Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is a chronic disease that significantly increases morbidity and mortality of the affected population. There is lack of data concerning the OSAS prevalence in the insular part of Greece. The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-reported prevalence of OSAS in 4 Greek insular complexes comprising 41 islands, and to assess the awareness of the population regarding OSAS and its diagnosis. Our study comprised 700 participants from 41 islands of the Ionian, Cyclades, Dodecanese and Northeast Aegean island complexes that were studied by means of questionnaires via a telephone randomized survey (responsiveness rate of 25.74%). Participants were assessed by the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) for evaluation of OSA risk, by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for evaluation of excessive daytime sleepiness, and by 3 questions regarding the knowledge and diagnosis of OSAS. The percentage of participants at high risk according to BQ was 27.29% and the percentage of people who were at high risk according to ESS was 15.43%. A percentage of 6.29% of the population was at high risk for OSAS (high risk both in BQ and ESS). A high percentage of 73.43%, were aware of OSAS as a syndrome however a significantly less percentage (28.00%) was aware of how a diagnosis of OSAS is established. The community prevalence of OSAS in Greek islands in combination with the low-level awareness of the OSAS diagnostic methods highlights the need for development of health promotion programs aiming at increasing the detection of patients at risk while increasing the awareness of OSAS.

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.

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