The objective was to study depression, anxiety, stress, and obesity among male adolescents in Abha City, southwestern Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 398 male ...students. Standard methods for measuring body weight and height were applied. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. The Arabic version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to detect common mental disorders. Results of the study showed that only 69 (17.3%) adolescents had normal body weight, 176 (44.2%) had overweight, and 153 (38.4%) were obese. The present study showed that obese male adolescents had more stress, anxiety, and depression (44.4%, 73.2%, and 65.7%, respectively) than normal weights. The study showed that obesity was a significant risk factor for anxiety (aOR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.01-3.27) and depression (aOR = 1.90; 95% CI: 1.06-3.40). In conclusion, there is an urgent need for depression and anxiety screening and treatment programs among adolescents to prevent adolescent obesity. It should be hand in hand with nutritional and exercise-based interventions as an essential tool in preventing teenage obesity.
: Healthy eating is a crucial approach to improving overall health, encompassing a well-balanced diet of natural and fresh foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and foods rich in minerals and ...vitamins. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of obesity and associated dietary habits among medical students at King Khalid University, Aseer, Saudi Arabia.
: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted through face-to-face interviews. A structured predesigned questionnaire was used to collect data.
: A total of 540 medical students were included; 43.3% of participants were aged 20-22 years, 24.8% were in the 3rd year, and 82.0% had an average income level. Of them, 21.9% were overweight and 14.6% were obese. There was a significant association between obesity and grade (
= 0.004). Significant differences were observed between males and females in adding sugar to beverages, the frequency of eating out, cooking meat, and drinking water (
< 0.05). The predictors of obesity were being male (OR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.6-7.8,
= 0.002), age (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-3.0,
= 0.019, being at grade 2 (OR = 38.8, 95% CI 4.0-375.8,
= 0.002), having grilled meat (OR = 0.42, 95% CI, 0.20-0.99,
= 0.048), using artificial sweeteners OR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.08-0.73,
= 0.012, and drinking sparkling bottled water (OR 8.6, 95% CI 1.2 333-63.8,
= 0.034).
: The study revealed a high prevalence of obesity and overweight among medical students of both sexes. It recommends education on healthy eating habits, balanced nutrition, and regular physical activity, as well as gender-specific health initiatives, nutritional counseling, and the inclusion of physical activity.
Dietary supplements are commercially available manufactured products used as an addition to the normal diet and involve vitamins, minerals, herbs (botanicals), amino acids, and various other ...products. With the use of a cross-sectional survey, the present paper intended to analyze dietary supplement usage and its health and sociodemographic determinants among attendants of primary health care centers in Abha City, southwestern Saudi Arabia. The sample was selected randomly using the two-stage cluster sampling technique. The study included 438 participants (115 males and 323 females). Their ages ranged from 18 to 59 years, with an average of 36.2 ± 11.7 years. The study showed that 330 people used dietary supplementation, giving a prevalence of 75.3% (95% CI: 71.1–79.2%). The most commonly used supplements were multivitamins (215, 65.2%), specific vitamins (60, 18.2%), and mineral pills (38, 11.5%). Advice from health care workers was the most frequent reason for using dietary supplements (49.4%). The majority (71.2%) reported feeling a better quality of life after using dietary supplements. The most frequent disadvantages of using dietary supplements were constipation and headache (30%) and the most frequent advantage was increasing appetite (59.8%). The people who most frequently recommended the use of supplements were health care workers (190, 57.6%), followed by friends or family members (62, 18.8%), and people on social media (43, 13%). Females had a significantly higher probability of using dietary supplements than males did (Cor = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.21–3.27), and those with a chronic disease had a considerably higher likelihood of using dietary supplements (cOR = 3.48, 95% CI = 2.04–6.06). Age, educational level, and marital status were not significantly related with dietary supplement usage. In conclusion, health care workers should focus on females and persons with chronic diseases in their practice. They should provide them with evidence-based advice regarding the use of dietary supplements. Continued medical education training programs tailored to the needs of health care staff addressing this issue should be provided. New guidelines should be developed to help health professionals to provide their patients with comprehensive care at the primary health care level.
Objectives. To explore the magnitude and determinants of burnout among emergency physicians and nurses working at emergency departments of hospitals in Abha and Khamis Mushait cities. Subjects and ...Methods. A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted in emergency departments of hospitals in Abha and Khamis Mushait cities belonging to Ministry of Health. All physicians (n=95) and nurses (n=187) currently working at these sites were invited to participate in the study by filling a validated self-administered questionnaire including two main sections: personal and professional characteristics of physicians and nurses as well as Maslach burnout inventory (MBI) to assess the three components of the burnout syndrome: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Results. The study included 282 physicians and nurses. The age of more than half of them (54.3%) ranged between 31 and 35 years. Most of them (70.9%) were females. About two-thirds of the respondents (66.3%) were nurses while the remaining 33.7% were physicians. Majority of the emergency healthcare professionals (88.7%) had high emotional exhaustion. The prevalence of high depersonalization (cynicism) was 20.6% whereas that of low personal accomplishment was 41.1% among emergency healthcare professionals. The overall prevalence of burnout among healthcare professionals was 16.3%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that male healthcare professionals were at almost higher three-folded risk for developing burnout compared to females (aOR=2.76; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21-6.28, p=0.017)). Smokers were at higher significant risk for burnout compared to nonsmokers (aOR=15.37; 95% CI: 7.06-33.45, p<0.001). Healthcare professionals who reported a history of taking medications for sleep disorders expressed higher risk for burnout opposed to those with no history of sleep disorder medication (aOR=6.59; 95% CI: 2.08-20.81, p=0.001). Conclusion. A considerable proportion of physicians and nurses working at emergency departments of hospitals in Abha and Khamis Mushait cities had burnout syndrome, particularly high emotional exhaustion and low personal accomplishment.
Bullying is a type of behavior that involves frequent, hostile activities expected to harm another person physically, mentally, or emotionally. Bullying behavior uses force, pressure, or threats to ...maltreat, forcefully dominate, or terrify another individual. The aim of this study was to assess the bullying prevalence and related features among secondary school pupils in Khamis Mushait city, southwestern Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional investigation was performed among governmental and private secondary schools in Khamis Mushait city. Data were gathered from the study pupils using a pre-structured questionnaire. Bullying was assessed using the school climate bullying survey. The study included 300 secondary school students (163 females and 137 males). The overall rate of bullying was 64.7% (95% CI 59.1–69.9). The most prevalent type of bullying was verbal (41.7%, 95% CI 36.0–47.5) followed by physical (17.0%, 95% CI 12.9–21.7), and social (6.0%, 95% CI 3.6–9.3). Males had more than two times greater probability of having been bullied than females (aOR = 2.522, 95% CI 1.408–4.518). Similarly, students in first-level grade classes had more than three times greater probability of being bullied victims than those in the higher classes, i.e., second- and third-level grade classes (aOR = 3.417, 95% CI 1.159–10.07). More than half of the students tell teachers when other students are being bullied (53.7%) and tell a teacher or staff member at the school if they are being harassed (53.6%); teachers are doing anything they can to help if they are told that a student is being bothered (58.7%), and teachers are making clear to students that bullying is not tolerated (52.3%). In conclusion, in the present study, we reported a high prevalence rate of bullying among secondary school pupils in Khamis Mushait city, southwestern Saudi Arabia. Concerted efforts among teachers and health care providers in the region should be mandatory to deal with the problem.
Background:
Medical research is a systematic method to obtain new knowledge, reduce diagnosis problems, discover the latest or best treatment for a disease, and also used for disease prevention.
...Objective:
The study aims to assess the challenges and barriers to conduct medical research among medical and dentistry students and determine the reasons that hinder the conduct of the study.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, the research population consisted of medical and dental students affiliated with King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia in 2020. The study followed a descriptive approach based on quantitative analysis. The Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) program (V. 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data analysis.
Results:
A total of 327 students participated in this study, and the response rate was 100%. Among them, 61.5% were females. In this study majority (63.3%) had a moderate attitude toward conducting medical research and the average was 56.17. The majority (53.8%) had a reasonable behavior toward conducting medical research, and the average was 29.06. Lack of time, skills, funding, facilities, and limited access to medical journals and related databases were the significant barriers found. Most of the students had positive attitudes, except that they are not awarded on their research, do not attend the sessions, and do not speak their thoughts. A significant relationship between demographic characteristics (age, level, and Grade Percentage Average), attitudes & perceived barriers toward research was found (<0.05).
Conclusion:
The majority of the students demonstrated a positive attitude toward and moderate behavior of research. However, most are not awarded on their research, do not attend the sessions, and do not speak their thoughts. Intensive training and adequate support in research activities of medical and dental students at the undergraduate level may help reduce these challenges and barriers toward research.
Background: With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are living within a milieu of stress, anxiety, and fear. Medical students are susceptible to these emotional injuries, but their ...psychological wellbeing and learning may further be assaulted by future uncertainties and altered teaching and training programs. Our objective was to find the extent of the psychological impact of the pandemic and the learning difficulties they are experiencing; Methodology: This cross-sectional study included 418 undergraduate and postgraduate medical students from all over the world. A questionnaire was uploaded in Google survey form. It included background characteristics, questions for psychiatric impact like PHQ-9, GAD-7, ZF-OCS, and questions for learning difficulties perceived in comparison to the pre-pandemic time. Results: Among participants, 34.9% of students were male and 65.1% female. Around 46.4% belonged to the WHO, Eastern Mediterranean region, 26.8% from South East Asia region, 17.5% from the region of America, 5.5% from the European region,2.2%from the Western Pacific region, and 1.7% from the African region. Symptoms due to psychiatric illness were noticed in 393 (93.1%); depression in 386 (92.3%), anxiety in 158 (37.8%), obsessive compulsion disorder in 225 (53.8%), and post-traumatic stress syndrome in 129 (39.9%). Female gender, geographical region, and history of previous psychiatric illness were significantly related to almost all the psychiatric illnesses. Regarding learning difficulty, 96% of students faced problems: trouble with memorizing in 54.0%, concentration problems in 67.0%, about 55.5% of students made more mistakes, while 44.5% noted an increase in reaction time for solving questions. In addition, 90% experienced greater difficulty in overall learning during the pandemic in comparison to the pre-pandemic time. Conclusion: Assault on psychological wellbeing, struggling to memorize, inattention and difficulty in concentration on studies, along with perceived overall trouble with learning, have emerged as collateral damage from the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to medical students.
Background: Dysmenorrhoea is a common health problem among females in their reproductive years. Available information on dysmenorrhoea in university student in abah, Saudi Arabia is limited. The ...objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and associated menstrual symptoms and their self-management techniques among female university students of King Khalid University (KKU). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at College of health science in KKU, Saudi Arabia. Sample: A total of 197 students aged between 18 and 23 years. A Self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: Dysmenorrhea was reported by more than two-thirds of the girls (70.6%). In the 139 girls, who reported dysmenorrhea, its related information on severity of pain, medication use, and care-seeking behavior is detailed in the table. Severe pain was reported by (35.2%) respondents. Two-third of the respondents (66%) reported using medications for pain relief and use of herbal medicine was also found to be quite prevalent (69.1%). The gastrointestinal problems were the most common symptoms experienced by the students and were significantly high among the dysmenorrheal students. Less than one in four respondents (23%) reported consulting a doctor for their dysmenorrheal while most of them consulted with friends and family. Conclusion: Dysmenorrhea is a very common problem among the university students. A number of symptoms were related with dysmenorrhea. Even though it is common, and may not have a pathological cause, few students seek medical advice. Increasing the awareness can help in relieving the burden of this common health problem.
The burden of postpartum depression (PPD) is significant because it remains unrecognized, and it not only affects the mother adversely but also has a negative consequence on the family life and the ...development of the infant. The aim of the study was to measure the prevalence of PPD and identify the risk factors of PPD among mothers attending the well-baby clinic of six Primary Health Care centers in Abha city, Southwest Saudi Arabia.
A total of 228 Saudi women having a child aged between two weeks to one year were recruited in the study by using a consecutive sampling technique. The Arabic version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used as a screening tool to measure the prevalence of PPD. The mothers were also inquired about their socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors.
The prevalence rate of postpartum depression was 43.4%. Family conflict, and lack of support by spouse and family during pregnancy were found to be the strongest predictors of developing PPD. Women who had reported family conflict were at six times higher risk for developing PPD compared to those who did not have a family conflict (aOR = 6.5, 95% CI = 2.3-18.4). Women who reported a lack of spousal support during pregnancy encountered 2.3 fold increased risk for PPD (aOR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.0-4.8) and women who had not received family support during pregnancy period were more than three times (aOR = 3.5, 95 % CI 1.6-7.7) likely to experience PPD.
The risk of PPD among Saudi postnatal women was high. PPD screening should be an integral part of postnatal care. Awareness of women, spouses and families about potential risk factors can be a preventive strategy. The early identification of high-risk women during the antenatal and post-natal period could help to prevent this condition.
Human toxocariasis is a zoonotic infection with global and regional impacts. Worldwide it is underestimated and clinically overlooked. Medical practitioners are generally unaware of the extent of the ...resulting disease spectrum. The objective of the study was to assess knowledge and disease awareness among medical practitioners in Aseer, south-western Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire addressing knowledge about the parasite, its visceral larva migrans and the disease spectrum generated was used to interview participants. The study included 285 participants. In answer to the question what is toxocara, only 27%, answered correctly that it is a nematode, paediatricians being the majority. With regard to years of experience among participants, 56.8% of those who answered correctly had less than 5-year experience, as opposed to 35.4% for those with more than 10-year experience. The cumulative awareness about the disease manifestations and spectrum, i.e. those who knew, was less than 30% across specialties and years of experiences. Lack of awareness regarding
Toxocara
infection and the disease spectrum it can generate is evident. The consequence for such lack of knowledge within our practising medical community is simply unacceptable as it might translate into misdiagnosis and consequently misguided treatment.
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