The prevalence and incidence of diabetic foot ulcers among five countries in the Arab world: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: There is a rising incidence of diabetes worldwide; however there seems to be a higher incidence and prevalence rates in the Arab world when compared with the global average. 1 Out of the top 10 countries with the highest prevalence rates, six are Arab countries and almost 20.5 million people in that part of the world live with diabetes. Despite this, published scientific research from the 22 Arab countries is limited and seems to be of lower quality when compared with the rest of the developed world. 2 Therefore, our aim was to explore the contribution of the different Arab countries in the world literature, to identify the diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) prevalence and incidence rates and to quality appraise these studies. METHOD: A systematic review, following PRISMA guidelines, was undertaken to identify the incidence and prevalence of DFUs in the Arab world. The following databases were searched: PubMed, Embase CINAHL, Web of Science (Scopus), Global Health and EBSCO Results: A total of nine papers were identified. The mean prevalence of DFU in Saudi Arabia was 11.85% (4.7-19%), in Egypt was 4.2% (1-7.4%), in Jordan was 4.65% (4-5.3%), in Bahrain was 5.9% and in Iraq was 2.7%. A single study identified DFU incidence in Saudi Arabia as 1.8% between 2009-2010. CONCLUSION: The mean prevalence rates of DFU were highest in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and lowest in Iraq. Saudi Arabia had the only reported incidence study, thus findings could not be compared to other countries of the Arab world. There were no studies identified during our search reporting prevalence rates of DFU in 17 of the 22 Arab countries. It is clear that further research is required to determine the incidence and prevalance of DFUs in the Arab world and that progress is needed in order to improve the quality of research conducted in those countries.

Association study of energy homeostasis genes and antipsychotic-induced weight gain in patients with schizophrenia.

INTRODUCTION: Marked inter-individual variation has been observed with respect to the risk of weight gain and related metabolic disturbances during antipsychotic treatment, which in part could be explained by heritability. Such adverse effects have been proposed to occur through drug-induced mechanisms involving both the central nervous system and different peripheral tissues. METHODS: We genotyped tagSNPs in several genes ( ADIPOQ, PRKAA1, PRKAA2, PRKAB1, PRKAG1, PRKAG2, PRKAG3, FTO and FABP3) that regulate lipid and energy homeostasis for their possible association to antipsychotic-induced weight gain. RESULTS: In a sample of 160 patients of German origin with schizophrenia who had been monitored with respect to body weight, we found marked association between antipsychotic-related changes in BMI and 6 markers in the adiponectin gene ( ADIPOQ). DISCUSSION: These findings support previous observations (in patients' serum) that adiponectin is involved in antipsychotic-mediated metabolic adverse effects.

Knowledge of Bahraini women about the menopause and hormone therapy: implications for health-care policy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the knowledge of Bahraini women aged 30-64 years about menopause, hormone therapy (HT) and their associated health risks. To examine the relationship between the knowledge of Bahraini women about menopause and their sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 260 Bahraini women attending primary health-care centers. A multistage, stratified and clustered random sampling technique was used. The women were interviewed using a structured questionnaire composed of the Menopause Knowledge Scale and sociodemographics. RESULTS: The mean knowledge percentage of all participants was 59.86, with a standard deviation of 25.77. There were significant differences in the mean knowledge percentages among categories of education (p = 0.025) and employment (p = 0.005). No significant differences in the mean knowledge percentages were found among categories of menopausal status. The statement with the highest percentage of correct answers was 'Pregnancy cannot occur after menopause' (75.8%). Statements regarding risk of cardiovascular diseases had the lowest percentage of correct answers, 'HT increases risk of cardiovascular diseases' (33.8%) and 'Risk of cardiovascular diseases increases with menopause' (40.0%). CONCLUSION: The knowledge of Bahraini women about menopause and HT is average. Lack of knowledge was greatest in areas related to heart disease. Better education about menopause needs to be achieved regarding the long-term risk associated with menopause and the pros and cons of HT.