Demographic transitions that occur in decreased dynamics of natality and rising number of elderly in population structures constitute a challenge for all national economies. Another global phenomena are large-scale migration processes driven by intensification of globalization process, development of technologies, and telecommunications. Although both these phenomena were vastly addressed in many ways in scientific literature, a notifiable fact is that there are only few researches that would investigate them in connection and consider migration of older people and its consequences, especially for health systems. Despite the fact that generally the likelihood of migrations reduces along with age, in some countries a higher share of migrants older than 65 years in reference to the entire group of migrants are being observed. It is the more essential that groups of seniors represent an increasing percentage of people. There are also differences in between standard reasons for migrations in young people and the factors affecting migrations in elderly ones. Many variables can influence migration decisions among older people, and they can be affected by seniors' health conditions, levels of health care within the target countries they migrate to, and the living standards. Such factors as population aging, reduced fertility, and international migration have affected the changes in demographic profiles of many countries. The consequence of migration decisions in the group of seniors is, among others, the impact on health care systems of single nation states, which are more and more important elements of economic, social, and financial systems.

The present study was designed to investigate the role of postnatal fluoride intake on [3H]glucose uptake and transport in rat brain and peripheral tissues. Sodium fluoride (NaF) in a concentration of 10 or 50 ppm was added to the drinking water of adult Wistar rats. The control group received distilled water. After 4 weeks, respective plasma fluoride levels were 0.0541 ± 0.0135 μg/ml (control), 0.0596 ± 0.0202 μg/ml (10 ppm), and 0.0823 ± 0.0199 μg/ml (50 ppm). Although plasma glucose levels were not altered in any group, the plasma insulin level in the fluoride (50 ppm) group was elevated (0.72 ± 0.13 μg/ml) versus the control group (0.48 ± 0.24 μg/ml) and fluoride (10 ppm) group. In rats receiving fluoride for 4 weeks at 10 ppm in drinking water, [3H]glucose uptake was unaltered in all tested parts of the brain. However, in rats receiving fluoride at 50 ppm, [3H]glucose uptake in cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and thalamus with hypothalamus was elevated, versus the saline group. Fluoride intake had a negligible effect on [3H]glucose uptake by peripheral tissues (liver, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, atrium, aorta, kidney, visceral tissue, lung, skin, oral mucosa, tongue, salivary gland, incisor, molars, and jawbone). In neither fluoride group was glucose transporter proteins 1 (GLUT 1) or 3 (GLUT 3) altered in frontal cortex and striatum versus control. On the assumption that increased glucose uptake (by neural tissue) reasonably reflects neuronal activity, it appears that fluoride damage to the brain results in a compensatory increase in glucose uptake and utilization without changes in GLUT 1 and GLUT 3 expression.

Aim: The study was aimed at assessing the mortality of the population, the occurrence of the phenomenon of depression and suicide before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Data on total mortality in Poland in 2017–2021 came from the report of the Ministry of Health. Data on the number of sick leave due to mental disorders were taken from the report of the ZUS (Social Insurance Institution in Poland). Data on the number of suicides came from police statistics.Results: Increase in the number of deaths in Poland in 2021 compared to the 2017–2019 average – 26.86%. In 2018–2020, the greatest number of fatal suicides was recorded in the age group – 60–64 years (in 2018 N = 565; 10.90%; in 2020 N = 524; 10.15%).Conclusions: In the years 2020-2021, an increase in mortality was observed in Poland compared to the previous years. Moreover, in 2020 there was an increase in sickness absence due to ICD-10 F.32 and an increase in the number of suicide attempts.

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a growing epidemiological threat in many areas of the world, including North America and Europe. Due to the lack of effective protection against this disease, it seems important to ensure a timely diagnosis for effective treatment and the prevention of serious health consequences. The aim of this study was to assess the costs of diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease in Poland. The costs incurred for the medical payer were analyzed. The cost of hospitalization due to LB for one patient in 2018 was estimated to be ~582.39 EUR, which constituted 53.10% of the average monthly salary of that year. In the analyzed period (2008–2018), the number of people treated by medical services due to Lyme disease increased, both in hospitalization and ambulatory specialist care. Although, the costs of hospitalization were the highest of the two, we noticed a change ratio between hospitalization and ambulatory specialist care in favor of the latter.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the access of prisoners to healthcare services, as well as the level of satisfaction with the provided services and health assessment among prisoners. Methods: The research was conducted in one of the penitentiary centers in Poland among people jailed between 1 January to 31 January 2020. The response rate of the self-administrated questionnaire was 52.05% (469/901) participants. There were 389 men and 77 women. Results: Prisoners assessed access to health services including GP doctors, specialist doctors, dentists, and hospitals in 3 categories: “bad” ranged: 27.03–67.60%; “medium” ranged: 22.54–53.57%; “good” ranged: 7.02–33.96% depending on the type of arrest, but no statistical significance was demonstrated. Satisfaction with the health services defined as “bad” ranged: 25.00–61.11%; “medium” ranged: 18.97–55.56%; “good” ranged: 5.56–34.62% depending on the type of arrest but no statistical significance was demonstrated. Of 469 prisoners, 215 prisoners (45.84%) declared no addictions. The frequency of addiction does not differ depending on the place/type of punishment served (p = 0.9). In turn, 317 prisoners (68%) declared no chronic diseases. Conclusions: Most of the prisoners described access to health services as “bad”, except female prisoners from a semi-open facility. In turn, satisfaction with healthcare services was most often assessed as “bad”, except for temporarily arrested men and female prisoners from a semi-open facility.