Introduction: The behavioral determinant includes a set of factors related to human behavior with respect to health and performance of labor, military, reproductive and other strategically important social roles and functions. The implementation of the latter plays a key role in ensuring the national security of the country.

Materials and methods: The approach was developed in compliance with recommendations contained in the Urban Health Index methodology by the World Health Organization, GOST R ISO/TS 21667-2009 “Health informatics – Health indicators conceptual framework”, and “Tools and Ethics for Applied Behavioural Insights: The BASIC Toolkit” by the OECD. We systematized the results of 33 studies published since 1980 and found in the RSCI, Springer, and PubMed databases using the keywords “behavior”, “public health”, and “health”.

Results: The behavioral determinant of public health is proposed to be managed in six steps, the implementation of which will help establish the causes of behavioral errors. The article outlines the approach to developing a strategy for action to form target behavior aimed at maintaining the quality of public health and gives the examples of various behavioral errors, including limited attention of people, wrong estimation of outcomes and probabilities, and contextual influence. Other behavioral errors, however, can be identified in the sphere of public health.

Discussion: Further research should be aimed at compiling a comprehensive list of behavioral errors to be managed in order to maintain public health.

Introduction: In line with the fundamental principles of the international guidelines on particular importance of “having a competent, motivated and supported health workforce” (WHO Declaration, 2019), the assessment of factors affecting job satisfaction of general practitioners (GPs) falls within the field of applied research on the quality of health care and achievement of patient satisfaction.

Objective: To develop the methodology and techniques for measuring and evaluating work environment factors affecting job satisfaction of GPs.

Materials and methods: We applied methods of questioning, statistical analysis, and summarizing of responses from 340 GPs of Moscow outpatient health facilities using the electronic Russian-language version of the international COPSOQ III questionnaire (Long version; 2022). The study was carried out as part of an expanded generalization of the data on the influence of workplace factors on the psychosocial well-being of general practitioners in outpatient clinics and substantiation of methodological approaches to assessing their job satisfaction. Additionally, based on the normalization of indicators and the ranking of psychosocial risk factors, we provided a rationale for the application of a methodological approach to statistical data analysis. The significance level was set to 5 % (i.e. p ≤ 0.05).

Results: Based on the results of a quantitative analysis of normalized mean estimates of psychosocial factors of the work environment, we revealed significant differences between the groups of “low, “normal” and “high” levels of GPs’ job satisfaction (p < 0.0001) and compiled a list of 12 factors determining a high level of job dissatisfaction.

Study limitation: The survey was conducted among the general practitioners of outpatient departments of Moscow hospitals.

Conclusions: Based on the use of additional statistical methods for normalizing the mean values of the estimated survey results and ranking them by degree of significance, a methodological approach to the analysis of risk factors of the occupational environment in medical organizations is proposed that helps obtain reliable levels in terms of job satisfaction compliant with literature data. The approved methodology is recommended for quality control of medical services in healthcare.

Introduction: The study is devoted to the relationship between perceptions of ambient malodors and health of the population in an industrial city.

Objective: To study how the perception of malodors affects health of the population using a set of sociological methods.

Materials and methods: In 2022, we carried out a questionnaire-based survey of 719 residents of a city with the population of about 90 thousand people. The questionnaire contained questions allowing us to assess the frequency, intensity of perception of ambient odors, as well as the degree of annoyance of the population caused by them. The respondents were also asked to specify their health complaints and chronic diseases. Statistical data processing was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Intergroup comparisons were evaluated using the chi-squared test.

Results: Our findings showed the presence of a whole range of obsessive malodors in the urban ambient air that annoy residents and worsen their quality of life. According to the respondents, the main sources of malodors are industrial enterprises (32 %) and traffic (28.4 %), while the degree of related annoyance correlates with self-assessed environmental conditions. The frequency of inhalation exposure, the intensity of the surrounding malodors, and the degree of annoyance are associated with the presence of such symptoms as headaches, dizziness, nausea, chest pain, as well as nervousness, depression, fatigue, etc. The degree of annoyance caused by malodors is associated with the frequency of self-rated stressful situations and demonstrates a significant relationship with the presence of diseases of the endocrine system, digestive organs and circulatory system, which are the first targets of maladaptive stress.

Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of malodors for the quality of life of the population and the need to take measures to reduce their negative impact on environment and human health.

Introduction: Lead exposure has adverse effects on the brain but their characteristics and severity vary by age. Damage is known to be critical in the prenatal period and infancy, better tolerated in adulthood, but again detrimental in old age.

Objective: To find, summarize, and systematize data on lead-induced damage to mammalian brain structures at different periods of life as a rationale for further development of therapeutic and preventive measures for humans.

Materials and methods: We searched for Russian and English-language publications issued in 1979–2024 in the PubMed archive of literature, Scopus abstract and citation database, eLibrary and CyberLeninka Russian scientific electronic libraries. The articles containing information on adverse effects of lead on the nervous system of laboratory animals were eligible for inclusion in the review. Of more than 500 papers screened, we selected 40 full-text peer-reviewed publications, 28 of which were issued in the last five years.

Results: This literature review outlines age-specific effects of lead on the nervous system. It presents the most common effects and targets of lead toxicity and can serve as a starting point for the development of preventive measures against neurodegenerative conditions caused by this chemical.

Conclusion: Fetuses and infants are the most vulnerable to damaging effects of lead on the nervous system.

Introduction: To reveal the specifics of the epidemic process of an infectious disease, the researcher must have information on the status and trends of morbidity, age and sex structure, social and occupational characteristics of patients, current risk factors and/or areas at risk, which updates the development and use of information and analysis systems in practical activities of infectious disease practitioners.

Objectives: To assess capabilities of the Unified Information and Analysis System of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) to establish features of the epidemic process of parenteral viral hepatitis B and C in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the incidence of parenteral viral hepatitis B and C in 2023 was carried out using data from the Personified Registry of Infectious Diseases maintained within the Unified Information and Analysis System of Rospotrebnadzor. Data for 2017–2023 were also analyzed based on statistical reporting forms nos. 1 and 2, Information on infectious and parasitic diseases, collected by the Federal Service.

Results: The incidence of parenteral viral hepatitis B and C in 2023 was found to remain at the level of the previous year, with industrial cities of the Nizhny Novgorod Region contributing the most to its rates. Chronic hepatitis B was more prevalent in people aged 60 years and older (14.0 %000), while chronic hepatitis C – in age groups of 30–39 and 40–49 years (40.7 %000 and 61.8 %000, respectively). Among men, chronic hepatitis B and C were diagnosed 2.4 and 3.5 times more frequently than in women, respectively. The unemployed prevailed among newly reported cases.

Discussion and conclusion: The use of the Unified Information and Analysis System of Rospotrebnadzor helped establish specific features of the epidemic process of parenteral viral hepatitis B and C in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, expand understanding of the state of laboratory diagnostics and social characteristics of disease cases, and determine significant differences in morbidity rates between certain sex and age groups of the population.

Introduction: The search for common patterns of the spread of a number of infectious and noncommunicable diseases has led to a revision of approaches and an expansion of research in the field of specific pathogens, susceptibility of the human body and the society. The scientific area devoted to the influence of social organization on disease transmission is called social epidemiology.

Objective: To highlight current directions and trends in social epidemiology.

Materials and methods: Using the Google Scholar search platform, PubMed and eLibrary scientific databases, we selected and analyzed 28 foreign and 22 domestic publications, 36 of which were issued in 2014–2024. The selection was based on keywords. Epidemiological studies with small samples were not included.

Results: The article presents a comparative analysis of the Western and domestic approaches in social epidemiology and raises problems of the impact of inequality, stress, and state institutions on population health and morbidity. It also outlines current directions of social epidemiology research in the domestic and foreign approaches. An interdisciplinary approach to the study of the epidemiology of infectious and noncommunicable diseases is an integral part of epidemiological surveillance. Empirical research within the framework of current areas of social epidemiology is actively conducted worldwide.

Conclusion: Social epidemiology allows comprehensive studies of the impact of economics, psychology, and sociology on the epidemic process, which is important for reducing damages caused by infectious and noncommunicable diseases.

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization, Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a causative agent of purulent inflammation is a microorganism with a critical priority level due to the presence of numerous pathogenicity factors and a high level of acquired antibiotic resistance.

Objective: To study phenotypic characteristics of P. aeruginosa clinical isolates and to analyze their molecular genetic features.

Materials and methods: We analyzed 103 P. aeruginosa isolates. The phenotype of sensitivity to antibacterial drugs was determined using the disk diffusion test while the minimum inhibitory concentration of colistin was determined using the MIC Colistin kit. The Illumina iSeq (Illumina, USA) was used for genome-wide sequencing.

Results: Typical biochemical activity was characteristic of all strains. 90 % of the analyzed P. aeruginosa strains showed phenotypic resistance to penicillin, half of the isolates were resistant to cefepime and ceftazidime, and two thirds of the strains were sensitive to ceftazidime/avibactam. Imipenem was active against 10.0 % of the strains, meropenem – against 38.0 %. When testing doripenem, 84.8 % of the strains were in the category of moderately resistant; amikacin and tobramycin showed high activity in vitro, with colistin exhibiting the maximum activity. Numerous determinants of pathogenicity factors were found in the genome of all sequenced strains of P. aeruginosa, including pyoverdin and pyochelin siderophores, genes encoding the production of exotoxins ExoS, ExoT, ExoY, and ExoU. The algT gene was detected in nine strains of P. aeruginosa accounting for a hypermucoid phеnotype. The tss gene, which is a key factor in the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa, was found in all strains. The structure of the resistome of P. aeruginosa strains includes genes encoding various beta-lactamases of the OXA, PDC and VEB groups. The blaVIM-2 metal-beta-lactamase gene was found in one strain. Mutations in the OprD gene responsible for changing the structure of porin channels were found in nine P. aeruginosa strains, and mutations in the МехА, B, and D activation genes of efflux pumps were found in 11 strains.

Conclusion: Regular microbiological monitoring makes it possible to track the circulation of antibiotic-resistant strains and is an important tool for ensuring epidemiological safety.

Introduction: Waning specific immunity and the growing number of people susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases increase the risk of deterioration of the epidemiological situation.

Objective: To characterize the intensity of specific immunity against measles, diphtheria and whooping cough in fully vaccinated schoolchildren to identify groups at increased risk of infection in the development of preventive measures.

Materials and methods: We used the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect and count antibodies in 1,709 serum samples from children who were fully and timely vaccinated against measles, pertussis, and diphtheria. In order to establish herd immunity, the children were divided into three age groups of 6 to 9, 10 to 13, and 14 to 17 years.

Results: We established that only 63.5 % to 88.5 % of the schoolchildren had a protective measles virus-specific antibody level; 15.7 % and 27.1 % of the children aged 10–13 years and 14–17 years, respectively, were seronegative. The protective level of immunity against diphtheria was observed in 91.8 % to 99.4 % in the children under examination. The proportions of children seronegative for diphtheria were 8.1 % and 8.2 % in the first and second age groups, respectively, while 41.4 % of the children aged 6–9 years and 60.6 % of those aged 14–17 years demonstrated high antibody titers. Protective pertussis antibody levels were found in 46.2 % to 68.2 % of the schoolchildren; yet, the number of seronegative cases among children aged 6–9 years was 1.6 times higher (37.8 %) than that among adolescents aged 14–17 years (23.4 %).

Conclusions: Our findings showed insufficient levels of immune protection against measles and pertussis in the schoolage children, especially those aged 14–17 years and 6–9 years, respectively. As for diphtheria, the absence of protective antibodies was detected in 8 % of the children aged 6 to 13 years who had been fully vaccinated against this bacterial infection by receiving the vaccine a total of five times.