Publications by authors named "Despoina Oikonomidou"
There is limited information about doctors' communication behaviors and their salient beliefs with regard to bad news disclosure in Greece. In this qualitative study we investigated the self-reported practices of doctors on breaking bad news, their perceptions about the factors affecting the delivery of such news, and their beliefs about the most appropriate disclosure manner. A focus group discussion and individual interviews were conducted.
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- Previous case-control studies indicated a potential link between physical activity (PA) and an increased risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), but this has not been explored in larger, prospective cohort studies.
- In a study analyzing 472,100 individuals, 219 deaths from ALS were recorded, with data gathered on PA through standardized questionnaires, revealing a weak inverse relationship: those with high PA levels had a 33% lower risk of dying from ALS.
- The findings suggest that higher physical activity might slightly decrease the risk of ALS mortality, contrasting with previous studies, and this relationship was not influenced by factors like age, gender, or body measurements.
Whole-grain intake has been reported to be associated with a lower risk of several lifestyle-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, CVD and some types of cancers. As measurement errors in self-reported whole-grain intake assessments can be substantial, dietary biomarkers are relevant to be used as complementary tools for dietary intake assessment. Alkylresorcinols (AR) are phenolic lipids found almost exclusively in whole-grain wheat and rye products among the commonly consumed foods and are considered as valid biomarkers of the intake of these products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Early childhood education services create potentially optimal opportunities to identify and respond effectively to preschoolers' mental health problems. However, little is known about the knowledge, skills and competencies of early childhood educators in the area of mental health. The present study aimed to contribute to this field through conducting focus group interviews with professionals from public early childhood education centres in Greece.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMeat and heme iron intake and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aero-digestive tract in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
December 2012
Background: Evidence from prospective studies on intake of meat and fish and risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) is scarce. We prospectively investigated the association of meat and fish intake with risk of SCC of the UADT and the possible mechanism via heme iron in the large multicenter European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.
Methods: Multivariable proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative risks (RR) of SCC of the UADT in relation to intake of total meat, as well as subtypes of meat, fish, and heme iron among 348,738 individuals from 7 European countries.