The impact of economic crisis on mortality due to mental health illnesses.

BACKGROUND: The financial crisis affected several aspects of health. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of the crisis on mortality of mental illnesses in Greece and the socioeconomic determinants of mortality trends. METHODS: Mortality data of 2000-16 were analyzed and sex-and-age-standardized death rates (SDRs) were calculated. The Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) before and after the time point of slope change was computed. The crisis impact on SDRs was explored with interrupted time series analyses and standardized rate ratios (SRRs). The correlation of mortality with socioeconomic and healthcare-related variables was investigated with correlation and regression analyses. RESULTS: A significant change in SDR trend was observed after 2012. The AAPC reversed from -2.9% to 94.5%, while the SRR was calculated at 6.1 (5.5-6.7). Income reduction, unemployment rise and health budget cuts were found to be significantly correlated with mortality rise. CONCLUSIONS: Financial crisis had a significant impact on mortality due to mental illnesses, especially in females and elderly. The findings indicate that mortality increase is more driven by socioeconomic and healthcare-related factors that affect access to appropriate healthcare than by morbidity trends. The findings have implications in planning interventions to provide appropriate healthcare to patients living with mental illness.

Vaccination practices and influenza in professional football players in Greece.

BACKGROUND: There is limited data on vaccination practices for professional footballers globally. AIMS: To record vaccination practices employed by medical staff of individual football teams of the Super League Greece, and absenteeism of footballers related to influenza illness. METHODS: A brief questionnaire was distributed to chief medical officers (CMOs) of the sixteen teams of the Super League Greece. Participants were asked to report vaccines they recommended for footballers. In addition, the questionnaire included questions on new cases of influenza and absenteeism due to influenza. Descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequencies) were used for the presentation of the results. RESULTS: Overall, 87% of the CMOs recommended seasonal influenza vaccine, 62% hepatitis B vaccine and 50% pneumococcal vaccine. Fourteen CMOs (87%) reported that the occurrence of seasonal influenza in the 2016-17 northern hemisphere season ranged from one to five cases, while two medical officers (12%) reported zero workdays lost due to influenza. CONCLUSIONS: Our survey shows considerable variation in vaccination practices of CMOs of the Super League Greece. The results of this survey should stimulate further evaluation of vaccination policy and influenza-related absenteeism in footballers.

Distribution and frequency of beta-thalassemia mutations in northwestern and central Greece.

OBJECTIVES: Beta-Thalassemia is a common autosomal recessive disorder resulting from over 200 different mutations of the beta-globin genes. The spectrum of beta-thalassemia mutations in Greece has been previously described in the population of the capital city of Athens, or in beta-thalassemia patients having transfusion therapy. The aim of the present study was to identify the distribution of the most common beta-thalassemia mutations in the population of northwestern and central Greece. METHODS: The data for this study were derived from a total of 1,130 unrelated subjects including 46 beta-thalassemia major, three beta -thalassemia intermedia and 1,081 carriers identified in our antenatal screening program. beta-Thalassemia mutations were identified by ARMS, DGGE and Reverse Dot Blot. RESULTS: The most common mutation, IVS-I-110, is followed, in order of frequency, by the mutations Cd-39, IVS-I-1, IVS-II-1, Cd-6, IVS-I-6, IVS-I-5, IVS-II-745, Cd-5 and 44 bp del. IVS-I-110 and Cd-39 frequencies are similar with those found in other Balkan countries. Significant differences in regional distribution were observed. The results showed a clear drift of the distribution of the most frequent IVS-I-110 mutation in the south-north (29.4, 40.0, 44.6 and 61.7%) and the east-west axis (31.8 and 44.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Population screening and prenatal diagnosis are significantly facilitated by these data. Furthermore, the detailed distribution tables of beta-thalassemia mutations are essential for counseling and extraction of genetic diversity estimates for population genetic studies in other inherited disorders.

Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense mechanisms in rat renal tissue after daunorubicin administration.

Redox cycling compounds such as daunorubicin have been assumed to be toxic because they stimulate reactive oxygen-mediated lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, both DT-diaphorase and glutathione (GSH) have been regarded as protective cellular compounds against daunorubicin cardiotoxicity, but their role in daunorubicin nephrotoxicity remains unclear. To investigate this issue, 10 adult Wistar rats were twice injected with a single dose of 20 mg/kg body weight daunorubicin into the tail vein; the interval between injections was 48 h. A control group of 10 rats were injected with normal saline. One day after the second injection, all the animals were sacrificed and their kidneys were analyzed for malondialdehyde (MDA) as an index of lipid peroxidation, DT-diaphorase activity, and GSH and glutathione disulphide (GSSG) content. A significant increase of MDA concentration (2.41 vs. 1.64 p < 0.001) and DT-diaphorase activity (0.2 vs. 0.12, p < 0.001) was found in the renal tissue of daunorubicin injected rats. In contrast, GSH and GSSG levels were decreased in those animals (566 vs. 1282, p < 0.001 and 115 vs 187, p < 0.01, respectively). The results of this study give evidence that a high dosage of daunorubicin induces lipid peroxidation in renal tissue of rats stimulating the activation of DT-diaphorase and the detoxificative depletion of GSH.

Lipid peroxidation after acute renal ischemia and reperfusion in rats: the effect of trimetazidine.

Lipid peroxidation is a critical pathway of reactive oxygen species inducing tissue injury in postischemic acute renal failure. In order to evaluate the effect of renal ischemia reperfusion on kidneys, renal tissue malondialdehyde (MDA, nmol/g wet weight) concentration was measured in 29 male Wistar rats subjected to a midline abdominal incision and 60 min occlusion of the left renal artery. A right nephrectomy was performed at the beginning of the ischemic period. The animals were separated in four groups. Groups 1 (n = 7) and 3 (n = 7) underwent 60 min of ischemia and 15 min of reperfusion, respectively. Groups 2 (n = 8) and 4 (n = 7) were subjected to the same procedure but, in addition, they received 2.5 mg/kg TMZ into the tail vein 2 h prior to the left renal artery occlusion. A significant elevation of MDA after 60 min of ischemia (1.43 vs. 2.1, p < 0.001), which was augmented after 15 min of reperfusion (1.4 vs. 3.72, p < 0.001) was observed. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction of renal tissue MDA in ischemic rats treated with TMZ (group 3) (2.1 vs. 1.52, p < 0.001). The maximum reduction of renal tissue MDA was observed in ischemic-reperfused rats (group 4) that had received TMZ (3.72 vs. 1.36, p < 0.001). It is suggested that lipid peroxidation is a critical event in postischemic acute renal failure, and TMZ is a useful protective agent of renal damage from oxygen free radicals.

Trends in nutrition in Greece: use of international data to monitor national developments.

With the purpose of studying trends in nutrition in Greece, data from the Food Balance Sheets about the calorie and nutrient intakes were analysed. During the period 1961-86, the average per capita consumption of calories increased by 26.6%, while the calories obtained exclusively from animal sources increased by 106%. The average protein intake rose by 29.9%. Animal proteins increased by 90.6% and their proportion reached 51.5%. Lipid intake increased by 62.2%; in particular animal fats went up by 114.3%. It is concluded that the most important changes in nutrition in Greece during the study period were (a) the increase in total calorie intake, and (b) the rise in total fat consumption and especially the vertical increase in consumption of animal fats. These developments show a change to the traditional pattern of the Greek diet.