Introduction: Incidence rates of colorectal cancer in the Orenburg Region exceed the national averages, thus highlighting the importance of early diagnosis. In 2022, a pilot screening project was implemented in the region, and its results served as the basis for expanding the coverage throughout the region.

Objective: To determine the list of indicators for the high-quality implementation of colorectal cancer screening and their target levels based on the results of the pilot project.

Materials and Methods: The colorectal cancer screening pilot project lasted six months and involved 3,278 participants aged 40 and above, all working at large enterprises of the Orenburg Region. The screening process included a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) at stage 1 and, if needed, colonoscopy at stage 2. During the pilot project, indicators were evaluated according to a predefined list (the proportion of positive FOB test results, endoscopy coverage, the proportion of colonoscopies with debridement/total polypectomy (in outpatient settings), and the proportion of colonoscopies with biopsy). Target levels and the final list were established based on the distribution of the findings.

Results: At the laboratory stage, 10.3 % of all participants had a positive FOBT result and 81.3 % of them underwent endoscopic examination. Of 273 colonoscopies performed, 42 % resulted in complete debridement and 11 % were performed with biopsy; intestinal pathology was detected in 61.9 % of them, including polyps and six cancer cases, with the adenoma and cancer detection rates of 26 % and 0.18 %, respectively. These metrics, including the percentage of positive test results, endoscopy coverage, and the level of outpatient polypectomies, will facilitate the evaluation of screening quality and effectiveness and decision making for the long-term reduction in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates.

Conclusions: The pilot project implemented in the Orenburg Region confirmed the effectiveness of a two-stage screening strategy based on the fecal occult blood test and colonoscopy, with the identification of key indicators that will ensure the control and monitoring of the program at the regional level.

Introduction: Sleep is essential for maintaining our physiological circulatory systems. However, with the increasing need for economic activities and productivity, our modern-day population is faced with the rising prevalence of sleep disorders, both in urban and rural communities. This poses a potential risk in cardiovascular disease development, including hypertension.

Objective: To analyze the association between sleep quality and hypertension risk among adults in the rural area of Madiun, Indonesia.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 71 participants aged 18 or older from rural communities in Madiun, Indonesia. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data were analyzed using bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression.

Results: The prevalence of hypertension and poor sleep quality was 53.5 % and 39.4 %, respectively. Sleep quality was significantly associated with hypertension, with a doubled risk of having hypertension among the youngest adults with poor sleep quality compared to the oldest group in age-adjusted risk (RR for ≤ 40 years old = 3.11 and RR for > 60 years old = 1.27). The associated risk of hypertension posed by sleep quality was independent of sex, BMI, family history, and smoking status.

Conclusion: sleep quality affects hypertension risk despite age, sex, BMI, family history, and smoking status.

Introduction: In the context of developing a drinking water source registration system, special attention is paid to springs, which serve as both a vital resource and an indicator of the territory’s environmental well-being.

Objective: To evaluate safety of drinking water from springs in the city of Vladimir based on chemical composition analysis and health risk assessment.

Materials and Methods: In June 2025, we took water samples from urban springs, measured their physicochemical parameters, and assessed health risks in accordance with Russian Guidelines R 2.1.10.3968–23. Individual carcinogenic risk (CR) and total carcinogenic risk for the oral route of exposure (CRing) were calculated. The Capel-205 capillary electrophoresis system was used to determine the ion content; heavy metals were analyzed using Spectroscan MAX-G X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Potentiometry, conductometry, and titrimetry were applied to test other water sample parameters.

Results: Nitrate ion concentrations demonstrated 1.2 to 1.7-fold excess of maximum permissible limits. We detected elevated (up to 1.2 times) hardness values in some springs and fluoride deficiency in all springs under study. The water composition of some springs was noted for the presence of potential carcinogens (nickel) and toxicants (nitrate ions), resulting in unsatisfactory safety levels.

Conclusion: Evaluation of drinking water safety of Vladimir springs based on chemical testing and health risk assessment showed high nitrate ion and hardness levels. Water from certain springs poses alarming carcinogenic risk for adults due to the presence of nickel and exerts a general toxic effect on children due to the nitrate ion content.

Introduction: Sickness absence is the most common health indicator of the workforce. The results of its analysis are of great importance for the economy because of the working days lost and the cost of sick leave benefits. Objective: To analyze sickness absence rates in rail transportation workers and their possible contributors.

Materials and Methods: We analyzed sickness absence among railway workers based on Statistical Data Form 16-VN, Information on sick leave reasons, and compared it with regional averages for 2014–2023. We also evaluated the results of a questionnaire-based survey of 300 railway workers aimed to establish the causes of health disorders, stress resistance, risks of the main general pathological syndromes, mental stress, and sleep quality, as well as the findings of special assessment of working conditions for 2019–2023 using Microsoft Excel.

Results: We found that incidence rates in railway workers ranged from 84.4 to 247.0 episodes per 100 workers-year in the period between 2014 and 2023, with the diseases of the respiratory system prevailing and being the reason for 47.9 % of cases. The incidence among railway workers was 1.2 to 2.4 times higher than the regional means for the working population and classified as high based on the E.L. Notkin scale. Workplace assessment showed that the main occupational risk factor for rail transportation workers were heavy workload combined with shift work.

Conclusion: Incidence rates in railway workers are higher than those among the general working population due to greater workplace stress.

Introduction: The problem of intergenerational changes in overall body size caused by secular trends and accelerated human biological development is one of the most important in both pediatric health and pediatrics.

Objective: To analyze trends in physical development of children and adolescents in the Tula Region between 1929 and 2021–2024 for elaboration of regional standards.

Materials and Methods: We conducted the analytical study with historical control. To establish current trends in physical development indicators in the Tula Region, historical data were used, obtained by measuring the height and weight of 6,935 schoolchildren aged 9–14 in 1929 and aged 7–17 in 1983. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of appropriate measurements of 5,686 children and adolescents aged 7–17 (2,697 boys and 3,019 girls) from the Tula Region taken in 2021–2024.

Results: Highly significant differences (p < 0.00001) in body height of boys and girls of all ages were found between the years 1929 and 2021–2024. These differences ranged from 9.7 cm at age nine to 17.4 cm at age 13 in boys and from 10.0 cm at age nine to 16.7 cm at age 13 in girls. We also established highly significant differences (p < 0.00001) in body weight among boys and girls of all ages between 1929 and 2021–2024 with the most significant ones found in boys aged 12 (6.1 kg at p < 0.00001) and girls aged 14 (3.2 kg at p < 0.00001). In almost all age groups, the percentage of children and adolescents with a BMI above average was higher in boys, while that with a BMI below average was higher in girls.

Conclusion: The secular trend is currently observed in the Tula Region with disharmonious manifestations due to overweight. Addressing the latter requires behavioral interventions and hygiene education for target groups on the topics of a healthy diet, sleep hygiene, and optimal physical activity.

Introduction: One of the components of eliminating perinatal HIV transmission is testing of sexual partners of pregnant women for timely diagnosis of the disease in discordant couples.

Objective: To analyze the organization of HIV testing for sexual partners of pregnant women and to evaluate the efficiency of prevention of HIV infection in discordant couples and perinatal HIV transmission in the Sverdlovsk Region.

Materials and Methods: We conducted a comprehensive study using retrospective and prospective methods of collecting statistics on the Sverdlovsk Region for the years 2014 to 2024. Our sources of information included electronic health records, statistical reports from regional health facilities, regulatory documents issued by the Ministry of Health of the Sverdlovsk Region, and HIV newsletters from the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.

Results: Algorithms for organizing HIV testing of sexual partners of pregnant women and follow-up of discordant couples are implemented in the Sverdlovsk Region in compliance with regional regulatory documents. Among the sexual partners of pregnant women, the proportion of those tested increased to 86.3 %, HIV incidence halved, follow-up and antiretroviral therapy coverage rose to 93.1 % and 97.0 %, respectively, and the share of those with undetectable viral load grew to 79.0 %.

Conclusion: Legal regulation and partner HIV testing in the Sverdlovsk Region ensure interdepartmental and interdisciplinary cooperation between health facilities at the regional level, promote better detection and follow-up of discordant couples, and contribute to reducing perinatal HIV transmission rates.

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a high-priority microorganism due to its acquired antibiotic resistance and the ability to produce many virulence factors. Current regulatory documents and guidelines define the algorithm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa detection during bacteriological testing of objects. The laboratory prepared Blesk medium is of preference.

Objectives: To improve methods of P. aeruginosa isolation and identification (i.e. to increase the efficiency of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolation procedure) by developing an optimal composition of the modified standard dry domestic nutrient medium for selective isolation of P. aeruginosa (Blesk (“Shine”) medium).

Materials and Methods: We analyzed regulatory documents and guidelines on the use of nutrient media to detect P. aeruginosa and then tested dry nutrient media and the media produced in the laboratory of the State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. Sensitivity, selective and differentiating properties of the media were evaluated using a set of reference strains of microorganisms provided by the State Collection of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (SCPM-Obolensk).

Results: A dry modified domestic nutrient medium for selective isolation of P. aeruginosa (Blesk medium) has been developed and put into production. A unique protein base (casein pancreatic hydrolysate dried in the presence of Tween, modified) has been created that enhances the sensitivity of the medium and intensifies the specific golden shine of bright red colonies, which is an important diagnostic feature for pseudomonads growing on this medium. Optimal combinations of the main components when developing the Blesk nutrient medium fostered the growth of all P. aeruginosa reference strains and inhibited the growth of Gram-positive and most Gram-negative bacteria, including TTX-resistant strains.

Conclusion: Our findings proved that the balanced composition of the Blesk medium ensures the growth and detection of low concentrations of P. aeruginosa and prevents the growth of associative microbes, which is a significant advantage when testing the samples highly contaminated with foreign microflora and containing few pathogenic cells.

Introduction: Efficacy of rabies immunoprophylaxis has been convincingly proven, but establishing the links between vaccination coverage and changes in rabies incidence in practice can be difficult if epizootics continue.

Objective: To identify associations between animal and human vaccination and rabies incidence at the regional level.

Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive epidemiological study for the years 2011 to 2024 using data from the veterinary service and the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) on confirmed rabies cases (n = 326), vaccination coverage, and emergency department visits for animal bite injuries. We compared the periods before and after the introduction of oral fox vaccination (2011–2018 vs 2019–2024). The chi-square test, Spearman correlation, and confidence intervals for p < 0.05 (95 % CI) were used in the statistical data analysis while the Natural Earth electronic map and QGIS 3.2.1 software were used for mapping.

Results: Before 2011, only dogs were vaccinated. Following the onset of epizootics among foxes (Vulpes vulpes), vaccination coverage was expanded to include farm, pet, and wild animals. Compared to 2011–2018, the growth rate of the number of doses of vaccines for various purposes was 167.3 % in 2019–2014. At the same time, the number of rabies cases decreased at a rate of 59.5 %. The share of farm animals decreased to 13–45 %, while that of wild animals increased to 45–68 %. Rabies in dogs and cats remained sporadic. A high posterior probability (p < 0.001) was demonstrated for the relationship between animal rabies and vaccination coverages of livestock and wild animals. Mapping revealed a reduction in the area of rabies-affected areas. We observed that 5,700 people received post-exposure prophylaxis annually, and 3,600 people received preventive vaccination. The incidence of animal bites ranged from 266.4 to 338.6 per 100,000 population. No cases of human rabies were registered.

Conclusion: A significant correlation was established between increased vaccination coverage and the spread of rabies among animals. A change in the type of epizootics and systematic vaccination of the population contributed to the decreased risk of human rabies.