RESUMO
Background: Increasingly, people are using Facebook [FB] to share health information. However, little is known about the type of information sharing and its potential health consequences in the Arabic speaking world. This study attempts to fill this knowledge gap for diabetes mellitus [DM]
Method: We conducted a retrospective qualitative FB content analysis using predefined eligibility criteria. The analysis was restricted to diabetes related groups in the Arabic speaking world. The data were collected between June 2010 and December 2015. A total of 55 groups were screened of which seven met the eligibility criteria
Results: We found 6107 posts in Arabic related to DM of which 1551 posts were included for further analysis. There were 458 [30%] FB posts from Egypt with no posts from Somalia, Yemen, Comoros, and Djibouti. The majority of the posts, 863[56%], were from females. The focus of the posts was on sharing personal experiences [n = 423, 27%], raising awareness [n = 210, 3.5%], providing spiritual support [n = 162, 10.4%], sharing latest research [n = 147, 9.5%], and providing education [n = 110,7.1%] on DM. A large number of the posts by people in 40-60 year age group were around finding out diagnosis related information due to limited access to care in their home countries
Conclusion: Patients with DM are increasingly sharing their health information with other FB users. This study will help inform future research with regard to health information sharing and designing appropriate interventions to harness the power of social media in improving public health
RESUMO
Background and Objective: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) shares certain features with multiple sclerosis (MS). Similar phenotypes, wide spectrum and the differential prevalence of NMO among ethnic backgrounds pose diagnostic challenges. NMO-IgG antibodies are specific biomarker for NMO and facilitate its differentiation from other demyelinating diseases. This study aimed to assess the frequency of NMO and NMO-IgG seropositivity in Saudi patients with demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system. Methods: One hundred and four patients from neurology database at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh underwent clinical and laboratory examination, neuroimaging and NMO-IgG antibodies screening. Results: The mean age at presentation was 32 (±9) years and there was an excess of females (female:male – 3:1). The mean duration of illness was 4.6 (±3.2) years. During the illness, 48.1% of patients had clinical evidence of spinal cord involvement, 29.8% had optic neuritis and 14.4% had both features. A large majority (75.8%) of brain lesions fulfilled MRI criteria for MS and 17% had lesions extending over ≥3 vertebral segments. NMO-IgG antibodies were present in only one patient – a frequency of 0.96% in our study cohort. Conclusion: Prevalence of NMO and NMO-IgG seropositivity is rare in Saudis with demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system. Hence, routine NMO-IgG testing is likely to have a low diagnostic yield