Effect of Stress on Sleep Quality among Medical Students: A Cross-sectional Study at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION: It has long been understood that sleep is a necessary therapeutic element of human physiology and is crucial for healthy functioning, mental health, and quality of life. Medical students frequently minimize their sleep and habits to cope with their workload and their stressful lives, which has a negative influence on both mental health and academic performance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of stress and its effect on sleep quality among medical students (in both the preclinical and clinical years) at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was applied in this study. The sample constituted medical students at Jazan University, Jazan region, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered online survey was distributed actively to measure the variables of interest. RESULTS: This study examined the sleep quality and psychological distress among 347 students. The findings revealed that a significant proportion of students experienced sleep difficulties, with 52.8% reporting mild sleep problems and 46.6% reporting moderate sleep difficulties. In addition, a notable percentage of participants (28.2%) reported very high psychological distress, while 27.4% experienced severe psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that medical students had a high level of stress and poor sleep quality, which led to unhealthy habits, such as consuming many energy drinks. Hence, it is recommended that concerns should be addressed to minimize the risk of developing chronic illnesses.

Résumé Introduction:Il est depuis longtemps admis que le sommeil est un élément thérapeutique essentiel de la physiologie humaine et qu'il est crucial pour un fonctionnement sain, la santé mentale et la qualité de vie. Les étudiants en médecine ont souvent tendance à réduire leur sommeil et à modifier leurs habitudes pour faire face à leur charge de travail et à leur vie stressante, ce qui a une influence négative sur leur santé mentale et leurs performances académiques. L'objectif de cette étude était d'évaluer la prévalence du stress et son effet sur la qualité du sommeil chez les étudiants en médecine (tant en années précliniques que cliniques) à l'Université de Jazan en Arabie saoudite.Matériel et méthodes:Une étude transversale a été réalisée dans le cadre de cette étude. L'échantillon était constitué d'étudiants en médecine de l'Université de Jazan, dans la région de Jazan, en Arabie saoudite. Une enquête en ligne auto-administrée a été activement distribuée pour mesurer les variables d'intérêt.Résultats:Cette étude a examiné la qualité du sommeil et la détresse psychologique chez 347 étudiants. Les résultats ont révélé qu'une proportion significative d'étudiants rencontrait des difficultés de sommeil, avec 52,8 % signalant des problèmes de sommeil légers et 46,6 % signalant des difficultés de sommeil modérées. De plus, un pourcentage notable de participants (28,2 %) a signalé une détresse psychologique très élevée, tandis que 27,4 % ont connu une détresse psychologique sévère.Conclusions:Cette étude a révélé que les étudiants en médecine présentaient un niveau élevé de stress et une mauvaise qualité de sommeil, ce qui conduisait à des habitudes peu saines, telles que la consommation excessive de boissons énergisantes. Par conséquent, il est recommandé de prendre des mesures pour réduire le risque de développer des maladies chroniques.

Prevalence of Hemorrhoids and Their Risk Factors Among the Adult Population in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Hemorrhoids are defined as the symptomatic enlargement and distal displacement of the normal anal cushions. They can be either internal, external, or internoexternal, according to their position in relation to the dentate line. They can cause significant financial burdens and personal discomfort. However, the typical symptoms of hemorrhoids include bleeding, pain, skin irritation, fecal leakage, prolapse, mucus secretion, and developing a thrombosed hernia. Nonetheless, research has shown that individuals with and without hemorrhoids equally report these symptoms. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of hemorrhoids and their risk factors among adult subjects in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This investigation was a cross-sectional study targeting adults diagnosed with hemorrhoids in the Jazan region. Data collection was performed via a self-administered questionnaire to measure sociodemographic data of the participants, lifestyle factors associated with hemorrhoids, clinical presentations of the disease, and Rome IV criteria for diagnosis of functional constipation. The chi-squared test was used to assess the frequency of hemorrhoid symptoms according to the participants' sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. RESULTS: In the current study, which recruited 361 participants, 59% (216 individuals) reported experiencing at least one symptom of hemorrhoids. The majority of the sample were females (60%), Saudis (96%), and living in urban areas (59%) and had a university education (77.3%). The most common risk factors identified were lack of regular physical activity (83%), prolonged sitting during office work (51%), and consuming food with saturated fat (50%). A total of 44% (159 participants) had a family history of hemorrhoids, and 40% reported suffering from constipation three times or more per week. Only 34% (123 participants) had been diagnosed with hemorrhoids by a physician. Interestingly, the majority of participants (57%) preferred using home remedies instead of seeking medical care from a healthcare professional. When assessing factors associated with experiencing a minimum of six hemorrhoid symptoms per month, age, lifestyle factors, family history of hemorrhoids, and defecation practices were found to be significantly correlated with a higher occurrence of symptoms (with a p-value of less than 0.05). CONCLUSION: The current study identified a high prevalence of hemorrhoid symptoms and their risk factors among the adult population in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. The findings suggest a need to increase the awareness of the public about hemorrhoids risk factors and the importance of seeking healthcare at an early stage of the disease.

An Assessment of the Knowledge and Practices of Adults in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, Concerning Routine Medical Checkups.

Purpose: This study aims to measure the knowledge and practices of adults in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia concerning routine medical checkups. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design that targeted adults in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. The data was collected via self-administered questionnaires, with participants being approached in online settings. The questionnaires measured participant demographics, knowledge, and practice of routine medical checkups as well as their response to the Know Your Numbers campaign services initiative from the Saudi Ministry of Health. A chi-square test was used to detect statistically significant differences between the levels of knowledge and practice according to the measured demographic characteristics. Results: A total of 516 persons participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 25 years; 54.7% were female. The median level of knowledge was 3 (out of 9), varying between 0 and 9. The recruited sample exhibited average knowledge of parameters used to classify levels of blood glucose, blood pressure, body mass index, and blood lipids, but low knowledge regarding the recommended age to begin screening for several chronic diseases. Factors associated with levels of knowledge were gender, age, education level, and employment (p value < 0.05). However, a history of chronic disease was the only factor associated with the practice of routine medical checkups (p value 0.023). Finally, less than 5% of this sample reported their participation in the Know Your Numbers campaign. Conclusion: Attending routine medical checkups is uncommon and only motivated by the existence of a diagnosed medical condition. Furthermore, this study found low utilization of the Know Your Numbers campaign services. This suggests a need for greater emphasis on increasing awareness of routine medical checkups among adults in the Jazan region.

Human 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1/carbonyl reductase: additional domains for membrane attachment?

11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD 1) is a membrane integrated glycoprotein, which physiologically performs the interconversion of active and inactive glucocorticoid hormones and which also participates in xenobiotic carbonyl compound detoxification. Since 11beta-HSD 1 is fixed to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) with a N-terminal membrane spanning domain, the enzyme is very difficult to purify in an active state. Upon expression experiments in Escherichia coli, 11beta-HSD 1 turns out to be hardly soluble without detergents. This study describes attempts to increase the solubility of 11beta-HSD 1 via mutagenesis experiments by generating several truncated forms expressed in E. coli and the yeast Pichia pastoris. Furthermore, we investigated if the codon for methionine 31 in human 11beta-HSD 1 could serve as an alternative start codon, thereby leading to a soluble form of the enzyme, which lacks the membrane spanning segment. Our results show that deletion of the hydrophobic membrane spanning domain did not alter the solubility of the enzyme. In contrast, the enzyme remained bound to the ER membrane even without the N-terminal membrane anchor. However, activity could not be found, neither with the truncated protein expressed in E. coli nor with that expressed in P. pastoris. Hydrophobicity plots proved the hydrophobic nature of 11beta-HSD 1 and indicated the existence of additional membrane attachment sites within its primary structure.