Adaptation and psychometric assessment of a sexual and reproductive empowerment scale in Arabic among refugee and non-refugee adolescent girls.

BACKGROUND: Sexual and reproductive empowerment (SRE) is an important determinant of women's and girls' health yet measuring it is complex due to cultural and domain-specific variations. This study describes the process of adapting an SRE scale consisting of four domains (self-efficacy; future orientation; social support; and safety) and testing its psychometric properties among Arabic speaking adolescent girls in Lebanon. METHODS: An SRE scale developed in a Western context was adapted in four steps: (1) reviewing the scale and selecting culturally appropriate domains for translation to standard Arabic; (2) conducting cognitive interviews with 30 11-17-year-old adolescent girls in Lebanon; (3) administering the scale to 339 refugee adolescent girls who participated in an early marriage intervention; and (4) conducting confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the data to assess the scale's psychometric properties. RESULTS: The original model for the 13-item, four-domain adapted scale demonstrated poor fit in CFA. After iteratively removing two items, scale properties were improved, albeit were not optimal. The validity and reliability results for the self-efficacy domain were acceptable. Cognitive interview data revealed that Arab adolescent girls understood self-efficacy in relational terms, recognizing that autonomous decision-making is not necessarily favored but is influenced by parents and family. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents an effort to customize an SRE scale for use in studies on the health of adolescent girls in an Arab cultural context. Findings from cognitive interviews highlight the importance of taking into consideration relationality in adolescent sexual and reproductive decision-making. The self-efficacy domain in the adapted scale demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties and is recommended for use in health studies to capture SRE.

Body Typology of Lebanese Adults: Initial Cluster Cross-Selection Study / Tipología Corporal de Adultos Libaneses: Estudio Inicial de Selección Cruzada de Grupos

SUMMARY: This study aims to investigate body typologies based on a combination of basic anthropo-morphological characteristics and body composition measured by multichannel bioimpedance in a sample from the adult population of Lebanon. A total of 302 subjects (173 males and 129 females) without acute or chronic health disorders were included in the study. Body composition was measured by the multichannel bioelectrical impedance (BIA) method, using the i30 device (MEDIANA, Korea). The research used 10 variables, including three basic anthropo-morphological variables, three for assessing fat, three for assessing the muscle component, and one index variable. K-means cluster analysis was used to define five specific clusters (5D) of body types based on sex. In light of the results, the study established five distinct clusters representing five different body typologies among Lebanese adults, categorized by sex: Male sample, Group 1 - Obese Endomorph (15.61 %), Group 2 - Balanced Mesomorph (16.76 %), Group 3 - Short Endomorph (30.06 %), Group 4 - Short Mesomorph (34.10 %), and Group 5 - Pathological Obese Endomorph (3.47 %); Female sample, Group 1- Obese Endomorph (2.33 %), Group 2 - Short Endo/Mesomorph (28.68 %), Group 3 - Short Ectomorph (32.56 %), Group 4 - Endomorph (22.48 %), and Group 5 - Balanced Mesomorph (13.95 %). Furthermore, the results indicated that the primary factor contributing to the distinctions among the identified clusters in terms of sex is fat tissue. This leads to the conclusion that eating habits cause the given differences, rather than the level of physical activity, regardless of sex.

Este estudio ttuvo como objetivo investigar tipologías corporales basadas en una combinación de características antropomorfológicas básicas y composición corporal, medidas por bioimpedancia multicanal, en una muestra de la población adulta del Líbano. Se incluyeron en el estudio un total de 302 sujetos (173 hombres y 129 mujeres) sin trastornos de salud agudos o crónicos. La composición corporal se midió mediante el método de impedancia bioeléctrica multicanal (BIA), utilizando el dispositivo i30 (MEDIANA, Corea). La investigación utilizó 10 variables, incluidas tres variables antropomorfológicas básicas, tres para evaluar la grasa, tres para evaluar el componente muscular y una variable índice. Se utilizó el análisis de conglomerados de K-medias para definir cinco conglomerados específicos (5D) de tipos de cuerpo según el sexo. En base a los resultados, el estudio estableció cinco grupos distintos que representan cinco tipologías corporales diferentes entre los adultos libaneses, categorizados por sexo: muestra masculina, grupo 1: endomorfo obeso (15,61 %), grupo 2: mesomorfo equilibrado (16,76 %), grupo 3 - Endomorfo Corto (30,06 %), Grupo 4 - Mesomorfo Corto (34,10 %), y Grupo 5 - Endomorfo Obeso Patológico (3,47 %); Muestra femenina, Grupo 1: Endomorfo obeso (2,33 %), Grupo 2: Endo/mesomorfo corto (28,68 %), Grupo 3: Ectomorfo corto (32,56 %), Grupo 4: Endomorfo (22,48 %) y Grupo 5: Mesomorfo equilibrado (13,95 %). Además, los resultados indicaron que el factor principal que contribuye a las distinciones entre los grupos identificados en términos de sexo es el tejido adiposo. Esto lleva a la conclusión de que las diferencias dadas son causadas por los hábitos alimentarios, más que por el nivel de actividad física, independientemente del sexo.

Influence of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Intake on Sarcopenic Obesity, Visceral Obesity, and Sarcopenia in Lebanese Patients with MASLD: A Case-Control Study.

Chronic liver diseases are a major global health concern. AIMS: this study investigated the links between medical, clinical, anthropometric, and dietary factors with dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in the Lebanese population using a case-control approach to uncover factors influencing visceral obesity, sarcopenia, and sarcopenic obesity. METHODS AND MATERIALS: a total of 120 participants (20-70 years old) were divided into case and control groups based on liver disease diagnosis. Patient information was gathered through a questionnaire encompassing demographics, medical history, and beverage consumption. Anthropometric and body composition data were collected in a clinical setting. RESULTS: our findings indicated a clear association between the presence of MASLD and obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. The positive association with higher body mass index and all three conditions remained consistent even when data was stratified by case and control groups. A greater proportion of MASLD patients exhibited sarcopenic obesity. Furthermore, MASLD cases showed higher consumption of sugary beverages and a reduced intake of milk and water in their diets. CONCLUSIONS: this study shed light on the health attributes and diets of the Lebanese population with liver diseases and suggested more research in this area and in a more ethnically diverse population.

Developing a sexual and reproductive health educational intervention for adolescent Syrian refugee girls: Challenges and lessons learned.

In Lebanon, a country with the highest per capita refugee population in the world, roughly one in four persons is forcibly displaced. Early marriage is highly prevalent among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and qualitative studies suggest an unmet need for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services in this community. Adolescent Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon are a vulnerable population at risk of negative SRH outcomes related to early sexual debut, which occurs primarily in the context of early marriage. Despite this need, cultural norms and gender roles generally restrict adolescent girls' access to SRH resources. To address this need for comprehensive sexuality education, our team developed a novel, rights-based, peer-led, adolescent SRH educational curriculum that is specific to the context of Syrian displacement in Lebanon. This curriculum was developed to be administered as part of Project Amenah, a community-based, multi-component intervention that aims to reduce early marriage and improve SRH among adolescent Syrian refugee girls displaced in Lebanon. The curriculum, which features eight discreet age-appropriate units, is based on extensive formative work conducted in this community, as well as adaptations of early marriage programs implemented in low-resource settings elsewhere. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, gender and human rights, communication, negotiation and decision-making, reproductive anatomy, puberty and menstruation, sexually transmitted infections, family planning and modern contraception, and adolescent pregnancy. We encountered several challenges when developing this curriculum, including those related to community acceptability, varying levels of literacy levels among participants, and limited engagement with married adolescents, who may experience mobility restrictions that preclude their participation. We recommend that investigators developing adolescent SRH interventions in similar settings utilize a behavior-determinant-intervention logic model to guide their study design, elucidate community priorities and capacity by conducting preliminary qualitative work and assembling a community advisory board, and follow a peer-led model, which has shown to be effective for adolescent SRH interventions.