Types and risk factors of cervical cancer

To determine the types of cervical cancer and risk factors among women and the possible relationship between the risk factors and each specific type of cervical cancer. Salmaniya Medical Center, Bahrain. A Retrospective, Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study. All patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer by positive cytology test during 2006 to 2010 were included. Data were collected from the patients' record and from various investigation reports using a predefined questionnaire. The total number of women with cervical cancer from 2006 to 2010 was 34. The highest prevalence rate was in 2006 [4 per 100,000], age ranged from 31 to 84 years; 25 [74%] were Bahrainis. Nineteen [56%] had squamous cell carcinoma and 11 [32%] had adenocarcinoma including one case of adenosquamous carcinoma. Thirteen [38.2%] patients with squamous cell carcinoma were older than 50 years. Six [17.6%] patients with adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma were younger than 50 years. There is a low but rising prevalence of cervical cancer in Bahrain [from 0.6 to 4 per 100,000] from 2006 to 2010. It is recommended that attending physicians should take proper detailed history from all cancer cases that include all possible risk factors. Since half of the sample population were found to have positive family history of any cancer, screening of the first-degree relatives for cervical cancer is important. A future study with a larger sample and a control group is recommended to be carried out to establish causality between cervical cancer and their possible risk factors

Factors influencing dietary practice among type 2 diabetics

Improving dietary practice alone without the adherence to other diabetic self-management elements can improve glycemic control and may reduce glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c] by 1% to 2%. However, diabetic patients usually have poor adherence to follow appropriate and long-term dietary practice. To evaluate the factors influencing dietary practice and to evaluate the relationship between patients' dietary practice and level of HbA1c. A cross-sectional study. Five Health Centers, Bahrain. The study was performed in Bahrain during 2011; it included 400 type 2 diabetic patients. The sample was selected from the diabetic clinics of the primary health care centers. Only the adult patients who attended the clinic at least twice were included in the study. The majority of the sample was 50 years old with low educational level. Most of them were overweight and obese and had poor HbA1c level [>7%]. However, patients had good family support and high motivation to see a dietician and to follow diet regimen if given. Despite all previous indications to reinforce diabetic self-management education, specifically dietary advice, 56 [14%] denied receiving any dietary advice. The majority received their dietary advice from doctors and only 65 [16.3%] received advice from the diabetic nurse. Most patients never have been referred neither to a dietician nor to a health educator [318 [79.5%], 338 [84.5%] respectively]. Although, patients had mainly average and good dietary practice, it may not indicate the actual dietary habits of the studied patients due to some limitations in the study. The two main barriers to dietary regimen are "it takes efforts" were 183 [45.8%] and "being busy" were 178 [45.5%]. Although the majority of the diabetic patients were poorly controlled, most had average and good dietary practice score. There was positive relationship between the dietary practice and the HbA1c level. The lack of proper professional dietary assessment, follow-up and advice by the health care providers are the main influence on dietary practice of type 2 diabetic patients in Bahrain

Knowledge and behavior of primary school teachers towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

School teachers in Bahrain have never received any educational programs about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] except for a workshop which was conducted for primary school social supervisors in 2005. To evaluate the knowledge of primary school teachers of ADHD, attitude and behavior towards ADHD students. Cross-Sectional study. Primary Schools in Bahrain. One hundred fifty-eight randomly selected governmental primary school teachers completed the questionnaire about knowledge and attitude towards ADHD. Eighty-four [53.2%] of the teachers were knowledgeable about ADHD. Their main sources of knowledge about ADHD were newspapers and magazines. Teachers' Knowledge of ADHD was found to be less than optimal

Drug usage patterns in a geriatric hospital in Bahrain

This study was conducted in early 1991,in a geriatric hospital in Bahrain. All the 56 inpatients of the Muharraq geriatric hospital were included in the study. A questionnaire was designed in order to collect all the required information. A nurse was appointed and trained for the data collection. Informed consent was obtained from all the patients who participated in this study. The aim was to study their sociodemographic characteristics, patterns of drug prescription and factors that may affect the drug usage. The majority of the studied population were on one or more kind of medication. The number of regularly used medication ranged between 1 to 8 with an average of 2.8 drugs per person. Thirty nine% were on psychotrophic medications and of these 70% were on one or more neuroleptic drugs. Comparison is made between the results of this study with those found in a population of similar age in other parts of the world and differences are discussed

Primary health care: its role in the detection of cases with unusual presentations

The role of the family physician in the continuous care of people in the community for which he/she is responsible, is discussed in this article. A case of Endometriosis with an unusual presentation to the clinic is presented to highlight the importance of continuous screening which is one of the responsibilities of the family physician