BackgroundNo study in Greece has assessed so far the full range of common mental disorders using a representative sample of the population from both mainland and insular regions of the country. The aim of the present paper was to present the results of the first such study.MethodsThe study was carried out between 2009–2010 in a nationally representative sample of 4894 individuals living in private households in Greece. Common mental disorders in the past week were assessed with the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R). We also assessed alcohol use disorders (using AUDIT), smoking and cannabis use.Results14% of the population (Male: 11%, Female: 17%) was found to have clinically significant psychiatric morbidity according to the scores on the CIS-R. The prevalence (past seven days) of specific common mental disorders was as follows: Generalized Anxiety Disorder: 4.10% (95% CI: 3.54, 4.65); Depression: 2.90% (2.43, 3.37); Panic Disorder: 1.88% (1.50, 2.26); Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: 1.69% (1.33, 2.05); All Phobias: 2.79% (2.33, 3.26); Mixed anxiety-depression: 2.67% (2.22, 3.12). Harmful alcohol use was reported by 12.69% of the population (11.75, 13.62). Regular smoking was reported by 39.60% of the population (38.22, 40.97) while cannabis use (at least once during the past month) by 2.06% (1.66, 2.46). Clinically significant psychiatric morbidity was positively associated with the following variables: female gender, divorced or widowed family status, low educational status and unemployment. Use of all substances was more common in men compared to women. Common mental disorders were often comorbid, undertreated, and associated with a lower quality of life.ConclusionsThe findings of the present study can help in the better planning and development of mental health services in Greece, especially in a time of mental health budget restrictions.

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Any implementation of major health care reforms should consider seriously the role of the nursing management which formulates the substantial link between the health services and the patient.

BackgroundThe aim of the current study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Greek translation of the Short Anxiety Screening Test (SAST), for use in primary care settings. The scale consists of 10 items and is a brief clinician rating scale for the detection of anxiety disorder in older people, particularly, in the presence of depression.MethodsThe study was performed in two rural primary care settings in Crete. The sample consisted of 99 older (76 ± 6.3 years old) people, who fulfilled the participating criteria. The translation and cultural adaptation of the questionnaire was performed according to international standards. Internal consistency using the Cronbach α coefficient and test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the reliability of the tool. An exploratory factor analysis using Varimax with Kaiser normalisation (rotation method) was used to examine the structure of the instrument, and for the correlation of the items interitem correlation matrix was applied and assessed with Cronbach α.ResultsTranslation and backtranslation did not reveal any specific problems. The psychometric properties of the Greek version of the SAST scale in primary care were good. Internal consistency of the instrument was good, the Cronbach α was found to be 0.763 (P < 0.001) and ICC (95% CI) for reproducibility was found to be 0.763 (0.686 to 0.827). Factor analysis revealed three factors with eigenvalues >1.0 accounting for 60% of variance, while the Cronbach α was >0.7 for every item.ConclusionsThe Greek translation of the SAST questionnaire is comparable with that of the original version in terms of reliability, and can be used in primary healthcare research. Its use in clinical practice should be primarily as a screening tool only at this stage, with a follow-up consisting of a detailed interview with the patient, in order to confirm the diagnosis.