Introduction: The behaviour of parents in ensuring car passenger safety for their children is associated with socio-economic (SE) status of the family; however, the influence of parental education has rarely been researched and the findings are contradictory. The aim of the study was to clarify whether parental education influences the use of a child car seat during short rides. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in outpatient clinics for children’s healthcare across Slovenia. 904 parents of 3-year-old children participated in the study; the response rate was 95.9%. A self-administered questionnaire was used. A binary multiple logistic regression was applied to assess the association between parental unsafe behaviour as dependent variable, and education and other SE factors as independent variables. Results: 14.6% of parents did not use a child car seat during short rides. Families where mother had low or college education had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat than families where mother had a university education. Single-parent families and those who lived in areas with low or medium SE status also had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat. Conclusions: Low educational attainment influences parents’ behaviour regarding the non-use of a child car seat. Low parental education is not the only risk factor since some highly educated parents also have high odds of unsafe behaviour. All parents should therefore be included in individually tailored safety counselling programmes. SE inequalities could be further reduced with provision of free child car seats for eligible families.

Background: Binge drinking and other forms of ethanol abuse are, when present, a serious problem in preteens and adolescents worldwide. Aim: The present study has analyzed the trend in alcohol-related intoxications requiring the hospitalization of children, adolescents and young adults aged less than 21 years in Slovenia in the 1999–2018 period. Methods: We performed a retrospective study on patients discharged after hospitalizations due to mental and behavioral disorders due to acute alcohol intoxication (MBDAAI) or hospitalizations due to the toxic effects of alcohol (TEA We considered three groups: children (aged 10–14), adolescents (aged 15–19) and young adults (20–21 years old). Hospitalization rates and time trends were analyzed using joinpoint regression to obtain the annually calculated age- and sex-specific rates and the annual percentage of change (APC). Results: Considering a total of 2912 MBDAAI-hospitalizations, 15–19-year-old subjects showed a significantly higher hospitalization rate compared to the immediately younger and older age groups and a significant increase in hospitalization rates in the period 1999–2011, followed by a significant decrease. Considering 1143 TEA-hospitalizations, we observed a continuous decrease in the hospitalization rates for children and young adults and, conversely, a continuous even if less than significant increase for adolescents aged 15–19. Conclusions: Alcohol consumption in Slovenian children and adolescents is a highly important health concern. Special attention to public health problem of severe alcohol abuse requiring hospitalization in children and adolescents is needed, especially with possible crisis of SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 situation.

Background/Objectives: Intoxication by psychoactive substances (PASs) in children, adolescents, and young adults is a growing public health concern, with evolving patterns of use and hospital presentation. This study aimed to analyze the trends in hospital admissions for PASs among children and youth aged 10 to 24 years in Slovenia during the 2013–2023 period. Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study on patients discharged after hospitalization due to poisoning by PASs, according to ICD 10 AM. We considered four groups: children (aged 10–14), adolescents (aged 15–19) and young adults (20–21 and 22–24 years old). Annual hospitalization rates were stratified by sex, age group, and PAS category. The joinpoint regression model was used to estimate the average annual percentage change (AAPC) and annual percentage change (APC) response time trend. Results: Of those hospitalized, 52% were male and 65% were adolescents, followed by children (13%). A statistically significant decrease in alcohol-related hospitalizations was observed in the 10–14 and 15–19 age groups for both sexes in the period 2013–2023, while a statistically significant increasing trend was observed for alcohol in 22–24-year-old males during the period 2019–2023, and in multiple drug/other/unspecified PASs in the 15–19 age group in the period 2015–2023. Conclusions: Slovenia has some peculiarities in the abuse of PASs. Sex reversal phenomena are present already among children (especially for alcohol), and there are shifting risks in polydrug use in adolescents and emerging threats, as well as an increase in sedative or hypnotic poisoning in female adolescents since 2017.