Eating disorders and their relationship with menopausal phases among a sample of middle-aged Lebanese women.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of our study was to evaluate the association between the transition to menopause, body dissatisfaction, and abnormal eating habits (restrained eating, binge eating, and orthorexia nervosa) in a sample of middle-aged Lebanese women. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted between July 2019 and January 2020 enrolled 1001 women aged 40 years and above from all Lebanese governorates. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews with all participants. The Body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory­second version was used to assess body dissatisfaction, whereas the Binge Eating Scale, Dutch Restrained Eating Scale, ORTO-15, Dusseldorf Orthorexia Scale (DOS), and Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) were used to assess eating disorders (binge eating, restrained eating and orthorexia nervosa respectively. Multivariable analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to compare multiple measures among the three menopausal phases, after adjustment over potential confounding variables (age, monthly income, body mass index, marital status, education level, and body dissatisfaction). RESULTS: Postmenopause was significantly associated with more orthorexia nervosa tendencies (lower ORTO-15 scores) than premenopause (ß = - 1.87; p = 0.022). Perimenopause was associated with more binge eating (ß = 1.56; p = 0.031), and less orthorexia nervosa (as measured by the DOS) than premenopause, with this association tending to significance (ß = - 1.10; p = 0.051). Furthermore, higher body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with higher restrained eating (ß = 0.02; p < 0.001), binge eating (ß = 0.48; p < 0.001), and orthorexia nervosa as measured by ORTO-15 (ß = - 0.17; p < 0.001) and TOS (ß = 0.08; p = 0.002), but not DOS. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that menopausal stages are associated with some disordered eating behaviors (binge eating and orthorexia nervosa) among middle-aged women. Those results may serve as a first step towards spreading awareness among women within this age group regarding eating attitudes. Moreover, healthcare professionals should screen for the presence of disordered eating during those women's routine visits to the clinics.

Impact of spirituality and religiosity on suicidal risk among a sample of lebanese psychiatric in-patients.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of suicidality among the psychiatric inpatients community in Lebanon, and to elucidate the effect of religiosity and spirituality on suicidal thoughts or behaviours. METHODS: A total sample of 159 patient consecutively admitted to a psychiatric hospital was interviewed. The Ask Suicide-screening Questionnaire (ASQ) was used to assess suicidal risk; the Mature Religiosity Scale (MRS) and the Spirituality Index for Well Being (SIWB) scales were used to assess religiosity and spirituality. RESULTS: We found that 45.6% of the participants screened positively on the ASQ, including 37.5% with acute suicidal ideation. A backward logistic regression, taking the negative/positive screening ASQ as the dependent variable, showed that a positive family history of suicide and depression were significantly associated with higher positive suicidal screening, whereas higher spirituality was significantly associated with lower positive suicidal screening. When forcing the mature religiosity scale as an independent variable, the results remained the same. CONCLUSION: Spiritual well-being might be considered an important factor to explore among psychiatric patients. Psychiatric inpatients have a high risk for suicide; the challenge remains for clinicians to identify upon admission patients that are most likely to die from suicide.Key pointsA positive family history of suicide and depression was significantly associated with higher suicidality.Higher spirituality, but not religiosity, was significantly associated with lower suicidality.Spiritual well-being might be considered an important factor to explore among psychiatric patients.The challenge remains for clinicians to identify patients that are most likely to die from suicide upon admission.

Ursodeoxycholic Acid's Effectiveness in the Management of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Aim: This meta-analysis's objective was to assess the effectiveness of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: Electronic databases like PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were thoroughly looked for randomized controlled trials determining ursodeoxycholic acid's (UDCAs) effectiveness on the serum liver function tests in NAFLD patients. After screening, seven randomized controlled trials were incorporated overall. Utilizing a fixed effects model, quantitative data synthesis was performed in R version 4.3.1. Results: The meta-analysis showed significant reductions in alanine transaminase (ALT) (p ≤ 0.0001), aspartate transaminase (p = 0.0009), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) (p ≤ 0.0001) after UDCA therapy. However, significant reductions in bilirubin (p = 0.6989) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (p = 0.1172) levels were not noted. Sensitivity analysis by removing the studies with some concerns of bias was successful in demonstrating a remarkable reduction in heterogeneity for aspartate transaminase and ALP, which was also observed while performing the subgroup analyses via dosage. Conclusion: Ursodeoxycholic acid was beneficial in patients diagnosed with NAFLD as it significantly reduced aspartate transaminase, ALT and GGT levels. However, more randomized controlled trials are required to be conducted in the future to increase the certainty of the evident findings. Clinical significance: This meta-analysis strengthens the evidence about the reductions in AST, ALT, and GGT levels observed with ursodeoxycholic acid therapy in NAFLD patients by pooling the data together from the latest RCTs thus proving its hepatoprotective effects which can be beneficial in preventing the associated complications. How to cite this article: Patel VS, Mahmood SF, Bhatt KH, et al. Ursodeoxycholic Acid's Effectiveness in the Management of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2024;14(1):92-98.

Is the presence of a psychiatric patient at home associated with higher addictions (alcohol, cigarette, and waterpipe dependence) in caregivers? The role of work fatigue, mental illness, spirituality, and religiosity.

PURPOSE: To assess if living with a psychiatric patient, depression, anxiety, stress, fatigue, insomnia, spirituality, and religiosity would be associated with more problematic alcohol use, cigarette, and waterpipe dependence in Lebanese caregivers. METHODS: A case-control study was performed in Lebanon that recruited 587 caregivers (July-September 2019). RESULTS: Higher religiosity was associated with lower problematic alcohol use. Having low versus no income was significantly associated with more cigarette dependence. Being Christian and high anxiety were significantly associated with more waterpipe dependence, whereas higher insomnia was significantly associated with lower waterpipe dependence. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Family caregivers go through a lot of stress and burden and need help coping with it in a healthy way for better outcomes for them and the care recipient.

Factors associated with overweight and obesity in Lebanese male patients with schizophrenia.

PURPOSE: To assess the influence of lifestyle factors, antipsychotic medications, and psychosis symptoms on obesity in a group of male patients with schizophrenia in Lebanon. DESIGN/METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted between May and July 2018 enrolling 149 male patients with chronic schizophrenia. RESULTS: We found that 59.1% of the patients were obese/overweight. Older age and higher negative and total positive and negative syndrome scale scores were significantly associated with lower body mass index values. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study shed light on some factors associated with obesity in male patients with schizophrenia, which may be targeted for the prevention and management of obesity. Some interventions were proposed such as focusing on patients' physical health, psychiatric treatment, and maintaining a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle.