AIM: The concept of amenable mortality is intended to assess health care system performance. It is defined as "premature deaths that should not occur in the presence of timely and effective health care". The purpose of paper is to analyse differences in amenable mortality across European Union countries and to determine the associations between amenable mortality and life expectancy at birth. METHODS: This is a cross-country and time trend analysis. Data on deaths by cause, and five-year age groups were obtained from the World Health Organization database for the 20 European Union countries, throughout the period from 2002 to 2013. The rates of amenable mortality were expressed by the age-standardised death rates per 100,000 inhabitants. We applied the method of direct standardisation using the European Standard Population. RESULTS: Throughout the explored period, the statistically significant variations of the age-standardised death rates in a relation to the European Union average fluctuated from 78.7 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 72.4-84.9) in France to 374.3 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 350.8-397.7) in Latvia. The leading causes of amenable mortality were ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, and colorectal cancer that accounted for, respectively, 42.2%, 19.5%, and 11.3% of overall amenable mortality. As expected, statistically significant strong negative relationship (R2=0.95; ρ=-0.98) between amenable mortality and life expectancy at birth was proved by linear regression. The concept has several limitations relating to the selection of causes of death and setting age threshold over time, not consideration actually available health care resources in each country, as well as differences in the prevalence of diseases among countries. CONCLUSIONS: We found an explicit divide in amenable mortality rates between more developed countries of Western, Northern and Southern Europe, and less developed countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Increasing of amenable mortality may suggest deterioration in health care system performance.

• MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• European Union MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Mortality trends   MeSH
• Life Expectancy MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Mortality, Premature MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Cause of Death MeSH
• Risk Factors MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Health Services * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Quality of Health Care MeSH
• Mortality epidemiology   MeSH
• Life Expectancy MeSH
• Western World MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Geographicals
• Europe, Eastern MeSH

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To analyse international variations of trends in "avoidable" mortality (1980-1997). DESIGN: A multilevel model was used to study trends in avoidable and "non-avoidable" mortality and trends by cause of death. SETTING: Fifteen countries of the European Union, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. PARTICIPANTS: 19 avoidable causes of death among men and women aged 0-64 years. Mortality and population data were derived from the WHO mortality database; and perinatal mortality rates, from the Health for All statistical database. MAIN RESULTS: Avoidable mortality declined (1980-1997) in all the countries except Hungary. The difference between the trends in avoidable and non-avoidable mortality was small (-2.4% compared with -1.5%) and diminished over time. The largest trend variations between countries are attributable to causes mainly or partly amenable to prevention. For five of the 19 causes of death the international variations diminished over time. Various countries show trends that deviate significantly (p<0.003) from the mean trend. CONCLUSIONS: One explanation for the small and diminishing difference between avoidable and non-avoidable mortality is that some large avoidable causes show unfavourable trends. Another possible explanation is that the category of non-avoidable mortality is "polluted" by causes that have become avoidable with time. It is therefore suggested that Rutstein's lists of avoidable outcomes (1976) be updated to enable the appropriate monitoring of healthcare effectiveness. In countries that show unfavourable developments for specific avoidable causes, further research must unravel the causes of these trends.

• MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• European Union statistics & numerical data   MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Quality of Health Care trends   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Mortality trends   MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Cause of Death MeSH
• Data Collection MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Multicenter Study MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Hungary MeSH

The 'fundamental causes' theory stipulates that when new opportunities for lowering mortality arise, higher socioeconomic groups will benefit more because of their greater material and non-material resources. We tested this theory using harmonised mortality data by educational level for 22 causes of death and 20 European populations from the period 1980-2010. Across all causes and populations, mortality on average declined by 2.49 per cent (95%CI: 2.04-2.92), 1.83% (1.37-2.30) and 1.34% (0.89-1.78) per annum among the high, mid and low educated, respectively. In 69 per cent of cases of declining mortality, mortality declined faster among the high than among the low educated. However, when mortality increased, less increase among the high educated was found in only 46 per cent of cases. Faster mortality decline among the high educated was more manifest for causes of death amenable to intervention than for non-amenable causes. The difference in mortality decline between education groups was not larger when income inequalities were greater. While our results provide support for the fundamental causes theory, our results suggest that other mechanisms than the theory implies also play a role.

• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Mortality trends   MeSH
• Cause of Death MeSH
• Socioeconomic Factors * MeSH
• Models, Statistical MeSH
• Educational Status * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

BACKGROUND: Relatively large socioeconomic inequalities in health and mortality have been observed in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU). Yet comparative data are sparse and virtually all studies include only education. The aim of this study is to quantify and compare socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality during the 2000s in urban population samples from four CEE/FSU countries, by three different measures of socioeconomic position (SEP) (education, difficulty buying food and household amenities), reflecting different aspects of SEP. METHODS: Data from the prospective population-based HAPIEE (Health, Alcohol, and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe) study were used. The baseline survey (2002-2005) included 16 812 men and 19 180 women aged 45-69 years in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland), Kaunas (Lithuania) and seven Czech towns. Deaths in the cohorts were identified through mortality registers. Data were analysed by direct standardisation and Cox regression, quantifying absolute and relative SEP differences. RESULTS: Mortality inequalities by the three SEP indicators were observed in all samples. The magnitude of inequalities varied according to gender, country and SEP measure. As expected, given the high mortality rates in Russian men, largest absolute inequalities were found among Russian men (educational slope index of inequality was 19.4 per 1000 person-years). Largest relative inequalities were observed in Czech men and Lithuanian subjects. Disadvantage by all three SEP measures remained strongly associated with increased mortality after adjusting for the other SEP indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The results emphasise the importance of all SEP measures for understanding mortality inequalities in CEE/FSU.

• MeSH
• Housing MeSH
• Healthcare Disparities MeSH
• Health Status Disparities * MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Urban Population statistics & numerical data   MeSH
• Mortality * MeSH
• Cause of Death MeSH
• Proportional Hazards Models MeSH
• Risk Factors MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Social Class * MeSH
• Educational Status MeSH
• Food Supply MeSH
• Health Surveys MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Lithuania MeSH
• Poland MeSH
• Russia MeSH

BACKGROUND: Eastern European countries have some of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, much of which cannot be adequately accounted for by conventional CVD risk factors. Psychosocial and socioeconomic factors may affect risk of CVD, but relatively few studies on this issue have been undertaken in Eastern Europe. We investigated whether various psychosocial factors are associated with CVD mortality independently from each other and whether they can help explain differences in CVD mortality between Eastern European populations. METHODS: Participants were from the Health, Alcohol and Psychological factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) cohort study in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic, including a total of 20,867 men and women aged 43-74 years and free of CVD at baseline examination during 2002-2005. Participants were followed-up for CVD mortality after linkage to national mortality registries for a median of 7.2 years. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 556 participants died from CVD. After mutual adjustment, six psychosocial and socioeconomic factors were associated with increased risk of CVD death: unemployment, low material amenities, depression, being single, infrequent contacts with friends or relatives. The hazard ratios [HRs] for these six factors ranged between 1.26 [95% confidence interval 1.14-1.40] and 1.81 [95% confidence interval 1.24-2.64], fully adjusted for each other, and conventional cardiovascular risk factors. Population-attributable fractions ranged from 8% [4%-13%] to 22% [11%-31%] for each factor, when measured on average across the three cohorts. However, the prevalence of psychosocial and socioeconomic risk factors and their HRs were similar between the three countries. Altogether, these factors could not explain why participants from Russia had higher CVD mortality when compared to participants from Poland/Czech Republic. Limitations of this study include measurement error that could lead to residual confounding; and the possibilities for reverse causation and/or unmeasured confounding from observational studies to lead to associations that are not causal in nature. CONCLUSIONS: Six psychosocial and socioeconomic factors were associated with cardiovascular mortality, independent of each other. Differences in mortality between cohorts from Russia versus Poland or Check Republic remained unexplained.

• MeSH
• Demography MeSH
• Depression * epidemiology   physiopathology   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Cardiovascular Diseases * epidemiology   mortality   psychology   MeSH
• Comorbidity MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Loneliness * MeSH
• Prospective Studies MeSH
• Psychology * MeSH
• Risk Factors MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Socioeconomic Factors * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Multicenter Study MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic epidemiology   MeSH
• Poland epidemiology   MeSH
• Russia epidemiology   MeSH

Resekce jater pro kolorektální metastázy lze s kurativním záměrem provést asi u 15–20 % pacientů. Z chirurgického hlediska má provořadý význam radikální resekce (R0). Perioperační mortalita má souvislost zejména s rozsahem resekce jater (třída I/II). Výsledky předoperační přípravy pacienta pomocí ischemizace či léků byly nejednoznačné a jejich klinické použití je nanejvýš diskutabilní. Míra pětiletého přežívání po primární a opakované resekci jater zůstává 30–40 %. Možnosti zlepšit prognózu pouze technickými prostředky jsou omezené. Namísto toho, budoucí strategie mají za cíl zvýšit procento pacientů (s primárně neresekovatelným a potenciálně ohrožujícím onemocněním), kteří by mohli podstoupit kurativní resekci jater. Toho lze dosáhnout pomocí embolizace portální žíly a neodjuvantní chemoterapie s následnou resekcí nebo kombinací operace a lokální ablace. Je třeba, aby možnosti zlepšení všech navrhovaných způsobů používaných u primátně inoperabilních nádorů byly systematicky vyhodnocovány v klinických studiích.

Liver resection for colorectal metastases can be performed with curative intent in about 15–20% of patients. From a surgical point of view a radical (R0) resection is of paramount importance. Perioperative mortality is mainly linked to the extent of the liver resection (class I/II). Results of ischemic or drug induced preconditioning have been ambiguous and their clinical use is at most questionable. Five year survival following primary and repeat liver resection is consistently reported as 30–40%. Options for improvement of prognosis by purely technical means appear limited. Instead, future strategies aim at increasing the number of patients (with primarily irresectable and potentially respectable disease) amenable to curative liver resection. This could be achieved preoperatively via portal vein embolisation and neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgically via sequential resection or a combination of surgery with local ablative therapy. All suggested modalities performed in primarily inoperable tumors should be systematically evaluated in clinical trials.

• MeSH
• Digestive System Surgical Procedures methods   MeSH
• Diagnostic Imaging methods   instrumentation   utilization   MeSH
• Colorectal Neoplasms complications   secondary   therapy   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neoplasm Metastasis therapy   MeSH
• Liver Neoplasms surgery   secondary   MeSH
• Neoplasm Staging classification   methods   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH

• MeSH
• Morbidity MeSH
• Delivery of Health Care statistics & numerical data   MeSH
• National Health Programs MeSH
• Health Care Reform MeSH
• Health MeSH

• Conspectus
• Veřejné zdraví a hygiena
• NML Fields
• management, organizace a řízení zdravotnictví
• veřejné zdravotnictví
• ekonomie, ekonomika, ekonomika zdravotnictví
• statistika, zdravotnická statistika
• NML Publication type
• studie

• MeSH
• Obstetric Labor Complications MeSH
• Quality of Health Care MeSH
• Perinatal Care MeSH
• Hospitals, Maternity MeSH
• Near Miss, Healthcare MeSH

• Conspectus
• Veřejné zdraví a hygiena
• NML Fields
• gynekologie a porodnictví
• veřejné zdravotnictví
• NML Publication type
• publikace WHO

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is the most common single cause of perinatal and infant mortality, affecting 15 million infants worldwide each year with global rates increasing. Understanding of risk factors remains poor, and preventive interventions have only limited benefit. Large differences exist in preterm birth rates across high income countries. We hypothesized that understanding the basis for these wide variations could lead to interventions that reduce preterm birth incidence in countries with high rates. We thus sought to assess the contributions of known risk factors for both spontaneous and provider-initiated preterm birth in selected high income countries, estimating also the potential impact of successful interventions due to advances in research, policy and public health, or clinical practice. METHODS: We analyzed individual patient-level data on 4.1 million singleton pregnancies from four countries with very high human development index (Czech Republic, New Zealand, Slovenia, Sweden) and one comparator U.S. state (California) to determine the specific contribution (adjusting for confounding effects) of 21 factors. Both individual and population-attributable preterm birth risks were determined, as were contributors to cross-country differences. We also assessed the ability to predict preterm birth given various sets of known risk factors. FINDINGS: Previous preterm birth and preeclampsia were the strongest individual risk factors of preterm birth in all datasets, with odds ratios of 4.6-6.0 and 2.8-5.7, respectively, for individual women having those characteristics. In contrast, on a population basis, nulliparity and male sex were the two risk factors with the highest impact on preterm birth rates, accounting for 25-50% and 11-16% of excess population attributable risk, respectively (p<0.001). The importance of nulliparity and male sex on population attributable risk was driven by high prevalence despite low odds ratios for individual women. More than 65% of the total aggregated risk of preterm birth within each country lacks a plausible biologic explanation, and 63% of difference between countries cannot be explained with known factors; thus, research is necessary to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of preterm birth and, hence, therapeutic intervention. Surprisingly, variation in prevalence of known risk factors accounted for less than 35% of the difference in preterm birth rates between countries. Known risk factors had an area under the curve of less than 0.7 in ROC analysis of preterm birth prediction within countries. These data suggest that other influences, as yet unidentified, are involved in preterm birth. Further research into biological mechanisms is warranted. CONCLUSIONS: We have quantified the causes of variation in preterm birth rates among countries with very high human development index. The paucity of explicit and currently identified factors amenable to intervention illustrates the limited impact of changes possible through current clinical practice and policy interventions. Our research highlights the urgent need for research into underlying biological causes of preterm birth, which alone are likely to lead to innovative and efficacious interventions.

• MeSH
• Databases, Factual MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Multivariate Analysis MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Premature Birth epidemiology   prevention & control   MeSH
• Regression Analysis MeSH
• Risk Factors MeSH
• Pregnancy MeSH
• Developed Countries MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Pregnancy MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic epidemiology   MeSH
• California epidemiology   MeSH
• New Zealand epidemiology   MeSH
• Slovenia epidemiology   MeSH
• Sweden epidemiology   MeSH