OBJECTIVE: Drawing on qualitative analysis of selected historical documents, the paper seeks to provide a definition of the general characteristics of the first institutional alcohol treatment facilities in today's Czech Republic and Slovakia, taking into account the historical context of the first half of the 20th century. An additional aim was to point out the importance of archival research and its contribution to understand the determinants of alcohol-related agenda and alcohol treatment. METHODS: The basic data platform was generated by analysis of historical documents pertaining to the subject matter under study and to institutional processes in different periods. The data was processed using the open coding method (as part of the grounded theory approach) and other specific methods based on the matching of data from scientific and professional literature and archives in different periods. Over 1,100 pages of text from relevant archival materials were analysed. This research is original, no such systematic analysis of historical documents on this subject matter has been conducted on such a scale with the intention of identifying the general correlates of the historical development of an alcohol-related agenda and alcohol treatment. RESULTS: The establishment of the first institutional facilities intended to provide treatment for alcohol dependency was based on the notion of addiction as a disease, which needs to be treated in dedicated facilities applying an individualised approach. The circumstances of the establishment of the facilities under analysis were similar. Their existence was made possible by distinguished personalities rather than a general belief and social pressure that the issue of alcohol addiction should be addressed. This also explains the fact that the occupancy of these facilities never reached their full capacity, that they were not self-reliant in economic terms, and that they did not readily resume their operation after 1945. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the establishment, operation, and dissolution of these facilities at the time reveals the discontinuity in the approach to alcohol abuse and its treatment in the context of the historical development and perception of alcohol-related problems in Czech and Slovak society in the first half of the 20th century. Significant social changes occurred after 1948. New legislative instruments were used to enforce treatment based on a principle that was different from the previous approaches. The results of our study also make it possible to reveal the intensity of apparent individual and institutional motives in the process of the development of alcohol treatment in historical terms and its projection into different post-war periods. The understanding of these correlates will help in designing additional trajectories of research into the effects of social and political changes on addiction treatment and thus identifying the intensity of the historical development and its influence on the perception of addiction treatment at present. These findings will also be of great importance for a historical comparative analysis, including overlaps with the development of recent theories, and will support the emergence of new areas of study for the social sciences.

• Klíčová slova
• Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, alcohol, institutional alcohol treatment,
• MeSH
• alkoholismus terapie   MeSH
• centra pro terapii drogových závislostí dějiny   MeSH
• dějiny 20. století MeSH
• kvalitativní výzkum MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• Check Tag
• dějiny 20. století MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• historické články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Slovenská republika MeSH

OBJECTIVES: An occupational disease (OD) is a disorder or health condition which arises due to work related activities and tasks or is caused by work environment. The impact of ODs on medical and social system may be considered as a very important in relation to mortality, morbidity, and invalidity. The most common ODs in the European Union are musculoskeletal disorders (58% of all ODs in 2015). The aim of the study was to determine the differences in the incidence of occupational diseases between the Slovak Republic (SK) and the Czech Republic (CZ). METHODS: Data were obtained from the Health Statistics Yearbooks of the National Health Information Centre of the Slovak Republic and in CZ from the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic. We worked with records from 2009 to 2019. The average incidence rates (aIR) per 100,000 labourers were calculated based on the number of workers in a given year. All data were calculated separately for SK and CZ, and for males and females. P < 0.05 was considered a significant value. RESULTS: In SK, the number of ODs diagnosed from 2009 to 2019 amounted to 2,351 cases in males and 1,605 cases in females. In CZ, the amount of ODs diagnosed from 2009 to 2019 reached 6,616 cases in males and 5,513 cases in females. In SK, from 2009 to 2019, the incidence of ODs decreased significantly from 7.3 to 4.8 cases per 100,000 labourers (rs = -0.76; p = 0.006). Diseases from one-sided excessive load were the most common ODs in SK (aIR = 7.6 ± 2.2) and in CZ (aIR = 8.2 ± 3.5), followed by ODs caused by vibration. Occupational diseases due to noise, vibrations and SiO2 inhalation were considerably more common among males. Diseases due to long-term excessive one-sided load, skin and infectious diseases were more prevalent in females. Occupational hearing damage due to noise was more frequent in SK and silicosis, asthma bronchiale, respiratory allergies, dermatoses, and infectious diseases were remarkably more frequent in CZ. CONCLUSION: Regarding the main goal, we found a significantly higher aIR of ODs caused by noise in SK than in CZ. In CZ, there was a markedly higher presence of ODs caused by SiO2 inhalation, asthma and respiratory allergy, ODs of skin and infectious and parasitic ODs when compared to SK. In both countries different principles for discontinuance in work are applied when a risk factor occurs. It is necessary to enhance surveillance data and reporting of ODs and increase investments in occupational safety, health education and research for the future.

• Klíčová slova
• Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, incidence, occupational diseases,
• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• incidence MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nemoci z povolání * epidemiologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH

This study explored unmet mental health and social care needs in the Slovak Republic and their adverse human rights consequences. We estimated treatment gap for persons aged 15-64 years in year 2015 affected by depressive, anxiety, substance use and schizophrenic disorders by comparing local treated prevalence rates with population estimated rates for Europe. Two-thirds of people with depressive disorders and over 80% of those with anxiety disorders and alcohol dependence were not receiving treatment. There was no treatment gap for persons with schizophrenia. Fifty-one percent of those eligible for disability pension on the grounds of mental disorders failed to receive it. We discuss the implications of the estimated gaps in mental health and social care and consequent human rights violations that may result from the current system of mental health care in Slovakia.

• Klíčová slova
• Care gap, Mental health, Psychiatric disorders, Slovak Republic,
• MeSH
• databáze faktografické MeSH
• disparity zdravotní péče * MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• duševní poruchy MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lidská práva zákonodárství a právo   MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• odhad potřeb * MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• služby péče o duševní zdraví * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Slovenská republika MeSH

BACKGROUND: The proportion of occupational infectious diseases (ID) in the total number of occupational diseases reported in the Slovak Republic (SR) and the Czech Republic (CR) was decreasing from 1973 to 2010. Our study presents a longitudinal analysis of the occurrence of occupational infectious diseases in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic in the period from 1973-2010 with special focus on viral hepatitis. METHODS: The sources of data were national health statistics of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Descriptive statistical methods were used for data analysis. Incidence rate of reported diseases was calculated per 100,000 general population or per 100,000 people insured. RESULTS: During the studied period, a total of 2,931 and 8,318 cases of occupational viral hepatitis (VH) were reported in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic, respectively. The incidence culminated in the late 1970s when hepatitis represented almost 50% of all reported occupational infectious diseases. Most cases of occupational hepatitis occurred in health and social services. Since the early 1980s, a steep decrease in the incidence of hepatitis has been observed due to the gradual implementation of mandatory vaccination against hepatitis A and B in risk groups. In SR in 1973, the incidence rate of occupational infectious diseases and that of occupational viral hepatitis was 10.85/100,000 and 1.86/100,000, respectively. In 2010, these rates decreased to 0.74/100,000 and 0.20/100,000, respectively. In CR, the incidence rates of occupational infectious diseases and that of occupational viral hepatitis reported in 1973 were 11.75/100,000 and 3.69/100,000. In 2010, reported incidence rates were 1.71/100,000 and 0.10/100,000, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although the incidence of occupational viral hepatitis has dramatically decreased in the Slovak and the Czech Republic as well as in other Visegrad group countries during the studied period, we emphasize the necessity of continuing epidemiological surveillance of hepatitis, especially with regard to the recent incidence increase of viral hepatitis C.

• MeSH
• hepatitida A epidemiologie   MeSH
• hepatitida B epidemiologie   MeSH
• hepatitida epidemiologie   MeSH
• incidence MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nemoci z povolání epidemiologie   MeSH
• zdravotnický personál statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH

AIM: The purpose of this paper is to determine how many years a person could be expected to live if a specific cause of death was eliminated, and to compare potential gains in life expectancy (PGLEs) between Slovakia (SVK) and the Czech Republic (CZE). METHODS: PGLEs were computed from mortality reports (1996-2013) for deaths from the main groups of chronic diseases, namely ischaemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular diseases (CVD), cancer (CA), diabetes mellitus (DM), and chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) for the Slovak and Czech populations in five-year age groups. Country comparative analysis was conducted by constructing rate ratios of PGLEs. RESULTS: In 2013, life expectancy at birth for the Slovak and Czech populations was 76.5 and 78.3 years. Overall trends of standardised mortality rates of chronic diseases roughly paralleled the PGLEs trend. During 1996-2013, SVK reported the highest PGLEs of IHD at an average of 4.54 years, compared to PGLEs of CA reaching a value of 3.61 years in CZE. The PGLEs of IHD showed the largest gap between SVK and CZE, with an average of 1.65 higher values in SVK. With the elimination of CVD as the third most influential disease in both countries, PGLEs decreased from 1.65 to 0.93 years in CZE; a negligible drop from 1.13 to 1.05 was recorded in SVK. The lowest impacts on life expectancy were recorded in DM and CRD. However, since 2005 these trends have deteriorated in CZE. In 2013, IHD had a similar impact on life expectancy in all age groups in SVK and a decreasing impact among 50-54 year olds in CZE. Similarly to SVK, people in CZE aged 45-49 could gain 0.94 years in LE after CVD elimination, which is nearly the same as at birth. CONCLUSIONS: The higher the life expectancy after elimination of the cause of death is, the higher the impact of the disease on life expectancy. Health prevention programs should be mainly aimed at CA mortality in CZE, while the highest burden of IHD is seen in SVK.

• Klíčová slova
• Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, life expectancy, non-communicable diseases, potential gains in life expectancy, standardised mortality rate,
• MeSH
• chronická nemoc mortalita   MeSH
• disparity zdravotního stavu * MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mortalita trendy   MeSH
• naděje dožití * MeSH
• neinfekční nemoci mortalita   MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• příčina smrti MeSH
• rizikové faktory MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH

In this paper, activity concentrations of radiocesium in mushrooms from various locations in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in the years 2000-2004 are presented. Summary reports of Czech regulatory bodies have judged the average activity concentrations in mushrooms to be remarkably below the maximum permissible level of contamination. However, there are certain regions where radiocesium activities have approached the maximum permissible level for contamination of basic foodstuff. For example, the highest activity concentration of (137)Cs measured by gamma-spectrometry was 2,263 Bq kg(-1) (on a dry mass basis), in Xerocomus badius from Staré Ransko (a locality in the Czech-Moravian Highlands, Czech Republic). The highest activity concentration of (137)Cs measured in Slovakia was 966 Bq kg(-1) (on a dry mass basis), for Suillus luteus from Senica. For comparison, the corresponding activity concentration in a sample taken within the 30 km zone around Chernobyl was measured to be 6,000 Bq kg(-1) (on a dry mass basis). Our results have also demonstrated remarkably lower activity concentrations of (137)Cs in Slovakia compared to those in the Czech Republic.

• MeSH
• Agaricales chemie   účinky záření   MeSH
• černobylská havárie MeSH
• monitorování radiace * MeSH
• radioaktivní kontaminace potravin analýza   MeSH
• radioizotopy cesia analýza   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Slovenská republika MeSH
• Ukrajina MeSH
• Názvy látek
• radioizotopy cesia MeSH

To the Editor, Drug utilization is an important field of drug policy and an integral part of public health internationally. This area of research attracts increasing interest but the pioneering work was done 50 years ago when the first drug consumption report from six European countries for the period of 1966-1967 showed great differences in drug utilization between population groups (WHO, 1968). These results gave important stimulus for creation of Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and technical unit of measurement called the Defined Daily Dose (DDD) which is specified as "the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults" that dealt with the objections against traditional units of measurement in drug utilization studies (WHO, 2016). The ATC/DDD methodology has in the meantime proved its suitability in drug utilization monitoring and research. As mentioned previously, consumption of pharmaceuticals is often used as a basis for comparison between countries. Based on our professional expertise, we decided to analyze the consumption of cardiovascular medicines by DDD in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic within all ATC groups reported to OECD (OECD, 2016a). According to OECD indicator results, the Slovak Republic showed in 2014 a higher pharmaceutical consumption by DDD in ATC group C (cardiovascular system) compared to the Czech Republic (OECD, 2016a).

• MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• spotřeba léčiv * MeSH
• zdravotní politika * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Slovenská republika MeSH

European beaver (Castor fiber L. 1758) is the biggest rodent living in Europe. It is a semi-aquatic animal known for building dams and burrows. European beaver is a potential host for a wide range of parasites and other infectious diseases. In Slovakia, there is an increasing number of beavers but the data about their parasitic fauna are missing. Our work is the first documentation about the beaver's parasitofauna in Slovakia. In a 1-year study, we collected and examined 19 beaver fecal samples from the vicinity of beaver burrows inhabiting three particular localities at the Danube, Topľa, and Laborec rivers in Slovakia. In these fecal samples, 4 different species of intestinal endoparasites were detected as follows: oocysts of Cryptosporidium, cysts of Giardia, eggs of Stichorchis subtriquetrus, and eggs and larvae of Travassosius rufus. Parasites were confirmed only in samples collected at river Topľa. Based on our results, we can conclude that European beaver can be an important source of parasitic contamination of surface waters especially in the localities shared by people.

• Klíčová slova
• Beaver, Helminths, Protozoans, Slovak Republic,
• MeSH
• Cryptosporidium izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• feces parazitologie   MeSH
• Giardia izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• giardiáza veterinární   MeSH
• hlodavci parazitologie   MeSH
• kryptosporidióza MeSH
• oocysty klasifikace   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• Paramphistomatidae izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• paraziti MeSH
• řeky MeSH
• Trichostrongyloidea izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• trichostrongyloidóza veterinární   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH
• Slovenská republika MeSH

AIM: Poverty and social exclusion is measured through different criteria and one of them is the health sector. The relationship between Roma population and the health sector is on the edge of researchers' interest in the Slovak Republic. The purpose of this paper is a quantification of the regional disparities in the development of mortality which is causally linked with selected infrastructural determinants - namely access to water and sewerage. These determinants differently participate in the structure of mortality in marginalised and segregated communities and they deepen regional disparities in health. METHODS: It is a spatial analysis of the districts of the Slovak Republic. The data from the Atlas of Roma communities in Slovakia 2013 is applied. Through the multiple linear regression model the relationship between mortality of the Roma population and water and sewerage availability in the Roma settlements is examined. Similarity between the districts is measured by the Euclidean metric system. RESULTS: The most appropriate district for representing the Slovak Republic average is the Dunajská Streda district in a field of arithmetic mean and the Veľký Krtíš district in a field of median value. The outermost district is represented by the Košice-okolie district, conversely, the Trnava district is the closest to the rest of the Slovak Republic. The highest statistically significant impacts on mortality are explored in public water supply extension plan and public sewerage supply extension plan. It seems that water play a greater role in determining health of Roma population. The highest number of inhabitants with supplied public water and public sewerage is kept by the Kežmarok district, the Košice district, and the Spišská Nová Ves district. CONCLUSIONS: Our results can be beneficial for health decision making, since in the Strategic Framework for Health of the Slovak Republic metrics for measuring and evaluating health aspects in Roma communities absent and that prevents them to be correlated with the planned interventions.

• Klíčová slova
• Roma nationality, Slovak Republic, mortality, public sewerage, public water supply, segregated concentrations,
• MeSH
• chudoba MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mortalita trendy   MeSH
• rizikové faktory MeSH
• Romové statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• sanitace MeSH
• sociální izolace MeSH
• zásobování vodou MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH

OBJECTIVE: Analysis of maternal mortality in the Slovak Republic in the years 2007-2018. METHODS: The analysis of selected maternal mortality data in the years 2007-2018. RESULTS: In the years 2007-2018, 84 women died during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy - maternal mortality ratio was 12.57 per 100,000 live births. Direct maternal mortality ratio in this period was 4.64 (31 maternal deaths), indirect maternal mortality 6.74 (45 maternal deaths) and direct obstetrics death ratio was 11.38 per 100,000 live births. Pregnancy-associated but unrelated maternal death ratio was 1.19 (eight maternal deaths). The Slovak Gynecological and Obstetric Society revealed a 64% underestimation of maternal mortality data in comparison with routine statistical data. CONCLUSION: Maternal mortality ratio in the Slovak Republic was one of the highest in the European Union and was discordant with a good level of perinatal mortality. In the Slovak Republic, it is necessary to look for ways to reduce maternal mortality and improve data collection.

• Klíčová slova
• direct obstetrics deaths, indirect obstetrics deaths, maternal mortality, maternal mortality ratio, pregnancy-related deaths,
• MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mateřská mortalita * MeSH
• narození živého dítěte MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• perinatální mortalita MeSH
• smrt matky * MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH