Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome among a snoring community.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relation between snoring and the presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in terms of relevant health parameters and questionnaire responses. METHODS: Selective random sampling within a household survey in the cities of Al-Khobar and Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over a 3 month period during the year 2000, was carried out. One hundred and fifty-two persons, aged 17-62 years, with a positive history of snoring as determined by the spouse or other members of the family were selected. RESULTS: The presence of OSA was determined using the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). The predictors included age, gender and body mass index. Snoring was found to be more associated with OSA as suggested by ESS in the study sample. The severity of snoring and its pattern are more associated with apneic patients. CONCLUSION: Snoring is common and may be a serious medical problem. This study revealed that snoring is associated with symptoms suggesting OSA syndrome as detected by ESS. The family doctor and his team should be aware of the condition, using simple screening test such as ESS, improves the patient care, and finding of suspected cases.

Mental health training in primary care. Impact on physicians knowledge.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to measure changes in the Primary Health Care (PHC) physicians` knowledge towards mental illnesses after a short-term training course. METHODS: The interventive study consisted of a sample of 31 PHC physicians randomly selected from different PHC centers in Eastern Saudi Arabia. The physicians were exposed to a 4-day intensive training course in mental illnesses in June 1999. They were assessed using multiple choice questions testing before (pre-test) and after (post-test) to assess their knowledge regarding mental illnesses. RESULTS: The analysis of the accumulated data indicated that there was a significant improvement in the PHC physicians` knowledge of mental illnesses after the course (p<0.0001). The effect of recall bias was excluded in the post-test evaluation. In addition, multiple regression analysis indicated that the undergraduate psychiatric training courses had a positive contribution in both pre- and post-tests. CONCLUSION: The authors surmised that a mental training course could improve the knowledge base of PHC physicians. Furthermore, by giving substantial weight to the undergraduate and internship psychiatric training might improve the delivery of mental health services at the PHC level.