Association Between Smoking Habits and Body Weight Among General Population in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is a significant cause of mortality and is strongly associated with the development of morbid diseases, such as obesity. There is a considerable interest in understanding the impact of smoking on body weight. The exact nature remains unclear due to the mixed results observed in the literature review. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between smoking and body weight concerning demographic characteristics in the western region of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the western region of Saudi Arabia from November 15, 2022 to July 15, 2023. To collect data, an online survey was utilized, and the survey link was shared across various social media platforms. The survey was completed by a total of 744 individuals who were at least 18 years old and answered a self-reported questionnaire on the web. RESULTS: Analysis showed that (39%) of participants lead a sedentary lifestyle, and (58.8%) have an abnormal BMI. Among them approximately 25% are overweight, 12.4% are obese, and 7.4% are extremely obese. Moreover, a greater number of them were traditional smokers. Our study reported that individuals who had quit smoking were more likely to be overweight. Regarding self-perception of their weight, almost half of the participants consider themselves overweight and they're more likely to smoke, whether it be traditional or electronic cigarettes. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a strong link between smoking habits and increased weight status, as measured by body mass indexes. These findings have important implications for public health interventions aimed at reducing smoking rates and obesity levels. By recognizing the potential connection between these two risk factors, experts in public health can develop more effective strategies to promote healthy behaviors and prevent chronic diseases among young individuals.

Follicular Variant of Acquired Dermal Macular Hyperpigmentation: A Case Report.

Acquired dermal macular hyperpigmentation (ADMH) is a term used to describe a group of diseases that are characterized by idiopathic macular dermal hypermelanosis. These skin conditions include erythema dyschromicum perstans, lichen planus pigmentosus, and pigmented contact dermatitis, also known as Riehl's melanosis. This case report involves a 55-year-old woman who was generally healthy but who had been experiencing asymptomatic, slowly progressive skin lesions for the previous four years. A thorough inspection of her skin revealed many non-scaly, pin-point follicular brown macules, which in some spots had coalesced into patches across her neck, chest, upper extremities, and back. Darier disease and Dowling-Degos disease were included in the differential diagnosis. The biopsies of the skin revealed follicular plugging. The dermis had pigment incontinence with melanophages and slight perivascular and perifollicular mononuclear cell infiltrates. The patient was diagnosed with a follicular form of ADMH. Patient's skin condition caused her concern. She was reassured and prescribed topical steroids 0.1% betamethasone valerate ointment application twice a day for two days per week (weekends) and 0.1% tacrolimus ointment application twice a day for five days per week for three months. She showed some improvement and was put under periodic follow-ups.

Evaluation of the Awareness, Beliefs, and Psychological Impact of Patients with Alopecia Areata in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients diagnosed with AA at different hospitals. A total of 211 patients were included in the investigation between November 2021 and June 2022. The participants were subjected to a well-structured, Arabic-based, validated questionnaire. Results: More than half of the patients were men (54.0%) and single (50.7%). The most common age groups were 30 to 44 years (46.9%) and 18 to 29 years (36.0%). More than two-thirds of the participants (67.8%) had heard of AA before their diagnosis. Of these, the level of knowledge was low among 36.4%, medium among 42.0%, and high among 21.7%. Most of the patients believed that AA may be caused by genetic, nutritional, or health factors (77.3%) and that it is a serious health problem that necessitates treatment (64.0%). The most common psychological attributes caused by AA are feeling ashamed in front of other individuals (63.0%), anxiety (47.9%), and depression (36.0%). Conclusion: Our results show more than two-thirds of the participants were knowledgeable about AA. Most believed that the cause of AA is genetic, nutritional, or health factors and suffered negative psychological effects. According to our study, high levels of anxiety and depression are closely associated with AA patients, which affect their quality of life.