Charalampos Depastas | Hellenic Mediterranean University (original) (raw)

Papers by Charalampos Depastas

The epidemiology of autism spectrum disorder and factors contributing to the increase in its prevalence, 2022

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder which has attracte... more Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder which has attracted the interest of researchers in many scientific fields. The prevalence of a disease or a disorder is important for healthcare and socioeconomic reasons. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), currently, 1 in 160 children is born with ASD (0.63%), possibly a conservative estimate, as many studies have reported a prevalence higher than 1%. Even so, the WHO rate is approximately 14 times higher than that reported in the first epidemiological study on ASD, which was conducted in the UK 50 years ago. It is currently estimated that approximately 60 million people worldwide have ASD. Diagnosis and documentation of these individuals is challenging, due to the nature of the disorder and its broad spectrum. Many countries have no epidemiological data on ASD and several epidemiological studies on ASD record significant methodological limitations, but the currently available data indicate that the prevalence of ASD has risen over the years. The interpretation of this trend remains uncertain, but several factors have been documented that may have contributed to this apparent increase, including revision of the diagnostic criteria, overdiagnosis, scientific advances, accessibility to services, increase in social awareness, and improvement in the methodology applied in the epidemiological studies, in addition to environmental and other factors.

ABSTRACT Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Today it has obser... more ABSTRACT Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Today it has observed a continuing and rapid increase in its prevalence. Autism increase, in combination with unknown factors that cause it, so far, has drawn the interest of several researchers (from different scientific fields). It could be characterized as a multiple-factors disorder. In recent decades, many researchers have implicated mainly environmental, chemical, genetic, hereditary, and biological factors. The present article focuses on environmental factors that their exposure causes irreversible brain damages (toxicity) - autism. Some of these factors are (mainly) mercury, brominated, thalidomide, misoprostol, valproic acid, chloropiryfos, ethanol etc. However, according to literature review, it has not been proved a direct correlation with the factors which have been implicated for autism disorder. As a result, the question "what causes autism" is still unanswered. Today, diagnostic criteria, early diagnosis, methods for autistic education and medication (under circumstances) are continuously improving.

ABSTRACT The Hellenic psychiatric reform has constituted the trigger... more ABSTRACT The Hellenic psychiatric reform has constituted the trigger for the de-institutionalization and outpatient treatment of the mentally ill. Until the end of the 20th century, conditions in the inadequate national network of mental health services had been inappropriate. In 1981, the year that Greece joined the European Union, the member-states encouraged Greece to make fundamental changes by modernising the sector of mental health. The purpose would be to create a national reform programme for establishing community psychiatry, closing the country's psychiatric hospitals and deinstitutionalizing long-term mental patients. This project was designed and financed by the European Union and the Greek Ministry of Health. This review focuses on the content and implementation of the Hellenic psychiatric reform and of the national programme "Psychargos". Through the years, the existing structures providing mental health services have been modernised and many new ones have emerged. The Ministry of Health, however, making an account of the planning for years 1984-2009 notes that focus was primarily given to releasing mental patients from psychiatric hospitals rather than developing community structures. Despite the problems that psychiatry reformation has to face, and in spite of the considerable work accomplished, the service network remains in adequate.

ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ Ιστορικά, η οικονομική κρίση που πλήττει μια χώρα έχει ως συνέπεια την αύξηση των κοινων... more ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ Ιστορικά, η οικονομική κρίση που πλήττει μια χώρα έχει ως συνέπεια την αύξηση των κοινωνικών της προβλημάτων. Η αρνητική επίδραση της οικονομικής κρίσης σε κομβικούς κοινωνικούς τομείς όπως είναι τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα, η δημοκρατία και η κοινωνική ειρήνη εν γένει, φέρνει ως συνέπεια τη μείωση της σωματικής και της ψυχικής υγείας καθώς επίσης και της ποιότητας ζωής των πολιτών. Από την άλλη, αυξάνει την νοσηρότητα και τη θνησιμότητα. Έρευνες σε πολλές χώρες του κόσμου που βίωσαν και βιώνουν τις συνέπειες της κοινωνικοοικονομικής κρίσεως αναδεικνύουν καθολικά τα αρνητικά αποτελέσματα που προκαλούν στις ανθρώπινες κοινωνίες. Η φτωχοποίηση, η ανεργία και το αίσθημα της ανασφάλειας βρίσκονται στον πυρήνα των συνεπειών, επηρεάζοντας σε μεγάλο βαθμό την υγεία και δη την ψυχική υγεία των πολιτών τους. Το 2010, λόγω των μεγάλων οικονομικών ελλειμμάτων και των χρεών της, η Ελλάδα ζητά επισήμως την οικονομική στήριξή της από το Διεθνές Νομισματικό Ταμείο (Δ.Ν.Τ). Αποτέλεσμα αυτού, οι μεγάλες διαρθρωτικές αλλαγές και περικοπές στα δημόσια έξοδα. Μειώσεις μισθών, απολύσεις, μειώσεις θέσεων εργασίας και χρηματοδοτήσεων, δημιουργούν άμεσα μια νέα πραγματικότητα. Η χώρα οδηγείται σε βαθιά κρίση ετών με συνέπειες παρόμοιες των χωρών που έχουν πληγεί διαχρονικά από κοινωνικοοικονομική κρίση.

Archives of Hellenic Medicine, 2015

OBJECTIVE Investigation of the mental health of mental health professionals working in non-govern... more OBJECTIVE Investigation of the mental health of mental health professionals working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) included in the Greek National Program “Psychargos” during the period of economic crisis, and impact analysis of their wages cash flow. METHOD The study was conducted on 121 mental health professionals from 14 NGOs in Attica using the internationally accepted General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). This questionnaire explores the presence of mental disorders based on the following four scales: (a) Physical problems, (b) stress, (c) depression, and (d) social functioning. Additional socioeconomic-demographic questions were added, covering the financial status and payment delays. RESULTS The majority of the participating professionals were women (95, 78.5%), and they were mainly single, with an average age of 33 years. Their average duration of employment in their National Program Units was 50 months. They were owed on the average 4.5 monthly salaries, with a maximum salary delay over the last 3 years reaching 7.27 on average. According to the responses on the GHQ, 63.6% of the sample showed possible indications of mental illness. The factors found associated with this were longer duration of work in the Units and a greater number of salaries owed at the time of questioning. Significant correlation was found between a lower family income and a higher number of overdue salaries over the last three years. CONCLUSIONS The mental health of NGO mental health professionals working in the National Program “Psychargos” has been negatively affected by the difficulties caused by the socio-economic crisis in their Units and specifically on the payroll. This phenomenon constitutes a public health risk, as a sharp increase in mental illness and of the demand for mental health services is observed under the current social-economic conditions in Greece.

Rostrum of Asclepius, 2018

The Hellenic psychiatric reform has constituted the trigger for the de-institutionalization and o... more The Hellenic psychiatric reform has constituted the trigger for the de-institutionalization and outpatient treatment of the mentally ill. Until the end of the 20th century, conditions in the inadequate national network of mental health services had been inappropriate. In 1981, the year that Greece joined the European Union, the member-states encouraged Greece to make fundamental changes by modernising the sector of mental health. The purpose would be to create a national reform programme for establishing community psychiatry, closing the country's
sychiatric hospitals and deinstitutionalizing long-term mental patients. This project was designed and financed by the European Union and the Greek Ministry of Health. This review focuses on the content and implementation of the Hellenic psychiatric reform and of the national programme “Psychargos”. Through the years, the existing structures providing mental health services have been modernised and many new ones have emerged. The Ministry of Health, however, making an account of the planning for years 1984-2009 notes that focus was primarily given to releasing mental patients from psychiatric hospitals rather than developing community structures. Despite the problems that psychiatry reformation has to face, and in spite of the considerable work accomplished, the service network remains in adequate.

Rostrum of Asclepius, 2017

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Today it has observed a continuing and rapid increase in... more Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Today it has observed a continuing and rapid increase in its prevalence. Autism increase, in combination with unknown factors that cause it, so far, has drawn the interest of several researchers (from different scientific fields). It could be characterized as a multiple-factors disorder. In recent decades, many researchers have implicated mainly environmental, chemical, genetic, hereditary, and biological factors. The present article focuses on environmental factors that their exposure causes irreversible brain damages (toxicity)-autism. Some of these factors are (mainly) mercury, brominated, thalidomide, misoprostol, valproic acid, chloropiryfos, ethanol etc. However, according to literature review, it has not been proved a direct correlation with the factors which have been implicated for autism disorder. As a result, the question "what causes autism" is still unanswered. Today, diagnostic criteria, early diagnosis, methods for autistic education and medication (under circumstances) are continuously improving.

Rostrum of Asclepius, 2019

Historically, the economic crisis affecting a country has led to an increase of social problems. ... more Historically, the economic crisis affecting a country has led to an increase of social problems. The negative impact of the economic crisis on crucial social sectors such as human rights, democracy and social peace in general, has had a compromising effect both on physical and mental health, as well as on the quality of life of citizens and, on the other hand, has augmented unhealthiness and mortality. Research in various countries all over the word which have experienced, and still experience the consequences of economic crisis, has clearly shown the negative impact of socioeconomic crises on human societies. Povertisation, unemployment and a sense of insecurity are at the core of these consequences, greatly affecting the citizens' health, including their mental health no less. In 2010, in light of its considerable economic deficiencies and indebtedness, Greece officially requested the support of the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F). This resulted in great structural changes and reductions in public expenses. Salary cuts, redundancies, reduction of employment positions and financing are giving rise to a new reality. The country is entering a deep long-term crisis, with results similar to countries impacted by socioeconomic crises over the years.

The epidemiology of autism spectrum disorder and factors contributing to the increase in its prevalence, 2022

Archives of Hellenic Medicine, 2015

Rostrum of Asclepius, 2018

Rostrum of Asclepius, 2017

Rostrum of Asclepius, 2019