Prevalence of obesity among military personnel in Saudi Arabia and associated risk factors

Objectives: To measure the prevalence of obesity among military personnel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA], and to identify its risk factors

Methods: This nationwide cross-sectional study covered all 5 military regions of KSA. It included a multistage stratified random sample of 10,500 active military personnel. The World Health Organization STEP wise approach to chronic disease risk factor surveillance [STEPS] was used in the design of the data collection tool. The project lasted from January 2009 to February 2011

Results: The response rate was 97.4%; 40.9% of the participants were overweight, 29% obese, and 42.4% had central obesity. Multivariate analysis revealed age, education years, and family history of diabetes or hypertension as statistically significant positive predictors of body mass index, while higher military rank, smoking, eating fruits more than twice per week, and heavy physical activities were negative predictors

Conclusion: Obesity is a major health problem among military personnel in this survey especially among soldiers, and is associated with unhealthy dietary and physical activity habits. Prompt action must be taken by the military medical services department in terms of intervention programs primarily directed to soldiers and overweight personnel to control obesity and mitigate its consequences. Review of the anthropometric standards for recruitment, continuation, and promotion in military service is recommended

Home caregivers' satisfaction with the services provided by Riyadh Military Hospital's home support program

The satisfaction of the family is essential to the success of home care support services. This study aimed to assess home caregivers' satisfaction with support services and to identify potential factors affecting their satisfaction. The study was conducted in the Family and Community Medicine Department at Riyadh Military Hospital using cross-sectional design over a period of six months. Two hundred forty participants were recruited by systematic random sampling from the division registry. Data were collected through telephone calls using a designed structured interview form. All research ethics principles were followed. The response rate was 76.25%. Most caregivers were patients' sons or daughters. The duration of patients' disabling illnesses varied from less than 1 year to up to 40 years. The majority of caregivers agreed that a home care services team provided the proper healthcare-related support to the patients and improved caregivers' self-confidence in caring for their patients. Overall, on a scale of 100%, the median level of satisfaction was 90%, and 73.2% of caregivers had a satisfaction score of 75% or higher. Increased age, female gender, and more frequent home visits were positive independent factors associated with caregivers' satisfaction scores. Although most caregivers are satisfied with the services provided by a home care support program, there are still areas of deficiency, particularly in physiotherapy, vocational therapy, and social services. The implications are that caregivers need to be educated and trained in caring for their patients and need to gain self-confidence in their skills. The program's administration should improve physiotherapy, vocational therapy, social services, and procedures for hospital referral

Effect of an asthma clinic run by the general practitioners on patient's morbidity in the health insurance in Ismailia

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an asthma clinic run by general practitioners on patients morbidity, process of care and prescribing for asthma. Seventy asthma patients were studied. Comparisons were done before and 6 months after the intervention. Morbidity was measured in terms of frequency of the asthma attacks, night asthma, days off-work lost, as well as the values of peak flow rates measured by the peak flow meter. Results have shown a statistically significantly decreasing trend in morbidity [P <0.001]. Also, significant reductions were found in the patients requirement to corticosteroid [P <0.01] and the work-days lost [P <0.0001]. Significant improvements in the patients knowledge about asthma and in the inhaler technique were observed after the intervention. Lastly, the use of inhaler bronchodilators and steroids and of prophylactic medication has increased significantly