Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) strongly affects patients’ health-related quality of lif... more Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) strongly affects patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL), mostly in the advanced stages of CKD. Health literacy (HL) may affect this association, in particular for some aspects of HRQoL. The aim of this study is to compare the profiles of HRQoL in dialyzed patients with varying HL.Methods: We obtained data on HL using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and on HRQoL using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life – Short Form (KDQoL-SF 1.3) in a multicentre cross-sectional study in 20 dialysis clinics in Slovakia (n = 542; mean age = 63.6 years; males: 60.7%). We compared HRQoL for three HL groups using ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test.Results: Patients with low HL reported worse HRQoL than patients with moderate and high HL. The greatest differences between HL groups were found in the scales Effect of kidney disease, Cognitive function, Quality of social interaction, Social support, Dialysis staff encouragement, Patient satisfaction, ...
Lifestyle, music preference, shared values and behaviours of young people can be understood to be... more Lifestyle, music preference, shared values and behaviours of young people can be understood to be components of youth subcultures. Little is known about the association between affiliation with non-mainstream subcultures and problem behaviour. The aim of this study was to assess the association between subculture affiliation and fighting, truancy and low academic achievement, and to determine whether lack of parental knowledge and parental bonding accounts for these associations. Our results showed that youth subculture affiliation is a strong risk factor regarding the above-mentioned behaviours and that part of this risk is accounted for by a lack of protective factors.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important health indicator in chronic diseases like ... more Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important health indicator in chronic diseases like kidney diseases. Health literacy (HL) may strongly affect HRQoL, but evidence is scarce. Therefore, we assessed the associations of HL with HRQoL in dialysed patients. We performed a cross-sectional study in 20 dialysis clinics across Slovakia (n = 542 patients, mean age = 63.6 years, males = 60.7%). We assessed the association of categorised HL (low, moderate, high) with the SF36 physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) using generalised linear models adjusted for age, gender, education, and comorbidity (Charlson Comorbidity Index, CCI). We found significant associations of HL with PCS and MCS in dialysed patients, adjusted for age, gender, education, and CCI. Low-HL patients had a lower PCS (B = −3.27, 95%-confidence interval, CI: −5.76/−0.79) and MCS (B = −6.05, 95%-CI: −8.82/−3.29) than high-HL patients. Moderate-HL patients had a lower MCS (B = −4.26, 95%-CI: ...
Abstract: The reliability and factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) an... more Abstract: The reliability and factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSE) were evaluated in samples of Hungarian and Slovak early adolescents. The principal component analyses support the two-factor ...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019
The family environment is associated with religiosity and spirituality as well as many aspects of... more The family environment is associated with religiosity and spirituality as well as many aspects of adolescent lives, including their health behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess family environment associations with adolescent religious attendance (RA), i.e., weekly participation in religious services, and spirituality in a highly secular country. A nationally representative sample (n = 4182, 14.4 ± 1.1 years, 48.6% boys) of Czech adolescents participated in the 2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children cross-sectional study. RA, spirituality and the family environment, i.e., family communication, perceived emotional support, and parental monitoring, were measured. Higher adolescent RA was associated with lower self-reported easiness of communication with mother (odds ratio (OR) = 0.68; 99% confidence interval (99% CI) = 0.47–0.99; p < 0.01). In contrast, spiritual respondents were more likely to report both easier communication with their father (OR per sta...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Background: Ethnic information regarding juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) exists for various p... more Background: Ethnic information regarding juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) exists for various populations across the world but is fully lacking for Roma. We assessed the occurrence and clinical characteristics of JIA in Roma vs. non-Roma children. Methods: We obtained data on all outpatients (n = 142) from a paediatric rheumatology centre (age 3 to 18 years) in the eastern part of Slovakia (Kosice region). We assessed patients’ age, gender, disease type and related extra-articular conditions by ethnicity. We obtained population data from the 2011 census. Results: The share of Roma children was higher in the clinical JIA sample than in the overall population (24.6%, n = 35, Roma in the sample vs. 10.8%, n = 142, Roma in the population, p < 0.05). Moreover, Roma children had been diagnosed more frequently with extra-articular conditions but did not differ in other symptoms. Treatments also did not differ by ethnicity. Conclusion: Roma children had been diagnosed more with JIA tha...
Background: The influence of social support on health was explored among gender and socio-economi... more Background: The influence of social support on health was explored among gender and socio-economic groups with the aim of contributing to the explanation of socio-economic health differences among Slovak adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of 2616 Slovak ...
International journal of public health, Jan 10, 2016
The study aimed to assess the associations between participation in organized leisure-time activi... more The study aimed to assess the associations between participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) and risk behaviors, and whether the associations differed by gender, age, and pattern of OLTA involvement. Data from the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study on 10,279 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old Czech adolescents (49.2% boys) were used. We assessed the associations between OLTA participation and risk behaviors, and modification by age and gender. OLTA participants were less likely to smoke, get drunk repeatedly, or skip school and, in contrast, more likely to get injured and fight repeatedly. The associations with lower occurrence of risk behaviors were the strongest for artists, while none was significant for adolescents participating only in team sports. Girls participating in OLTA had lower odds to smoke, get drunk, or skip school than boys, and these boys had higher odds to get injured or fight. OLTA participation is associated with lower occurrence of ...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The Roma are Europe’s largest minority. They are also one of its most disadvantaged, with low lev... more The Roma are Europe’s largest minority. They are also one of its most disadvantaged, with low levels of education and health and high levels of poverty. Research on Roma health often reveals higher burdens of disease in the communities studied. This paper aims to review the literature on communicable diseases among Roma across Eastern and Central Europe. A PubMed search was carried out for communicable diseases among Roma in these parts of Europe, specifically in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and North Macedonia. The papers were then screened for relevance and utility. Nineteen papers were selected for review; most of them from Slovakia. Roma continue to have a higher prevalence of communicable diseases and are at higher risk of infection than the majority populations of the countries they live in. Roma children in particular have a particularly high prevalence of parasitic disease. However, these differences in disease prevalence are not present a...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Limited health literacy (HL), depression and anxiety are common in dialyzed patients and affect h... more Limited health literacy (HL), depression and anxiety are common in dialyzed patients and affect health outcomes and self-management. We explored whether depression and anxiety mediate the association of HL with diet non-adherence (DN-A) in dialyzed patients. We performed a cross-sectional study in 20 dialysis clinics in Slovakia (n = 452; mean age: 63.6 years; males: 60.7%). Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to create three HL groups. Logistic regression adjusted for age, gender and education was used to explore whether depression and anxiety mediate the association of HL with DN-A. Patients in the moderate HL group were more likely to be non-adherent to diet (OR (Odds Ratio)/95% CI: 2.19/1.21–3.99) than patients in the high HL group. Patients in the low HL and moderate HL group more likely reported depression or anxiety. Patients reporting depression (OR/95% CI: 1.94/1.26–2.98) or anxiety (OR/95% CI: 1.81/1.22–2.69) were more likely to be non-adherent with diet. Adjustmen...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) and some of their specific aspects are associated with health.... more Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) and some of their specific aspects are associated with health. A negatively perceived relationship with God, which has adverse health outcomes, can be formed by human attachment both in childhood and adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of childhood trauma (CT) and experience in close relationships (ECR) with the God image in a secular environment by religiosity. A national representative sample of Czech adults (n = 1800, 51.1 ± 17.2 years; 43.5% men) participated in a survey. We measured CT (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), ECR (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Questionnaire), image of God (questions from the 2005 Baylor Survey) and religiosity. Our results showed associations of CT and ECR with God images. Respondents who experienced CT were less likely to describe God as loving, always present and forgiving. Religious respondents were less likely to report positive God images with odds ratios (ORs) from 0.78 ...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The objective of the present study was to compare the social structure and internal establishment... more The objective of the present study was to compare the social structure and internal establishment of a Roma community in two historical periods: in the 18th century and the present. We analysed Samuel Augustini ab Hortis’s work, “Von dem Heutigen Zustände, Sonderbaren Sitten und Lebensart, Wie Auch von Denen Übrigen Eigenschaften und Umständen der Zigeuner in Ungarn” (On the Contemporary Situation, Distinctive Manners and Way of Life, as Well as the Other Characteristics and Circumstances of Gypsies in Greater Hungary), written in 1775–1776. Using content analysis, we subsequently compared his findings with our recent data from analogous qualitative research in a geographically-defined area of north-eastern Slovakia, the same region in which Augustini lived. Data collection was intensely conducted in 2012–2013 and once more in 2017–2019. The qualitative methods included direct observation, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Four key informants and more than 70 participants...
Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) strongly affects patients’ health-related quality of lif... more Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) strongly affects patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL), mostly in the advanced stages of CKD. Health literacy (HL) may affect this association, in particular for some aspects of HRQoL. The aim of this study is to compare the profiles of HRQoL in dialyzed patients with varying HL.Methods: We obtained data on HL using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and on HRQoL using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life – Short Form (KDQoL-SF 1.3) in a multicentre cross-sectional study in 20 dialysis clinics in Slovakia (n = 542; mean age = 63.6 years; males: 60.7%). We compared HRQoL for three HL groups using ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test.Results: Patients with low HL reported worse HRQoL than patients with moderate and high HL. The greatest differences between HL groups were found in the scales Effect of kidney disease, Cognitive function, Quality of social interaction, Social support, Dialysis staff encouragement, Patient satisfaction, ...
Lifestyle, music preference, shared values and behaviours of young people can be understood to be... more Lifestyle, music preference, shared values and behaviours of young people can be understood to be components of youth subcultures. Little is known about the association between affiliation with non-mainstream subcultures and problem behaviour. The aim of this study was to assess the association between subculture affiliation and fighting, truancy and low academic achievement, and to determine whether lack of parental knowledge and parental bonding accounts for these associations. Our results showed that youth subculture affiliation is a strong risk factor regarding the above-mentioned behaviours and that part of this risk is accounted for by a lack of protective factors.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important health indicator in chronic diseases like ... more Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important health indicator in chronic diseases like kidney diseases. Health literacy (HL) may strongly affect HRQoL, but evidence is scarce. Therefore, we assessed the associations of HL with HRQoL in dialysed patients. We performed a cross-sectional study in 20 dialysis clinics across Slovakia (n = 542 patients, mean age = 63.6 years, males = 60.7%). We assessed the association of categorised HL (low, moderate, high) with the SF36 physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) using generalised linear models adjusted for age, gender, education, and comorbidity (Charlson Comorbidity Index, CCI). We found significant associations of HL with PCS and MCS in dialysed patients, adjusted for age, gender, education, and CCI. Low-HL patients had a lower PCS (B = −3.27, 95%-confidence interval, CI: −5.76/−0.79) and MCS (B = −6.05, 95%-CI: −8.82/−3.29) than high-HL patients. Moderate-HL patients had a lower MCS (B = −4.26, 95%-CI: ...
Abstract: The reliability and factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) an... more Abstract: The reliability and factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSE) were evaluated in samples of Hungarian and Slovak early adolescents. The principal component analyses support the two-factor ...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019
The family environment is associated with religiosity and spirituality as well as many aspects of... more The family environment is associated with religiosity and spirituality as well as many aspects of adolescent lives, including their health behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess family environment associations with adolescent religious attendance (RA), i.e., weekly participation in religious services, and spirituality in a highly secular country. A nationally representative sample (n = 4182, 14.4 ± 1.1 years, 48.6% boys) of Czech adolescents participated in the 2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children cross-sectional study. RA, spirituality and the family environment, i.e., family communication, perceived emotional support, and parental monitoring, were measured. Higher adolescent RA was associated with lower self-reported easiness of communication with mother (odds ratio (OR) = 0.68; 99% confidence interval (99% CI) = 0.47–0.99; p < 0.01). In contrast, spiritual respondents were more likely to report both easier communication with their father (OR per sta...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Background: Ethnic information regarding juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) exists for various p... more Background: Ethnic information regarding juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) exists for various populations across the world but is fully lacking for Roma. We assessed the occurrence and clinical characteristics of JIA in Roma vs. non-Roma children. Methods: We obtained data on all outpatients (n = 142) from a paediatric rheumatology centre (age 3 to 18 years) in the eastern part of Slovakia (Kosice region). We assessed patients’ age, gender, disease type and related extra-articular conditions by ethnicity. We obtained population data from the 2011 census. Results: The share of Roma children was higher in the clinical JIA sample than in the overall population (24.6%, n = 35, Roma in the sample vs. 10.8%, n = 142, Roma in the population, p < 0.05). Moreover, Roma children had been diagnosed more frequently with extra-articular conditions but did not differ in other symptoms. Treatments also did not differ by ethnicity. Conclusion: Roma children had been diagnosed more with JIA tha...
Background: The influence of social support on health was explored among gender and socio-economi... more Background: The influence of social support on health was explored among gender and socio-economic groups with the aim of contributing to the explanation of socio-economic health differences among Slovak adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of 2616 Slovak ...
International journal of public health, Jan 10, 2016
The study aimed to assess the associations between participation in organized leisure-time activi... more The study aimed to assess the associations between participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) and risk behaviors, and whether the associations differed by gender, age, and pattern of OLTA involvement. Data from the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study on 10,279 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old Czech adolescents (49.2% boys) were used. We assessed the associations between OLTA participation and risk behaviors, and modification by age and gender. OLTA participants were less likely to smoke, get drunk repeatedly, or skip school and, in contrast, more likely to get injured and fight repeatedly. The associations with lower occurrence of risk behaviors were the strongest for artists, while none was significant for adolescents participating only in team sports. Girls participating in OLTA had lower odds to smoke, get drunk, or skip school than boys, and these boys had higher odds to get injured or fight. OLTA participation is associated with lower occurrence of ...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The Roma are Europe’s largest minority. They are also one of its most disadvantaged, with low lev... more The Roma are Europe’s largest minority. They are also one of its most disadvantaged, with low levels of education and health and high levels of poverty. Research on Roma health often reveals higher burdens of disease in the communities studied. This paper aims to review the literature on communicable diseases among Roma across Eastern and Central Europe. A PubMed search was carried out for communicable diseases among Roma in these parts of Europe, specifically in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and North Macedonia. The papers were then screened for relevance and utility. Nineteen papers were selected for review; most of them from Slovakia. Roma continue to have a higher prevalence of communicable diseases and are at higher risk of infection than the majority populations of the countries they live in. Roma children in particular have a particularly high prevalence of parasitic disease. However, these differences in disease prevalence are not present a...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Limited health literacy (HL), depression and anxiety are common in dialyzed patients and affect h... more Limited health literacy (HL), depression and anxiety are common in dialyzed patients and affect health outcomes and self-management. We explored whether depression and anxiety mediate the association of HL with diet non-adherence (DN-A) in dialyzed patients. We performed a cross-sectional study in 20 dialysis clinics in Slovakia (n = 452; mean age: 63.6 years; males: 60.7%). Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to create three HL groups. Logistic regression adjusted for age, gender and education was used to explore whether depression and anxiety mediate the association of HL with DN-A. Patients in the moderate HL group were more likely to be non-adherent to diet (OR (Odds Ratio)/95% CI: 2.19/1.21–3.99) than patients in the high HL group. Patients in the low HL and moderate HL group more likely reported depression or anxiety. Patients reporting depression (OR/95% CI: 1.94/1.26–2.98) or anxiety (OR/95% CI: 1.81/1.22–2.69) were more likely to be non-adherent with diet. Adjustmen...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) and some of their specific aspects are associated with health.... more Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) and some of their specific aspects are associated with health. A negatively perceived relationship with God, which has adverse health outcomes, can be formed by human attachment both in childhood and adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of childhood trauma (CT) and experience in close relationships (ECR) with the God image in a secular environment by religiosity. A national representative sample of Czech adults (n = 1800, 51.1 ± 17.2 years; 43.5% men) participated in a survey. We measured CT (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), ECR (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Questionnaire), image of God (questions from the 2005 Baylor Survey) and religiosity. Our results showed associations of CT and ECR with God images. Respondents who experienced CT were less likely to describe God as loving, always present and forgiving. Religious respondents were less likely to report positive God images with odds ratios (ORs) from 0.78 ...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The objective of the present study was to compare the social structure and internal establishment... more The objective of the present study was to compare the social structure and internal establishment of a Roma community in two historical periods: in the 18th century and the present. We analysed Samuel Augustini ab Hortis’s work, “Von dem Heutigen Zustände, Sonderbaren Sitten und Lebensart, Wie Auch von Denen Übrigen Eigenschaften und Umständen der Zigeuner in Ungarn” (On the Contemporary Situation, Distinctive Manners and Way of Life, as Well as the Other Characteristics and Circumstances of Gypsies in Greater Hungary), written in 1775–1776. Using content analysis, we subsequently compared his findings with our recent data from analogous qualitative research in a geographically-defined area of north-eastern Slovakia, the same region in which Augustini lived. Data collection was intensely conducted in 2012–2013 and once more in 2017–2019. The qualitative methods included direct observation, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Four key informants and more than 70 participants...
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Papers by Jitse Van Dijk