Trust in pharmaceuticals and vaccine hesitancy: exploring factors influencing COVID-19 immunization among Lebanese children aged 1 to 11 years.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious threat to everyone's health. Numerous studies have demonstrated that vaccines are very effective in preventing COVID-19-related severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Children's vaccination exerts its protecting effect by preventing the spread of the virus. The purpose of this study was to analyze the rate of COVID-19 immunization among Lebanese children aged 1 to 11 years and assess parental factors that affect immunization rates. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2023. The online survey was distributed across all social media channels, including the Ministry of Public Health website. RESULTS: A total of 390 parents filled the survey (mean age = 37.48 ± 8.39 years; 50.5% mothers; 70% with a university level of education). Mothers compared to fathers, having a history of bad reaction to a vaccine vs. not, and higher vaccine hesitancy were significantly associated with less willingness to administer the vaccine to the child. Trusting pharmaceutical companies was significantly associated with more willingness to administer the vaccine to the child. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the factors associated with parents' decisions to vaccinate their children may vary. Our findings conclude that vaccine acceptance is being highly associated with parental concerns, trust, and information regarding the vaccine safety and efficacy.

Attitudes of Lebanese community-dwelling older adults towards deprescribing using the rPATD tool.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the attitude of community-dwelling Lebanese older adults towards deprescribing using the Revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire and to determine patient-related factors that impact their willingness for deprescribing. METHODS: A cross-sectional face-to-face survey was conducted in Lebanon over the period extending between October 2021 and March 2022 using the validated Arabic version of the rPATD questionnaire. It included ambulatory older adults who were 65 years of age or older, presenting to the community pharmacy, taking at least one chronic medication, and having intact cognition. KEY FINDINGS: Of the 400 patients approached 300 (87%) agreed to participate. The mean age of participants was 65 (range 65-85 years) and 148 (56.3%) were females. The mean number of medications taken per patient was 5.8 ± 2.67 (range 1-18) and polypharmacy was reported among 188 patients (71.8%). Nearly all of study subjects 233 (89.0%) were willing to discontinue one or more of their regular medications if their physician said it was possible. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the appropriateness of medications factor (OR= 3.9, 95% CI 1.308, 12.16, p=0.015) and patients' concern about stopping the medications factor (OR=0.116, 95% CI 0.033, 0.40, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with patients' willingness to deprescribe. CONCLUSION: A noteworthy percentage of the Lebanese older outpatients were willing to stop one or more of their regular medications if their doctor recommends so. Patients' belief in appropriateness of medications and concerns about stopping were noted to significantly influence their willingness to deprescribe in this sample population.

Prescription patterns of antidiabetic and cardiovascular preventive medications in community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in antidiabetics drug prescription patterns in community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to evaluate the use of cardiovascular preventive medications among those diagnosed with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). METHODS: This cross-sectional, face-to-face interview study that comprised community-dwelling older adults (≥ 65 years) diagnosed with T2DM. The study questionnaire included the patients' demographics, clinical data, and current medication use. Patients with established ASCVD were further classified into low (i.e., not receiving evidence-based therapy or only one) and high (i.e., receiving at least two evidence-based therapies) composite score groups. Bivariate analysis followed by multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the demographic/clinical characteristics associated with the use of antidiabetic monotherapy/polytherapy and evidence-based pharmacotherapy. RESULTS: A total of 500 older adults were enrolled. The mean age of included participants was 73 ± 7 years, 310 participants (62%) were males, and 385 participants (77.0%) had established ASCVD. Antidiabetic monotherapy was reported in 251 participants (50.2%), with metformin followed by sulfonylureas being the most commonly prescribed drugs as monotherapy. The results of the multivariable analysis showed that age [odds ratio (OR) = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.85-0.94, P < 0.001], obesity (OR = 4.18, 95% CI: 1.63-10.36, P = 0.003), hypertension (OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 1.22-7.66, P = 0.04), and dyslipidemia (OR = 4.1, 95% CI: 1.28-8.30, P = 0.01), were significantly associated with the prescription of cardiovascular preventive medications. CONCLUSIONS: Only one in twenty-one participant with T2DM and ASCVD collectively received three guideline-recommended therapies, indicating a deficiency of utilization of cardiovascular preventive drugs.

Knowledge and attitude of Lebanese women about cosmetics: a cross-sectional survey.

The Middle East and North Africa region, including Lebanon, is well known for its excessive cosmetics expenditure. While the use of beauty products is increasing, it is unclear if customers are aware of the products' safety and proper use. Objective: To explore Lebanese women's knowledge and attitudes toward cosmetics use. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2021 among a sample of adult Lebanese women. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire divided into 3 sections (sociodemographic characteristics, cosmetics knowledge, and attitude) and shared via social media platforms. Knowledge and attitude scores were then calculated. Descriptive and regression analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. P value < .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 1,051 females completed the survey, and the age range of the majority 744 (70.8%) was between 18 and 20 years. The mean score of participants' knowledge was 7.54 ± 2.7 (range 0-14) with 658 (62.6%) of the respondents being knowledgeable about cosmetics. The study sample exhibited an overall positive attitude toward cosmetics. A significant association was observed between the area of residency and monthly income of respondents and their knowledge toward cosmetic products (P < .001). Limitations: The self-administered questionnaire may have resulted in information bias and it targeted only those having internet access, and the age group 18 to 20 years was overrepresented. Conclusion: The study sample demonstrated a good level of knowledge as well as a positive attitude toward cosmetics. However, raising awareness on the acute and chronic side effects of cosmetics is warranted.

Under-prescription of medications in older adults according to START criteria: A cross-sectional study in Lebanon.

Background and Aims: Under-prescription is defined as the exclusion of medications indicated for the treatment of certain conditions without any rationale for not prescribing them. The under-prescription of medications is highly prevalent among older adults (≥65 years) receiving polypharmacy. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of the under-prescription of medications using the Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment (START) criteria version 2 and to identify the predictors of having potential prescribing omissions (PPOs). Methods: This cross-sectional, face-to-face interview study was carried out between September 2021 and February 2022. The study comprised community-dwelling older adults taking at least one medication on a regular basis. The study questionnaire included the patients' demographics, clinical data, and comorbidities. PPOs were identified using the START criteria. The χ 2 test was used to assess the association between under-prescription of medication and the demographic/clinical variables. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to explore factors associated with under-prescription of medications as the dependent variable and taking all variables that showed a p < 0.05 in the bivariate analysis as independent. Results: A total of 444 older adults agreed to participate in this study. The mean age of participants was 71 ± 8.6; the majority of them, 305 (68.7%), were men. Polypharmacy was present in 261 patients (58.8%) and underprescribing of medications in 260 patients (58.6%). The highest percentage of under-prescribing of medications was reported with statins in 115 patients (44.2%) followed by aspirin in 93 (35.7%), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in 61 (23.4%). The results of the multivariable analysis showed that patients with underprescribed medications had higher odds of polypharmacy (odds ratio [OR]: 2.015, confidence interval [CI] 95% 1.362-2.980, p < 0.001) and higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (OR 2.807, CI 95% 1.463-5.85, p = 0.02). Conclusion: The present findings highlight that PPOs are highly prevalent among community-dwelling older adults in Lebanon. Multimorbidity and polypharmacy were the identified predictors for under-prescription of medications in this population.

Association between desire thinking and problematic social media use among a sample of Lebanese adults: The indirect effect of suppression and impulsivity.

BACKGROUND: Desire thinking, impulsivity and suppression are psychological variables that are intricately related to behavioral addictions. Bearing in mind the scarcity of data on desire thinking, impulsivity, thought suppression and pathological social media use in developing countries such as Lebanon, with the existing literature suggesting a heightened mental health burden associated with this problematic social media use, it becomes all the more important to elucidate their relationship. Our study aims at investigating the association between desire thinking and problematic social media use specifically, and to further test the effect of impulsivity and thought suppression in mediating the relation between the two distinct facets of desire thinking and problematic social media use. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out between November 2021 and March 2022 using a sample of 414 community-dwelling participants aged above 18 years from all Lebanese districts. The data was collected through an online questionnaire including a section about sociodemographic information, the Desire Thinking Questionnaire (DTQ), Impulsive Behavior Scale (S-UPPS-P), White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) and Social Media Disorder Short Form (SMD). The tests used in the bivariate analysis to assess correlates of SMD were the Student t test to compare two means and the Pearson test to correlate two continuous scores. The PROCESS SPSS Macro version 3.4, model four was used to conduct the mediation analysis. RESULTS: Desire thinking was shown to correlate with increased social media use. Moreover, we found that suppression and lack of premeditation mediated the association between verbal perseveration and social media use disorder whereas suppression and urgency mediated the association between imaginal prefiguration and social media use disorder. CONCLUSION: This study provides new insight on a topic of increasing public health concern. Although understudied to date, suppression and impulsivity differentially mediate the influence of both facets of desire thinking on problematic social media use disorder. The current findings point to the highly pervasive issue of social media use disorder and the need to investigate underlying psychological factors that aggravate it to better profile and support individuals struggling with it.