The importance of puberty on later health status and behavior is indisputable, which also means that it is worth making intervention efforts during this period of life. However, whether better health-related knowledge is correlated with favorable health behavior in adolescents is an important, still unanswered question. Our objective was to examine this relationship. The participants were ninth-grade secondary school students. Data were collected using anonymous, self-administered questionnaires. The knowledge-related questions were compiled by the authors, while the questions concerning eating habits, physical activity, demographic and socioeconomic data were taken from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children survey. The relationship between knowledge and behavior was investigated with structural equation modeling adjusted for gender, age, and socioeconomic status. The results demonstrated a good fit to the data, but better knowledge was not related to behavior in our sample. This finding suggests that adolescents’ health behavior is highly influenced by the living context; therefore, appropriate knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to improve adolescents’ behavior. Hence, comprehensive health promotion programs could provide solutions for encouraging healthy behavior.

Mental disorders are common in adolescents, and for effective interventions we should be aware of their determinants. However, there are only a small number of studies investigating the combined effect of multiple factors. Therefore, our aim is to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social support, and health behavior on adolescents’ mental well-being. A cross-sectional health survey of 1641 children was carried out in accordance with the study protocol of the Hungarian Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey. Multivariate multiple regression was used to analyze the main determinants of mental well-being. The boys’ mental well-being was favorable compared to girls; lower subjective family wealth was associated with lower life satisfaction and depressive mood. Life satisfaction was positively related to healthy eating, social support, and physical activity. Unhealthy eating, sedentary lifestyle, and lower social support were associated with higher depression scores. Higher social support reduces psychosomatic symptoms, while unhealthy eating and spending a lot of time in front of the computer increase them. Both social support and healthy lifestyle seem to be protective against mental health problems among adolescents, and thus interventions should focus on these factors regardless of the socioeconomic status of the participants, with special attention given to girls.

Nutrition studies among Roma are scarce and to date no quantified dietary data are available. This report provides, for the first time, quantified dietary data and comprehensive anthropometric information for the Hungarian Roma (HR) population, with Hungarian general (HG) adults as reference. Data were obtained from a complex comparative health survey, involving 387 and 410 subjects of HR and HG populations, respectively. Using corporal measurements, body composition indicators were constructed, while daily nutrient intakes were evaluated in comparison with internationally accepted guidelines on nutrient requirements and recommended intakes. Associations between Roma ethnicity and nutrient intakes, as well as odds of achieving dietary recommendations were explored using regression models, adjusted for relevant covariates (i.e., age, gender, education, marital status and perceived financial status). Results showed occasional differences for selected nutrient intakes between the groups, with HR’s intake being less favorable. Total fat intake, predominantly animal-sourced, exceeded recommendations among HR (36.1 g, 95% confidence interval (CI): 35.2–37.0) and was not dissimilar to HG group (37.1 g, 95% CI: 36.3–38.0). Sodium intake among HR was significantly lower (5094.4 mg, 95% CI: 4866.0–5322.8) compared to HG (5644.0 mg, 95% CI: 5351.9–5936.0), but significantly greater than recommended intake in both groups. HR had greater estimated body fatness (25.6–35.1%) and higher average body mass index (BMI, 27.7 kg/m², 95% CI: 26.9–28.4), compared to HG. In addition, HR had lower odds of achieving dietary recommendations (odds ratio (OR) = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67–0.97, p < 0.05). Findings warrant further research, while highlighting the importance of establishing and integrating Roma nutrition into national surveillance and monitoring systems for key dietary risk factors.

Nutritional epidemiology studies on Roma people are scarce and, to date, their nutrient-based dietary patterns with regards to both healthy and sustainable dietary considerations have never been reported. We report, for the first time, adherence to healthy and sustainable dietary patterns using scoring and regression models, based on recommendations defined by the World Health Organization, in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study and the EAT-Lancet report, as well as dietary quality based on Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) among the Hungarian Roma (HR) population living in North East Hungary, with Hungarian general (HG) adults as reference. Data were obtained from a complex, comparative health survey involving dietary assessment, structured questionnaire-based interview, physical and laboratory examinations on 359 HG and 344 HR subjects in Northeast Hungary. Poisson regressions were fit to models that included DASH, EAT, DII and Healthy Diet Indicator as dependent variables to assess the influence of ethnicity on healthy and sustainable nutrient-based patterns. Adjusted models controlled for all relevant covariates using the residual method indicated poor dietary quality with regards to the selected dietary patterns. These associations were not ethnicity-sensitive, except for DII, where Roma ethnicity was linked to a decrease of DII score (β = −0.455, 95%CI: −0.720; −0.191, p < 0.05). Currently, HR dietary patterns appear to be relatively unhealthy and unsustainable, rendering them vulnerable to elevated risk of ill-health. Nevertheless, their dietary patterns did not strongly differ from HG, which may contribute to Hungarians being one of the most obese and malnourished nations in Europe. Further prospective research on the potential public and environmental health effects of these findings is warranted.

Background: Regular primary healthcare (PHC) performance monitoring to produce a set of performance indicators for provider effectiveness is a fundamental method for improving guideline adherence but there are potential negative impacts of the inadequate application of this approach. Since performance indicators can reflect patient characteristics and working environments, as well as PHC team contributions, inadequate monitoring practices can reduce their effectiveness in the prevention of cardiometabolic disorders. Objectives: To describe the influence of patients’ characteristics on performance indicators of PHC preventive practices in patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis was based on a network of 165 collaborating GPs. A random sample of 4320 adults was selected from GP’s patient lists. The response rate was 97.3% in this survey. Sociodemographic status, lifestyle, health attitudes and the use of recommended preventive PHC services were surveyed by questionnaire. The relationship between the use of preventive services and patient characteristics were analysed using hierarchical regression models in a subsample of 1659 survey participants with a known diagnosis of hypertension or diabetes mellitus. Results: Rates of PHC service utilization varied from 18.0% to 97.9%, and less than half (median: 44.4%; IQR: 30.8–62.5) of necessary services were used by patients. Patient attitude was as strong of an influencing factor as demographic properties but was remarkably weaker than patient socioeconomic status. Conclusion: These findings emphasize that PHC performance indicators have to be evaluated concerning patient characteristics.

The Roma population is typified by a poor and, due to difficulties in ethnicity assessment, poorly documented health status. We aimed to compare the usefulness of self-reporting and observer-reporting in Roma classification for surveys investigating differences between Roma and non-Roma populations. Both self-reporting and observer-reporting of Roma ethnicity were applied in a population-based health interview survey. A questionnaire was completed by 1849 people aged 18–64 years; this questionnaire provided information on 52 indicators (morbidity, functionality, lifestyle, social capital, accidents, healthcare use) indicators. Multivariate logistic regression models controlling for age, sex, education and employment were used to produce indicators for differences between the self-reported Roma (N = 124) and non-Roma (N = 1725) populations, as well as between observer-reported Roma (N = 179) and non-Roma populations (N = 1670). Differences between interviewer-reported and self-reported individuals of Roma ethnicity in statistical inferences were observed for only seven indicators. The self-reporting approach was more sensitive for two indicators, and the observer-reported assessment for five indicators. Based on our results, the self-reported identity can be considered as a useful approach, and the application of observer-reporting cannot considerably increase the usefulness of a survey, because the differences between Roma and non-Roma individuals are much bigger than the differences between indicators produced by self-reported or observer-reported data on individuals of Roma ethnicity.