement in perinatal care in recent years caused higher survival and a better quality of life for the children with DS and thus their families. DS is less a desirable family tragedy, and increasingly a tolerable family fate.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the risk factors (age, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, consumption of alchohol and drugs, positive family history, and exposure to sunlight), coping with stress, psychological well-being and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Forty patients with ARMD (case group) and 63 presbyopes (control group) participated in the study. Patient data were collected through general information questionnaire including patient habits, the COPE questionnaire that showed the way the patients handling stress, and the GHQ that analyzed the psychological aspects of their quality of life. These questionnaires were administered to the patients during ophthalmologic examination. The study involved 46 (44.66%) men and 57 (55.33%) women. Statistical analysis showed that the major risks for the development of ARMD were elevated cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in plasma. A significantly higher number ofARMD patients had a positive family history when compared with presbyopes. This study showed presbyopes to cope with emotional problems significantly better and to have a lower level of social dysfunction when compared with ARMD patients. However, it is necessary to conduct further studies in a large number of patients to determine more accurately the pathophysiological mechanisms of metabolic factors as well as the impact of the disease on the quality of life in patients with ARMD.

Aim of this study was to determine the probability of occurrence of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder- ADHD in children of preschool age and early school age, and to identify differences in the assessment of children identified with high probability for the disorder with regard to assessment by parents and teachers, and with respect on age and sex of children. Total of 107 children were included in the study: 51 girls and 56 boys. The study employed two questionnaires: Questionnaire for Analysis at School for teachers and Questionnaire for Analysis at Home for parents. Both questionnaires contained 39 statements which covered three dimensions of child's behavior needed for ADHD diagnosis. Raw data in each questionnaire were converted according to the standard norms of Guide to Standard Scores (SS) and Total Standard Scores (TSS) and as such were used for statistical analysis. It was found that a considerable number of children demonstrated high probability for ADHD disorder in assessments done by both parents and teachers. Parents recognize probability of ADHD presence more frequently among male children, while teachers recognize this probability more often among female children. Research shows that a significant percentage of children from the entire sample have been labeled with significant ADHD symptoms. Given the age of the child both parents and teachers recognize similar levels of high ADHD probability. Future studies should be directed toward early detection and recognition of children with ADHD syndrome, and clinical evaluation as a first step toward successful treatment and prevention of additional psychological and other problems in an adult.