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Purpose: We prospectively evaluated the association between quality of plant-based diets and 10-year first fatal/non-fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence. Methods: ATTICA study was conducted in the greater metropolitan Athens area, Greece, during 2001–2002 studying men and women (aged > 18 years old) free of CVD at baseline. Follow-up CVD assessment (2011–2012) was achieved in n = 2,020 participants (n = 317 cases). Dietary assessment was based on a validated semi-quantitative paper-based food frequency questionnaire. Overall, healthful, and unhealthful plant-based dietary indices (PDI, hPDI and uPDI) were calculated through a standard published procedure. The association between plant-based indices and CVD outcome has been evaluated via Cox regression analysis. Results: The CVD event rate was 15.7% (n = 317) with a median follow-up time of 8.41 years. The highest (3rd PDI tertile) vs. lowest (1st tertile) adherence to plant-based pattern—irrespective to healthfulness of food products consumed—was inversely associated with CVD (hazard ratio (HR) 0.56; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.14, 2.25) yet the CI was wide. Ranking from 1st to 2nd and 3rd hPDI tertile the CVD event rate was 6.4%, 10.5% and 16.2%, respectively (p = 0.003). Multi-variable adjusted analysis revealed that participants assigned in 2nd and 3rd hPDI tertile had 47% (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.25–1.08) and 68% (HR 0.32; 95% CI 0.16–0.63) lower risk to develop CVD compared with their 1st tertile counterparts. Conversely, a positive association between uPDI and CVD risk was revealed in dose–response analysis (HR(per5unitsincreaseinuPDI) 1.34; 95% CI 0.95–2.37)). Conclusions: Quality of plant-based diets is important and needs to be considered, as not all plant-source foods have beneficial cardiovascular effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) is the official generic assessment instrument of WHO for disability and health. It is considered to be applicable across cultures in adult populations. The paper describes the development, cultural adaptation and validation of the Greek version of the official WHODAS 2.0, 36-item assessment schedule. The research tested the psychometric properties of this version in order to identify if it can be considered a valid and reliable instrument for measuring health and disability in the Greek population and culture. Field test studies were conducted in two hundred participants of the general population, aged over 61 years old, in a Greek Open Care Centre for the elderly. The study was carried out between July 2015 and September 2016. The linguistic adaptation of the original instrument was performed according to the most recent guidelines. Ratings of the different items were statistically analyzed to investigate the construct, criterion and concurrent validity and reliability of the instrument. Construct validity is confirmed in the Greek version of WHODAS 2.0. Concurrent validity is well established between the scores of WHODAS 2.0 and SF-36 v2. Cronbach’s α (0.673–0.901) and ICC (0.793–0.885) values indicate satisfactory reliability. The study supports the validity and reliability of the official Greek version of WHODAS 2.0, which can be used to assess effectively the quality of life and disability levels of the intended population and inform policy-making. Findings will be further tested in larger and diversified samples in subsequent parts of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging adulthood, the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood, differs demographically and is associated with the cultural and socioeconomical environment one lives in. Its key dimensions have been explored in many countries including the USA through the IDEA instrument (Reifman et al. in J Youth Dev 2(1):1-12, 2007). Five dimensions have been identified and associated with specific items. In this paper, we aim to measure the psychometric properties of the IDEA used to measure key developmental features associated with emerging adulthood in Greece. A total of 592 University Humanity and Science students, both male (29.3 %) and female (70.7 %), aged 18-30 years were asked to complete a questionnaire battery including the IDEA and a set of demographic questions. We used structural equation modeling to identify factors underlying the IDEA. We identified three factors, which we named 'Identity exploration/Feeling in-between,' 'Experimentation/Possibilities/Self-focused' and 'Negativity/Instability.' The first two factors appeared to be more prominent in our sample, while evidence of negativity and instability was limited among the study participants. Further analyses assessed the impact of demographic characteristics of participants on the above three factors. Age, gender and type of studies appeared to exert some influence on the perception of main features of emerging adulthood. Further research linking the criteria to the developmental features characterizing this distinct age group is required in order to unveil the intricacies of the phenomena of emerging adulthood in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]