Objective: The primary aim of this study was to examine whether the perception of the patient’s disease and adherence to treatment process influence treatment outcomes of heart failure. The secondary aim was to analyze whether there were differences in perception and adherence in patients with heart failure in relation to anemia. Method. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2015. One group consisted of 100 patients with heart failure and sideropenic anemia. The other group consisted of 100 patients without anemia. The standardized questionnaire was used to collect demographic data, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire to measure the patients’ perception of the disease and modified Clinician rating scale to assess patient’ s adherence. Results: The majority of respondents in the first group were women 63%, while in the second group there were 58% male and 42% female respondents. Respondents from the first group had statistically significantly lower adherence compared to respondents from the second group (χ2 = 23.28; p=0.05). A significant difference was found between the groups of subjects in comparison to the perception of disease control (χ2=18.03; p=0.05). Conclusion: The illness perception and treatment adherence have a significant impact on treatment outcomes of heart failure. Comorbidities, such as anemia, contribute to the patients’ perception of their disease and influence their adherence. Кey words: heart failure, sideropenic anemia, illness perception, adherence doi:10.5937/opmed1902029D

INTRODUCTION: Internet addiction is a topic that is widely debated in scientific circles and the media. Students spend a lot of time in content-related activities online, neglecting common activities such as socializing, business obligations, learning, home affairs, etc., and have difficulty interrupting internet activities, even when they themselves recognize it is time for it. AIM: The aim of this research was to investigate Internet addiction among students of the Medical Care, Faculty of Medicine in Foca. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research was conducted at the Medical Faculty in Foca in the period from 07.11. until 09.11.2016. year with health care students. The selected study design is a cross section study. The study covered 60 students, the first, second and third year of studies that were present on the days of the study and volunteered to participate in the research. RESULTS: The survey involved 60 respondents, of whom 21 are men (35%) and 39 women (65%), ages 18 to 24 years old. All of our respondents are Internet users. The largest percentage of respondents (66.7%) use the internet for 2 to 4 hours. The largest number of respondents first accessed the Internet at the age of 13 (21.7%). Most respondents use Facebook as a social network 56 (93.3%), while the least number of Twitter users. CONCLUSION: All of our respondents are Internet users, and the largest percentage of respondents (66.7%) use the internet for 2 to 4 hours. The largest number of respondents first accessed the Internet at the age of 13 (21.7%).

According to the World Health Organization, quality communication is one of the five skills that individuals need for a healthy and happy life, and the knowledge and skills of quality communication are a prerequisite for quality action for many professions. In order for healthcare professionals to tailor health communication to each patient individually and to provide high quality healthcare, it is essential that they have an insight into the health literacy status of their users. Given the large percentage of the illiterate population around the world, it is necessary to conduct health literacy research in some of our adapted measuring instruments in our country as well.

Tendency of modern diagnostic visualization development in biomedicine is focused on the integration of detection and quantification of molecular, functional and morphological events in the biological systems. The increasing number of patients with chronic kidney disease stimulated the development of new diagnostic methods. The development of magnetic resonance technology encouraged the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging of kidneys in both scientific research and clinical practice. The paper presents the basic characteristics of the functional magnetic resonance imagining and the possibilities for its use in the examination of kidney functions.

Introduction/Objective. During the past 20 years, there have been numerous attempts to design and apply a simple, affordable blood analysis tool for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in psychiatry. In this article we demonstrate that some mathematical parameters of chromatin organization and distribution in blood neutrophil granulocytes are related to stress levels in patients diagnosed with recurrent depressive disorder (RDD). Methods. The study was performed on 50 RDD participants who were asked to complete Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21). Peripheral blood samples were obtained from all the participants, smeared on glass slides and stained using a modification of Giemsa method. A total of 500 representative chromatin structures (10 per patient) of neutrophil granulocytes were evaluated using textural analysis with the application of gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) method. Parameters such as angular second moment (indicator of textural uniformity), inverse difference moment (textural homogeneity), and textural sum variance were calculated. Results. The results indicate that there is a statistically highly significant correlation (p < 0.01) between certain chromatin GLCM parameters such as inverse difference moment, and DASS-21 stress score. There was also a significant difference (p < 0.05) in some chromatin GLCM parameters in patients diagnosed with RDD with psychotic features, when compared to the ones without psychosis. Conclusion. These findings suggest that in the future, chromatin GLCM features might have a certain predictive value for some clinical features of recurrent depressive disorder.

Introduction. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency and risk factors for diabetic nephropathy (DN) in patients with type 2 diabetes as well as the factors related to kidney function decrease over a three-year period. Methods. The study involved 81 patients with type 2 diabetes, initially classified into two groups: the first group was comprised of 41 patients with DN (27 males; 62.03 ± 7.73 years) while the second one included 40 patients without DN (17 males, 61.73 ± 11.55 years). All of them were subjected to history taking, objective examination as well as laboratory examination. Based on the results of the study lasting for three years, the patients of both groups were divided into subgroups with stable kidney function and subgroups with impaired kidney function, defined as an increase in proteinuria level and/or decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by more than 25%. Results. In both groups, high incidence rates of known risk factors for diabetes and DN were recorded at the beginning of the study. The multivariate logistic analysis identified the female sex and the duration of diabetes as significant predictors of DN. After three-year period, kidney function declined in approximately 50% of patients with and without DN. Furthermore, the values of fasting glycemia and HbA1c were statistically higher in the groups with impaired kidney function compared to the ones with stable eGFR. The linear regression analysis revealed that, during three-year period, the change in eGFR was significantly associated with patient age, the duration of diabetes, systolic blood pressure, the difference in diastolic readings and proteinuria. The change in proteinuria was strongly associated with systolic blood pressure, the difference in diastolic readings, as well as with HbA1 and eGFR at the end of the study. Conclusion. In patients with type 2 diabetes, female sex and longer duration of diabetes were identified as significant risk factors for DN, while patient age, the duration of diabetes, elevated blood pressure and poor glucoregulation were identified as risk factors for kidney function decrease.

Cilj. Studija je sprovedena da utvrdi navike u ishrani kod zdravstvenih i prosvjetnih radnika u radi bližeg uvida u nutritivni obrazac kod ovih profesija, što bi unapredilo teorijska znanja u ovoj oblasti i planiranje i sprovođenje preventivnih mera u ciljnim populacionim grupama. Metode. Svi zdravstveni radnici zaposleni u Domu zdravlja ,,Dr Nika Labović”u Beranama i svi zaposleni prosvjetni radnici u Osnovnoj školi ,,Vuk Kardžić“ u Beranama su popunili anketu o ishrani. Podaci su prikupljeni prospektivno i analizirani metodama deskriptivne statistike i testiranja hipoteze. Rezultati. Ukupno je bilo 180 odraslih ispitanika oba pola (109 zdravstvenih i 71 prosvetni radnik), u životnom dobu od 43.70±11.90 (srednja vrednost±standardna devijacija) u grupi zdravstvenih radnika i 42.29±10.90 godine u grupi prosvetnih radnika. Nije bilo statistički značajne razlike između grupa u vrsti masnoća za pripremanje hrane, učestalost pripremanje hrane kod kuće, prosječnom broj kašika šećera za šolju kafe ili čaja, dodavanje soli hrani tokom obroka i upotrebi mlijeka. Zdravstveni radnici su značajno češće imali jutarnji obrok (79 vs 42, χ2=3.444, p=0.045), veći broj šolja kafe dnevno (3.17±1.23 vs 2.67±0.98, F=7.330, p=0.008) a manje prosječan broj kriški hljeba koji nije ražani i bjeli na dnevnom niovu (2.00±1.38 vs 3.06±1.53, F=5.292, p=0.027).