An intervention program was undertaken to assess dietary habits and the impact of nutrition education among pregnant women in the rural county of Florina, northern Greece. Analysis of dietary habits, nutrient intake, hemoglobin, and serum vitamin concentrations in an intervention and control group indicated that the population was adequately nourished although nutrient intake was below recommended levels for pregnant women. Nutrition counseling was associated with improvements in dietary intake and significantly greater maternal weight gain (p less than 0.05). Mean birth weight was slightly higher in the intervention group but so was the incidence of low birth weight (4.5% vs 3.9%). The prematurity rate was marginally lower in the intervention group (p less than 0.04), as was the number of perinatal deaths (9 vs 11). The results indicate that nutrition counseling during pregnancy can improve dietary intake and maternal weight gain but the mediating influence on low frequency pregnancy outcomes is indeterminate in a population that is not nutritionally at risk.

The traditional Cretan diet has been associated with low coronary-heart-disease (CHD) mortality rates. This study reports on the prevalence of CHD risk factors among 387 Cretan bank employees. Mean cholesterol concentration has risen by 36% over 26-y; dietary intake has changed: consumption of meat, fish, and cheese has increased and consumption of bread, fruit, and potatoes has decreased. Although the percentage contribution of fat to total energy intake has decreased from 40% to 36%, there has been a reduction in monounsaturated fatty acid consumption and an increase in the consumption of saturated fatty acids whereas the consumption of polyunsaturates has not been altered. Exception for diminished physical activity, the prevalence of other risk factors (smoking, blood pressure, and body mass index) remained relatively stable over this period. These changes in the CHD risk-factor status of the Cretan urban population occurred over a period in which CHD mortality rates are reported to have increased.

Background: The aim of the present work was to investigate the relative importance of sociodemographic and physical health status factors for subjective functioning, as well as to examine the role of social support.

The seroprevalence and incidence of 10 zoonoses due to Rickettsia typhi, R. conorii, Coxiella burnetii, Burcella sp., Borrelia sp., Toxoplasma sp., Leishmania sp., Entamoeba histolytica, Echinococcus granulosus and Fasciola hepatica were studied in an animal husbandry and a farming village in Crete, Greece. The serum conversion incidence of each infectious agent was determined by testing 2 blood samples, collected in 1985 and in 1987. The surveillance was conducted using detailed transparent maps of the 2 villages studied, on which epidemiological data were interrelated to the results obtained from the serological tests. Thus the importance and spread of each infection were visualized. C. burnetii, Toxoplasma sp., R. conorii, and E. granulosus, were the most common infectious agents encountered during this study.