RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarette (E-cigarette) is an electronic nicotine delivery device that has been advocated as a safe alternative for cigarette smokers. Since the introduction of E-cigarette internationally and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), it gained popularity, particularly among the youth and young adults. Moreover, many nonsmoker (nicotine-naïve) youth started to use E-cigarette as a new social habit. Recent researches have casted shadows on the E-cigarette safety profile. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of E-cigarette use among students of health science colleges in Jeddah-KSA. It also assesses E-cigarette effectiveness as a smoking cessation method and its possible addictiveness. METHODS: The study is an epidemiological, cross-sectional study, which was conducted between November 2017 and December 2017 in three different universities in Jeddah. A self-administered online questionnaire related to E-cigarette and the conventional cigarette was used. RESULTS: A total of 1007 completed an electronic survey which was distributed to 3000 health sciences colleges' students. Of the participants 14.1% were cigarette smoker, 46% of them smoke regularly. Students who smoke half a pack per day and above were 22% of the smokers. More college students use the E-cigarette (27.7%). Moreover, one-fifth of the E-cigarettes users were using it on the regular daily basis. The study found that 42.7% of E-cigarettes users have used it as a tool to quit smoking. Interestingly, more than half (56.7%) of the students who used it to stop smoking has succeeded. However, only 46% of E-cigarettes users who tried to quit vaping have succeeded. Young aged, students believed that smoking is more addictive than vaping or recommended E-cigarette for smoking cessation found to have a higher chance of quitting smoking in the univariate regression analysis. While, in the multivariate analysis, students who believed that conventional smoking is more addictive than E-cigarettes; students started vaping to quit smoking, or used E-cigarettes with fruit flavor found to have significantly higher chance of quitting. CONCLUSION: The E-cigarettes vaping is more prevalent than conventional cigarette smoking among health sciences students in Jeddah-KSA. E-cigarettes are used as a tool to help smoking cessation in less than half of the user. E-cigarettes help some smokers to quit smoking. However, it seems as addictive to the users as conventional cigarette smoking.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Despite the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and coronary artery disease (CAD), few studies have investigated this issue in Saudi Arabia. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of OSA among CAD patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional (descriptive) study conducted at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from April 2012 to December 2013. All consecutive patients referred to the cardiac catheterization lab for coronary angiography who exhibited evidence of CAD were included in this study. This study was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, each participant was interviewed individually. The administered interview collected data pertaining to demographics, comorbidities, and the STOP-BANG questionnaire score. The second stage of this study consisted of a diagnostic overnight polysomnography (PSG) of 50% of the subjects at high risk for OSA according to the STOP-BANG questionnaire. RESULTS: Among the patients with CAD (N = 156), 128 (82%) were categorized as high risk for developing OSA. PSG was conducted on 48 patients. The estimated prevalence of OSA in the study sample was 56.4%. Approximately 61% of the documented sleep apnea patients suffered from moderate to severe OSA. CONCLUSION: This local study concurs with reports in the literature indicating that OSA is very common among CAD patients.
