INTRODUCTION Lowering exposure to dyslipidemias is one of the biggest challenges in cardiovascular disease prevention. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence of dyslipidemias and treatment of hypercholesterolemia in Poland, and to assess changes since the period of 2003-2005. PATIENTS AND METHODS Two cross-sectional surveys of the random samples of the Polish population were performed in the years 2003-2005 (WOBASZ) and 2013-2014 (WOBASZ II). Interviews were carried out according to a standard questionnaire. Blood lipid levels were determined in a single laboratory in frozen samples using the enzymatic colorimetric method. RESULTS The analysis included 14151 participants aged 20-74 years (WOBASZ) and 5947 participants aged 20-99 years (WOBASZ II). In the 2013-2014 survey, hypercholesterolemia was found in 70.3% of men and 64.3% of women. Isolated hypertriglyceridemia was found in 5.6% of men and 2.4% of women. Isolated low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were found in 5.1% of men and in 7.3% of women. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia did not change significantly with regards to the 2003-2005 survey. An increase in the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia was found in men (relative ratio [RR], 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.55), and an increase in the prevalence of low HDL-C levels was observed in both sexes (men: RR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.77-2.88; women: RR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.61-2.33). There was an increase in the proportion of persons receiving high- or moderate-intensity statin therapy. However, 60,6% of persons with hypercholesterolemia were not aware of their condition, and only 6% were treated and achieved the treatment target. CONCLUSIONS There is an urgent need for more effective strategies for the prevention and management of dyslipidemias.

Background: After political transformation in 1989/1990, Poland experienced a general improvement in living conditions and quality of life, but the benefits did not extend evenly across all segments of the society. We hypothesized that the regional differences in mortality due to diseases of the respiratory system are related to socioeconomic status (SES) and its changes over time. Materials and methods: An ecological study was carried out in 66 sub-regions of Poland using the data from the period of 2010 to 2014. Age-standardized mortality rates (SMRs) were calculated separately for men and women in three age categories: ≥15, 25–64 years, and ≥65 years. An area-based SES index was derived from the characteristics of the sub-regions using the z-score method. Multiple weighted linear regression models were constructed to estimate a real socioeconomic gradient for mortality resulting from lung cancer and respiratory diseases. Results: In the regions studied, the SMRs for respiratory disease varied from 70/100,000 to 215/100,000 in men and from 18/100,000 to 53/100,000 in women. The SMRs for lung cancer varied from 36/100,000 to 110/100,000 among men and from 26/100,000 to 77/100,000 among women. After adjusting for the prevalence of smoking and environmental pollution, the SES index was found to be inversely associated with the SMR for lung cancer in each category of age among men, and in the age group of 25–64 years among women. An increase of the SES index between 2010 and 2014 was associated with a decrease of SMR for respiratory disease both in men and women, but this change was not significantly associated with the SMR for lung cancer. Conclusion: SES appears to be an important correlate of mortality from respiratory diseases and lung cancer at the population level, particularly in men. A lower SES was associated with greater mortality from lung cancer and respiratory diseases. An increase in SES over time was related to a decrease in mortality from respiratory disease, but not from lung cancer.

Health status of infants is related to the general state of health of women of child-bearing age; however, women's occupational environment and socio-economic conditions also seem to play an important role. The aim of the present ecological study was to assess the relationship between occupational environment, industrial pollution, socio-economic status and infant mortality in Poland. Data on infant mortality and environmental and socio-economic characteristics for the 66 sub-regions of Poland for the years 2005–2011 were used in the analysis. Factor analysis was used to extract the most important factors explaining total variance among the 23 studied exposures. Generalized Estimating Equations model was used to evaluate the link between infant mortality and the studied extracted factors. Marked variation for infant mortality and the characteristics of industrialization was observed among the 66 sub-regions of Poland. Four extracted factors: “poor working environment”, “urbanization and employment in the service sector”, “industrial pollution”, “economic wealth” accounted for 77.3 % of cumulative variance between the studied exposures. In the multivariate regression analysis, an increase in factor “poor working environment” of 1 SD was related to an increase in infant mortality of 40 (95 % CI: 28–53) per 100,000 live births. Additionally, an increase in factor “industrial pollution” of 1 SD was associated with an increase in infant mortality of 16 (95 % CI: 2–30) per 100,000 live births. The factors “urbanization and employment in the service sector” and “economic wealth” were not significantly related to infant mortality. The study findings suggested that, at the population level, infant mortality was associated with an industrial environment. Strategies to improve working conditions and reduce industrial pollution might contribute to a reduction in infant mortality in Poland.

Background: Deaths due to traffic accidents are preventable and the access to health care is an important determinant of traffic accident case fatality. This study aimed to assess the relation between mortality due to traffic accidents and health care resources (HCR), at the population level, in 66 sub-regions of Poland. Methods: An area-based HCR index was delivered from the rates of physicians, nurses, and hospital beds. Associations between mortality from traffic accidents and the HCR index were tested using multivariate Poisson regression models. Results: In the sub-regions studied, the average mortality from traffic accidents was 11.7 in 2010 and 9.3/100.000 in 2015. After adjusting for sex, age and over time trends in mortality, out-of-hospital deaths were more frequently compared to hospitalized fatal cases (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.68, 95% CI 1.45–1.93). Compared to sub-regions with high HCR, mortality from traffic accidents was higher in sub-regions with low and moderate HCR (IRR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.11–1.42 and IRR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.02–1.38, respectively), which reflected the differences in out-of-hospital mortality most pronounced in car accidents. Conclusions: Poor HCR is an important factor that explains the territorial differentiation of mortality due to traffic accidents in Poland. The high percentage of out-of-hospital deaths indicates the importance of preventive measures and the need for improvement in access to health care to reduce mortality due to traffic accidents.