ABSTRACT
Background: Internationally, there is growing concern about the adverse health effects of mobile phone use by young people. Aim: To determine the pattern of mobile phone use among medical students and determine the potential association between degree of use and self-reported health impacts. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 472 medical students in King Abdulaziz University. Self-administered specially designed questionnaire was used to collect data regarding the following: Socio-demographic characteristics, pattern of phone use and self-reported health complaints. Results: The students’ median duration of mobile phone use was 330 min/day and was significantly higher in females (P= 0.04). A positive significant correlation was observed between the health complaints score and the average daily duration of use (r =0.139, P=0.002). Adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that heavy mobile use was significantly associated with self-reported sleep disturbances, headache (AOR=4.76), fatigue (AOR=4.67), depression (AOR=2.63), nervousness (AOR=1.64), musculoskeletal pain (AOR=2.14) and visual problems (AOR=2.40). Conclusion: mobile phone use occupies a significant part in the daily life of medical students. The heavy use of mobile phone in calling and non-calling activities was associated with a high level of subjective health complaints with dose dependent pattern. After controlling for other important predictors, heavy mobile use was associated with sleep disturbances, headache, depression, nervousness, eye and musculoskeletal problems. Excessive use of mobile phones should be avoided and social awareness increased through health education activities. In addition, employing a speaker-phone device for longer daily use and recommended parental procedures are taken to prevent young people being woken by their mobile phones.
ABSTRACT
A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 sewage workers and 30 matched unexposed referents from Mansoura city; Egypt; to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Stool culture and detection of H. pylori antigen were done. In addition; the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA) gene in H. pylori in stool samples was carried out. The prevalence of H. pylori in sewage workers was 56.7% compared to 16.7% in the comparison group with a highly statistically significant difference between both groups. H. pylori cagA gene was present in 64.7% of H. pylori-infected sewage workers compared with 40% of controls. cagA gene was associated with more dyspeptic symptoms (77.3%) in infected workers compared to those of noninfected ones (33.3%) (P = .041). The risk of H. pylori was significantly higher among workers with poor compliance with personal protective equipment (PPE) (OR = 3.00); with duration of work 20 years (OR = 4.71); older than 45 years (OR = 4.27); and of low education level (OR = 11.2). We concluded that H. pylori infection and heartburn with or without epigastric pain are significant health problems in the studied sewage workers. Low education and poor compliance with PPE were the only predictors of H. pylori infection in sewage workers