Functional and mental health affection (depression, anxiety, stress) among Egyptian rheumatic diseases patients during COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Psychological distress caused by the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has had deleterious effects on patients with chronic rheumatic disease, as those patients were highly susceptible for COVID-19 infection due to their chronicity, in addition to use of immunosuppressive drugs. Therefore, they underwent to more isolation than other people and develop more stress and depression. This study aimed at evaluating level of depression, anxiety, stress symptoms and physical health status in Egyptian patients with various rheumatic diseases during COVID-19 pandemic. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. It included 440 diagnosed cases of rheumatic diseases from 1st to the end of March 2021. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS21) and RAPID3/MDHAQ test were used to assess the pandemic's psychological and functional effect on participants. RESULTS: RAPID3 test results showed that during the COVID-19 outbreak the 40% of patients had a moderate severity functional affection and 20% had high severity. DASS21 depression scoring showed mild to moderate depression (33% and 35%, respectively), while severe depression was detected in only 3.2% of cases. Moderate anxiety was reported in 49% of cases, 29% had severe anxiety while 1% showed extremely severe anxiety. Mild to moderate stress was reported in 17% and 16%, respectively. Female and cases aged more than 45 years had significantly more severe functional affection recorded by RAPID3 test, moderate stress and severe anxiety. On the other hand, severe depression was significantly higher in male and young patients younger than 45 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Rheumatic disease patients have been highly susceptible to functional affection and psychological distress related to COVID-19 pandemic. Planning and implementation of programs to enforce coping strategies for these patients are required.

Stroke prevention: knowledge of the general population in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: Stroke is a medical emergency that may lead to permanent neurological damage, complications, and disability. It is the second leading cause of death worldwide and one of the main causes of adult-acquired disabilities. Stroke can be prevented by controlling modifiable risk factors and the early detection of stroke warning signs. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge of the general population in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia about stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional and community-based design was employed in this study. The sample was calculated as 432. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The data was analyzed by SPSS software, version 23. Descriptive statistics were used. The Chi-square test was employed to test differences between qualitative variables, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Results showed that 26.6 % of the population had good knowledge about stroke. Population with average and poor knowledge were 50.5% and 22.9%, respectively. The level of stroke knowledge is related to age; the older population aged 45 and more acquired the highest level of knowledge (50%) compared to the other groups. Age group 35-44 years received the least level of stroke knowledge (19.9%). The school teaching had the highest level (40.0%) of stroke knowledge than the other occupations. CONCLUSIONS: Stroke knowledge among the population of Saudi Arabia is inadequate. The stroke knowledge is related to age and occupation.