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Short sleep duration is a known risk to health, but less certain is the impact of longer sleep duration on various measures of health. We investigated the relationship between sleep duration and mental health outcomes in a cross-sectional survey conducted on a homogenous sample of healthy governmental employees (N = 1212). Data on sleep duration, subjective health, psychological stress, sense of coherence, life satisfaction and work ability along with sociodemographic data were collected. Sleep duration was significantly longer, and mental health outcomes and work ability were significantly better among those in at least good subjective health. Fitting mental health outcomes on sleep duration suggested a quadratic or fractional polynomial function, therefore these were tested and the best-fitting models were selected. Longer than 8 h of sleep duration was associated with a decreasing sense of coherence and decreasing work ability. However, psychological stress and life satisfaction were positively impacted by more than 8 h of sleep. Sleep duration likely has an optimum range for health, similar to other variables reflecting homeostatic functions. However, this is difficult to prove due to the left-skewed distribution of sleep duration.

Knee and hip joint replacements for the elderly are increasingly placing a burden on healthcare. Our aim was to verify the efficiency of the prehabilitation program among patients with knee arthroplasty (TKA) and hip arthroplasty (THA), taking into account the length and cost of postoperative rehabilitation and the restoration of function. We introduced a two-week preoperative physiotherapy program for patients awaiting knee and hip replacement surgery. We measured the duration and costs of the hospital stays, the active and passive range of motion of the hip and knee joints, and the quality of life. In the study, 99 patients participated (31 male, 68 female), with a mean age of 69.44 ± 9.69 years. We showed that, as a result of the prehabilitation program, the length of postoperative hospital stay decreased (THA: median 31.5 (IQR 26.5-32.5) vs. median 28 (IQR 21-28.5), TKA: median 36.5 (IQR 28-42) vs. median 29 (IQR 26-32.5)), and the patients' quality of life showed a significant improvement (TKA: median 30.5 (IQR 30-35) vs. median 35 (IQR 33-35), THA: median 25 (IQR 25-30) vs. median 33 (IQR 31.5-35)). The flexion movements were significantly improved through prehabilitation in both groups. Based on our positive results, we recommend the introduction of prehabilitation into TKA- and THA-related care.

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: A munkavégzés fontos egészségprotektív tényező, de munkahelyi pszichoszociális kockázatokkal jár, amelyeknek az egészségi állapottal való összefüggéseire az elmúlt évtizedekben derült fény. Célkitűzés: A vizsgálat célja a munkahelyi beosztás és az egészségi állapot közti összefüggés vizsgálata volt olyan, viszonylag homogén mintában, amelynek tagjait közintézmények dolgozói adták. Módszer: Kérdőíves egészségfelmérés történt online adatgyűjtéssel, keresztmetszeti elrendezésben, egy megyeszékhely két közintézményében alkalmazottak körében. A kérdőív demográfiai, az egészségi állapotra, az egészségmagatartásra és a munkavégzésre, köztük a munkahelyi beosztásra vonatkozó, validált kérdéseket tartalmazott. Az adatelemzés beosztási kategóriák szerint két (vezető vs. beosztott), illetve három (vezető, diplomás beosztott, nem diplomás beosztott) rétegben történt. Eredmények: A vizsgált mutatók közül a szubjektív egészség, az élettel való elégedettség, a koherenciaérzés, a túlzott mértékű pszichés stressz, a munkahelyi hiányzás, a munkahelyi és magánéleti társas támogatottság a vezető beosztásban dolgozók körében volt a legkedvezőbb. A vizsgált indikátorok közül csak a munkaképesség nem különbözött beosztás szerint, és csak az alvásidő volt szignifikánsan kedvezőtlenebb (rövidebb) a vezetők körében a beosztottakhoz képest. A háromrétegű elemzés szerint a legkedvezőtlenebb mutatók a nem diplomás beosztottakra voltak jellemzőek. Eredményeink szerint a vezető beosztásban dolgozók egészségi állapota és mentális egészsége kedvezőbb, mint a beosztottaké. Következtetés: A munkahelyi beosztás az egyéni társadalmi-gazdasági helyzet mellett a munkahelyi pszichoszociális stressz mértékével is összefüggésben van, ezért a munkahelyi stressz vizsgálata során érdemes beosztás szerinti elemzést is végezni. A munkahelyi pszichoszociális stressz nyomon követése minden munkahelyen ajánlott, amelynek egyszerű módja az alkalmazási idő és a hiányzott napok számának létszámarányos és beosztásra stratifikált, idősoros nyomon követése. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(29): 1172–1179. Summary. Introduction: Employment is an important health protective factor but also entails workplace psychosocial risks with multiple impacts on health. Objective: The present study aimed at examining the association between employment position and subjective health in a relatively homogenous sample of public servants with mostly tertiary degrees. Method: Online health survey was conducted among employees of two large public institutes in a large city in Hungary. The questionnaire contained items on demographic data, health status, mental health, health behaviour, and work-related questions including employment position (leadership). Data analysis was carried out by employment position in two (manager, subordinate) and three (manager, subordinate with college degree, subordinate with no college degree) strata. Results: Subjective health, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, pathological stress, sickness absence, social support in the workplace and private life were most favourable among those in leadership position. Work ability did not differ by employment position, but sleep time was significantly less favourable (shorter) among leaders compared to subordinates. Subordinates with no college degree had the worst measures of health. Conclusion: Employment position is related to individual socioeconomic status and workplace psychosocial stress, therefore research on workplace stress should include employment level as a potential confounder. Psychosocial stress at workplaces should be monitored for which various recommendations are available. The simplest method is to monitor mid- and long-term turnover and sickness absence stratified for employment position and proportionate to the workforce. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(29): 1172–1179.

Worldwide, university students’ physical health and posture are declining due to a sedentary lifestyle. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapeutic breathing exercises on posture and spinal mobility among healthy female university students compared to other training methods. Sixty-one female students of the University of Debrecen were assigned to breathing exercise (BE; n = 15), yoga (Y; n = 16), Pilates (P; n = 15) programmes and interval-training (IT; n = 15). Each training session lasted one hour, performed twice a week for 7 weeks. Students were assessed using standardized clinical tests. All programmes resulted in significant improvement in chest expansion. Results of Schober’s test showed substantial improvement using BE (p < 0.05), Y, P (p ≤ 0.01) programmes. Significant changes in occiput-to-wall distance (Y, P p ≤ 0.01) (BE p ≤ 0.001) were observed in three groups except the IT group. Fingertip-to-floor test (Y, P p < 0.05) results showed significant changes in two groups. The most outstanding effects on lateral flexion were achieved using BE (right, left p ≤ 0.001) programme. A comparison with results achieved using yoga and Pilates revealed that the physiotherapeutic breathing exercise programme is an equally effective method to significantly improve spinal mobility and correct postural problems in healthy young women.

Our aim was to investigate the impact of the school psychosocial environment, including students' general attitude towards the school, perception of support from teachers and classmates as well as individual psychosocial factors including self-esteem and loneliness on life satisfaction (LS). Four repeated cross-sectional online questionnaire surveys were carried out between 2011 and 2014, inviting all students in one Hungarian high school. Health status and behaviour were assessed by the Hungarian version of the HBSC questionnaire. Results from the surveys were pooled for analysis (N = 3310 students). Heteroskedastic regression estimating robust variance was used to identify potential determinants of LS. Family wealth perceived to be well-off, self-esteem, and being perceived as a good student were identified to be the most important significant positive contributing factors of LS. Perceived good relations with classmates and teachers and an overall positive attitude to school had smaller but still significant positive effects on LS. Self-esteem was a significant moderator for the effect of perceived difficulty of schoolwork, relation with classmates, and gender. This paper shows that self-esteem is not only an independent factor but also a modifier of some school-related variables on LS. The complex interplay among school-related and individual potential determinants of LS should be taken into account in future research by controlling for their interactions.

Worldwide, university students' physical health and posture are declining due to a sedentary lifestyle. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapeutic breathing exercises on posture and spinal mobility among healthy female university students compared to other training methods. Sixty-one female students of the University of Debrecen were assigned to breathing exercise (BE

WHO describes &ldquo, low back pain&rdquo, (LBP) as the most common problem in overall occupational-related diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate characteristics of spinal functionality among sedentary workers and determine usability of the SpinalMouse&reg, skin-surface measurement device in workplace settings in a risk population for LBP. The spinal examination was implemented at National Instruments Corporations&rsquo, Hungarian subsidiary, Debrecen in October, 2015, involving 95 white-collar employees as volunteers to assess spinal posture and functional movements. Data from the physical examination of 91 subjects (age: 34.22 &plusmn, 7.97 years) were analyzed. Results showed significant differences (p &lt, 0.05) in posture and mobility of the spinal regions in sitting compared to standing position. Significant positive correlations were observed between values measured in standing and sitting positions in all observed regions and aspects of the spine (p &lt, 0.05) except posture of lumbar extension (p = 0.07) and mobility of sacrum/hip in E-F (p = 0.818). Significant (p &lt, 0.001) difference (5.70&deg, ) was found between the spinal inclination in sitting 6.47 &plusmn, 3.55&deg, compared to standing 0.77 &plusmn, 2.53 position. Sitting position has a negative effect on the posture and mobility of the spine among white-collar employees. The SpinalMouse can be used effectively to determine spinal posture and mobility in cross-sectional studies and impact analysis of physical exercise interventions.

Data mainly from one-off surveys clearly show that the health of Roma, the largest ethnic minority of Europe, is much worse than that of the general population. However, results from comprehensive exploratory studies are missing. The aim of our study was to create a complex database for comparative and association studies to better understand the background of the very unfavourable health of Roma, especially the high burden of cardiometabolic diseases. A three-pillar (questionnaire-based, physical and laboratory examinations) health survey was carried out on randomly selected samples of the Hungarian general (HG, n = 417) and Roma (HR, n = 415) populations, and a database consisting of more than half a million datapoints was created. Using selected data, the prevalence rates of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and of its components were determined, and to estimate the risk of insulin resistance (IR), surrogate measures (the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index, quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, McAuley and TyG indices and the TG/HDL-C ratio) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and Youden’s method were used to define the optimal cut-off values of each IR index. The prevalence of MetS was very high in both study populations (HG: 39.8%, HR: 44.0%) with no statistically significant difference between the two groups in females or males. The prevalence of MetS showed a very marked increase in the HR 35–49 years age group. Among surrogate measures, the TyG index showed the greatest power for predicting IR/MetS at a cut-off value of 4.69 (77% sensitivity, 84% specificity) and indicated a 42.3% (HG) and 40.5% (HR) prevalence of IR. The prevalence of MetS and IR is almost equally very unfavourable in both groups; thus, the factors underlying the high premature mortality burden of Roma should be further clarified by investigating the full spectrum of risk factors available in the database, with a special focus on the access of Roma people to preventive and curative health services.

SUMMARY A social cognitive intervention was developed and delivered as a credit course to improve mental distress of university students, based on findings in a previous health survey showing notable mental distress among future teachers in Hungary in 2007. The intervention included increasing information on psychoactive substances used for stress reduction; skills development in stress reduction methods; improving skills in communication and problem-solving. All students who participated in the previous health survey were targeted. Mental status of the participants was assessed by a questionnaire before (n: 128, 22% male, mean age 23.21 years) and after (n: 148, 30% male, mean age 23.54 years) the intervention. Specifically, self-efficacy as outcome was approximated by a trait measure (sense of coherence); psychological distress was measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg et al., 1997. The validity of two versions of the GHQ in the WHO study of mental illness in general health care. Psychological Medicine, 27, 191‐197) after the intervention compared with that before. After the intervention, psychological distress was reduced among the participants (p: 0.013). Nonsignificant improvement occurred in the mean score for sense of coherence (from a mean 60.8 points before to 61.4 points after, p: 0.688). The intervention produced a modest but significant decrease in psychological distress in students at a cost of 54 US$ per 1 point improvement in mental distress. The intervention, a first example of the translation of the social cognitive theory into practice among students in higher education can be integrated into the curriculum as a standardized optional course.