IS THERE AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HEALTH LITERACY AND ADHERENCE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET? A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN GREECE.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To evaluate the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and health literacy and to find possible differences based on the demographic characteristics of the participants. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a convenience sample from the Greek general population (n=203). The questionnaires were distributed through the Google Forms platform, while some of them were given on hand. The questionnaire used included demographic information, questions about the participants' health status and nutrition habits and the Health Literacy Scale (HLS - EU-Q16) and the MedDietScore. The survey was conducted June - July 2022. The program SPSS v. 26.0 was used for the analysis of data. RESULTS: Results: The mean score in HLS-EU-Q16 was 12.08 (SD=4.17) (15.8%=inadequate level, 30% =problematic level, 54.2%=sufficient level). The mean score in Med DietScore was 31.54 (SD=4.84) and the majority (72.4%) had medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Concerning the HLS-EU-Q16, women and those who had not children, were not patients and used the Internet for finding health information had higher score. In contrast, widows/ers and those with elementary education had lower score. With regard to the Med DietScore, those who were patients and had normal weight had higher score than the rest categories. A negative correlation was found between age-HLS-EU-Q16 (r=-.605, p<.01) and between BMI-Med DietScore (r=-.142, p<.05). CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Most of the participants had sufficient level of health literacy and medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Furthermore, there was not a significant correlation between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and health literacy. Several demographic and medical characteristics impact the health literature level and the adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Future research is suggested to further evaluate the results of this study.

Alcohol and narcotics use in inflammatory bowel disease.

The aim of this study was to evaluate alcohol consumption and narcotics use among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Medline using relevant keywords. The references of the retrieved articles were also searched to identify additional articles. Only English-language studies that provided evidence on alcohol consumption and/or narcotics use among non-hospitalized IBD patients were included in the present review. Twelve studies were included that examined the use of alcohol among IBD patients. The prevalence of alcohol consumption among IBD patients appeared to be similar to that of the general population. The majority of the studies reported worsening of IBD symptoms among patients who consumed alcoholic beverages. Four studies were identified that evaluated narcotics use as analgesia among IBD patients. Narcotics use was prevalent among IBD patients and correlated with a longer disease duration and comorbid mental illnesses. The available evidence suggests that alcohol consumption may have a deleterious effect on IBD symptoms. Furthermore, a considerable proportion of IBD patients are reported to use a narcotic as analgesia and this was correlated with their mental health status. Further studies are needed to address these important facets of IBD.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Sexual Function in Male and Female Patients: An Update on Evidence in the Past Ten Years.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] are a group of chronic, debilitating inflammatory intestinal conditions. The aim of this review was to assess the recent data regarding the impact of IBD in sexual function of male and female patients. METHODS: A literature search was conducted on MEDLINE using, among others, the following search terms or their combinations: ulcerative colitis; Crohn's disease; sexual function; sexual health; relationship status; erectile dysfunction; surgery. All English-language studies published in the past 10 years which provided data evaluating the sexual function in IBD patients were included. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were identified; six included IBD patients registered on a national database or presented in a clinical setting, whereas eight evaluated sexual function after a surgical intervention for IBD. The majority of the studies used the validated for general populations International Index for Erectile Function [IIEF] and the Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI] for the assessment of sexual function among males and females, respectively. An impaired sexual function has been reported in general cohorts of IBD patients; females seemed to experience worse sexual dysfunction than males. Furthermore, depression was a consistent negative predictive factor across studies. Surgery did not seem to affect sexual function in the majority of studies, except a prospective one which reported a significant improvement in male sexual function [IIEF, p < 0.05] but not female [FSFI, p = 0.6]. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual function among IBD patients may be impaired, thus more studies are needed in order to develop the appropriate instruments and proper and effective management strategies.

Workplace violence against nurses in three different Greek healthcare settings.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers are at high risk of facing workplace violence and nurses represent the most affected group. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess workplace violence encountered by nurses working in three different healthcare settings. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary hospital, a non-tertiary hospital and a primary care unit. The research tool was an anonymous self-report questionnaire concerning the prevalence, characteristics, consequences, causes and preventive measures of workplace violence. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 17.0. RESULTS: Eighty nurses participated in the study. The majority (76%) had experienced workplace violence. Men (OR, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01-0.56) and more experienced nurses (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70-0.97, for each additional year of working experience) were less affected in the last year. Verbal violence was the dominant type (98%). The vast majority (80%) reported a negative psychological impact, while 65% reported that they feel sometimes, rarely or never safe in their workplace. One of the main suggested causes of workplace violence was the long waiting time (99%), while the most common suggested measure of prevention was entrance control (93%). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a high prevalence of workplace violence against nurses working in different healthcare facilities. Country and unit-specific studies may be beneficial for implementing appropriate interventions for reducing work place violence.

Assessment and Analysis of Workplace Violence in a Greek Tertiary Hospital.

This study sought to assess workplace violence in a Greek tertiary hospital for the first time. The authors conducted a descriptive study with 175 participants and examined the characteristics of violent episodes, the responses of victims and the administration, and the perception of workplace safety in addition to the implications of these incidents. The vast majority of employees (83.4%) had experienced work-related violence; however, half of them (52%) had not reported the incident to the hospital administration. Verbal violence was the most common type of incident (98.6%). Nurses and other health care staff reported feeling safer than physicians (odds ratio [OR] = 4.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.94-10.28 and OR = 2.80, 95% CI: 1.64-8.74, respectively). A large proportion of victims (72.6%) suffered psychological consequences following the violent incident. This study reveals the high prevalence of workplace violence in a Greek tertiary hospital and underscores its negative impact on health care workers.

Bacterial contamination of medical devices in a Greek emergency department: impact of physicians' cleaning habits.

We investigated the bacterial contamination of physicians' stethoscopes, electrocardiography machines, cardiac monitors, and pulse oximeters, as well as physicians' self-reported cleaning habits in the emergency department of a university hospital. Among 100 devices evaluated (stethoscopes included), 99% developed a positive bacterial culture. Coagulase-negative staphylococci predominated (80.3%). Only 13% of physicians reported cleaning their stethoscope after each patient examination; multinomial regression analysis found less contamination on those stethoscopes (P < .001). Studies on the implementation of hygiene measures are needed.

Ocular trauma in a Greek population: review of 899 cases resulting in hospitalization.

PURPOSE: To determine the annual hospitalization rate and risk factors of eye injuries requiring hospitalization in an area of Greece. METHODS: Retrospective case analysis of 899 consecutive patients with ocular injury admitted at the Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital at Patras Medical School, Greece, over a 9-year period. RESULTS: The average annual rate of hospitalized ocular injuries was 71.0 eye injuries per 1000 admissions at the Department of Ophthalmology. The majority (80.2%) of patients were male. The average age was 35.0 years (range 6 months-98 years). Approximately half of all injuries occurred in persons younger than 29 years of age. Patients with Albanian ethnic background were at higher risk. The most common type of injury was closed-globe injury (49.5%) that affected more frequently the very young individuals (0-19 years) and persons older than 50 years of age. Open-globe injuries occurred most often in young adults, 20 to 39 years of age, and comprised over 35% of all eye injuries in this age group. Most injuries (32.8%) occurred at the workplace, most commonly during construction activities. Injuries at home approximated the work-related injuries (30.0%). A total of 398 (42.5%) eyes underwent surgical intervention on the eye globe, while 49 (12.3%) of them underwent multiple operations as part of their treatment. 18.2% of the eyes were blinded and 27.9% had significant visual acuity loss. An enucleation during the follow-up period was performed in 4 (1.0%) eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma is an important cause of ocular morbidity in Greece. Risk factors include young age, male gender, Albanian ethnic background, and workplace. General safety precautions and behavior modification are indicated.