ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Thyroid hormones have substantial effects on blood pressure (BP) and renal function as they influence the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Maintaining healthy BP and preventing premature development of nephropathy necessitates taking steps. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the association between BP, GFR, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in hypothyroid patients at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A retrospective record review study of all hypothyroid patients from June 1, 2010 to June 6, 2020. The medical records of 1,181 adult patients were reviewed, and 157 met the criteria. All patients aged >18 years who were diagnosed with hypothyroidism and were on levothyroxine therapy, were included in this study. RESULTS: More than half of the participants were female (83.4%). There was no significant correlation between TSH and systolic BP (P= 0.6), or TSH and diastolic BP (P=0.8), while there was a positive correlation between TSH and creatinine (r=0.4, P=0.001) and a negative correlation between TSH and GFR (r=-0.2, P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We found no association between BP and TSH, while creatinine correlated directly and GFR inversely with TSH. Follow-up renal function should be a target for physicians in hypothyroid patients to prevent premature complications.
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OBJECTIVE: Low birth weight (LBW) infants (<2,500 g) continued to be a global health problem because of the associated short- and long-term adverse outcomes. The study aimed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and short-term outcomes of term LBW infants STUDY DESIGN: A prospective and case-control study. All infants born consecutively from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019 were included. Cases, term LBW infants, were 1:1 matched to controls, appropriate for gestational age (AGA) term infants. Major congenital or chromosomal anomalies and multiple pregnancies were excluded. RESULTS: The prevalence of term LBW in the studied period was 4.8%. Mothers of term LBW infants had significantly lower body mass index (p = 0.05), gained less weight (p = 0.01), had a history of previous LBW (p = 0.01), and lower monthly income (p = 0.04) compared with mothers of term AGA infants even after adjustment for confounders. A nonsignificant higher number of term LBW infants needed NICU admission, while their need for phototherapy was deemed significant. CONCLUSION: We identified nutritional and socioeconomic maternal factors that are significantly associated with LBW infants and should be targeted during antenatal visits to improve neonatal outcomes. KEY POINTS: · LBW infants (<2,500 g) are at risk of short- and long-term morbidities.. · Poor maternal nutritional and socioeconomic factors increase the risk of LBW infant.. · Targeting identified risk factors of LBW infant antenatally improve neonatal outcomes.
Subject(s)
Infant, Low Birth Weight , Birth Weight , Case-Control Studies , Female , Gestational Age , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Pregnancy , Prevalence , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Intentional outdoor tanning is the process through which people expose their skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation to darken their skin color toward brown or bronze. UV radiation is a well-known modifiable risk factor for photoaging, photoallergic reactions, and phototoxicity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the behaviors and knowledge of intentional outdoor tanning among adults in the western region of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1023 adults from the general population who met the eligibility criteria. Data were collected in October and November 2022 using an electronic questionnaire to assess the sociodemographic data, behaviors, and knowledge of the participants related to intentional outdoor tanning. RESULTS: Overall, 24.5% of the participants intentionally tanned outdoors, the majority of which (203, 80.9%) were exposed to the sun for more than 20 minutes. The participants who intentionally tan outdoors were significantly younger than those who do not (32 ± 10.7 vs. 38.4 ± 13.9, respectively, P <0.001). Most of the participants had good knowledge of the disadvantages of sun exposure on the skin (61.3%). Additionally, good knowledge was significantly more prevalent in women (70.3%) than men (48.6%) (P <0.001). CONCLUSION: Individuals who intentionally tan outdoors engage in other behaviors or beliefs that increase exposure to UV rays. This points to the need for comprehensive interventions such as community-counseling campaigns to address these new trends and their relationship with photoaging and skin cancer.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge and attitude toward hemoglobinopathies premarital screening (PMS) program among unmarried population in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1039 unmarried males and females from the general population who fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Data was collected from July-December 2017, using an electronic questionnaire to assess the socio-demographic data, knowledge and attitudes of the participants regarding PMS. Results: Approximately half of the participants had poor knowledge scores (51.1%), while 28.4% of them had fair and 20.5% had good scores. Individuals with an educational level of "university degree and above" had significantly higher knowledge than those with lower educational levels. Furthermore, 60.4% of the participants had a positive attitude toward PMS. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA); and a Chi-squared test was used for comparisons between proportions and a p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Conclusion: Participants showed a lack of knowledge regarding PMS but they had a positive attitude towards the program. More efforts are required to raise awareness in the public regarding PMS, via social media and educational lectures in schools and universities. Additionally, early genetic screening may help improve test acceptance and higher impact.