The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-reported risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in the municipality of Thessaly, Greece, and the level of awareness of both the disease and its diagnosis. Inhabitants of Thessaly (254 total; 84 men and 170 women) were studied by means of questionnaires via a telephone-randomized survey. This comprised: (a) the Berlin questionnaire for evaluation of OSAS risk; (b) the evaluation of daytime sleepiness by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale; and (c) demographic and anthropometric data. The percentage of participants at high risk for OSA was 26.77%, and the percentage of people who were at high risk of excessive daytime sleepiness was 10.63%. High risk for OSAS was found to be 3.94%. No significant differences were found between high- and low-risk OSAS participants associated with age, smoking and severity of smoking. Regarding the knowledge of the community about OSAS, the majority of the sample was aware of the entity (64.17%), while fewer had knowledge about the diagnosis (18.50%) and polysomnography (24.80%). The high risk of OSA prevalence and the low awareness of the diagnosis of OSA highlights the need for the development of health promotion programs aiming at increasing the disease awareness in the general population in order to address OSA more effectively.

In this study, we investigated the self-reported (questionnaire-based) prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS) and the prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) in the context of demographics and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in the general population of Alonissos, a non-profit line island in Greece (i.e., with scarce boat transportation to the mainland). In this cross-sectional study, 236 inhabitants of Alonissos participated (circa 10% of the island’s population), and 115 males and 121 females were evaluated with appropriate questionnaires for OSAS, COPD, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet and subsequently underwent spirometry testing to establish COPD diagnosis. The self-reported prevalence of OSAS and COPD was 9.44% and 18.8%, respectively. However, only 8.99% of the participants were diagnosed with COPD based on their spirometry testing. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet was moderate. The high prevalence of COPD and OSAS in this underprivileged island in terms of healthcare access highlights the need for improvements in health promotion and primary healthcare provision in non-profit line Greek islands.

Healthcare access and a high quality of the provided services to healthcare users are fundamental human rights according to the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978. Although 45 years have passed since then, health inequalities still exist, not only among countries but also within populations of the same country. For example, several small Greek islands have only a small Primary Healthcare Center in order to provide healthcare services to the insular population. In the current study, we investigated the level of self-reported overall, dental and mental health status and the level of satisfaction regarding the access to and the quality of the healthcare services provided by the Primary Healthcare center of Alonissos, along with registering the requirements for transportation to the mainland in order to receive such services. In this questionnaire-based cross-sectional study, 235 inhabitants of the remote Greek island of Alonissos that accounts for nearly 9% of the population participated (115 males and 120 females). The self-reported overall health status was reported to be moderate to very poor at a percentage of 31.49%, and the results were similar for dental and self-reported mental health status. Although nearly 60% of the participants reported very good/good quality of the healthcare provision, only 37.45% reported that the access to healthcare was very good/good, while around 94% had at least one visit to the mainland in order to receive proper healthcare services. Strategies for improving access to healthcare services need to be placed in remote Greek islands like Alonissos.

Introduction: OSAS is a chronic disease with high morbidity however, studies indicate that OSAS is currently under-diagnosed and underestimated in the general population. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of OSAS in the municipality of Thessaly, Greece, and the level of awareness of both the disease and its diagnosis. Methods: 204 participants from the area of Thessaly (67 men and 137 women) were studied by means of questionnaires via a telephone-randomized survey (39% of the total responders wished to take part in the survey). This consisted of three parts: a) the Berlin questionnaire for evaluation of OSAS risk, b) the evaluation of daytime sleepiness by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and c) awareness regarding the disease, its diagnosis and demographic with anthropometric data. Results: OSAS had a prevalence of 26.03%, and the percentage of people who were at high risk of daytime sleepiness was 6.37%. No significant difference was found between high and low risk OSAS participants associated with age, smoking and severity of smoking. Regarding the awareness of the community about OSAS, the majority of the sample was aware of the syndrome (63%), while a significantly less number of participants were aware about the diagnosis and polysomnography (p<0.01). Conclusions: There is a moderate percentage of the general population of Thessaly in high risk for OSAS. A lower number of participants were aware of OSAS diagnosis compared to those aware of the OSAS.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is a chronic disease that is underdiagnosed in the community and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disease with increasing mortality worldwide. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of OSAS and COPD in the municipality of Alonnisos, Greece. Methods: 234 participants from the area of Alonnisos, 115 men (55.76 ±18.5 years) and 121 women (52.80 ±16.53 years) were studied by means of three questionnaires: a) the Berlin questionnaire (BQ) for evaluation of OSAS risk, b) the evaluation of daytime sleepiness by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and c) the COPD Population Screener awareness for COPD risk assessment. Results: Prevalence of OSA was 27,04% (men: 29,8%, women: 24,36%), and the percentage of people who were at high risk of daytime sleepiness was 27,54% (men: 33%, women: 22,5%). The percentage of people who were found to be at high risk at both OSAS and sleepiness was 9,44%. The population at high risk for COPD was 18,8% (men: 23%, women: 17,6%). No significant difference was found between high and low risk OSAS and COPD participants associated with gender. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that there is a significant part of the population in high risk both for OSAS and COPD and highlight the importance of establishment of health promotion programs to remote insular island Greek regions.

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic disease with increasing mortality worldwide. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between COPD risk and demographic, habitual and dietary factors in the general population of Alonnisos island in Greece. Methods: 189 participants from Alonnisos island, 101 men (54.64 ±17.71 years) and 88 women (51.43 ±15.78 years) underwent spirometry and were assessed by means of three questionnaires: a) the COPD Population Screener (COPD-PS) for evaluation of COPD risk, b) the Test Your Memory questionnaire for evaluation of cognitive performance, c) The Mediterranean Diet Score for evaluation of dietary habits. Results: Prevalence of COPD was 8.99%. Significant difference was found between the spirometry tests with pathological findings and those with normal values associated with age (p=0.0208) and smoking severity (p=0.0364). No statistically significant difference was found in the same analysis between gender (p>0.9999), BMI (p= 0.2368) and adherence to Mediterranean Diet (p= 0.6614). The comparison of the COPD-PS with the Spirometry tests showed a Positive Predictive Value of 29% and Negative Predictive Value of 82%. Conclusions: Our results in the isolated population of Alonnisos island do not align with the published literature regarding the correlation of dietary and habitual factors with COPD risk. Regarding the COPD-PS questionnaire, the predictive values that were found from the comparison of the questionnaire’s results with the Spirometry tests are similar to those of published literature.