Prevalence of multiple behavioral risk factors for chronic diseases in adults aged 50+, from eleven European countries - the SHARE study (2004).

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and the associations between multiple behavioral risk factors (MBRFs) for chronic diseases in European adults.

Method: Data from 26,743 individuals, aged 50+years, participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) (2004/05) were used. MBRFs included physical inactivity, high body weight, smoking habits and risky alcohol consumption.

Translation and validation of a questionnaire to assess the diagnosis and management of dementia in Greek general practice.

The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge scale (ADKS) in a population of Greek general practitioners (GPs). The international standards for the forward and back translation approach were followed. For the validation step, 112 GPs, treating dementia in their daily practices, were enrolled from Crete.

Translation and validation of Berlin questionnaire in primary health care in Greece.

Background: The aim of our study was to validate a Greek translation of the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and to explore whether this screening questionnaire could be used to help identify primary care patients at greater risk of having OSAS.

Methods: We recruited 189 patients visiting a primary health care setting on the island of Crete, Greece. They all completed the Greek Version of the BQ.

Sleep patterns in late pregnancy and risk of preterm birth and fetal growth restriction.

Background: During pregnancy, women are at particular risk for sleep deprivation and snoring because of the physiologic and hormonal changes of pregnancy. There is limited evidence for the association between sleep patterns in pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes. We examined the association of sleep duration and snoring in late pregnancy with the risk of preterm birth and fetal growth restriction.

Foreign body ingestion mimicking irritable bowel syndrome: a case report.

Introduction: Foreign body ingestion is associated with a variety of symptoms and complications, often mimicking various diseases. This case report describes an unusual presentation following foreign body ingestion.

Case Presentation: A 56-year-old Greek Caucasian woman presented to a primary care setting, in rural Crete, Greece, with complaints of abdominal pain, cramping and bloating, for the last four months.

Attitudes to kidney donation among primary care patients in rural Crete, Greece.

Background: In Greece, there is limited research on issues related to organ donation, and the low rate of registration as donors requires explanation. This study reports the findings of a survey of knowledge and attitudes to kidney donation among primary care patients in rural Crete, Greece.

Methods: Two rural primary care settings in the island of Crete, Anogia Health Centre and Vrachasi Practice, were involved in a questionnaire survey.

Bilateral inferior petrosal sinuses sampling in the routine investigation of Cushing's syndrome: a comparison with MRI.

Objective: Identifying the cause of Cushing's syndrome (CS) is a perplexing issue. Bilateral inferior petrosal sinuses sampling (BIPSS) is an invasive and elaborate but established procedure in distinguishing Cushing's disease (CD) from ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome. We compare the diagnostic performance of BIPSS and MRI in detecting an ACTH-secreting source, and we suggest the diagnostic protocol that we found beneficial for the management of patients with CS.

Primary care and pattern of skin diseases in a Mediterranean island.

Background: In Greece where primary health care services are not fully developed, patients with simple or minor conditions have to attend to hospitals to be treated. We analysed the data of patients with cutaneous disorders attending the tertiary referral hospital on the Island of Crete, with the aim to identify the most common conditions that patients complain of, in order to define the areas where the education of General Practitioners in Dermatology must focus.

Methods: All patients attending the Dermatology ambulatory office in the Emergency Department of the University General Hospital of Heraklion from January 2003 to December 2003 were included in this retrospective analysis.