A. Benos

PurposeThe emotionally taxing nature of health‐care work has been increasingly recognized. In parallel, the field of work and family has been searching for more specific antecedents of both work interference with family (WFI) and family interference with work (FWI). The current study aims to examine the relationship between surface acting and hiding negative emotions with WFI and FWI among Greek health‐care professionals.Design/methodology/approachThe research is a cross‐sectional study of 180 Greek doctors and 84 nurses using self‐report measures.FindingsResults indicated that, for doctors, surface acting at work was positively related to WFI and, for nurses, surface acting at home was positively related to FWI.Research limitations/implicationsThe respondents were sampled on a convenience basis and the non‐random procedure may have introduced unmeasured selection effects. The present study is cross‐sectional and thus the postulated relationships cannot be interpreted causally.Pract...

The aim of this study was to estimate the short term consequences of job insecurity associated with a newly introduced mobility framework in Greece. In specific, the study examined the impact of job insecurity on anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic and musculoskeletal symptoms, two months after the announcement of the mobility framework. In addition the study also examined the “spill over” effects of job insecurity on employees not directly affected by the mobility framework. Personal interviews using a structured questionnaire were conducted for 36 university administrative employees awaiting repositioning, 36 coworkers not at risk, and 28 administrative employees of a local hospital not at risk. Compared to both control groups the employees in the anticipation phase of labor mobility had significantly worse scores for perceived stress, anxiety, depression, positive affect, negative affect, social support, marital discord, common somatic symptoms, and frequency of musculoskeleta...

OBJECTIVES Ensuring access to care for all patients-especially those with life-threatening and chronic conditions-during a pandemic is a challenge for all healthcare systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries faced excess mortality partly attributed to disruptions in essential healthcare services provision. This study aims to estimate the utilization of public primary care and hospital services during the COVID-19 epidemic in Greece and its potential association with excess non-COVID-19 mortality in the country. STUDY DESIGN This is an observational study. METHODS A retrospective analysis of national secondary utilization and mortality data from multiple official sources, covering the first nine months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Greece (February 26th to November 30th, 2020), was carried out. RESULTS Utilization rates of all public healthcare services during the first nine months of the epidemic dropped significantly compared to the average utilization rates of the 2017-19 control period; hospital admissions, hospital surgical procedures, and primary care visits dropped by 17.3% (95% CI: 6.6%-28.0%), 23.1% (95% CI: 7.3%-38.9%), and 24.8% (95% CI: 13.3%-36.3%) respectively. This underutilization of essential public services-mainly due to supply restrictions such as suspension of outpatient care and cancelation of elective surgeries-is most probably related to the 3778 excess non-COVID-19 deaths (representing 62% of all-cause excess deaths) that have been reported during the first 9 months of the epidemic in the country. CONCLUSIONS Greece's healthcare system, deeply wounded by the 2008-18 recession and austerity, was ill-resourced to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 epidemic. Early and prolonged lockdowns have kept COVID-19 infections and deaths at relatively low levels. However, this "success" seems to have been accomplished at the expense of non-COVID-19 patients. It is important to acknowledge the "hidden epidemic" of unmet non-COVID-19 needs and increased non-COVID-19 deaths in the country and urgently strengthen public healthcare services to address it.

L'Europe était, jusqu'il y a peu, un continent attractif grâce à sa combinaison réussie d'économies solides et de fortes protections sociales. Mais les temps changent, aujourd'hui tous les Etats sont en difficulté. Les auteurs de cet article montrent que le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres, que certains pompiers sont des pyromanes, que la misère augmente et que, heureusement, la colère gronde.

Effective treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPTH) with intravenous (i.v.) administration of calcitriol in hemodialysis patients. The current study evaluates the use of i.v. calcitriol dosing in relation to the severity of the HPTH in 35 hemodialysis patients with serum phosphate < 6.5 mg/dl. Arbitrarily, patients with plasma IPTH levels (intact PTH) between 288 and 576 pg/ml (288 pg/ml = four-fold the upper normal limit) were given initially 1 microg i.v. calcitriol at the end of each dialysis (group A, n = 15). Patients with IPTH between 577 and 864 pg/ml received 2 microg i.v. calcitriol (group B, n = 10) and patients with IPTH more than 865 pg/ml were given 3 - 4 microg i.v. calcitriol (group C, n = 10). As IPTH levels decreased, the dose of i.v. calcitriol was also decreased gradually. Patients were followed-up for 4 months after the end of calcitriol treatment. During the i.v. calcitriol treatment period, the observed plasma IPTH concentrations compared with the ba...

To investigate the risk factors associated with nosocomial acquisition of imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (IRAB) among pediatric intensive care patients. A retrospective case control study was conducted in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Cases were children in whom IRAB was isolated from any clinical specimen obtained at least 48 h following admission to PICU. Controls were children without IRAB matched to cases in 2:1 ratio. Twenty-six cases were matched with 52 controls according to the chronological order of admission. Between July 2001 and December 2003, 52 (62%) of 84 clinical A. baumannii isolates were found nonsusceptible to imipenem (MIC > or = 8 microg/ml). Demographic variables, comorbid conditions, clinical picture at admission, invasive procedures, use of antimicrobials and other drugs were analyzed as potential risk factors. Use of carbapenems and other beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, ranitidine, mechanical ventilation, central venous or urinary catheters and length of stay in PICU were among the factors significantly associated with IRAB acquisition in the univariate analysis. By multivariate analysis, however, only aminoglycoside use and length of stay in the PICU were independent risk factors. Acquisition of IRAB by PICU patients was independently associated with aminoglycoside use and prolonged stay in the unit. Studies of evaluation of infection control policies need to be pursued.

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE Although valid instruments are available for measuring the educational environment during the 6-year period of undergraduate medical study, there was no tool for measuring the end-product of the medical curriculum, i.e. the abilities of the “medical graduate”. The I CAN! questionnaire, based on the tuning-medicine project, is an instrument designed to measure this. The construction and validation of the questionnaire Greek, and graduates’ answers to the open question “if you could change one thing in your school, what would this be?” have been described elsewhere. The aim of this paper was to present how of the instrument works and the responses of medical graduates to its closed questions. METHOD The I CAN! questionnaire consists of 104 randomly arranged closed questions, based on the tuning-medicine level-two learning outcomes for undergraduate medical education in Europe, organized into 16 level-one outcomes, 12 for medical competencies and 4 for professionalism. The questionnaire was distributed to the graduates of Greek medical schools during the summer and autumn 2009 graduation. Their responses were coded (disagree absolutely=0, disagree=20, disagree moderately=40, agree moderately=60, agree=80, agree absolutely=100). The mean question, level-one outcomes and overall scores were calculated, and interpreted as: <50 very poor, 50−60.9 poor, 61−70.9 fairly poor, 71−78.9 fairly good, 79−88.9 good, 89−100 very good. RESULTS Completed questionnaires were provided by 408 graduates of 6 medical schools, representing 55% of the total graduate population: 45% male, 55% female. They were graduates of the Universities of: Athens 148 (48% of graduates), Thessaloniki 147 (71%), Thrace 38 (81%), Ioannina 12 (17%), Crete 32 (47%), and Thessaly 31 (100%). On average they self-assessed their overall ability at 74% (i.e., in the “moderately good” interpretation zone), their ability to prescribe drugs 65% and to apply evidence-based medicine 68%, being a global doctor 80% and possessing professional atributes 83%. They considered themselves weaker in specific areas: Carrying out blood transfusion (37%), requesting autopsy (52%), administering intravenous therapy and using infusion devices (55%), completing correctly a death certificate (57%), matching appropriate drugs and other treatment to the clinical context (58%), and using diagnostic and therapeutic options available through other health professions (59%). They reported strength in: messuring blood pressure (96%), carrying out electrocardiography (92%), will to succeed (92%), maintaining confidentiality (91%), recognizing their own limits and asking for help (88%). CONCLUSIONS The I CAN! self-assessment questionnaire can identify the perceived strengths and weaknesses of medical graduates, offering the basis for implementation of a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) and evidence-based educational policy. Medical schools could use the instrument to monitor progress towards competence of tomorrow’s doctors, and to assess effectiveness of policy changes. If all Εuropean medical schools were to use it on every graduate cohort, a time series database could be created to serve administrative, research and other purposes.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality among women worldwide but it is one of the most preventable cancers due to the Pap smear test. The aim of this study was to estimate the participation rate of females in screening of cervical cancer with Pap smear test. METHODS The study took place in a hospital in Rural Northern Greece during April and May 2007. Convenience sampling was performed and questionnaires were completed by 214 eligible females aged 20-64 years. RESULTS One hundred and twenty four (57.9%) of the participants had had a Pap-test at some point in their lifetime. 72 of them (33.65%) had the test performed for the first time according to current guidelines. 13.6% were unaware about the recommended onset age of the test, 16.4% did not know the proper intervals, while 22.4% did not know the recommended upper age limit. 32.6% were informed by mass media, family members and friends. The take-up rates, the source of information a...

Objectives: Ensuring access to care for all patients - especially those with life threatening and chronic conditions - during a pandemic is a challenge for all healthcare systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic many countries faced excess mortality partly attributed to disruptions in essential healthcare services provision. This study aimed to estimate the utilization of public primary care and hospital services during the COVID-19 epidemic in Greece and its potential association with excess non-COVID-19 mortality in the country. Study design: Observational study Methods: Retrospective analysis of national secondary utilization and mortality data from multiple official sources, covering the first nine months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Greece (February 26th to November 30th, 2020). Results: Utilization rates of all public healthcare services during the first nine months of the epidemic dropped significantly compared to the average utilization rates of the 2017-19 control period; hospi...

The actual European answers to the world-wide crisis are premised on the strengthening of market, mechanisms, combined with competition between countries to lower production costs, fiscal policies aimed at bailing out banks and corporations and ‘social dumping’. The inevitable consequences have been decreasing purchasing power of the population, decreasing public investments and a steady breakdown of social protection mechanisms. The dramatic public debt and the supposed ‘unsustainability’ of health and social security system is used as an argument to push for further privatization. An overview is given of the consequences of these policies in different European countries, and the case of Greece is analyzed in more depth. In order to express in practical terms a right to health in the structural adjustment era, a health system should be seen as a commons, not as a market, where priorities are set for the public good, risk is shared, and health providers are accountable to their comm...

ABSTRACT Starting in 1995, we follow for three years the 120 most important companies listed on the paris Bourse and examine the link between stock trading characteristics and different measures of earnings' surprises during annual and semi-annual public disclosures. After a short discussion of market organization and the regulation of financial disclosure in France, we assess intraday data to find analysts are overly optimistic of EPS and small companies are less analyzed than large ones. Studying further the evolution of portfolios sorted according to various unexpected earnings' criteria we find that, in some cases, there is a small pre-announcement drift. The study further reveals that there is a strong negative drift in prices before a negative EPS announcement and bad news agitate markets more than good news. More importantly, we find the market responds to a hierarchy of announcement surprises: a positive EPS is not enough to make investors bullish if it is decreasing. Even an increasing EPS is not engough if analysts' expectations are not met. Finally, prices adjust very quickly to public information but there is an imbalance between volume and trading intensity for the time necessary to settle back to their normal levels. This suggests institutional investors follow news more closely than small investors.

In this paper we present a methodology of studying the complex phenomena emerging in stock markets. This methodology is based on the use of distributed multi-agent models with minimal knowledge representation and reasoning capabilities that have proven to be a powerful modeling tool for complex biological systems. Unlike neural and “neoconnectionist” models, our models allow a comparative and incremental evaluation of their validity and relevance to the observed phenomena. The possibility of their application to the modeling and study of stock market phenomena is demonstrated on a simple example of a central agency that regulates the behavior of the investors: we show how a “blind” or myopic behavioral model reproduces results found in the literature and how the mutation of the model according to the parameters' values or the adaptation structures gives rise to a series of complex phenomena comparable to those observed in reality.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality among women worldwide but it is one of the most preventable cancers due to the Pap smear test. The aim of this study was to estimate the participation rate of females in screening of cervical cancer with Pap smear test. The study took place in a hospital in Rural Northern Greece during April and May 2007. Convenience sampling was performed and questionnaires were completed by 214 eligible females aged 20-64 years. One hundred and twenty four (57.9%) of the participants had had a Pap-test at some point in their lifetime. 72 of them (33.65%) had the test performed for the first time according to current guidelines. 13.6% were unaware about the recommended onset age of the test, 16.4% did not know the proper intervals, while 22.4% did not know the recommended upper age limit. 32.6% were informed by mass media, family members and friends. The take-up rates, the source of information and the setting where the examinatio...

To analyze the pattern of clinical expression and the 5-year disease course in Caucasian patients with late onset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to compare the findings with an early onset SLE group. Medical records of 551 patients who presented with SLE at hospitals of the region of Thessaloniki between 1989 and 2007 were studied. Patients who developed SLE at or after the age of 50 years were classified as the late onset group, while younger patients served as the early onset group. Data on clinical manifestations and damage accrual at disease onset and at 5 years was obtained and compared between the two groups. In 121 patients, the disease started after the age of 50 years. Elderly patients showed less pronounced female predominance and less often presented with malar rash, nephropathy, fever and lymphadenopathy, while lung involvement, pericarditis and sicca syndrome were more frequent. Damage accrual was similar in both groups. The main causes of damage at 5 years d...

The objective of this study was to assess the factors associated with the traffic mortality in the region of Central Macedonia in order to produce evidence in building up preventive policies. This study is a descriptive survey covering a three-year period (from 01-01-2006 to 31-12- 2008). The data used were supplied by the regional Road Traffic Police Service in Thessaloniki. A total of 280 fatal vehicle collisions were recorded in three years, in which 312 people died. 266 (85.26%) of the 312 people who died were men and 46 (14.74%) were women. The victims were between 1 and 91 years of age (mean ± SD, 42.00 ± 20.36 years). More fatal vehicle collisions were recorded on weekends and holidays than weekdays. Regarding the type of the vehicle, occupants of two-wheeled motor vehicles were in greater risk for dying compared to heavy duty vehicle passengers, who are considered to be protected by the vehicle. Among the 312 fatalities, alcohol was detected in 87 (28%) of the drivers who we...

The aim of this study was to assess the flow characteristics in ophthalmic arteries and to detect their possible relationships to those in the common and internal carotid arteries. Sixty healthy subjects (age range 20-74 years) with normal vascular findings, stratified by age and sex were recruited to the study. A colour Doppler ultrasound examination of the neck arteries was performed, followed by a colour Doppler ultrasound examination of the 120 ophthalmic arteries included. Peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity and resistance index (RI) of the common carotid, internal carotid and ophthalmic arteries, as well as the insonation depth of the ophthalmic arteries were measured. The mean values (standard deviation) of the measured parameters for the ophthalmic arteries were: insonation depth: 38.38 mm (2.60 mm), peak systolic velocity: 34.71 cm/sec (6.38 cm/sec), end diastolic velocity: 7.95 cm/sec (1.70 cm/sec), resistive index: 0.77 (0.04). The resistance index of the ophth...

Changes in female breast cancer mortality trends have been observed in recent years in western countries. The aim of the present study was to analyse breast cancer mortality in Greece, between 1980 and 2005. Time trends of breast cancer mortality were calculated per 100,000 women in the whole female population of Greece, in different age groups, and in different areas of the country. Mortality data and population age distribution were provided by the National Statistical Service of Greece. Overall, female breast cancer mortality in Greece had an increasing trend during 1980-2005. Subgroup analysis according to age showed that this increase was confined to women older than 70 years. In contrast, a mild decrease was noted after the mid-1990s in women 40-69 years old. There were no notable regional differences in breast cancer mortality. The increasing trend of breast cancer mortality in women aged 70 years and older could be attributed to limited use of secondary prevention methods and rare administration of systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy in these women. In contrast, implementation of these strategies could explain the recent reduction of breast cancer mortality in younger age groups.

The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of the most relevant clinical features of the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a sample of male patients with lupus as well as the incidence of the main causes of morbidity in a 5-year period after the diagnosis. A further aim of this study was to investigate the impact of gender on expression and morbidity of SLE. Data were collected from the medical records of 59 male and 535 female patients with SLE who were diagnosed at the hospitals in the region of Thessaloniki. Several differences in the expression and morbidity of the disease were found in relation to the gender of the patient. Male patients had a higher prevalence of thromboses, nephropathy, strokes, gastrointestinal tract symptoms and antiphospholipid syndrome when compared with female patients, but tended to present less often with arthralgia, hair loss, Raynaud's phenomenon and photosensitivity as the initial clinical manifestations. During the 5-year follow-up, positive associations have been found between male gender and the incidence of tendonitis, myositis, nephropathy and infections, particularly of the respiratory tract. In conclusion, this study has provided information regarding the features of clinical expression and morbidity in male patients, and has shown that gender is a possible factor that can influence the clinical expression of SLE.

This article reviews the history of screening in the elderly, the conditions that should be considered, whether or not screening in the elderly is of benefit, whether we should look for disability or diseases and where screening should take place. Thirteen conditions are discussed: hearing loss and anaemia in some detail. Both disability and precise diagnostic criteria are considered. The place where screening is best carried out depends on the mobility of the subject and the nature of the particular screening tests selected for the 13 conditions. The desirability of screening was assessed on the following criteria: prevalence of the condition, severity of the problem, acceptability by the patient of the screening test, false positive rate, consequences of making a false positive diagnosis, the false negative rate and the consequences of this error, the effect of treatment, the cost of the screening test and the burden on the health services produced by the screening test. The criteria were scored 1-5 on a scale defined for each assessment, with higher scores favouring screening. We provide evidence that screening may be worthwhile for: need for chiropody, varicose veins/ulcer, hearing loss, obesity, visual impairment, hypothyroidism, hypertension, anaemia and diabetes mellitus. However, the assessments discussed in this paper need to be tested prospectively in randomised controlled trials.

Thyroid nodules are a common diagnostic challenge mainly because of the need to exclude thyroid malignancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of demographic, ultrasonographic and scintigraphic findings in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid lesions in patients presenting with thyroid nodules. 941 patients, who presented with palpable thyroid nodules and underwent at least one fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), were retrospectively evaluated. The thyroid was assessed by ultrasonography (US) in 796 patients and by scintigraphy (SC) in 774 patients. The final diagnostic outcome was established after surgery (n=183) or after a minimum of one-year clinical follow-up period. Higher rates of malignancy were observed in male gender (p<0.001), in patients presenting with a solitary nodule in US (p<0.001), in nodules with maximum diameter > or =4.5 cm in US (p=0.024) and in nodules detectable by SC (p=0.006). There were no statistical differences in the rates of malignancy among cystic, solid or mixed nodules in US or among "hot", "warm" or "cold" nodules in SC. Male gender, solitary nodule and nodule diameter > or =4.5 cm can serve as adjuncts to FNAB in predicting the risk of thyroid malignancy in patients presenting with thyroid nodules.

Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNA) is a method widely used in the assessment of thyroid nodules. The main aim of this 18-year retrospective study was the investigation of the diagnostic value of FNA cytology in thyroid malignancy. We retrospectively reviewed 1376 patients who underwent 1938 FNAs from 1987 to 2004 in the Department of Endocrinology, "Hippokration" General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. Of them 178 subsequently underwent total or subtotal thyroid resection and a pathology report was available. FNA cytology shows a sensitivity of 76.2% and a specificity of 90.5% for thyroid malignancy, with a significant agreement between FNA cytology and the histology following resection surgery (Cohen's method, p<0.05). There was a considerable improvement in the diagnostic value of FNA cytology during the sub-period 1996-2004 as compared to the sub-period 1987-1995. 1) FNA is a reliable diagnostic method in the assessment of thyroid malignancy, 2) a non-diagnostic FNA should always be repeated, 3) meticulous follow-up is mandatory, even after a cytological result of benign hyperplasia and 4) increased experience can improve the diagnostic value of FNA in thyroid malignancy.

The frequency of exfoliation syndrome (EXS) was investigated in a group of Greek patients undergoing extracapsular cataract surgery. Five hundred and nine (509) consecutive cataract patients without any other manifest ocular abnormality were prospectively examined for the presence of EXS. Patients were clinically divided into 3 groups: group I (EXS group) consisted of patients in whom exfoliation material deposition could be seen; Group II (possible EXS group) comprised patients who demonstrated a number of pigmentary signs and group III (normal subjects) comprised patients with senile cataract and no sign of EXS. EXS was found in 140 (28%) of our patients, possible EXS in 119 (23%) and the rest (49%) had no evidence of EXS. Patients with EXS were older (mean age 73.8) when compared to the possible EXS group (70 years) and the control group (64.7 years). The IOP was significantly higher in patients with EXS (mean 15.5 mmHg versus 14.3 mmHg in the other two groups). Blue irides were significantly more common in patients with EXS (19%) than in the possible EXS group (14%) and the controls (4%). EXS is common in Greek cataract patients and this study has identified a large group of patients who may be at an early stage of development of the condition. EXS may predispose to the development of cataract in Greek patients.

The frequency of exfoliation syndrome (EXS) was investigated in a group of Greek patients undergoing extracapsular cataract surgery. Five hundred and nine (509) consecutive cataract patients without any other manifest ocular abnormality were prospectively examined for the presence of EXS. Patients were clinically divided into 3 groups: group I (EXS group) consisted of patients in whom exfoliation material deposition could be seen; Group II (possible EXS group) comprised patients who demonstrated a number of pigmentary signs and group III (normal subjects) comprised patients with senile cataract and no sign of EXS. EXS was found in 140 (28%) of our patients, possible EXS in 119 (23%) and the rest (49%) had no evidence of EXS. Patients with EXS were older (mean age 73.8) when compared to the possible EXS group (70 years) and the control group (64.7 years). The IOP was significantly higher in patients with EXS (mean 15.5 mmHg versus 14.3 mmHg in the other two groups). Blue irides were significantly more common in patients with EXS (19%) than in the possible EXS group (14%) and the controls (4%). EXS is common in Greek cataract patients and this study has identified a large group of patients who may be at an early stage of development of the condition. EXS may predispose to the development of cataract in Greek patients.

ABSTRACT Purpose: To record and relate the cap-to-disc ratio (C/D ratio), as assessed by ophthalmoscopy and the evening intraocular pressure (IOP) of normal individuals of various age groups.Methods: 467 normal individuals, randomly selected, were examined by the same experienced ophthalmologist. The C/D ratio was assessed by ophthalmoscopy and the IOP was measured in the evening by Applanation Tonometry. The individuals were divided into three age groups (Group A: 120 individuals 20-40 years old, Group B: 233 individuals 41-60 years old, Group C: 114 individuals 61-80 years old).Results: Group A: C/D ratio ranged from 0 to 0.9 (mean±SD 0.496±0.221) and IOP ranged from 8 to 22 mmHg (mean±SD 13.35±2.650 mmHg). Group B: C/D ratio ranged from 0 to 0.85 (mean±SD 0.452±0.212) and IOP ranged from 8 to 22 mmHg (mean ± SD 14.079 ± 2.781 mmHg). Group C: C/D ratio ranged from 0 to 0.85 (mean±SD 0.499±0.221) and IOP ranged from 10 to 20 mmHg (mean±SD 14.133±2.419 mmHg). The relation (r) between IOP and C/D ratio was as follows: Group A: r = 0.268 (p<0.001), Group B: r = 0.063 (p<0.001), Group C: r = 0.109 (p<0.001).Conclusions: The C/D ratio values were, in general, larger in individuals with higher IOP values. However, this relation was weak though statistically significant. In Group B the relation was of lower statistical significance than in the Group A and in the Group C. This weak relation is possibly indicative that other factors except for IOP contribute to the final C/D ratio of normal individuals. There are individuals with high C/D ratios and relatively low IOP values and vice versa. The examiner is responsible for identifying cases which should undergo further investigation.

ABSTRACT Purpose: To determine the prevalence of exfoliation syndrome (XFS) in the area of Pella, Greece.Methods: We studied a cluster, stratified sample of 700 individuals >45 years old (350 women and 350 men), representative of the population of Pella County. A comprehensive protocol recorded exfoliation findings before and after pupillary dilatation, as well as signs commensurate with possible XFS. The intraocular pressure (IOP) was recorded in all cases.Results: Typical XFS was detected in 10% of the examined persons. The percentage of clinically evident XFS rose from 0% in the 45-54 age group, to 2% for the 55-64 age group, 21.3% for the 66-74 age group and 34% for the >75 group of patients. There was no significant difference between the two sexes concerning the prevalence of XFS. Mean IOP was higher (20.04 mmHg) for the individuals with XFS versus those without (15.37 mmHg). Twelve patients with XFS (17.14%) had previously undiagnosed exfoliative glaucoma (XFG). Among the 70 persons with XFS, 60 (94.2%) had lens opacities, while 224 (35.5%) among the 630 persons without XFS had cataract.Conclusions: The prevalence of XFS in the area of Pella was determined to be 10% for individuals older than 45. There is strong correlation between XFS, glaucoma and cataract.