IPAQ-Gr was tested against exercise capacity and showed acceptable validity properties in Greek young adults. Total and vigorous weekly PA expenditure were well associated with exercise capacity, presenting significant validity correlations against maximal treadmill time.

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Introduction:The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between resting blood pressure (BP), smoking, physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) in Greek young adults.Materials and Methodology:A standardised questionnaire and the Greek version of IPAQ-short were given to 1500 randomly selected health science students, in order to record smoking behaviour, PA status, BMI and resting BP. All healthy young adults aged 19-30 years old were eligible. The final size of the study cohort was 1249 students (522 men).Results:Males’ BP was 129.2/77.0 mmHg, significantly higher than the females’ values of 119.9/73.4 mmHg. Approximately 17% of the total population were classified as overweight and 3% as obese. In the overall population, smoking prevalence was 35.2%, with 15.3% being heavy smokers (≥21 cigs/d). Smoking prevalence did not differ significantly between sexes. The prevalence of health-enhancing PA (high PAclass) was only 14.0%, while 42.8% of the study population were classified as insufficiently active (low PAclass). Of the three lifestyle risk factors examined, only BMI was significantly and directly associated with systolic and diastolic BP levels. The prevalence of hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg) was significantly higher in men compared to women, and in obese and overweight participants compared to normal-weight subjects. Smoking and categorical PA (PAclass) were not correlated with BP. Continuous vigorous PAscore was significantly and directly associated with systolic BP, but only in males.Conclusion:BMI was significantly and directly associated with resting BP in both sexes. Smoking prevalence and PA status were not associated with BP in this sample of Greek young adults.

Chronic smoking was found to affect young male smokers' cardiovascular fitness, impairing the economy and decreasing the capacity of their circulatory system.

Background: Epidemiological studies have provided information on the prevalence and risk factors of low back pain (LBP) in white collar workers in industrialized countries. Little information has related individual, work ergonomic, and psychosocial factors to the incidence of LBP in low income countries. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of LBP among Greek public office workers. To identify and relate the individual, work ergonomic, and psychosocial factors to the occurrence of LBP. Design: Cross-sectional study of Greek office workers in the public sector. Methods: A self-reported standardized questionnaire was constructed to record risk factors associated with the occurrence of LBP. Personal characteristics, work ergonomics, and psychosocial traits were collected and related to LBP prevalence. Results: Of the 771 office workers, 648 responded (84% return rate). The majority of the participants were women (75.8%). Among all responders, 33%, 37.8%, 41.8%, and 61.6% presented with point, one-year, two-year, and lifetime prevalence respectively. Sleep disturbances due to pain were reported in 37% of the office clerks with chronic low back pain. Multiple logistic regression models have revealed that significant determinants for predicting LBP occurrence are age, gender, body mass index, body distance from computer screen, adjustable back support, clerk body position while sitting, sitting time of greater than 6 hours, job satisfaction, repetitive work, and anger during last 30 days. Conclusion: High proportions of Greek office workers suffer from LBP which might affect the Greek economy. The incidence of LBP status is significantly associated with some anthropometric, ergonomic, and psychosocial factors. Key words: Office workers, risk factors, low back pain, epidemiology

Introduction: This study explored the psychometric properties of the modified Harris Hip Score-Greek version (mHHS-Gr) as a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure in osteoarthritic hip patients. Methods: Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and reproducibility were evaluated in 90 patients aged >55 years. Construct validity was tested against Greek versions of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS-Greek) and WOMAC Index (WOMAC-Gr), and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) and 9-stairs-ascend/descend (9S-A/D) tests. Known-groups validity was examined using TUG score (cut-off 13.5 s) as an estimate variable. Responsiveness was examined before and 4 weeks after direct anterior minimal invasive surgery. Results: Reliability: Internal consistency was moderate (Cronbach’s a = 0.614, p < 0.001). Test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.881, 95% CI, 0.824–0.920). Reproducibility: Floor and ceiling effects were both 1.1%; measurement error was 3.54 ( p < 0.05); minimal important change was lower than minimal detectable change. Validity: mHHS-Gr correlated strongly with both LEFS-Greek and WOMAC-Gr (Pearson’s r 0.801 and −0.783, respectively; p < 0.001). The questionnaire’s correlations with TUG and 9S-A/D were also significant but moderate (Spearman’s ρ: −0.547 and −0.575, respectively; p < 0.001). Known-groups validity showed that mHHS-Gr scores were significantly higher in participants with TUG < 13.5 seconds than in those with TUG > 13.5 seconds ( p < 0.001). In ROC analysis, the cut-off point of 52.5 yielded sensitivity 81% and specificity 71%. Responsiveness: Standardised response mean and Guyatt’s responsiveness statistic were greater than 0.8. Discussion: mHHS-Gr showed significant moderate to excellent reliability, significant moderate to strong validity properties and excellent responsiveness. Overall, mHHS-Gr could be a reliable and valid PRO measure for assessing patients with osteoarthritis of the hip.

Following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery significant quadriceps muscle strength deficit (QD) usually for up to 20% compared with the uninjured knee in the first 4 weeks has been reported. [1][2][3][4] And, preoperative quadriceps strength (QS) has been found as one of the important predictors for knee function for as long as 2 years after ACL reconstruction. 5-7However, so far, there is no agreement as to what is the ideal treatment for postoperative quadriceps weakness for individuals after ACL reconstruction.Quadriceps muscle activity causes anterior tibia translation between 20 and 60 degrees of knee flexion 8,9 and this is closely related to the increased ACL strain levels at these angles. 10-12 Thus, the fact that QD is greater at the knee range of 60 degrees 10-13 following ACL reconstruction, might be attributed to the interrelation between quadriceps activity and ACL strain levels following the operation graft technique. These findings seem to justify the specific focus of the exercise rehabilitation program at 60 degrees of motion, in the early Keywords ► cross-education ► bilateral training ► quadriceps deficit ► eccentric exercise ► anterior cruciate ligament AbstractA few studies concerning the improvement of quadriceps muscle strength deficit (QD) at an early stage following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction have been conducted whereas, ACL rehabilitation protocols based on contralateral quadriceps strength (QS) do not exist. Given these, the goals of our study were (1) to evaluate the effects of cross-eccentric exercise (CEE) on QD on ACL reconstructed knees, and (2) to explore any changes in QD following CEE provided at the frequencies of 3 or 5 times per week. For this study, 42 ACL-reconstructed patients were randomly assigned into 3 groups, two experimental and one control and followed an 8-week rehabilitation program. Additionally, the experimental groups received CEE for 3 and 5 days per week for 8 weeks in their uninjured knees. QS was evaluated with an isokinetic/isometric test, at 60 degrees of knee flexion of both limbs before and after completion of CEE. Twofactor ANOVA showed a significant improvement of QD between groups (F ¼ 5.16, p ¼ 0.01) after CEE completion on ACL reconstructed knees. Statistically significant results arose from the 3 days per week (D ¼ 18.60, p ¼ 0.01) and 5 days per week (D ¼ 15.12, p ¼ 0.04) experimental groups, whereas the control group did not yield any statistically significant differences. CEE used as an adjunct to the ACL traditional rehabilitation program at the weekly frequencies of 3 and 5 times at the early stage of reconstruction significantly improved QD.

This observational study aimed to examine the clinimetric properties of the Greek for Greece translation of the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC(®)). One hundred and twenty-three patients with knee osteoarthritis (mean age 69.5 years) participated in the study. An extensive reliability study was carried out to assess WOMAC's internal consistency and repeatability (8-day interval). In addition, we examined the construct (convergent, nomological and known-groups) and criterion-related (concurrent and predictive) validity of the index against both self-report [SF-36 and combined visual analog/faces pain scale-revised (VAS/FPS-R)] and physical performance measures [timed up and go test (TUG)]. The internal consistency of the WOMAC subscales ranged from high (0.804) to excellent (0.956). Intra-class correlation coefficients for test-retest reliability were excellent, ranging from 0.91 to 0.95. Partial correlation analysis, adjusted for age and use of an assistive device, showed that WOMAC scores were significantly associated with all validation criteria, presenting fair to strong (-0.33 to -0.86) correlation coefficients. WOMAC-function was strongly associated with SF36-function (-0.86) and TUG (0.71), WOMAC-pain to VAS/FPS-R (0.71) and SF36-pain (-0.67). Of all WOMAC outcomes, stiffness subscale had the lowest, though still significant, correlations with all validation criteria. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that WOMAC-function was a significant factor for TUG, WOMAC-pain for VAS/FPS-R and both for SF36-function and SF36-pain. The WOMAC LK3.1 Greek for Greece Index is a reliable and valid assessment tool for the evaluation of individuals with knee osteoarthritis, showing excellent reliability and significant validity properties.