Resilience in a Greek Sample of Informal Dementia Caregivers: Familism as a Culture-Specific Factor.

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and the factors associated with resilience among a sample of 118 Greek informal caregivers (78.8% females, mean age=58.9, SD=11.6) of people with dementia. Face-to-face interviews assessed caregivers' socio-demographics, resilience, quality of life, burden, familism, and perception of services and their proxy assessments of the cognitive functioning, functional activity, and behavioral problems of people with dementia. Moderate levels of resilience were reported by 58.6% of the caregivers. Dementia-related knowledge and higher levels of familism were associated with higher levels of resilience, whereas higher frequency of dealing with behavioral problems was associated with lower resilience. Effective interventions to strengthen Greek dementia caregivers' resilience should be culture-specific, targeting both behavioral problems and caregivers' intrapersonal facilitators (i.e, dementia-related knowledge) and interpersonal interactions (i.e., familism). Healthcare professionals may have a key role in building caregivers' resilience and contribute to implications for policy and practice.

Assessing the Impact of Frailty on Cognitive Function in Older Adults Receiving Home Care.

It is commonly accepted that frailty and dementia-related cognitive decline are strongly associated. However, degree of this association is often debated, especially in homebound elders with disabilities. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of frailty on cognitive function in older adults receiving homecare. A screening for frailty and cognitive function was conducted at 12 primary healthcare settings of the nationally funded program "Help at Home" in Heraklion Crete, Greece. Cognitive function and frailty were assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment questionnaire and the SHARE-f index, respectively. Barthel-Activities of Daily Living and the Charlson Comorbidity Index were also used for the identification of disability and comorbidity, respectively. The mean age of the 192 participants (66% female) was 78.04 ± 8.01 years old. In depth-analysis using multiple linear regression, revealed that frailty was not significantly associated with cognitive decline (frail vs. non-frail (B'=-2.39, p=0.246) even after adjusting for depression and multi-comorbidity. Importantly, as protective factors for cognitive decline progression and thus dementia development, was scientifically correlated with annual individual income >4500 (B'=2.31, p=0.005) -poverty threshold-compared to those with <4500 and, higher education level as compared to Uneducated (B'=2.94, p=0.019). However, depression was associated with cognitive decline regardless of socioeconomic variables. In conclusion, our results suggest that health professionals caring for frail people with cognitive impairment, must focus on early recognition and management of depression.

A case of severe hyponatremia due to linezolid-induced SIADH.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder. Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is the main cause of euvolemic hyponatremia and is often associated with medications or underlying diseases. Linezolid is a potent antibiotic against resistant Gram-positive microorganisms that has been associated with mild hyponatremia, yet with a mechanism different from SIADH. CASE SUMMARY: We present the case of a patient who developed severe hyponatremia during treatment with linezolid for an ampicillin-resistant E. faecium bacteremia. A thorough work-up during the hyponatremia, as well as after it resolved, firmly identified SIADH as its cause. Importantly, SIADH occurred after linezolid was started and resolved after it was stopped, and a work-up for another cause of SIADH was negative, suggesting that linezolid was the cause of SIADH in this patient. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: This is the second case of a linezolid-induced SIADH, diagnosed with a thorough work-up so to correctly differentiate between SIADH from other causes of hyponatremia.

The epidemiology of primary systemic vasculitides involving small vessels in Crete (southern Greece): a comparison of older versus younger adult patients.

BACKGROUND: The frequency of primary systemic small vessel vasculitides (PSV) varies among different geographic regions and age categories. We studied PSV in patients from middle-eastern Crete (Greece), and compared clinical characteristics in younger (<65 years) versus older (> or = 65 years) adult patients. METHODS: The records of 67 patients (33 younger, 34 older adults) diagnosed with PSV during 1995-2003 who were referred to a mixed secondary/tertiary care University Hospital in Crete were reviewed. Data on clinical manifestations, diagnosis, therapy, and adverse outcomes (end stage renal disease, death) during a median follow-up of 6 (range 0-12) years were recorded. Multivariate regression analysis was applied to identify independent predictors for adverse outcomes. RESULTS: The overall annual incidence of PSV was 19.5/million (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.7-23.4), 48.9/million (95% CI 33.8-63.9) in older and 12.4/million (95% CI 7.7-17) in younger adults. Microscopic polyangiitis was more prevalent in older patients (65%) and Wegener's Granulomatosis in younger patients (52%). Thirty-one percent of older patients developed end-stage renal disease as compared to 11% of younger patients (p=0.103). Mortality rates were 60% in older patients and 19% in younger patients (p=0.001). In multivariate regression analysis age (Beta=0.33 per 1-year, p=0.005), serum creatinine (Beta=0.29 per 1-mg/dL, p=0.011), and lung involvement (Beta=0.36, p=0.002) at the time of diagnosis were independent predictors for end stage renal disease and/or death. CONCLUSION: This study documents increased frequency and significant mortality of PSV among older people in Crete, with MPA being the most prevalent type. Age, serum creatinine, and lung involvement are important predictors for adverse outcome in these patients.