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During the pandemic, we unnecessarily said ‘no’ to many pro-health behaviors: preventive examinations, physical activity, a healthy diet, proper sleep hygiene. We also unreasonably said ‘yes’ to several risk factors: to a sedentary lifestyle and to stimulants. As a result, the health of each of us demands a “recovery plan” …
A pre-pandemic portrait of a Pole
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, experts sounded the alarm: “Poles’ health is on the decline”! The report “Health situation in Poland and its determinants 2020” proves that the improvement of the health condition of the inhabitants of our country has slowed down. In 2019, the life expectancy of a static Pole was 74,1 years, and a Polish woman – 81,8 years, while the life expectancy of women in 2016-2019 had a slow downward trend. Men in Poland could expect to survive in good health (without reduced fitness) – 59 years, and women – 7 years. The difference between these values, amounting to almost 63,3 years in Poland, was one of the highest in the EU countries!
Moreover, the report reads that before the pandemic, Poland belonged to the group of developed countries that had a clear problem with premature mortality of the population. In the case of women, the dominant cause of premature years of life lost (PYLL75) were malignant neoplasms, to the greatest extent: tracheal, bronchial and lung cancer, and breast cancer. However, in the case of men, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), mainly heart diseases and malignant neoplasms, were responsible for the greatest burden of premature loss of life. In the years 2014-2018, there was a significant increase in PYLL75 due to diabetes, respiratory diseases, mainly pneumonia, chronic liver diseases, as well as causes directly related to alcohol consumption, which increased year by year. While in 2005 a statistical Pole drank 9,5 liters of pure spirit per head, in 2019 it was already 10,6 liters.
Also, avoiding other modifiable risk factors of civilization diseases was not our strong point. In 2019, the percentage of tobacco smokers was 21%, and 54% were overweight. of us, more often men (64%) than women (46%), and obesity (BMI ≥30) – 10%. Only every third inhabitant of our country regularly played sports or undertook recreational physical activity in the spring, summer or autumn season. Our plates had too few vegetables and fruits, and too often red meat and processed meat products.
So we entered a pandemic with a greater health deficit than other Europeans. It must have ended badly.
And the pandemic came …
On the one hand, access to medical facilities was limited, and on the other, we avoided contact with health care for fear of coronavirus infection. Not only did we give up diagnostic tests or scheduled medical appointments, but often with excruciating pain behind the breastbone, or in the sudden paralysis of one half of the body, we decided not to call an ambulance, but to stay home.
This is confirmed by the figures – only in the period from March to May 2020, the number of interventional heart attack treatments decreased by 35%. The number of patients hospitalized for stroke has also dropped sharply. The fact that ignoring disturbing symptoms may have a tragic end was argued by the educational campaigns: “Don’t Stay at Home with a Heartache” and # Nie LosingSzansyNaŻycie.
During the pandemic, there was also a collapse in pulmonary and oncological diagnostics. Data obtained by the Oncology Foundation 2025 show that in 2020, 91 percent less mammography was performed in the Mazowieckie voivodship than in the previous year, in Śląskie – by 94 percent, and in Warmińsko-Mazurskie – by 97 percent. Also, fewer DILO cards entitling to the fast path of cancer treatment were issued.
As noted by prof. dr hab. n. med. Jacek Szaflik, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, restrictions, lockdown and fear of COVID made the health of the eyes in the social consciousness also receded into the background. In 2020, 65 percent. Poles were not at the ophthalmologist!
Patients did not report symptoms to an ophthalmologist or delayed a doctor’s appointment, often even abandoning previously planned procedures. This is well illustrated by the numbers, in 2020 we recorded a 30% decrease in the number of cataract surgeries. compared to 2019, and in the age group of the most needy, i.e. 70+, by nearly 45 percent. At the same time, the number of new cataract diagnoses has dropped by about a third. As a result, we are now seeing an increased demand for ophthalmic examinations and treatment, and at the same time more patients in a worse condition than before the pandemic come to us – comments Prof. Dishpan.
Four kilos up
Experts also point out that the subsequent lockdowns contributed to changes in our lifestyle, which already left much to be desired. We limited physical activity, due to remote work and learning, both adults and children spent an excessive amount of time in front of the laptop screen, and our plates showed more fat, cholesterol and sucrose. We observed the effects on weight – in the pandemic we gained an average of 4 kg. This is a lot considering that many of us have already had excess body weight before. Overweight and obesity increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension or hypercholesterolaemia, which have been underdiagnosed in our population for years.
While the data from the report “The health situation in Poland and its determinants 2020” of the National Institute of Public Health of the National Institute of Hygiene were disturbing, today they are already tragic. The national good, which is the health of our citizens, has been diminished, and now, on average, every Pole has lost an average of two years of life. It is a product of our lifestyle, which deteriorated during the pandemic, and our health policy. Unfortunately, in crisis situations to which our health care system has been exposed in recent years (war or epidemic), it has not provided patients with sufficient support. I think it is worth paying attention to the younger group of patients, i.e. Poles before the age of 30, whose health, due to poor eating habits, low physical activity, smoking or high alcohol consumption, suffered the most. It is a pity that the Ministry of Health does not use tools that would make younger patients aware that if they do not take care of their health today, they may have a heart attack or stroke in their early forties – comments Dr. Daniel Śliż, MD.
Returning to treatment is not enough
From the beginning of the pandemic, experts alarmed that by shifting all forces and resources only to the fight against COVID-19, we were losing sight of thousands of patients who were left aside. And so it happened – one of the long-term health effects is the influx of “non-covid” patients in worse condition than before the pandemic.
Diagnostics and therapy were neglected. We admit a large number of seriously ill patients who require quick and intensive treatment procedures. Chronic diseases did not wait for the pandemic to end. This is a time of reflection that says that all chronic diseases should be treated in accordance with the guidelines, regardless of the circumstances – comments Prof. dr hab. n. med. Artur Mamcarz, Head of the XNUMXrd Department of Internal Diseases and Cardiology of the Medical University of Warsaw.
Limited access to diagnostics and therapy related to the COVID-19 pandemic overlapped with previously existing problems with access to specialist cardiological consultations, hospitalization and planned interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery procedures. If you add to this the avoidance of visits to clinics and hospitals, it is obvious that the health of cardiac patients has worsened. Unfortunately, despite the decision not to suspend the work of cardiology departments despite the pandemic, the pace of making up for the cardiological debt is not sufficient. A vicious circle situation has arisen: patients diagnosed or treated with delay, with more advanced disease, require longer hospitalizations, more frequent visits, and have more complications. This causes the waiting time to be extended. The situation is complicated by new variants of the virus – adds prof. Janina Stępińska, MD, PhD, chairman of the Scientific Council of the Polpharma Foundation.
For the recovery of Poles’ health, in addition to returning to the level of treatment before the pandemic, prevention and early detection are of key importance, as it allows to limit the further development of the disease. This is reflected in the nationwide program of free health consultations Strefa na Zdrowie Polpharma, which has been conducted for 9 years, and whose idea is to facilitate access to examinations, medical consultations and health education for patients over 40 years of age.
We are a partner of patients in caring for their health, which is why, as the largest Polish pharmaceutical company, we have been involved in health education and prevention for many years. This year, we also invite our guests from Ukraine to participate in the Health Zone. This is another expression of Polpharma’s support for the Ukrainian community. So far, we have donated over a million packages of life-saving drugs to Ukrainian hospitals. We also run the “My Ukrainian Patient” campaign, the aim of which is to facilitate communication for Polish doctors and pharmacists with patients from Ukraine, explains Magdalena Rzeszotalska, Head of Corporate Communication and CSR / ESG at Polpharma.
This year, as part of the campaign, from August to September, Polish and Ukrainian patients will be able to take advantage of free cardiological, diabetic, ophthalmological and pulmonary examinations. Experts will be waiting for those interested, who will conduct an interview, check their health condition and advise on how to care for them. Each patient, apart from the examination, will receive professional advice from a specialist doctor and possible indications for further treatment.
Recent years and difficult access to examinations may have discouraged some people from taking care of their health on a regular basis. Our guests from the east, on the other hand, had so much work to get to know the new country since February that they could neglect chronic diseases or miss the emergence of alarming symptoms. An additional day of free examinations translates into saving lives in a real way – adds Ewa Piekarska-Dymus, President of the Management Board of the Polish Medical Mission Association.
As noted by Dr. Śliż, the patient also plays an important role in the health recovery plan.
Hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia or type 2 diabetes are disease states in which the patient does not only take medications, i.e. pharmacological treatment, but he can also benefit from the fact that he will change his lifestyle. Such simple things as: avoiding obesity and stimulants, ensuring the proper quality and duration of sleep, more vegetables and fruit in the diet, a 30-minute walk a day are the key elements. Without them, pharmacological treatment has limited use, he explains.