Mental Health Screening for COVID-19: a Proposed Cutoff Score for the Greek Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S).

The COVID-19 pandemic elicited fear. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a newly developed self-reported measure, originally developed in Persian to assess COVID-19-related fear. To date, the scale has been translated and validated in 19 other languages, among which Greek. This study, conducted through an online survey, aimed to further explore the validity of the Greek FCV-19S version, as well as to identify appropriate cutoff scores. A total of 538 respondents completed the sociodemographic data sheet, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, the Short Health Anxiety Inventory, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder-8 inventory. According to the results, a cutoff point score of 16.5 or higher revealed a significant predictive power for anxiety, health anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Altogether, although the cutoff scores of the Greek FCV-19S version were explored to further evaluate the scale's validity, they may facilitate discrimination of adults with extreme COVID-19-related fear from those with normal fear reactions.

Hesitancy to Return to the Pre-pandemic Routine.

The goal of the present study was to explore COVID-19 related hesitancy, which represents the inability of people to return to previous levels of functioning after a major medical crisis like the current pandemic. A new questionnaire was developed to evaluate participants' hesitancy. The study was conducted online in November, 2020, using convenience sampling. A total of 538 individuals from the general Greek population participated in the study and completed the Hesitancy Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2), the Short Health Anxiety Inventory and a COVID-19-related worry question. The Hesitancy Questionnaire proved to have adequate psychometric properties. Correlation with anxiety as assessed by GAD-2 proved to be significant but low, indicating that the two scales are measuring two different concepts. The greatest hesitancy was observed in older adults for both genders (males, M = 40.86, SD = 15.24; females, M = 49.34, SD = 14.74). Women in general appeared more hesitant than men scoring higher (males, M = 36.13, SD = 15.25; females, M = 42.63, SD = 17.31) with a statistically significant difference [t(536) = - 3.706, p = .001). This study provided a tool to informed understanding on how citizens perceive the new normality after the COVID-19 pandemic. If not appropriately addressed, hesitancy may increase stress levels and result in mental health or socialization problems.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in a sample of Greek adults.

The ongoing COVID-19 global medical crisis carries a plethora of consequences and various sequelae, of which the most striking is the impact on physical and mental health. After the relaxing of imposed measures in Greece, in May 2020, a cross-sectional web survey based on a convenience sample was conducted exploring the attributions about the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents were asked to rank their hesitancy to be vaccinated when the COVID-19 vaccine will be available and provided data on gender, age, educational level, professional status, marital status and residential area, as well as a questionnaire exploring COVID-19 attributions.In accordance with relevant studies, the present study confirmed that there is a sizable portion of vaccine-hesitant individuals. Female and less educated participants were more hesitant to get vaccinated. Similar reluctance was identified in participants who strongly believed that the spread of the pandemic is part of a hidden agenda.

Psychometric Properties of the Greek Version of FCV-19S.

As COVID-19 delivered a devastating blow around Europe, unprecedented mental health issues have arisen. This study outlines the Greek translation and validation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in the general population. A sample of 3029 Greek-speaking individuals completed the FCV-19S, as part of a large online survey reporting on the aftermath of the coronavirus on the psychological health of Greeks. A total of 2970 participants completed all items without missing values, and their responses were included in the statistical analysis. The confirmatory factor analysis suggested an acceptable model fit. The internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha = .87 for the whole scale. All hypothesized correlations were as expected, confirming the construct validity of the scale. The results of the analyses suggest that the psychometric properties of the Greek FCV-19S are sufficient.

Cannabis use in a sample of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki students: a pilot cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis is the most widespread illicit drug among young adults globally. This study aimed to detect the extent of cannabis use in the study population and its impact on users' lives. We hypothesized that early cannabis use would significantly predict later high-risk use. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in December 2021, aiming to explore the extent of cannabis use among students and detect changes in behavior and impact on their lives. The results were analyzed statistically and correlated. RESULTS: Out of the 297 enrolled participants with a mean age of 21.0 ± 2.1 years, 101 (33.9 %) had used cannabis at least once (50 males). The mean age at first cannabis use was 18.5 ± 2.11 years. Over 90 % reported easy access to it. Behavioral changes following use were reported by 41.6 %, but none except one sought help. Age at first cannabis use was negatively correlated with past-month and past-year use. Cannabis use before midday was positively correlated with age on the first try. DISCUSSION: The prevalence of cannabis use was higher than the European average. Confirming the study's hypothesis, the younger the age at first use, the heavier the past-year and past-month use, which also agrees with previous studies. Cannabis consumption before noon was linked to increased use, and alarmingly, there was reluctance to seek help despite a high proportion of behavioral changes after use. CONCLUSION: As the legislation on the use of cannabis changes rapidly, and given the increasing popularity of cannabis, there is a need for continued research on how various factors differentially impact its use. HIPPOKRATIA 2021, 25 (4):162-168.

Tourette syndrome in an elderly patient.

BACKGROUND: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental motor disorder. The first diagnosis during adult life involves cases of pre-existing undiagnosed TS. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present the case of an elderly patient with severe, non-remitted TS, misdiagnosed with "psychoneurosis". The patient was correctly labeled at the age of 82. CONCLUSION: Despite delays in TS diagnosis, only a few patients remain undiagnosed by the age of 45. Both TS under- and misdiagnosis have an impact on patients' outcomes. HIPPOKRATIA 2019, 23(1): 47-48.

Adaptational changes in cellular phospholipids and fatty acid composition of the food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes as a stress response to disinfectant sanitizer benzalkonium chloride.

AIMS: This study provides a first approach to observing the alterations of the cell membrane lipids in the adaptation response of Listeria monocytogenes to the sanitizer benzalkonium chloride. METHODS AND RESULTS: A thorough investigation of the composition of polar and neutral lipids from L. monocytogenes grown when exposed to benzalkonium chloride is compared to cells optimally grown. The adaptation mechanism of L. monocytogenes in the presence of benzalkonium chloride caused (i) an increase in saturated-chain fatty acids (mainly C(16:0) and C(18:0) ) and unsaturated fatty acids (mainly C(16:1) and C(18:1) ) at the expense of branched-chain fatty acids (mainly C(a-15:0) and C(a-17:0) ) mainly because of neutral fatty acids; (ii) no alteration in the percentage of neutral and polar lipid content among total lipids; (iii) a decrease in lipid phosphorus and (iv) an obvious increase in the anionic phospholipids and a decrease in the amphiphilic phosphoaminolipid. CONCLUSIONS: These lipid changes could lead to decreased membrane fluidity and also to modifications of physicochemical properties of cell surface and thus changes in bacterial adhesion to abiotic surfaces. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The adaptation and resistance of L. monocytogenes to disinfectants is able to change its physiology to allow growth in food-processing plants. Understanding microbial stress response mechanisms would improve the effective use of disinfectants.

Psychosocial impacts of infertility on Greek couples.

Psychosocial impacts of infertility were investigated in couples undergoing different treatment procedures in our clinic. Couples were interviewed in a semi-structured way by a psychologist or a psychiatrist and responded to three specially structured questionnaires: the Life Events Scale, the Marlowe-Crowne/Taylor Scale and the Side Effect Checklist. The data were analysed in terms of demographic characteristics as well as treatment procedure. The psychosocial, psychosexual and emotional outcomes of their infertility problem and Greek traditional culture laws are discussed. Stress has been identified in both sexes, depression mostly in women, while men showed a tendency towards repressed anxiety and thus a greater risk of psychosomatic illness, a finding supported by their response to the Side Effect Checklist. Women showed a high defensive anxiety and also reported numerous psychosomatic symptoms. These couples seem to have special needs and fears, both general and treatment specific. Very few of our couples would be considered as severely emotionally disturbed. Women seem to have more difficulties in social adjustment. Sexual dysfunction was reported by almost half of our subjects, although this was associated with a degree of deterioration in their marriage. Guilt feelings, particularly connected with previous abortions, seem to be torturing most women. Finally, both partners seem to have psychological problems irrespective of the one in whom the aetiological problem was found. Moreover, traditional rules seem to impose a special burden on people coming from rural areas. Our results strongly support the belief that infertile couples undergoing different treatments need psychological counselling and supportive psychotherapy.

Ambulatory opiate detoxification and primary care: a role for the primary care physician.

To determine the feasibility of primary care-based ambulatory opiate detoxification (AOD) and an optimal regimen, the authors conducted a pilot study of AOD in a medical clinic comparing two regimens: clonidine and clonidine plus naltrexone. Sixty-two opiate addicts who had been referred for AOD had the following features: mean age was 34 years, 75% were male, 74% used cocaine, and 64% shared needles. Initially, 40 patients selected clonidine, 22 clonidine/naltrexone. The groups (clonidine and clonidine/naltrexone) were similar in baseline features, including: craving scores (44/100 vs. 42/100) and withdrawal scores (20/72 vs. 17/72). Overall, 61% (38/62) of initial AODs were successful, including 43% (17/40) of those using clonidine and 95% (21/22) of those using clonidine/naltrexone (p less than 0.0001). Of 45 patients who ultimately completed AOD, 78% (35/45) remained in treatment for at least one month.