Stress and perceived health among primary care visitors in two corners of Europe: Scandinavia and Greece
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International Journal of Health Geographics Open Access
RESEARCH
Stress and perceived health among primary care visitors in two corners of Europe: Scandinavia and Greece Jenny Koppner1* , Marios Chatziarzenis2, Tomas Faresjö1, Elvar Theodorsson3, Annika Thorsell4, Staffan Nilsson1, Ole Olsen5 and Åshild Faresjö6
Abstract Background: The global financial crisis emerging in 2008 struck Greece especially hard, whereas Scandinavian countries were less affected. This has created a unique opportunity to study the long-term effect of community stress on populations. Increasing frequencies of mental health issues and poorer perceived health among the Greek population have been reported. The physiological marker of long-term stress, cortisol in hair, is applied in this study together with measures of perceived health and stress, depression and anxiety. Our aim was to study self-reported and physiological stress, perceived health, including mental health, in the general population of Greece compared to Scandinavia, in order to assess long-term effects of the economic crisis on these parameters. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study of adult (18–65 years) Primary Health Care visitors from semi-rural areas in Greece (n = 84) and Scandinavia (n = 140). Data collection was performed in 2012, and encompassed a questionnaire with a variety of health and stress indicators as well as hair samples for analyzes of cortisol levels. Results: The Greek sample reported significantly poorer overall health (p
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