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Background Awareness of age-appropriate milestones and developmental stages is crucial for parents to identify any potential delays or concerns early on and seek appropriate interventions. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers in Saudi Arabia regarding baby walkers, baby car seats, early dental visits, and screen time for young children. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents in Saudi Arabia using a structured questionnaire. A convenience and snowball sampling method was employed to recruit participants from various regions of the country. The questionnaire aimed to assess parents' knowledge regarding the recommended use of baby walkers and baby car seats, their awareness of the importance of early dental visits, and their understanding of appropriate screen time guidelines. Additionally, the survey explored parents' practices toward these recommendations. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, and associations between variables were examined using the chi-squared test. Results A total of 1318 participants were included. The analysis revealed that the majority of the participants (n=1066,81.3%) use a baby walker, while only (n=292,22.3%) consider that they should never be used. Overall, (n=388,29.6%) of the participants never used a car seat for their infants or children. In terms of early childhood dental visits, approximately (n=518,39.5%) of the participants reported actually taking their child to the dentist within the recommended timeframe. Regarding screen time for children, (n=148,11.3%) of the participants reported that their children spend >5 hours daily in front of the screen. Conclusions Raising parents' awareness about recent childcare recommendations and safe practices is crucial for promoting optimal child development, preventing health problems, facilitating evidence-based decision-making, reducing risks, enhancing parental confidence and empowerment, and nurturing positive parent-child relationships.
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BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is a serious zoonotic infectious disease. Humans contract the disease by coming into contact with infected animals or their products. In Saudi Arabia, brucellosis is considered to be an endemic disease, with an annual incidence of 15.34 per 100,000 population from 2003 to 2018. Because of the devastating consequences for human health, raising awareness is an essential component in preventing brucellosis. Our study aims to assess the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes regarding brucellosis among the residents of Taif City, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey conducted in June-October 2022 targeted the population of Taif City, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected by an online questionnaire, which included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, awareness regarding brucellosis, behavior and attitude toward animals, and consuming animal-based products. RESULTS: A total of 743 participants were included. The participants were 18-70 years old, 63.4% were females, and 79.4% had a university education. Only 450 participants answered yes to the first question: "Do you know about brucellosis or have you heard about it?" Therefore, they were asked to answer knowledge questions. It was found that out of 450 participants, 46.9% demonstrated a "poor" knowledge level. Participants aged 26-55 years old demonstrated significantly more "good" knowledge than the other age groups (p = 0.001). Males demonstrated significantly more "good" knowledge (30.6%) than females (14.9%) (p < 0.001). The practices and attitudes of animal breeder participants (16.2%) were satisfactory because more than half of them did not participate in the birth of animals (53.4%), 50.7% did not participate in the birth with abortion, and approximately 61% used gloves when taking care of animals. The practices were unsatisfactory because 53.4% of the participants reported that they "always" eat the meat of animals they keep, and 64.4% reported that they personally slaughter sheep or cows from the herd. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that most of the participants were aware of brucellosis; however, at the same time, the knowledge level regarding brucellosis was not satisfactory.
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BACKGROUND: Hypothyroidism is a major hormonal condition that affects more women than men in Saudi Arabia. Studies indicate a bidirectional link between hypothyroidism and obesity, which may improve following bariatric surgery (BS). The focus of this research is to assess how hypothyroidism patients' thyroid function and levothyroxine dosage are impacted by bariatric surgery. METHODOLOGY: This was an observational retrospective study conducted in two centres at Taif, Saudi Arabia. All morbidly obese patients who were diagnosed with overt hypothyroidism and underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy from January 2016 to December 2021 were included. The changes in the thyroid profile and the changes in the doses or cessation of levothyroxine were evaluated after the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that a total of 70 patients dominated by women out of 1202 from both centers who meet our inclusion criteria showed a statistically significant decrease on comparison of clinical parameters (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH], free T4 [FT4], free T3 [FT3], levothyroxine [L-T4]) before and after BS. The average TSH levels were determined to be 4.45 ± 4.41 mIU/L prior to BS, and they significantly decreased (3.17 ± 2.77 mIU/L) following BS (p=0.009). When compared to before BS (13.17 ± 2.73 pmol/L), the mean FT4 levels after BS (11.63 ± 5.88 pmol/L) exhibited a significant decline (p=0.046). The mean FT3 levels before and after BS also were statistically significantly lower (1.94 ± 2.12 pg/mL) than before (2.75 ± 1.96 pg/mL), p=0.009. The mean L-T4 levels after BS considerably decreased from before BS (98.68 ± 56.18 mcg) to after BS (79.39 ± 41.49 mcg), p=0.046. CONCLUSION: Better thyroid profiles and lower levothyroxine dosage show that bariatric surgery improves hypothyroidism.