Knowledge, attitude, and practice of cervical cancer screening among Greek students: a short report.

Cervical cancer is a major cause of death in the developing world. The Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is a screening test that detects abnormal cells before they advance to cancer. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of cervical cancer screening among Greek students. A sample of 472 female students participated in the present study. Interviews were performed using a structured questionnaire. Of the participants, 94.07% were aware of the Pap test and 67.34% reported that the Pap test should be done yearly. The majority of them were informed about cervical cancer screening test by their parents. Of the participants, 44.82% had received Pap testing at least once in their life, whereas 36.2% had a Pap test yearly. The reported mean time of the respondents' first Pap test was 13.3±10.6 months after their first sexual intercourse. The reasons given by the participants for being noncompliant were lack of appreciation of the importance of the screening, embarrassment, fear, and high cost. Of the participants, 9.23% declared that those who had been administered the human papillomavirus vaccine do not need a Pap test. The results highlight the need for additional education and health promotion regarding cervical cancer screening.

HPV vaccine acceptance among female Greek students.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects against HPV-related disease. The aim of this study was to assess acceptance of HPV vaccination among female Greek students. A sample of 573 students aged 18-25 years participated in the present study. Interviews were performed using a structured questionnaire. Of the respondents, 3% were not aware of the HPV vaccine. Of the subjects, 10.47% had been administered the HPV vaccine. Of the respondents who had not been administered the vaccine, 43.86% were not willing to accept it because of the rumors of serious side effects. The results highlight the need for additional education and health promotion regarding HPV vaccination and cervical cancer prevention.

H1N1 vaccine acceptance among parents in Greece.

The aim of this study was to assess the acceptance of H1N1 vaccination among parents in Greece. A sample of 850 parents participated in the present study. Interviews were performed using a structured questionnaire. The overall percentage of participants reporting that they had been administered the H1N1 vaccine was 0.35%. Only 1.18% of the respondents who had not been administered the vaccine were willing to accept it. A significant barrier to H1N1 vaccination is concern about vaccine safety.

Dietary habits and physical activity in youth.

UNLABELLED: Increased rates of obesity among youth in the last several decades have led to the emergence of several health problems. Declining physical activity is also contributing to this trend. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dietary habits and physical activity in youth. METHODS: 177 Greek students participated in the present study. Interviews were performed using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the participants, 80.2% were normal weight individuals, 18.6% were overweight, and 1.2% was obese. Of the normal weight participants, 72.5% ate breakfast on a daily basis, and 45.5% of the overweight individuals ate breakfast irregularly. Among the respondents, 88% underlined the impact of life style on their nutritional status, 17% actually exercised or played sports > 20 minutes per day, 20.3% reported asthma, and 83.3% with asthma were overweight. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of young people engaged in health risk behaviors associated with obesity, diabetes, and asthma. Adoption of healthy lifestyles could prevent the risk for chronic disease.

The insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) generation test as an indicator of growth hormone status.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the IGF-I generation test (IGF-I gen) as a possible indirect test of Growth Hormone (GH) secretory status. METHODS: Sixty-five GH deficient (GHD 1 and 2) and 86 control children were studied. Children in the GHD-1 subgroup (n=33) had low GH values (<10 microg/L) after clonidine and levo-dopa while those in the GHD-2 subgroup (n=32) had normal GH values after pharmacologic provocation but low 24-hour GH secretory rates compared to 187 Normal Statured (NS) children. Of the 86 controls, who underwent IGF-I gen,50 were NS and 36 Short-Statured (SS). Serum IGF-I was measured prior to and daily during hGH administration (hGH 0.033 mg/kg/dayx4 days). RESULTS: The prepubertal and pubertal GHD-1 and GHD-2 children had low baseline IGF-I values but their peak IGF-I values during the IGF-I gen reached those of the controls. The percent increase of IGF-I during the test was greater in the GHD groups than in the controls; in the prepubertal groups: 516+/-58% in the GHD-1, 433+/-50% in the GHD-2, 106+/-12% in the NS, and 102+/-18% in the SS (p=0.001); in the pubertal groups: 191+/-28% in the GHD-1, 141+/-20% in the GHD-2, 48+/-8% in the NS, and 61+/-17% in the SS (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The IGF-I response during the IGF-I gen seems to reflect the GH status in children.

Family structure and risk behaviors in Greek adolescents: a short report.

Changes in family structure may have negative outcomes on the well-being of adolescents. A sample of 500 students completed a self-report questionnaire on their family structure, housing status, and risk behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, substance abuse, and violence during their adolescence. We present the results of a study regarding the burden of adolescent risk behaviors in relation to family structure in Greece. 16.6% reported that their parents were divorced and they lived in a single-parent family. 42% of the respondents reported smoking during their adolescence. The prevalence rate of regular drinking was slightly higher for adolescents who had experienced family breakup compared to those who lived in an intact family, 24.4% and 22.7% respectively. 63.4% of the participants who had experienced family violence were extremely violent in school. There is a need for effective prevention programs in Greece in order to reduce the burden of adolescent health-risk behaviors and the associated cost for their parents and our society.

Prevalence of smoking among Greek students: a short report.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of smoking and its associated factors among Greek students. Out of 1200 participants, 47% reported smoking, even one or two puffs (50.8% females and 43.8% males). The mean age of initiation of smoking was 17.1 +/- 1.9 years. Living in a single-parent family was not a significant risk factor for smoking. However, having more than one family member who smokes influences the smoking behavior in young people.

Study of the eye and lacrimal glands in experimental iron overload in rats in vivo.

A variety of syndromes leading to hemosiderosis in men cause ocular lesions. The purpose of the present study was to determine the distribution of iron and of transferrin in the eyes and lacrimal glands of rats in experimental hemosiderosis, so as to achieve a better understanding of the formation of the ocular lesions observed in patients with advanced hemosiderosis. In order to achieve hemosiderosis the rats were fed 3% (w/w) carbonyl iron or received i.p. or i.v. polymaltose iron. Hemosiderin deposits were detected in macrophages lying in the interlobular connective tissue of lacrimal glands, in the interstitial connective tissue of the choroid, in the ciliary body, in the iris and extracellularly in the sclera in all animals that received iron i.v. Also, scanty hemosiderin laden macrophages were found to a lesser degree in interstitial connective tissue of the choroid and in the interlobular connective tissue of lacrimal glands in animals that received iron i.p. No iron deposits were detected in the eye and lacrimal glands of control rats and in rats that were on an iron enriched diet. No transferrin was detected in the eye and in the lacrimal glands, neither in the control rats nor in the rats that received iron. Experimental iron overload leads to increased iron deposition in tissues of the eye and lacrimal glands, whereas no transferrin could be detected in the aforementioned organs.

Combined effect of mutations of the GH1 gene and its proximal promoter region in a child with growth hormone neurosecretory dysfunction (GHND).

Mutational analysis of the growth hormone 1 (GH1) gene and its promoter in a patient with GH neurosecretory dysfunction (GHND) revealed a heterozygous new deletion of one base 7-bp downstream from the 3'-splice site of exon 4 (IVS4'del+7) of the GH1 gene and two new heterozygous mutations at sites -135 and -138 of the GH1 promoter. In addition, two polymorphisms at sites -301 and -308 of the GH1 promoter were observed. All other family members had either the -301/-308 polymorphisms or the IVS4'del+7 mutation, but none had both. The IVS4'del+7 mutation located close to the splice donor site possibly interferes with the success of the splicing process, or the mutant transcripts are highly unstable because of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. The -135/-138 mutations, albeit in close proximity to a putative Pit-1 recognition site, do not seem to affect binding of this transcription factor. The combination of the two polymorphisms, -301/-308, results in significantly reduced DNA-binding activity as monitored by electrophoretic mobility-shift assay. Transcription factor recognition site analysis of the GH1 promoter (MatInspector) revealed that HES1, one of the effectors of the Notch signalling system, is the only transcription factor whose binding is expected to be disrupted by each haplotype or by their combination. We provide evidence that the combination of -301/-308 polymorphisms with the IVS4'del+7 mutation in a GHND patient probably accounts for the reduced amount of growth hormone spontaneously secreted from his pituitary gland and for the severe growth delay.

Glucose dysregulation in obese children: predictive, risk, and potential protective factors.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes (DM2) in obese children and adolescents of Greek origin and compare our data with pertinent literature findings in an attempt to uncover predictive, risk, and preventive factors. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A total of 117 obese children and adolescents 12.1+/-2.7 years old underwent a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Insulin resistance (IR) and beta-cell function were estimated using the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-IR and the insulinogenic index, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 17 patients (14.5%) had IGT, and none had DM2. The overall prevalence rates of both IGT and DM2 in our subjects were lower than those reported in a recent multiethnic U.S. study. Nevertheless, the difference between our IGT data and those of the U.S. study was due mostly to the prepubertal subjects (9% vs. 25.4%), whereas no difference was observed in the pubertal population (18% vs. 21%). Fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR values were not predictive of IGT. The absolute value of insulin at 2 hours of the OGTT combined with the time-integrated glycemia (AUCG) can strongly predict IGT, whereas higher area under the curve for insulin (AUCI) values were found to be protective. DISCUSSION: In ethnic groups less prone to diabetes development, IGT or DM2 in obese subjects is more likely to develop at puberty than at the prepubertal stage. It is advisable that physicians caring for obese adolescents perform an OGTT for early detection of IGT because HOMA-IR values, although higher in IGT subjects and indicative of IR, cannot predict IGT.

Isolated costal hyperostosis: a rare cause of severe hemothorax.

Chest pain due to hemothorax is rare. However, the possibility of traumatic hemothorax must always be suspected. We report a case of a 15-year-old girl with hemothorax after erosion of the intercostal artery of the left seventh rib by a histological proved solitary costal hyperostosis. She presented with a 2-month history of intermittent left-sided chest pain and 3 episodes of acute chest pain followed by dizziness and loss of consciousness. The chest radiograph revealed a large left pleural effusion and a thin-section chest computed tomography scan that was performed after drainage of the hemothorax indicated a spicule projecting inward into the chest from the left seventh rib. After thoracotomy, a solitary costal hyperostosis causing a traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the intercostal artery was removed by partial resection of the left seventh rib, the intercostals vessels were ligated, and the pseudoaneurysm excised.

First urinary tract infection in neonates, infants and young children: a comparative study.

In an attempt to evaluate first urinary tract infection (UTI) in neonates and infants, we estimated retrospectively in 296 patients (62 neonates and 234 infants) clinical and laboratory findings, occurrence of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), urinary tract abnormalities and pyelonephritis. First UTI occurred more often in male than female neonates, whereas male and female infants/young children were affected at an equal rate. The pathogens isolated in urine cultures of neonates and infants did not statistically significantly differ (P>0.05); Escherichia coli predominated. Gram-negative bacteria other than E. coli affected boys more often than girls (P=0.0022). Fever was the most frequent symptom. Neonates had lower-grade fever of shorter duration than infants (P<0.05). The incidence of reflux and urinary tract abnormalities did not differ between neonates and infants, male and female neonates and infants (P>0.05). Pyelonephritis affected neonates and infants at an equal rate; it was more prevalent among female patients (P=0.038) and patients with VUR or urinary tract abnormalities other than VUR (P<0.0001). Neonates with reflux were more often affected by Gram-negative bacteria other than E. coli than were neonates without reflux (P=0.0008).

Presentation of childhood brucellosis in Western Greece.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical and laboratory findings, treatment modalities and final outcomes of brucellosis in children and to compare our data with those of other studies performed in Greece. Fifty-two children treated for brucellosis in the Department of Pediatrics during the decade 1995-2004 were analyzed. Of the 52 children, 47 were reexamined during July 2005. Fever, arthritis or arthralgia, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were the main findings. Young children had positive blood cultures and lower or negative antibody titers statistically significantly more often than did older children. Brucella abortus was isolated in 9 of 18 patients with positive blood cultures. Antibiotic treatment lasted for 28 days on average. There were no complications or relapses, except one, and the final outcomes were excellent.