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BACKGROUND: Eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating, have become a significant health concern among young children and adolescents worldwide. The objective of this study is to examine the probable eating disorder prevalence and associated risk factors among obese and normal-weight children and adolescents aged (5-16 years) in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHODS: This observational case-control study utilized data obtained from electronic medical records (age, gender, body measurements). SCOFF questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) were used to estimate the probable prevalence of eating disorders and depression, respectively, in children and adolescents. The study was conducted in Al Ain Ambulatory health services clinics from 2018 to 2019. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were employed for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 551 subjects participated in the study, with 288 (52%) categorized as normal-weight and 263 (48%) as obese. Among the obese participants, there was an equal distribution of males and females. Screening for eating disorders using the SCOFF questionnaire revealed that approximately 42% of the obese participants had a positive SCOFF result, indicating abnormal eating behaviors. In contrast, only 7% of the normal-weight participants had a positive SCOFF result. A significant positive correlation was observed between a positive SCOFF screening result, PHQ-2 score, and the participants' weight at the age of 6 years. CONCLUSION: This study represents the first attempt to assess the probable prevalence of the risk of eating disorders in children and adolescents in the UAE. This young population have high risk of eating disorders and it was significantly higher in obese children than normal weight children. These results highlight the importance of addressing eating disorders in this population and the need for early detection and intervention strategies.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), little research has been done to study children with a risk of developing abnormal eating behaviors, especially in school-aged children and adolescents with increased weight. In this research, a questionnaire was collected from children and adolescents, asking them specific questions used to screen for abnormal eating behaviors in this age group. Based on the screening questions used in this study, around 23% of the children and adolescents probably have abnormal eating behaviors, especially those with increased weight. This study will help us to create community services that aim for the early screening of school children for abnormal eating behaviors to provide treatment and intervention.
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BACKGROUND: Early in 2020, healthcare providers faced the novel virus COVID-19 that had unprecedented risk to them and the community they serve. With COVID-19 high infectivity rate and considerable morbidity and mortality, healthcare providers ' precautionary practices to protect themselves, colleagues, and patients were determinantal to provide safe health services. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare providers in the United Arab Emirates toward COVID-19 and to examine its determinants. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) of healthcare providers in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, from April to July 2020, using an online anonymous self-administered questionnaire. A convenient sampling method was used to distribute the online survey link through the organization's email network admin list and smartphone messaging. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multivariant linear regression were used. RESULTS: A total of 2371 healthcare providers responded to the survey. A total of 1091 worked in inpatient hospitals, 494 in primary health care, and 388 in emergency and ICU care. The overall performance score for all healthcare providers was as follows: 49.1%, poor score; 41.8%, intermediate score; and 9.2%, good score with a mean result of 17.14. Factors leading to better overall performance scores were years of experience, pediatricians' specialty, and specialist occupation. A total of 55.7% received good direct knowledge from all healthcare providers. In practice, 48% had good practices toward COVID-19. The overall attitude mean was 2.8, with a maximum score of 7, indicating a positive attitude toward COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Although this study describes a dynamic learning status and could reflect the early pandemic situation in Abu Dhabi health care, it does provide a method to assess the precursor of the critical outcome. It is recommended to follow this study with an assessment of the training program targeting all healthcare providers to ensure a better response to emerging infections.
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BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has affected Healthcare workers in many ways. One of the important areas is the psychological impact. This study aims to examine the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the mental health of Healthcare Professionals (HCP) and associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare providers in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, between April 11th, and July 23rd, 2020. The study was conducted by using an online anonymous Self-administered questionnaire through the survey monkey platform. A convenient sampling method was used to distribute the online survey link through the organization's email network admin list and smartphone messaging. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multivariant linear regression were used. RESULTS: Anxiety and depression risk scores were measured in a total of 1268 participants of healthcare providers. More than half of the participants reported symptoms of anxiety (51.5%). Depression symptoms were revealed in 38.3% of participating providers. A mild risk of anxiety was reported in 28.8% of the participants and 12.68% of the participants registered moderate anxiety risk scores and 9.95% reported a severe risk of anxiety. Among all participants, 4.3% and 2.7% reported moderately severe and severe risk of depression, respectively, while 22.5% and 8.8% of the participating healthcare providers documented mild and moderate depression risk. Anxiety and depression risk scores were significantly and negatively associated with age and working in primary health care. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of anxiety and depression recorded among HCP during the pandemic suggests that mental health intervention and support are necessary to ensure the psychological well-being of HCP.