Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review

Toy M, Önder FO, Wörmann T, et al. Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review. BMC infectious diseases. 2011;11(1): 337.BACKGROUND: To provide a clear picture of the current hepatitis B situation, the authors performed a systematic review to estimate the age- and region-specific prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 339 studies with original data on the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Turkey and published between 1999 and 2009 were identified through a search of electronic databases, by reviewing citations, and by writing to authors. After a critical assessment, the authors included 129 studies, divided into categories: 'age-specific'; 'region-specific'; and 'specific population group'. To account for the differences among the studies, a generalized linear mixed model was used to estimate the overall prevalence across all age groups and regions. For specific population groups, the authors calculated the weighted mean prevalence. RESULTS: The estimated overall population prevalence was 4.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.58, 5.76, and the estimated total number of CHB cases was about 3.3 million. The outcomes of the age-specific groups varied from 2.84, (95% CI: 2.60, 3.10) for the 0-14-year olds to 6.36 (95% CI: 5.83, 6.90) in the 25-34-year-old group. CONCLUSION: There are large age-group and regional differences in CHB prevalence in Turkey, where CHB remains a serious health problem

Fear of blood/injection in healthy and unhealthy adults admitted to a teaching hospital

WOS: 000244243500023PubMed ID: 17313613Blood/injury phobia is one of the specific phobias. The aim of this study was to determine the fear of injection and blood in patients and healthy people. This study was carried out at Tepecik Hospital, Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory and Blood Center. Data were collected from 1500 adults who agreed to participate in the study (237 patients with chronic diseases and 1263 healthy people) during the period from January 2003 to February 2005. All participants completed two self-administered questionnaires (17-item Symptom Questionnaire and 20-item Blood/Injection Fear Scale) after giving blood samples by blood donation. 30.1% of the patients and 19.5% of the healthy adults reported that they had fear of blood/injection. Symptoms related to having blood drawn or injection were more frequently reported among women than men. Patients' educational level was also associated with the Symptom Questionnaire and fear of blood/injection scores. Fear of blood/injection was significantly higher in patients with chronic diseases. Fear of blood/injection should be considered by healthcare professionals as it is important for assessing the treatment-seeking individuals

Pharmacy students' perceptions on pharmaceutical promotion [Eczaci{dotless}li{dotless} fakültesi ögrencilerinin İlaç tani{dotless}ti{dotless}mlari{dotless} hakki{dotless}ndaki göriişleri]

The promotional activities of the pharmaceutical industry affect the behaviour of pharmacists. The aim of this study was to determine the opinions of pharmacy students on pharmaceutical promotions. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Ege University Faculty of Pharmacy. The population included 201 pharmacy students. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire included 15 Likert-type items. The students declared that 73.1% of them participated in company promotional activities. Most of the pharmacy students in the survey believed that company promotions could affect their own attitude to pharmaceuticals as well as influencing other health workers. Whereas 73.1% of the students claim that they attended promotion events, it is established that a significant majority of those think these promotions have an effect on both their and the other health personnel's attitude towards the drug. It is found that 23.9% of students show among their information sources about the drug as the company supported trainings and pharmaceutical representitives, whereas approximately 30% of those find such firm promotions non-ethical. The difference between the scale scores of these two groups of students are found to be statistically meaningful (p<0.05)