Ioannis Tsakiridis

Nonmedical Use of Prescription Medications Among Medical Students in Greece: Prevalence of and Motivation for Use

ABSTRACT Background: Non-medical use of prescription medications has risen to unprecedented levels over the past decade worldwide; however, studies assessing misuse across medical students are sparse. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to1) estimate the lifetime and the past-year prevalence of non-medical use of prescription medications among medical students in Greece 2) identify the motivation for use. Methods: 591 medical students completed an anonymous, self-administered, web-based survey assessing lifetime and past-year prevalence of non-medical use of four classes of prescription drugs (opioid painkillers, tranquillizers, sleeping and stimulant medications). According to the motivation to use the responders were classified into three subtypes (selftreatment, recreational, and mixed). Results: The prevalence of lifetime use was 10.7% for at least one of the four prescription drug classes and 9% of the respondents reported lifetime misuse of multiple categories of prescription drugs. The past-year prevalence was approximately 7.7% for at least one of the four prescription drug classes, while the majority misused the drugs “1-2 times per year”. Senior students used tranquilizers more than junior students. Self-treatment and mixed subtypes of tranquillizers misuse was more prevalent among women than men while the self-treatment subtype was the most prevalent subtype in all the four drug classes. Conclusions: This is the first study investigating non-medical use of prescription medications among Greek medical students and indicates a high prevalence of misuse of some categories of prescription drugs, mostly for self-treatment purposes.

Antenatal depression among women hospitalized due to threatened preterm labor in a high-risk pregnancy unit in Greece

Abstract Purpose: Estimates for the prevalence of antenatal depression vary widely across different studies and especially concerning high-risk pregnancies. Threatened preterm labor is the most common indication for antenatal obstetric hospitalization. The aim of this study was to screen for depressive symptoms among pregnant women hospitalized in a high-risk pregnancy unit due to threatened preterm labor and also to investigate possible associated risk factors. Materials and methods: A total of 103 pregnant women admitted at >24 and <36 gestational weeks were eligible to participate in the study. The Greek version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to detect depressive symptoms on admission. A cutoff score of >13 was considered as indicative of depression. Possible associated risk factors were also investigated. Results: The prevalence of antenatal depression (score >13) was 24.3% (n = 25). In the multivariate analysis, antenatal depression was significantly correlated with thoughts of abortion (OR: 6.208; 95% CI: 1.141–33.765). Conclusions: About one quarter of the pregnant women hospitalized in the HRPU due to threatened preterm labor were depressed based on the EPDS. Thoughts of abortion were associated with a sixfold increase in the risk of depression, while no associations were found between antenatal depression and other sociodemographic and obstetric parameters.

Complex Rearrangement Involving Three Chromosomes, Four Breakpoints and a 2.7-Mb Deletion in the 18q Segment Observed in a Girl with Mild Learning Difficulties.

Complex chromosomal rearrangements (CCRs) are balanced or unbalanced structural rearrangements involving 3 or more cytogenetic break events on 2 or more different chromosomes. Here, we report a 7-year-old girl referred to our unit because of mild dysmorphic facial features, mild learning difficulties together with very mild mental retardation. Standard cytogenetic banding analysis revealed a de novo CCR involving chromosomes 1, 2 and 18. Further molecular investigation with aCGH revealed a cryptic interstitial deletion of 2.7 Mb in 18q22.1, which does not elicit a significant clinical phenotype. FISH was performed to confirm both molecular and cytogenetic results.

Prevalence of Cannabis Use Among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective: Cannabis is reported to be the most common illicit substance used among medical students; however, the number of related studies is limited and their results are not systematically reviewed. The aim of our study was to analyze the prevalence of lifetime and current use of cannabis among medical students worldwide. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed with adherence to the PRISMA guidelines. The electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane library were searched for studies on the prevalence of cannabis use among medical students. Prevalence of lifetime, past-year, and past-month cannabis use was extracted. Pooled prevalence and relative risk for sex were calculated using the random effects model and subgroup analyses were conducted. Results: A total of 38 observational (cross-sectional and cohort) studies were included (total number of participants 19 932), and most of them were conducted in Europe, Central and Southern America, and the United States. Overall pooled prevalence of lifetime cannabis use was 31.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.7%-39.6%), past-year use was 17.2% (95% CI: 10.8%-24.6%), and past-month use was 8.8% (95% CI: 5.6%-12.5%). Men displayed higher rates of cannabis use with a pooled relative risk of 1.55 (95% CI: 1.32-1.81). Heterogeneity was high (I2 > 75%) and there were differences among continents in all outcomes (P < .001). Conclusions: In conclusion, 1 in 3 medical students has used cannabis, whereas 8.8% were current users. Significant differences among continents were observed, but common finding was that male students tend to consume cannabis more often than female students.

Prevalence of smoking during pregnancy and associated risk factors: a cross-sectional study in Northern Greece

Background Many pregnant women smoke despite the extensive data available on the detrimental perinatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy and to identify the factors associated with smoking among pregnant women in Northern Greece. Methods A sample of pregnant women (mean gestational age: 12.6 weeks) participated in a cross-sectional study assessing the prevalence of smoking. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the factors associated with their smoking behavior. Results A total of 3688 pregnant women (mean age: 31.1 ± 5.0 years) completed the survey. On the basis of their answers, 36.1% (n = 1330) were smokers before pregnancy and 13.2% (n = 487) were still smoking at the end of the first trimester. Eight hundred and forty-three women (63.4%) gave up smoking, apparently motivated by their pregnancy. A multivariate analysis showed an independent positive association of nulliparity, Greek ethnicity, age >35 years and a BMI > 30 with smoking before pregnancy. Smoking during pregnancy was more common among naturally conceived pregnancies and women with a BMI > 30.Cessation rates were lower for naturally conceived pregnancies, immigrants and multiparous women. Conclusion About one third of women who smoked before pregnancy continued to smoke during pregnancy. Naturally conceiving, multiparous and immigrant women are less likely to quit smoking when pregnant. Tailored smoking cessation interventions should target women early in their pregnancy.