Publications by authors named "Fountoulakis K"

Aims: We aimed to evaluate the immediate and up to 3 months' effect of multiple-session repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on alcohol craving in AUD.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and random effects meta-analysis. We included randomized controlled trials with at least 10 sessions of rTMS and postintervention alcohol craving assessment.

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Background: We examined the prevalence and spread of conspiracy beliefs about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic among representatives of the Russian population. Our study aimed to identify belief clusters and develop predictive models to understand the factors that influence conspiracy beliefs, particularly in the context of how they might evolve in response to socio-political events and cause mental disturbances, thus in relation to specific pathways of the infodemic and psychodemic waves that spread among vulnerable population groups.

Methods: Data respondents to the international COMET-G study living in Russia during pandemic period (n=7,777) were analyzed using descriptive statistics, K-means clustering, and various machine learning models, including gradient boosting.

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Background: The prevalence of depressive disorders in the general population increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between history of anxiety and depressive disorders and COVID-19 outcome, hospitalization and severity of anxiety and depression, and whether such relationships are explicable by direct impact of the disease.

Subjects And Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey among 98 inpatients in the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Clinics of Samara State Medical University.

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Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic disorder comprising positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits. Negative symptoms are associated with stigma, worse functional outcomes, and a significant deterioration in quality of life. Clinical diagnosis is challenging despite its significance, and current treatments offer little improvement in the burden of negative symptoms.

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The Covid pandemic has yielded new insights into psychological vaccine acceptance factors. This knowledge serves as a basis for behavioral and communication interventions that can increase vaccination readiness for other diseases.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant mental health challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations, including non-binary gender individuals. The COMET international study aimed to investigate specific risk factors for clinical depression or distress during the pandemic, also in these special populations.

Methods: Chi-square tests were used for initial screening to select only those variables which would show an initial significance.

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The treatment of bipolar depression is one of the most challenging needs in contemporary psychiatry. Currently, only quetiapine, olanzapine-fluoxetine combination, lurasidone, cariprazine, and recently lumateperone have been FDA-approved to treat this condition. The neurobiology of bipolar depression and the possible mechanistic targets of bipolar antidepressant therapy remain elusive.

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Background: The prevalence of medical illnesses is high among patients with psychiatric disorders. The current study aimed to investigate multi-comorbidity in patients with psychiatric disorders in comparison to the general population. Secondary aims were to investigate factors associated with metabolic syndrome and treatment appropriateness of mental disorders.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between distress, psychological adjustment, and quality of life in patients with colon cancer.

Method: This study employed a cross-sectional design and included 104 colon cancer patients treated at AHEPA Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. The assessment tools used encompassed the Distress Thermometer, MINI-MAC scale, and FACT-C to evaluate distress, psychological adjustment, and quality of life.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers focused on modifiable risk factors, finding that habits like excessive internet use (doom-scrolling), disrupted sleep patterns, and changes to daily routines were linked to increased anxiety scores.
  • * The findings suggest that by managing internet consumption, regulating sleep, and maintaining regular daily activities, individuals may reduce their risk of developing anxiety disorders during prolonged stress, such as that caused by the pandemic.
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Background: The objective of this study was to investigate self-reported changes in mental health and their association with various sociodemographic factors and beliefs in conspiracy theories among university and college students in Latvia during the second state of emergency caused by COVID-19.

Subjects And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of an international research project, where university and college students were anonymously asked to complete an online self-report questionnaire. Changes in anxiety and depression were assessed using self-rated questions.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression among medical students in Greece during the COVID-19 lockdown, focusing on socio-demographic factors and attitudes towards their studies.
  • Results showed a depression rate of 21.3% among the students surveyed, with higher rates in females and those with specific living situations or concerns about infection.
  • The findings stress the importance of improving access to mental health support for medical students and adapting university services to better meet their needs during challenging times like a pandemic.
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  • Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that severely affects a person’s daily life, and treatments usually combine medication and therapy, but many patients do not respond well to existing options.
  • Recent research has identified ten new drugs aimed at treating schizophrenia, including three that have been approved by the FDA, while others are still being tested in clinical trials.
  • There is a need for more research to better understand the causes of schizophrenia and create effective treatments that address negative and cognitive symptoms without causing negative side effects from current medications.
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Rapid-cycling in bipolar disorder (RC-BD) is associated with greater illness morbidity and inferior treatment response but many aspects remain unclear, prompting this systematic review of its definitions, prevalence, and clinical characteristics. We searched multiple literature databases through April 2022 for systematic reviews or meta-analyses on RC-BD and extracted associated definitions, prevalence, risk-factors, and clinical outcomes. We assessed study quality (NIH Quality Assessment Tool) and levels of evidence (Oxford criteria).

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Article Synopsis
  • Sunlight helps our skin make vitamin D through UVB radiation, but some places don't get enough UVB in winter, which can affect brain health.
  • A study looked at 6,972 people with bipolar I disorder from over 70 countries to see if not getting enough UVB was related to when they first had symptoms.
  • The results suggested that people in areas with less UVB tended to show symptoms of bipolar disorder about 1.66 years earlier, but more research is needed to understand the role of vitamin D and UVB in this condition.
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Objectives: The economic crisis and the resulting austerity in Greece led to a drastic reduction in healthcare spending, which has been assumed to have impacted people's health. This paper discusses official standardized mortality rates in Greece between 2000 and 2015.

Methods: This study was designed to analyze population-level data and collected data from the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Eurostat, and the Hellenic Statistics Authority.

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Background: The Z-drugs are indicated for the short-treatment of insomnia, but they are associated with abuse, dependence and side-effects. There are only sparse data about Z-drug prescribing in Greece.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Greek prescription database, considering prescriptions for the available Z-drugs in Greece, i.

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The treatment of bipolar depression is one of the most challenging needs in contemporary psychiatry. Currently, only quetiapine, olanzapine-fluoxetine combination, lurasidone, cariprazine, and recently lumateperone have been FDA-approved to treat this condition. The neurobiology of bipolar depression and the possible targets of bipolar antidepressant therapy remain elusive.

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Low vision (LV) has a substantial impact on an individual's daily functionality and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly incorporated into the evaluation of this problem. The objective of this study was to describe the design of the new "Life for Low Vision Questionnaire (LIFE4LVQ)", as a measure of daily functionality in LV and to explore its psychometric properties. A total of 294 participants completed the LIFE4LVQ and the data were subjected to Rasch analysis to determine the psychometric properties of the questionnaire, including response category ordering, item fit statistics, principal component analysis, precision, differential item functioning, and targeting.

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