•There is a 33% increase in deaths by suicide in Greece during the early years of recession (2009–2015).•One third of this increasecould be directly attributed to unemployment, one third to other ...consequences of recession while another third is of unknown origin.•The effect of unemployment is specifically restricted to males at the beginning of their working career (20–24 years old) and to middle aged (45–49 and 55–59 years old).
There is disagreement on the specific mechanism through which the economic recession increased suicides in Greece. Unemployment is considered by many authors to be the determining factor but the data are inconclusive and often negative, especially concerning the temporal relationship between onset of increase in unemployment and increase in suicides
The aim of this paper was to clarify the specific role of unemployment as well as of other socioeconomic variables on specific age-by-gender groups concerning the increase in suicides.
Data of the Hellenic Statistical Authority ELSTAT (www.statistics.gr) were analyzed with Linear Regression Analysis and Bonferroni correction for multiple testing
Unemployment correlates with suicide rates only in males aged 20–24, 50–54 and 60–64 years (p < 0.001). Unemployment could held responsible for an additional 148 male deaths during the period 2009–2015, which accounts for 5.3% of the total (29 additional deaths per year). The changes in all the socioeconomic conditions could held responsible for 317 cases of suicide or 9.4% of total
The results of the current study suggest that there was a 33% increase in deaths by suicide in Greece during the early years of recession (2009–2015); one third could be directly attributed to unemployment, one third to other consequences of recession while another third is of unknown origin. The effect of unemployment is specifically restricted to males at the beginning of their working career (20–24 years old) and to middle aged (45–49 and 55–59 years old).
•During the lockdown.•Two thirds of university students reported at least ‘much’ increase in anxiety.•One third in depressive feelings and.•2.59% an increase in suicidal thoughts.•Major depression ...was present in 12.43%.•Severe distress was present in 13.46%.•Risk factors were:.•Female sex.•History of self-injury.•History of suicidal attempts.•Following studies of law, literature, pedagogics, political sciences and related studies as well as technical but not health sciences.•Beliefs in conspiracy theories.•Enjoyed acceptance ranging from 20 to 68%.•Students of law, literature, pedagogics, political sciences and related studies manifested higher acceptance rates.
: The aim of the study was to investigate mental health in university students in Greece, during lockdown due to COVID-19.
: The data were collected online and anonymously, during lockdown; they included 1104 females (aged 22.08±4,96) and 431 males (aged 22.35±3.11). The analysis included transformation of the data with post-stratification method, descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, Factorial Analysis of Variance and Relative Risk ratios
: The results suggest that during, lockdown major depression was present in 12.43% with 13.46% experiencing severe distress. Risk factors were female sex, history of self-injury, suicidal attempts and following theoretical studies (RR=2–5.71). Conspiracy theories were accepted by 20–68%, with students of theoretical studies manifesting higher rates.
: The results of the current study confirmed that students are at high risk to develop depression and suicidality in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak. They also identified specific risk factors and pointed to the role of believing in conspiracy theories in copying with stress. They also identified populations with higher prevalence of these beliefs. Further targeted research is necessary as well as targeted intervention in vulnerable groups but concerning mental health as well as the reduction of believing in conspiracy theories.
There is a debate concerning the nature and the causes of the increase in the suicidal rates observed since 2011 in Greece.
The data from the recent Hellenic Statistical Authority report on death ...causes for the year 2015 in Greece were used
The rates are stabilizing at a historical zenith (total increase 51.7% for males and 76.2% for females) with a possible decreasing trend (5.4% for males and 6.8% for females) already visible concerning several age groups since the previous year.
This coincided temporarily with the relative stabilization of the economic situation although unemployment was still very high. Further processing and analysis of the complete set of data concerning all causes of death throughout the last few years is necessary before definite conclusions can be made.
The Z-drugs are indicated for the short-treatment of insomnia, but they are associated with abuse, dependence and side-effects. There are only sparse data about Z-drug prescribing in Greece.
We ...analyzed data from the Greek prescription database, considering prescriptions for the available Z-drugs in Greece, i.e., zolpidem and zopiclone, during the period from 01.10.2018 to 01.10.2021 in order to examine the prevalence, monthly number and characteristics of Z-drug prescriptions in Greece.
There were 1,229,842 prescriptions for Z-drugs (zolpidem: 89.7%) during the investigated period from 2018 to 2021, which corresponded to 156,554 patients (73.1% ≥ 65 years, 64.5% female). More than half of the patients (65.8%) had more than one prescription with a median number of 8, interquartile range IQR 3, 17, prescriptions during the three-year study period. Most patients (76.1%) were prescribed by medical specialties other than psychiatrists and neurologists, despite a considerable frequency of psychiatric comorbidities (53.7%). About half of patients with anxiety/depression were not prescribed anxiolytics or antidepressants, a practice more frequently observed among medical specialties other than psychiatrists and neurologists. The average annual prevalence of at least one prescription for Z-drugs in the Greek population during 2019-2020 was approximately 0.9% (higher in females and older adults). The monthly number of prescriptions was relatively stable with a median number of 334.2 IQR 310.4; 351.6 prescriptions per 100,000 persons.
A considerable number of patients are prescribed Z-drugs in Greece, more often older adults, females and patients with psychiatric comorbidities. The prescribing physicians were in the majority (70%) internists and general practitioners, while psychiatrists (10.9%) and neurologists (6.1%) accounted for a smaller proportion. Due to the limitations inherent to medical claims databases, further research is warranted in order to elucidate the potential abuse and misuse of Z-drugs.
Abstract
Background:
The current paper introduces the actual International College of Neuro-Psychopharmacology clinical guidelines for the treatment of bipolar disorder.
Concept and structure of the ...guidelines:
The current clinical guidelines are based on evidence-based data, but they also intend to be clinically useful, while a rigid algorithm was developed on the basis of firm evidence alone. Monotherapy was prioritized over combination therapy. There are separate recommendations for each of the major phases of bipolar disorder expressed as a 5-step algorithm.
Discussion:
The current International College of Neuro-Psychopharmacology clinical guidelines for the treatment of bipolar disorder are the most up-to-date guidance and are as evidence based as possible. They also include recommendations concerning the use of psychotherapeutic interventions, again on the basis of available evidence. This adherence of the workgroup to the evidence in a clinically oriented way helped to clarify the role of specific antidepressants and traditional agents like lithium, valproate, or carbamazepine. The additional focus on specific clinical characteristics, including predominant polarity, mixed features, and rapid cycling, is also a novel approach. Many issues need further studies, data are sparse and insufficient, and many questions remain unanswered. The most important and still unmet need is to merge all the guidelines that concern different phases of the illness into a single one and in this way consider BD as a single unified disorder, which is the real world fact. However, to date the research data do not permit such a unified approach.
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