| 1. |
- Petridou, E, et al.
(författare)
-
Are traffic injuries disproportionally more common among tourists in Greece? Struggling with incomplete data
- 1999
-
Ingår i: Accident Analysis and Prevention. - 0001-4575 .- 1879-2057. ; 31:6, s. 611-615
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Data concerning injury hazards among tourists are difficult to obtain because estimates of person-time denominators are rarely available. Existing sources are limited to enumeration of injured or killed persons by nationality and type of injury and the analysis can only rely on proportional indicators. Since 1995, the Regional Hospital in the tourist island of Kerkyra (Corfu) has been covering all types of accidents including road traffic injuries, in the context of the Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS). The catchment area of this hospital practically coincides with the island population. About 15% of all accidents are traffic-related among either permanent residents or Greek tourists, but they represent 40% among tourists of foreign nationalities. This is suggestive, but far from conclusive evidence, that traffic injuries may be more common among foreign tourists. There are indications that accidents among foreign tourists overall are slightly more serious. Among Greek tourists, the ratio between peak and non-peak period is similar for non-traffic injuries (7.4) and traffic injuries (6.8), whereas among foreign tourists the corresponding ratio is 9.2 for non traffic injuries and 15.0 for traffic injuries. This pattern is difficult to explain in terms other than an excess risk of traffic injuries among foreign tourists.
|
|
| 2. |
- Petridou, E, et al.
(författare)
-
Car restraints and seating position for prevention of motor vehicle injuries in Greece
- 1998
-
Ingår i: Archives of Disease in Childhood. - 0003-9888 .- 1468-2044. ; 78:4, s. 335-339
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The protective effect of child restraint and the relative safety of front and rear seating in a population where children often travel unrestrained was assessed in a population based case-control study. The cases were all 129 children aged 0-11 years injured as car passengers in a motor vehicle accident who contacted, during 1996, one of the two major children's hospitals in Athens; emergency cases are accepted by the two hospitals on alternate days throughout the year, thus generating a random sample of children injured as car passengers. The prevalence of the studied exposures in the study base was estimated from an inspection survey comprising a random sample of 191 children of the same age who travelled in passenger cars. The survey was conducted by medical staff from our centre in collaboration with the road traffic police. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated after adjustment for confounding factors through the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. The OR for injury was 3.3 among unrestrained children compared with restrained children (comparison essentially limited to children aged 0-4 years) and 5.0 for children seated in the front compared with those seated in the rear (comparison essentially limited among unrestrained children). Protective effect estimates derived from this analytical study suggest that in Greece about two thirds of all childhood injuries from car crashes could have been avoided through the regular use of a proper child restraint. The data also indicate that, in the absence of a child restraint system, a rear seating position conveys substantial protection and could explain the low mortality of children as car passengers in Greece, a country which is characterised by a high overall road traffic mortality as well as a high childhood accident mortality.
|
|
| 3. |
- Petridou, E, et al.
(författare)
-
Effectiveness of a comprehensive multisector campaign to increase seat belt use in the greater Athens area, Greece. Hellenic Road Traffic Police Department.
- 1999
-
Ingår i: American Journal of Public Health. - 0090-0036 .- 1541-0048. ; 89:12, s. 1861-1863
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES:This study assessed the effectiveness of a comprehensive campaign to increase seat belt use in Athens.METHODS:In 1996 a survey focusing on seat belt use was undertaken among occupants of 1400 passenger cars. From October 1997 to June 1998 the campaign was implemented; during the campaign, seat belt law enforcement was not intensified. In 1998 another inspection survey of 2250 cars was undertaken.RESULTS:The program brought only a 6% increase in compliance, but there was an estimated gain of about 50 averted deaths and 1500 averted injuries.CONCLUSIONS:An intensive campaign to increase seat belt use, conducted in the absence of increased law enforcement, resulted in moderate gains.
|
|
| 4. |
- Petridou, E, et al.
(författare)
-
Insulin-like growth factor-I and binding protein-3 in relation to childhood leukaemia
- 1999
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Cancer. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 80:4, s. 494-496
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aetiology of most cases of childhood leukaemia remains unknown, but several studies have indicated that increased birthweight and height are risk factors for the disease. Since insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) mediates the effect of growth hormone and has been positively associated with prostate cancer, we have evaluated the role of this hormone and its principal binding protein, IGFBP-3, in the aetiology of childhood leukaemia. Incident cases of childhood leukaemia from those recorded by a national network of childhood oncologists were enrolled in our study. Controls were children hospitalised for acute conditions of no more than moderate severity with matching for gender, age and maternal place of residence. Blood measurements of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 were undertaken using commercially available radioimmunoassays. Serum IGF-I values decreased by about 1.7% per month, and the rate of decline was higher, though not significantly so, among cases (2.1% per month) than among controls (1.4%). There was no significant association between IGF-I and the likelihood of childhood leukaemia, but an increment of 1 microg/ml of IGFBP-3 was associated with a substantial and statistically significant reduction of childhood leukaemia by 28% (95% confidence interval 7% to 45%). Because IGFBP-3 is essentially a binding protein, we interpret our findings as indicating that bioavailable IGF-I may play an important role in the aetiology of childhood leukaemia. The much smaller quantities and the inherent instability of IGF-I in the blood in comparison to those of IGFBP-3 are likely to hinder documentation of an underlying positive association of IGF-I with the disease.
|
|
| 5. |
- Skalkidou, Alkistis, et al.
(författare)
-
Risk of upper limb injury in left handed children : a study in Greece
- 1999
-
Ingår i: Injury Prevention. - 1353-8047 .- 1475-5785. ; 5:1, s. 68-71
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES:To investigate whether left handed children are at increased risk for injuries, particularly upper limb injuries.SETTING:Athens, Greece, during a six month period in 1995-96.METHODS:Cases were 129 children 4-14 years old with unintentional upper limb injuries from a population based injury database. Two control children matched for gender and age were selected from among those seen at the same medical institution for minor, non-injury ailments. On the basis of information provided by the children and their guardians, sociodemographic variables were recorded, hand preference was assessed, and each child's activity score was calculated through an abbreviated version of Achenbach's scale.RESULTS:Left handed children have a moderately increased upper limb injury risk with a tendency of recurrence of this injury. The risk of upper limb injury is also raised among children of young fathers, whereas it appears to be inversely related to crowding index and activity score--three variables that were controlled for as potential confounders.CONCLUSIONS:This study provides limited support for the hypothesis that left handed children are at increased risk for injury. The excess risk, if genuine, is likely to be limited to cultural settings in which right handedness is perceived as the norm.
|
|
