Telemedicine screening adolescent metabolic syndrome in Greek schools.

Background: Using telemedicine in the school setting in Greece, we screened a representative adolescent sample for MetS (International Diabetes Federation criteria) and explored its associations with anthropometric, sociodemographic and behavioural parameters.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 12- to 17-year-old high school students.

Results: The prevalence of MetS in 1578 adolescents (mean age ± SD 14.

Mediterranean diet decreases adolescent waist circumference.

Background: To explore the effects of a multicomponent-multilevel school-based educational intervention on the nutritional habits and abdominal obesity indices of a representative adolescent sample.

Materials And Methods: A representative sample of 1610 adolescents aged 12-17 years in 23 public high schools of three municipalities in the Attica region in Greece participated in a programme funded by the European Union (August 2013-August 2014). Participants underwent dietary assessment with the use of the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index in children and adolescents (KIDMED), blood pressure (BP) assessment and screening for general and abdominal obesity by measuring body mass index, waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), at baseline and following a 6-month school-based intervention.

Validation of the Greek Version of the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale (GR-DMSES).

Introduction: Self-efficacy has been found to have a direct relation with self-care in diabetes. Several tools have been developed and used for evaluating self-efficacy of diabetic patients, the most widely used being the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale (DMSES). The aim of the present study was to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Greek DMSES (GR-DMSES) in order for it to be used in the ATTICA pilot study of the SmartCare EU-funded project.

Waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio reference percentiles for abdominal obesity among Greek adolescents.

Background: Indices predictive of adolescent central obesity include waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Such reference data are lacking for Greek adolescents. The aim of this study was to develop age- and gender-specific WC, WHR and WHtR smoothed reference percentiles for abdominal obesity among Greek adolescents aged 12-17 years, to investigate possible obesity cut-offs of WHR and WHtR and to compare WC percentiles to other adolescent populations.

Additional funding mechanisms for Public Hospitals in Greece: the case of Chania Mental Health Hospital.

Objectives: To investigate whether the long term lease of public hospital owned land could be an additional financing mechanism for Greek public (mental) health hospitals.

Methods: We performed a financial analysis of the official 2008 data of a case - study hospital (Mental Health Hospital of Chania). We used a capital budgeting approach to investigate whether value is created for the public hospital by engaging its assets in a project for the development of a private renal dialysis Unit.