Multidisciplinary Health & Wellbeing

Here is the anniversary issue – thank you for your support!

2025-05-26T05:41:55+00:00

This is our tenth regular issue, of which we are very proud. The journal's readership continues to grow steadily, and we broke records in March and April this year, thanks to our authors and readers.

Expert roundtable on restricting food marketing to children (extract)

2025-05-26T12:29:33+00:00

Participating experts: Emese Antal, dietitian, sociologist, professional leader of the TÉT Platform; Zombor Berezvai, associate professor, Corvinus University of Budapest; Ildikó Fazekas, director of the Self-Regulatory Advertising Board, president of the TÉT Platform; Judit Schmidt, dietitian, health teacher, founding proofreader of MEJ; moderated by József Vitrai, founding editor-in-chief of MEJ.

IBS patients from shopping to digestion

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

INTRODUCTION: In the national professional leadership circles of public health, there is no support for a discourse on the definition of public health. However, this is essential to improve the success of Hungarian public health.

METHODOLOGY: In 2024, we interviewed 39 self-reported IBS patients among the Hungarian population in a semi-structured questionnaire. Logistic regressio and Fisher's exact test were performed to process the results, furthermore we used the Sapphiro Wilk test to examine the normality of continuous variables. The subjects were divided into two groups based on their physical condition. We compared the two groups based on the answers to the following questions: how much water they drink, how long it takes to eat the main meal, which foods are eaten more often and which less often, which foods are easier to digest and which are more difficult.

RESULTS: Based on the results, it can be concluded that there are foods that should be consumed less often or should be avoided outright due to their physical well-being, because they are difficult to digest and cause severe symptoms. We found a significant difference between the two groups in digestion and the frequency of consumption of certain foods. Those who indicated that they were better digested less food with difficulty or very difficulty and more well or very well. Regarding water consumption, we found no significant difference between the two groups. Those who feel physically better consume less refined floral oils, fresh and canned dry legumes compared to the other group. Contrary to our expectations, there was no significant difference in the time of eating the main course between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: The present research provides assistance to professionals who give nutritional advice to IBS patients. As a limitation of the research, it can be said that it would be worthwhile to carry out the study with a larger number of items, taking into account the prevalence of IBS in Hungary. It will be advisable to further investigate the differences in digestion and look for reasons for it, either by examining the history of illness or psychological methods, or even by looking for organic causes in the bodies of the two groups.

Relationship between dietary patterns and menstrual cycle among Hungarian women

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

INTRODUCTION: Studies conducted on foreign samples confirm a correlation between dietary habits and menstrual cycle-related issues. The two most commonly studied areas are dysmenorrhea, which refers to menstrual cramps, and premenstrual syndrome, abbreviated as PMS. The topic is highly relevant because menstruation affects every woman of reproductive age, with dysmenorrhea and PMS affecting 50–90% of the population depending on demographics. The examination of the relationship between food and the menstrual cycle is considered a relatively new research area, and surveys have so far been conducted only on foreign samples. Therefore, we aim to enrich the scientific discourse by conducting a study using a Hungarian sample. Our goal is to move closer to addressing menstrual difficulties at the lifestyle level and to draw attention to therelevance of the topic in our country as well.

METHODOLOGY: The study extracted its results through questionnaire-based data collection, followed by statistical analysis using chi-square, Pearson, and Spearman correlation. The sample size of the study was n =508. The age of the participants ranged from 16 to 61 years, with a mean age of 24,4 years. In the sample, the prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 88.6%, while that of PMS was 90.4%.

RESULTS: Dysmenorrhea negatively correlates with regular exercise, vegetable and fluid intake, as well as more frequent consumption of nuts. Menstrual cramps, along with PMS, can be positively associated with alcoholconsumption, meaning that in the sample, those who consumed alcohol more frequently had a higher occurrenceof cramps and PMS. The length of menstrual bleeding negatively correlates with olive oil and fluid intake, so frequent or larger intake of these substances can reduce the duration of menstruation. Conversely, the length of bleeding shows a positive correlation with frequent consumption of pasta and rice, suggesting that excessiveintake of these foods appears to have the opposite effect. In our sample, participants also evaluated the similarityof their dietary habits to those of their female relatives. The results show that the more similar participant’s eating habits are to those of their female relatives, the higher the proportion of cramps they experience, and the stronger they are. Additionally, among participants who diverge more from the habits of their ancestors, theprevalence of dysmenorrhea was lower.

CONCLUSIONS: Dietary habits may have a close relationship with the development of menstrual difficulties. Based on the significant results extracted from the responses, healthier patterns are typically associated with more favourable cycle characteristics.

Let the Content Write Itself!

2025-05-26T09:10:39+00:00

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this Communication was to illustrate how Artificial Intelligence (AI) communications can extract the essence.

ACCOMPLISHMENT: I used the free ChatGPT to create short summaries in English in a few minutes.

CONCLUSIONS: Translation and extraction are easy with ChatGPT, which is available and easy to use for all professionals.

Smart AI? Only If We Are Too

2025-05-26T09:10:36+00:00

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this communication was to illustrate the extent to which we can rely on the advice and suggestions of artificial intelligence (AI).

ACCOMPLISHMENT: Both the AI-generated recommendation and the graphics were subject to serious criticism.

CONCLUSIONS: But with dialogue, we can let the AI fix that.

Article review: Social connections and mortality

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

Various elements of social relationships can be linked to mortality, but few studies have examined their independent and combined effects in a single database. This study aimed to explore the independent and combined associations between functional and structural elements of social relationships and mortality.

Hungary Article review: Article review: The social backgrounds of health inequalities in the Slovak Roma population

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

The article examines health inequalities and barriers to access to healthcare for Roma, particularly in segregated Roma communities. The article is divided into three main sections. In the first section, the authors present the aim and theoretical background of the research. In the second section, they detail the ethnographic research conducted in four Roma communities in Slovakia. The third section discusses the results of the research and their scientific significance.

Article review: What competencies does the next generation of public health professionals consider important?

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

In order to adequately address a number of complex societal challenges, public health workers need to acquire new competencies. It is particularly interesting to know what young people consider important in this regard, as they represent the future generation of public health professionals. European public health students and early-career professionals were asked, through an online survey, which of the competencies identified by WHO-ASPHER in 2020 (WHO-ASPHER, 2020) which of the competencies defined by the WHO-ASPHER for 2020 (WHO-ASPHER, 2020) they consider most important for their future careers and how prepared they feel to apply these competencies in practice.

Article review: Public health strategy – a review

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

National public health strategies are comprehensive, complex documents designed to promote the health and well-being of a country's population. According to the WHO (WHO, 2023), these strategies play a key role in shaping a country's vision, political direction, and priorities for action. Their aim is not only to prevent or treat diseases, but also to reduce social inequalities, promote healthy lifestyles and respond to emerging public health challenges.

Article review: Political polarization and health

2025-05-26T09:10:39+00:00

Social determinants of health - such as income, education, housing and access to health care - have long been a focus of public health research. In recent years, however, there has been growing evidence that political polarisation is also a significant and often overlooked determinant of individual and community health. The review paper "Political polarisation and health" in Nature Medicine explores this issue and emphasises that polarisation is not just a political or social phenomenon, but a structural risk factor that can significantly distort health outcomes.

Article review: The current well-being of our children is an investment in their future

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

Well-being is defined as indicators that predict the future well-being and opportunities of children and young people. Developing skills and abilities that are important for future well-being at an early age is key to their survival, so investing in programmes to promote this is essential to improve well-being in adulthood and reduce inequalities in opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people. What we aspire to achieve as children can predict what we would like to achieve as adults, known as 'aspirational capacity', and suggests that a lack of investment in children's aspirations in childhood can affect their future chances of thriving.

Secondary publication: Is alcohol a drug? Or how to fight drugs with a shot in your hand

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

The answers to the questions posed in the title are simple and straightforward, requiring no further reflection: 1. Yes. 2. No. Yet there are a number of additional considerations raised by these two questions that are worth exploring in a little more detail.

The Hungarian Addiction Society's position on the government's anti-drug campaign

2025-05-26T09:10:40+00:00

The Presidency of the Hungarian Addiction Society has sent the following letter to the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior and members of Parliament regarding the government's anti-drug campaign.

Short news from the world and our homeland

2025-05-26T12:29:32+00:00

A selection of the health and well-being news of most interest to the world's professionals.

Public Health 3.0 - Activities of the Association for the Renewal of Hungarian Public Health

2025-05-26T05:42:12+00:00

We believe that health is the primary condition for a full and happy life, and that modern and effective public health is essential to achieve this. Significant health losses in Hungary and their inequalities across regions and regions highlight the fact that the solutions to public health problems have not been effective and efficient in Hungary. Therefore, the aim of our association is to develop the theory and practice of public health in Hungary with a new approach.