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Cardiovascular diseases, including ischemic heart disease, are the most common causes of morbidity and death in the world, including Serbia, as a middle-income European country. The aim of the study was to determine the costs of preventive examinations for ischemic heart disease in active-duty military personnel, as well as to assess whether this was justified from the point of view of the limited health resources allocated for the treatment of the Republic of Serbia population. This is a retrospective cost-preventive study which included 738 male active-duty military personnel, aged from 23 to 58. The costs of primary prevention of ischemic heart disease in this population were investigated. Out of 738 subjects examined, arterial hypertension was detected in 101 subjects (in 74 of them, arterial hypertension was registered for the first time, while 27 subjects were already subjected to pharmacotherapy for arterial hypertension). Average costs of all services during the periodic-health-examination screening program were €76.96 per subject. However, average costs of all services during the periodic-health-examination screening program for patients with newfound arterial hypertension and poorly regulated arterial hypertension were €767.54 per patient and €2,103.63 per patient, respectively. Since periodic-health-examination screening program in military personnel enabled not only discovery of patient with newfound arterial hypertension but also regular monitoring of those who are already on antihypertensive therapy, significant savings of €690.58 per patient and €2,026.67 per patient can be achieved, respectively. As financial resources for providing health care in Serbia, as a middle-income country, are limited, further efforts should be put on screening programs for ischemic heart disease due to possible significant savings.Background There is a need for prospective studies investigating substance use variations in mild COVID-19 patients. These individuals represent the majority of patients affected by the disease and are routinely treated at home, facing periods of quarantine. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study. All people who tested positive for COVID-19 and classified as mild cases (i.e., no alarm sign/symptom, no need for in-person consultation) during the treatment in the public health system of a Brazilian city with around 160,000 inhabitants were monitored by phone for all the COVID-19 symptoms listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the active phase of the disease (i.e., no longer experiencing symptoms, up to 14 days in mild cases). After this phase (median = 108 days after intake, IQR = 76-137), we asked these patients who were classified as experiencing mild COVID-19 (n = 993) about last-month substance use in three time-points pre-COVID, just after COVID-19 acute phase (post-COOVID-19 should be monitored for substance use in the post-COVID-19 period, and preventive interventions for non-medical analgesic use should be implemented. Focused preventive interventions increasing the perceived risks of cannabis and non-medical benzodiazepine and analgesic use among people experiencing mild COVID-19 that reported previous substance use could be useful.Background Health literacy is a determinant of health and assessed globally to inform the development of health interventions. However, little is known about health literacy in countries with one of the poorest health indicators worldwide, such as Afghanistan. Studies worldwide demonstrate that women play a key role in developing health literacy. Hence, this study’s purpose is to explore health literacy of women in Afghanistan and the associated factors. Methods From May to June 2017, we randomly recruited 7-10 women per day at the hospital in Ghazni, a representative province of Afghanistan. Two trained female interviewers interviewed 322 women (15-61 years old) orally in Dari or Pashto on a voluntary basis and assessed their health literacy using the HLS-EU-Q16, associated socio-demographics, and health behavior. Results Health literacy of women (among educated and illiterates) is low even compared to other Asian countries. Health literacy is linked to age and education. We found mixed evidence of the relationship between health literacy and contextual factors, help-seeking, and health-related behavior. Conclusion This study provides novel data on health literacy and astonishing insights into its association with health behavior of women in Afghanistan, thus contributing to health status. The study calls for recognition of health literacy as a public health challenge be addressed in Afghanistan and other low-income countries affected by crises.Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory and systemic disorder caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or novel Coronavirus (nCoV). To date, there is no proven curative treatment for this virus; as a result, prevention remains to be the best strategy to combat coronavirus infection (COVID-19). RO4987655 solubility dmso Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been proposed to play a role in coronavirus infection (COVID-19). However, there is no conclusive evidence on its impact on COVID-19 infection. Therefore, the present review aimed to summarize the available evidence regarding the association between Vitamin D levels and the risk of COVID-19 infection. Methods A systematic literature search of databases (PUBMED/MEDLINE, Cochrane/Wiley library, Scopus, and SciELO) were conducted from May 15, 2020, to December 20, 2020. Studies that assessed the effect of vitamin D level on COVID-19/SARS-2 infection were considered for the review. The qualities of the included studies were evaluated using the J = 1.81). Conclusions In conclusion, low serum 25 (OH) Vitamin-D level was significantly associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. The limited currently available data suggest that sufficient Vitamin D level in serum is associated with a significantly decreased risk of COVID-19 infection.Various measures have been taken in different countries to mitigate the Covid-19 epidemic. But, throughout the world, many citizens don’t understand well how these measures are taken and even question the decisions taken by their government. Should the measures be more (or less) restrictive? Are they taken for a too long (or too short) period of time? To provide some quantitative elements of response to these questions, we consider the well-known SEIR model for the Covid-19 epidemic propagation and propose a pragmatic model of the government decision-making operation. Although simple and obviously improvable, the proposed model allows us to study the tradeoff between health and economic aspects in a pragmatic and insightful way. Assuming a given number of phases for the epidemic (namely, 4 in this paper) and a desired tradeoff between health and economic aspects, it is then possible to determine the optimal duration of each phase and the optimal severity level (i.e., the target transmission rate) for each of them.