Socio-demographic risks of child injury in a Greek region.

UNLABELLED: Child injuries are a growing global public health problem and the aim of this research was to study child accidents, their causes and risk factors in a northern part of Greece, Thrace. METHODS: 1,516 high school children completed an anonymous questionnaire regarding the cause, type, activity before the accident, and result of their accident. RESULTS: The Chi square method showed a high correlation between accidents and variables such as gender (OR .55, 95% CI: .437-.687, P < .001), grade (P < .05), maternal education level (P < .001), paternal education level (P < .001), and social group each child belongs to (P < .001). The odds ratio was 3.3 (95% CI: 1.760-6.296) for Non-natives compared with Native Christians and Native Muslims. The latter had half odds in comparison with Native Christians (OR .4, 95% CI: .328-.545). CONCLUSIONS: Young boys (7th grade), non-natives, and children whose parents received higher education were at greater risk of being injured.

Reduction in cotton dust concentration does not totally eliminate respiratory health hazards: the Greek study.

A number of epidemiological studies have shown that byssinosis is associated with exposure to high levels of cotton dust. In this first survey, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in cotton workers under low concentration of cotton dust was investigated. A respiratory questionnaire consisting of 47 questions was given to 443 cotton workers. Their lung function was measured with spirometry. Breathing zone cotton dust concentration was measured by personal samplers and static sampling was used to define the level of the work area concentration. Workers with abnormalities in the pulmonary function parameters, including forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), were 5.9%. In this group of operatives 7.7% had symptoms compatible with byssinosis, 65.4% of them were smokers, 69.2% of them had symptoms of allergic rhinitis, while 72.2% of them were smokers. Asthma, which appeared after the age of 30, was reported by 57.7%, while 60% of them were smokers. Mean breathing zone cotton dust concentration was 0.16 mg/m³ and the mean work area cotton dust concentration 0.14 mg/m³. Despite the reduction in cotton dust concentration, byssinosis symptoms, allergic rhinitis, asthma and impaired pulmonary function are the most common findings in our cotton workers depending on the duration of exposure, whether they are smokers or not and the nature of the cotton dust.

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of obesity hypoventilation syndrome among individuals reporting sleep-related breathing symptoms in northern Greece.

INTRODUCTION: Evidence suggests that obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) is underrecognized and undertreated. Aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of OHS among patients reporting sleep-related breathing disorders in northern Greece. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Individuals (n=276) who consecutively underwent an attended night polysomnography, for possible obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, were recruited. OHS was defined as a combination of obesity (body mass index 30 ≥ kg/m(2)), daytime hypercapnia (PaCO(2) ≥ 45 mmHg), and sleep-disordered breathing, without any other known cause of hypoventilation. Anthropometric and sleep characteristics, daytime sleepiness, spirometry, and arterial blood gases' analysis in awake, were compared between OHS and non-OHS patients. RESULTS: OHS was identified in 38 of the 276 subjects (13.8%). Among study population, OHS patients were older, more obese, and more somnolent. They did not differ significantly in terms of pulmonary function in awake, whereas they differed, as expected, in arterial blood gases values in awake (PaO(2), PaCO(2)). Furthermore, OHS patients displayed lower average and minimum SpO(2) during sleep and spent more time in SpO(2) < 90% than non-OHS patients. The most common comorbidities were arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and congestive heart failure. CONCLUSIONS: In our study population, OHS was accounted for a significant percentage of the patients with reported breathing disorders in sleep. As obesity has become an international epidemic, it is crucial that physicians have the ability to recognize and treat obesity-associated diseases.

Is psychopathology related to children's unintentional injury?

This research aimed to study children's psychopathology and unintentional accidents in Thrace, northern Greece. We examined whether there was a correlation between each risk factor of the research and the dependent variables: 1) minor accidents, 2) serious accidents that required Emergency Room attendance (ER accidents), 3) serious accidents that led to hospital admission (admission accidents). High school children (n = 1,516) completed an anonymous questionnaire regarding the cause of their accident, as well as the "Strengths and difficulties questionnaire" (SDQ) by Goodman. The results indicate that sex, conduct disorders, hyperactivity, and abnormal score in SDQ were important risk factors for minor injuries and continued to be important risk factors for ER accidents. Sex, conduct disorders, hyperactivity, peer-problems, and abnormal score in SDQ were important risk factors for the most serious accidents (admission accidents). Because major accidents can result in serious health problems or disability, attention should be paid to the risk factors found.