Psychiatric Hospital of Leros: a portrayal of the current situation.

The purpose of this study was to describe the demographic and clinical features of the inpatients currently residing at the Psychiatric Hospital of Leros. The present systematic documentation and presentation aimed to demonstrate the standard of living and healthcare conditions provided today, after the implementation of the State's "Psychargos" program; this is the main Greek Psychiatric reform program, adhering to the principles of deinstitutionalization and community psychiatry, in accordance with the current international guidelines. In addition, we discussed the current relationship between the psychiatric departments of the hospital and the other departments and clinics in terms of providing healthcare services to chronic psychiatric inpatients in full compliance with the biopsychosocial model and its application to the unique case of Leros.

Substance abuse and cancer.

Substance abuse is a health problem with serious psychological and psychiatric dimensions and multiple social and economic consequences. Cancer is a disease that threatens not only life and physical integrity but mental health as well. Oncology patients suffer from mental disorders in high rates, especially from depression and anxiety.

Strategies to improve anxiety and depression in patients with COPD: a mental health perspective.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease characterized by progressive and only partially reversible symptoms. Worldwide, the incidence of COPD presents a disturbing continuous increase. Anxiety and depression are remarkably common in COPD patients, but the evidence about optimal approaches for managing psychological comorbidities in COPD remains unclear and largely speculative.

Comorbid Psychopathology and Alcohol Use Patterns among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patients.

130 patients from a methadone maintenance treatment program agreed to complete Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90R) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) self-report scales. Scores higher than the proposed cut-score on SCL-90R scale were observed on depression, obsessions-compulsions, paranoid ideation, anxiety, anger-hostility, somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, and psychoticism subscales. In sum, 42.

Pain and Anxiety versus Sense of Family Support in Lung Cancer Patients.

Lung cancer is a stressful condition for both patient and family. The anxiety and pain accompanying cancer and its treatment have a significant negative influence on the patient's quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between anxiety, pain, and perceived family support in a sample of lung cancer patients.

[Psychological burden of patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea].

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by repeated episodes of upper airway obstruction during sleep, which leads to the presence of excessive daytime drowsiness. Regarding the psychological comorbidity in patients diagnosed with OSAS, previous studies focused mainly on depressive and secondarily on anxiety symptoms. Due to the lack of research data regarding the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as of alexithymic characteristics in patients with OSAS in Greece, the aim of the study was to record the above symptomatology in a sample of Greek OSAS patients and to investigate its relation to the respiratory parameter (Apnea-Hypopnea Index, AHI) of polysomnography.

Contribution of psychological factors in dropping out from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rehabilitation programs.

Significant positive effects, particularly on psychological state in patients who completed the follow-up pulmonary rehabilitation programs, are indicated by a large number of studies. Yet, a remarkable proportion of selected patients drop out from these programs. In this study, we investigated existing differences on psychological variables among COPD patients who complete and those who drop out from pulmonary rehabilitation programs.

[Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: sense of coherence and family support versus anxiety and depression].

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is mainly related to smoking habit and is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually both progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. Worldwide and in Greece, COPD constitutes a major epidemiological issue.

A pulmonary rehabilitation program reduces levels of anxiety and depression in COPD patients.

Background: The presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in COPD patients has been acknowledged for many years. The preponderance of recent studies supports the utility of pulmonary rehabilitation programs to reduce the levels of depression and anxiety in these patients. The aim of this study is to investigate possible changes in levels of anxiety and depression among patients enrolled in a pulmonary rehabilitation program, along with the role of disease severity in these changes.

Primary polydipsia: a case report.

Primary polydipsia (PP) is etiologically associated with physical factors and psychiatric disorders ("psychogenic polydipsia"). We present the case of a 28-year-old man with severe symptoms of polydipsia and polyuria. After a comprehensive physical assessment, the only finding was a lesion suggestive of pituitary microadenoma in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain.

Psychiatric morbidity and other factors affecting treatment adherence in pulmonary tuberculosis patients.

As the overall prevalence of TB remains high among certain population groups, there is growing awareness of psychiatric comorbidity, especially depression and its role in the outcome of the disease. The paper attempts a holistic approach to the effects of psychiatric comorbidity to the natural history of tuberculosis. In order to investigate factors associated with medication nonadherence among patients suffering from tuberculosis, with emphasis on psychopathology as a major barrier to treatment adherence, we performed a systematic review of the literature on epidemiological data and past medical reviews from an historical perspective, followed by theoretical considerations upon the relationship between psychiatric disorders and tuberculosis.

[Psychological and psychiatric problems in cancer patients: relationship to the localization of the disease].

Cancer may be localized in a variety of areas in the human body. This localization is associated with significant issues concerning not only therapy and prognosis but also psychological and psychiatric problems that the patient may be confronted with. The psychic impact on the patient is determined to a significant degree by the symbolism the affected organ carries.

Psychological symptom patterns and vital exhaustion in outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Several studies have reported high prevalence of anxiety and depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients. Moreover, these patients share psychological or psychopathological characteristics that inhibit their ability to cope with the disease. In the present study we aimed to record the prevalence of psychological symptom patterns in a sample of Greek COPD outpatients and to assess which psychological factors (and to which degree) contribute to vital exhaustion (VE).

The 13 item Family Support Scale: Reliability and validity of the Greek translation in a sample of Greek health care professionals.

Background: The Julkunen Family Support Scale aims to record the sense of support that a subject receives from the members of his family. The object of the present study was to investigate the reliability and to assess the validity of the Greek translation of the Julkunen Family Support Scale in Greek health care professionals in a public general hospital.

Methods: In order to determine the indicator of validity of content we addressed nine expert professionals and one sociologist, asking them to evaluate how much relevant to the sense of familial support are the items of the questionnaire.

Prevalence of alexithymia and its association with anxiety and depression in a sample of Greek chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health problem, especially in adults over 40 years of age, and has a great social and economic impact. The psychological morbidity of COPD patients with regard to anxiety and depressive symptoms has been extensively studied in the past. However, few studies have investigated the prevalence of alexithymia in these patients, as well as its association with this comorbidity.

[Psychological dimension of cancer genetics: Doctor-patient communication].

Cancer is a disease that threatens life and body integrity. A method of cancer prediction is genetic testing, thus the primary detection of individuals who have oncogenes and are at risk of a hereditary cancer. Genetic counseling is the translation of technical information by physicians and the analysis of the problems subsequent to this information, into the therapeutic relationship.

[Reliability and validity of the Greek version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)].

Problems associated with alcohol abuse are recognised by the World Health Organization as a major health issue. Because of the size and severity of the problem, early detection is very important.This requires easy to use and specific tools.

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): reliability and validity of the Greek version.

Background: Problems associated with alcohol abuse are recognised by the World Health Organization as a major health issue, which according to most recent estimations is responsible for 1.4% of the total world burden of morbidity and has been proven to increase mortality risk by 50%. Because of the size and severity of the problem, early detection is very important.

A short review on the aetiology and pathophysiology of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a chronic remitting and relapsing condition; its aetiology and pathophysiology remains largely obscure despite recent advances. This review summarises the current knowledge about the causation (biological or psychological) of alcohol addiction. This involves heredity, candidate genes, alcohol metabolism regulation and the influence of alcohol in the pathophysiology of the different neurotransmitter systems.

Associations on dimensions of burnout and family support for a sample of Greek nurses.

To assess correlations for perceived family support with burnout in Greek nurses, the Julkunen Family Support Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were administered to nurses (22 men and 88 women; M age = 35.6 yr., SD = 5.

Quetiapine monotherapy in bipolar disorder: Two years maintenance treatment in an elderly woman.

Queatiapine has been used in bipolar mania and most recently in bipolar depression with good results. However its use in maintenance treatment has not been established yet. A case of an elderly woman suffering from bipolar disorder and diabetes mellitus (type II) is presented.