Background: Hearing Loss (HL), which affects disproportionally children in low income countries, is increasing worldwide. HL could be associated with a range of speech, language and cognitive problems in children. In Albania the information about this condition is largely outdated. In this context, the aim of this paper was to assess the prevalence of HL among first grade school children in Tir...

A radical primary health care-oriented reform of the medical services in Albania is now under way, calling for adequate revision in medical education. The reform has started in 1994. In January 1997, the Department of Family Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tirana, was established for the development of general practice and family medicine, and with it a new era in medical edu...

BACKGROUND Iliac bone grafts are used to augment alveolar ridges followed by subsequent dental implants in completely edentulous patients. In Albania the information about these issues is scarce. AIM To describe the procedure of iliac bone grafts augmentation of alveolar ridges and evaluate the survival rate of dental implants in completely edentulous patients in Albania. SUBJECTS AND METHO...

OBJECTIVE As HIV/AIDS prevalence rises in Eastern Europe, assessment of local epidemics in the bordering Central European region, especially South Eastern Europe, is vital in order to meet treatment and prevention needs. Understanding current medical and social needs and barriers to care experienced by HIV-positive patients in these regions may provide insight into how to best respond to the lo...

Objective To describe the prevalence of intimate partner violence and associated factors among married women in Albania. Design Cross sectional study. Setting Tirana, the capital city of Albania. Participants A representative sample of 1039 married women aged 25-65 living in Tirana and recorded in the 2001 census. Methods Questionnaire on intimate partner violence and social and demographic cha...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To describe the prevalence of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors on the adult population of Tirana City (Albania). DESIGN Cross sectional survey. SETTING Tirana City in mid-2001. PARTICIPANTS 1120 adults aged 25 years and over (response rate=72.7%). MAIN RESULTS Overall, hypertension prevalence (blood pressure =140 and/or 90 mm Hg, or known hypertensive r...

INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis affected about 8.5 million patients in 2011. Numerous efforts are needed to reduce the pool of individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI). The aim of the study was to describe a tuberculin skin testing (TST) survey carried out in Albania to estimate the LTBI burden; furthermore, knowledge of TB was evaluated through an ad hoc questionnaire. METHODOLOGY A TST survey ...

Albania is a Mediterranean country, located in West of Balkan Peninsula. Albanian farmers have a long tradition in sheep breeding. Sheep comprise one of the most important domestic livestock species in Albania and play an important role in the livelihood of local community since they are a good source of meat, milk and coarse wool (Dobi et al., 2006; Porcu and Markovic, 2005). There are three i...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the incidence and prevalence of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in southern Albania and to assess the association of various demographic risk factors with the severity of disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS This is an observational study with cross-sectional analyses, conducted in the region of Gjirokaster, between 1995 until 2011. The diagnosis of AS was based on the modified Ne...