The COVID-19 pandemic is a great threat to both physical and mental health as it may lead to psychological stress connected with an economic crisis, threat of unemployment, or fear of losing family members. Emerging data shows that the general public may be vulnerable to the pandemic-related stress and experience frequently prevalent anxiety. A study involving 471 subjects (85.6% female) was conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used the following scales: Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Revised University of California, Los Angeles (R-UCLA) Loneliness Scale, and Daily Life Fatigue scale (DLF). Women had higher mean scores of depression, loneliness, and daily life fatigue and more often than males started exercising. Among people professionally active before the pandemic, there were more cases of increased alcohol consumption than among students. No differences in alcohol consumption patterns were found between genders. People living alone had higher scores of loneliness and daily life fatigue compared to those living with someone. Respondents who started taking any new drugs during COVID-19 home confinement had higher outcomes in all questionnaires. During home confinement, high scores of depression, insomnia, loneliness, and everyday fatigue were observed.

Asthma is a chronic and heterogenic disease of the respiratory system, one of the most common lung diseases worldwide. The underlying pathologies, which are chronic inflammatory process and airway remodeling (AR), are mediated by numerous cells and cytokines. Particularly interesting in this field is the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), one of the members of the human growth factor family. In this article, the authors analyze the available data on the role of PDGF in asthma in experimental models and in human research. PDGF is expressed in airway by various cells contributing to asthma pathogenesis—mast cells, eosinophils, and airway epithelial cells. Research confirms the thesis that this factor is also secreted by these cells in the course of asthma. The main effects of PDGF on bronchi are the proliferation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells, migration of ASM cells into the epithelium and enhanced collagen synthesis by lung fibroblasts. The importance of AR in asthma is well recognized and new therapies should also aim to manage it, possibly targeting PDGFRs. Further studies on new and already existing drugs, mediating the PDGF signaling and related to asthma are necessary. Several promising drugs from the tyrosine kinase inhibitors group, including nilotinib, imatinib masitinib, and sunitinib, are currently being clinically tested and other molecules are likely to emerge in this field.

Asthma is a chronic and heterogenic respiratory tract disorder with a high global prevalence. The underlying chronic inflammatory process and airway remodeling (AR) contribute to the symptomatology of the disease. The most severely ill asthma patients may now be treated using a variety of monoclonal antibodies aiming key inflammatory cytokines involved in asthma pathogenesis. Although clinical data shows much beneficial effects of biological therapies in terms of reduction of exacerbation rates, improvement of lung functions, asthma control and patients' quality of life, little is known on the effects of these monoclonal antibodies on AR—a key clinical trait of long-term asthma management. In this review, the authors summarize the data on the proven effects of monoclonal antibodies in asthma on AR. To date, in terms of reversing AR, the mostly studied was omalizumab. However, some studies also addressed this clinical issue in context of other severe asthma biological therapies (mepolizumab, benralizumab, tralokinumab). Still, data on effects of particular biological therapies on AR in severe asthma are incomplete and require further studies. According to the American Thoracic Society research recommendations, future research shall focus on AR in asthma and improve drugs targeting AR, including the available and future monoclonal antibodies.

Introduction: Polypharmacy is a risk factor for adverse health outcomes, higher use of medical services and additional costs. The problem has gained attention as a consequence of aging and related multimorbidity. Therefore, there is an urgent need to adopt effective interventions aimed at reducing its burden. In order to achieve this, in-depth understanding of the prevalence of polypharmacy is required. Of particular interest is, however, assessing prevalence of polypharmacy in various age groups, to reach the right target for these interventions. So far, only limited data on polypharmacy among non-elderly individuals have been available.Aim of study: To assess overall prevalence of polypharmacy in Poland as well as its distribution in various age groups using real-world data.Methodology: A retrospective analysis of complete dispensation data of national payer organization for the years 2018–2019. The analyzed dataset included data on dispensation of reimbursed drugs, and exclusively for 2019, also non-reimbursed drugs. Polypharmacy was defined as dispensation of ≥5 prescription medications within six months.Results: In the analyzed national cohort of 38 million Polish citizens, the prevalence of polypharmacy was found to be 11.7% in 2018 and 11.6% in 2019. With age, the prevalence of polypharmacy increased, reaching the value of 56.0% in those aged 80+ in 2018, and 55.0% in 2019. Altogether, among those aged 65+, the polypharmacy was present in 43.1% in 2018, and 42.1% in 2019. In the youngest group of citizens, i.e., among those aged below 20 years, polypharmacy was found in 0.9%, and 0.8% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Prevalence of polypharmacy, calculated for 2019 according to dispensation of five or more reimbursed and non-reimbursed drugs for the whole Polish population, was 21.8% for January-June, and 22.4% for July-December 2019. Among those aged 65+, the relevant numbers were 62.3%, and 62.9%, respectively.Conclusion: This study, being the first nationwide assessment of polypharmacy in Poland, confirmed its high prevalence. We found polypharmacy present in over one fifth of Polish society. Peaking in the elderly, polypharmacy occurred in each age group. These results lay the foundations for future interventions focused on reducing the scope of this problem in Poland.

Introduction: Drug-drug interactions may lead to poor health outcomes, as well as increased costs and utilization of healthcare services. Unfortunately, real-world data continuously prove high prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) worldwide. Among identified drivers, ageing, multimorbidity and polypharmacy play a very important role. With these factors being widespread, the need for implementation of strategies minimizing the burden of pDDIs becomes an urgency. This, however, requires a better understanding of the prevalence of pDDIs and the underlying causative factors.Aim of study: To assess the real-world prevalence of pDDIs and its characteristics in the general population of Poland, using analgesic drugs as a model, and to find out whether pDDIs are caused by prescribing coming from the very same prescribers (co-prescribing).Methods: A retrospective analysis of the 2018 dispensation data of the National Health Fund (NHF) - the only Polish public healthcare payer organization with nationwide coverage. We searched for selected pDDIs of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with antihypertensives, other NSAIDs (double use), oral glucocorticoids, oral anticoagulants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and antiplatelet drugs; as well as opioides with SSRIs, SNRIs, gabapentinoids, and benzodiazepines. A pDDI was deemed present if two drugs standing in a possible conflict were dispensed within the same calendar month.Results: Out of 38.4 million citizens of Poland, 23.3 million were dispensed prescribed drugs reimbursed by NHF in 2018. In this cohort, we have identified 2,485,787 cases of analgesic drug pDDIs, corresponding with 6.47% of the Polish population. Out of these, the most prevalent pDDI was caused by “NSAIDs + antihypertensives” (1,583,575 cases, i.e., 4.12% of the Polish population), followed by “NSAIDs + NSAIDs” (538,640, 1.40%) and “NSAIDs + glucocorticoids” (213,504, 0.56%). The most persistent pDDIs among those studied were caused by “Opioids + Gabapentinoids” (2.19, 95%CI: 2.16–2.22 months). On average, 76.63% of all cases of pDDIs were caused by drugs prescribed by the very same prescribers.Conclusion: Based on high-quality, nationwide data, we have found a high prevalence of analgesic drugs-related pDDIs in Poland. Over ¾ of the identified pDDIs were caused by co-prescribing, i.e., prescriptions issued by the same prescribers. The significance of the problem, illustrated with our findings on analgesic drugs-related pDDIs in Poland, deserves much more scientific and policymaker attention.

Background: Treatment adherence greatly influences the clinical outcomes in various fields of medicine, including management of asthma and COPD. With the recent implementation of a nationwide e-Health solutions in Poland, new and unique opportunities for studying primary non-adherence in asthma and COPD emerged. The aim was to study primary non-adherence to inhaled medications available in Poland indicated in asthma and/or COPD and analyse the impact of patients’ demographics and inhalers’ characteristics (dry powder inhalers (DPIs) vs metered dose inhalers (MDIs) and presence of a dosage counter) on primary non-adherence. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all e-prescriptions issued in Poland in 2018 (n = 119,880) from the national e-prescription pilot framework. Results: Primary non-adherence for inhalable medications reached 15.3%. It significantly differed among age groups—the lowest (10.8%) was in 75 + years-old patients, highest (18%) in 65–74 years-old patients. No gender differences in primary non-adherence were found. The highest non-adherence was observed for ICS + LABA combinations (18.86%). A significant difference was found between MDI and DPI inhalers and between inhalers with/without a dosage counter. Conclusions: Out of e-prescriptions for inhaled medications issued in 2018 in Poland, 15.3% were not redeemed. The degree of primary non-adherence was influenced by age, but not gender. Significant differences between MDIs and DPIs and between inhalers with/without a dosage counter were observed.