This study was conducted to determine if the acute: chronic workload ratio (ACWR) is related to the incidence of non-contact injuries. The purpose is to compare the external load of injured and non-injured soccer players with the same characteristics, such as position and age. The present analysis considers both the four and the two weeks preceding an injury. Physical characteristics were recorded and analyzed through global positioning systems (GPS) evaluation over one season of 24 competitive microcycles, 144 training sessions, and 32 matches in a total of 35 professional soccer players from the Greek Super League 1 and Super League 2. The loads calculated were total distance (TD), 15–20 km/h, 20–25 km/h, 25–30 km/h, accelerations (ACC) > 2.5 m/s², and decelerations (DEC) > 2.5 m/s²). Nine injured athletes exceeded the critical threshold of an ACWR > 1.3 several times compared with non-injured athletes that did not reach this level. The present study showed that ACWR is related to a subsequent occurrence of injury but that the threshold of an ACWR can vary. This seems to be mainly influenced by assessing the load of the last two weeks compared with that of the four weeks before the injury.

Background/Objectives: Dietary recommendations are an essential part of guidelines for the best management of chronic cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to validate the Greek version of Cardiovascular Diet Questionnaire 2 (CDQ-2) and to assess the dietary habits among cardiovascular patients. Methods: A single-center cross-sectional observational study was conducted. The study population was cardiovascular patients that were users of a private primary healthcare clinic. The data were collected between December 2024 and January 2025. The questionnaire was translated from French, back-translated, and reviewed by a committee of experts. The MEDAS was used as a gold standard. The psychometric measurements that were performed included reliability coefficients and Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA). Results: The total sample comprised 90 individuals. The Cronbach’s α was 0.97. A bivariate Pearson’s correlation established that there was a strong, statistically significant linear relationship between the CDQ-2 and MEDAS scores, with r(90) = 0.962 and p < 0.001. Cardiovascular patients seemed to have suboptimal dietary patterns, as indicated by the relatively low mean CDQ-2 score of 2.9 (SD = 17.2), along with a mean MEDAS score of 8 (SD = 5.2), where younger individuals (p < 0.001), males (p = 0.042), single/divorced/widowed individuals (p < 0.001), individuals with lower physical activity (p = 0.001), and active smokers (p = 0.022) demonstrated significantly poorer adherence to the optimal cardiovascular dietary status. Conclusions: The survey indicated that CDQ-2 was a valid and reliable scale to use in cardiovascular patients in Greece. Also, the patients were characterized by suboptimal dietary habits, indicating the need for personalized interventions to improve their dietary habits.

Background/Objectives: Depressive and anxiety syndromes are associated with elevated disability and are more prevalent in women. Data on the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in the rural context are limited and contradictory. It is relevant to study common mental disorders in rural areas in the most vulnerable population of women, particularly in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in two primary healthcare sites in the rural region of Farsala, Central Greece after the obviation of all restrictive measures that had been posed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All consecutive female patients that attended the study sites for any non-emergent reason were asked to participate in the study. For the recording of symptoms of depression and anxiety, the self-reported Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was used. Results: The study sample consisted of 129 women. The majority of participants were >50 years, with 27.9% being older adults. A small percentage (13.2%) suffered a chronic physical disease. A large proportion of the sample, slightly exceeding 40%, reported clinically relevant symptoms of anxiety, whereas a lower percentage of women with depressive symptoms was detected (17.1%). Symptoms of anxiety and depression were found to be interrelated, while a number of sociodemographic variables were associated with both, such as older age, education (primary), living status (alone, OR 123.5; 95% CI: 7.3–2098.8 for anxiety; OR 3.5; 95% CI: 1.3–9.8 for depression), employment (not working, (OR 0.157; 95% CI: 0.06–0.41 for anxiety; OR 0.08; 95% CI: 0.01–0.62 for depression) and the history of a chronic disease (OR 33.8; 95% CI: 4.3–264.7 for anxiety; OR 37.2; 95% CI: 10–138.1 for depression). Self-rated financial status was not related to symptoms of anxiety or depression. Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of inquiring for symptoms of depression and anxiety in women attending the rural primary care setting. The use of valid and reliable self-reported instruments that are easy to administrate may be helpful in this regard.

Background/Objectives: Dietary recommendations are an essential part of guide-lines for the best management of cardiovascular chronic diseases. The present study aimed to validate the Greek version of Cardiovascular Diet Questionnaire 2 (CDQ-2) and to assess dietary habits among cardiovascular patients. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted. The study population was cardio-vascular patients, users of a private Primary Health Care clinic. The data was collected between December 2024 and January 2025. The questionnaire was translated from French, back-translated, and reviewed by a committee of experts. The MEDAS was used as a gold standard. The psychometric measurements that were performed in-cluded reliability coefficients and Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA). Results: The to-tal sample comprised 90 individuals. The Cronbach’s α was 0.97. A bivariate Pearson's correlation established that there was a strong, statistically significant linear relation-ship between CDQ-2 and MEDAS scores, r(90) = 0.962, p < 0.001. Cardiovascular pa-tients seem to have suboptimal dietary patterns as indicated by the relatively low mean CDQ-2 score of 2.9 (SD = 17.2), along with a mean MEDAS score of 8 (SD = 5.2), with younger (p< 0.001), males (p=0.042), single/divorced/widowed (p< 0.001), individ-uals with lower physical activity (p=0.001), and active smokers (p=0.022) demonstrat-ing significantly poorer adherence to the optimal cardiovascular dietary status. Con-clusions: The survey indicates that the CDQ-2 is a valid and reliable scale to use in cardiovascular patients in Greece. Also, patients are characterized by suboptimal die-tary habits, indicating the need for personalized interventions to improve their dietary habits.