Assessment of adherence to hypertension medications and awareness of hypertension medications among people with hypertension in Tabuk

Background: in 2015, there were 1.13 billion people living with high blood pressure worldwide. The prevalence of hypertension worldwide is of about 40%. In Saudi Arabia it reached 3.2% among those aged between 15-24 years, 51.2% among those aged 55-64 years and up to 70% among those aged 65 years and older. It has been observed that there is an increase in prehypertension cases, reaching 46.5% [3 millions] among males and 34.3% [more than 2 million] among females. Worldwide, raised blood pressure is estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths, about 12.8% of the total of all deaths

Aim of the work: this study aimed to assess knowledge of hypertension and to determine factors affecting the compliance of hypertensive patients to their antihypertensive drugs

Methods: we have conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in Tabuk city population, Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted during the period from August to December 2017. The participants were selected by random sampling. Sampling included the different geographical areas of the city. The total sample included 108 pupils. All the pupils were approached to obtain the desired sample size. A self-administered questionnaire about hypertension and complications was filled by the participants

Results: In this study, participants classified to three groups according to age: less than 40 years old from 40 to 65 years old and 65 years old or above. Male and female groups contributed to 72.2% and 27.8% respectively. The majority of participants were university graduates [55.6%] and about 33.3% were secondary education. The majority of participants with hypertension were on one medications prescribed for treatment of their high blood pressure and the majority of participants [66.7%] were poorly compliant to their hypertension medication

Conclusion: more attention is needed on preventive educational programs that focus on awareness and assessment of the hypertension medications adherence, complications of hypertension, and the danger of poor control of it

Evaluation of knowledge about risk factors of heart disease in Tabuk city between adult population

Background: According to World Health Organization [WHO], heart disease especially coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death globally and one of the major health burdens worldwide. A report released by the Media and Health Awareness Information Center at the Ministry of Health [MOH] in Saudi Arabia, pointed out that, cardiovascular diseases [CVD], including heart attacks and strokes, are the cause of 42 percent of the Kingdom's non-communicable diseases deaths in 2010. Vascular injury accumulates in adolescence, making it necessary for primary preventive measures to be taken from childhood. Therefore, there is increasing emphasis on preventing atherosclerosis by modifying risk factors, such as healthy diet, exercise and avoidance of smoking

Methods: We have conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in Tabuk city population, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted during the period from May to September 2017. The participants were selected by random sampling. Sampling was stratified for the different geographical areas of the city. The total sample obtained was 460. All the pupils were approached to obtain the desired sample size. A self-administered questionnaire about heart disease risk factors knowledge and awareness was filled by participants

Results: The majority of participants showed right answers and were aware about some of the risk factors of heart disease. The majority agreed to the following statements: [Being overweight increases a person's risk for heart disease-96.7%], [Smoking is a risk factor for heart disease-92.4%], [High cholesterol is a risk factor for developing heart disease-92.4%] and [High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease-86.5%]

Conclusion: More attention is needed on primary prevention programs that focus on diet, exercise and the danger of heart disease and its risk factors should be emphasized

Assessment of attitude and perception toward neurology and neurosurgery specialties among medical students and interns attending college of medicine at university of Tabuk in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia-2017

Background: Although neurological and psychiatric disorders account for only 1.4% of all deaths, they account for a remarkable 28% of all years of life lived with a disability. Thus all doctors must be prepared to meet the needs of patients with such disorders and refer appropriately for specialized care and investigations, bearing in mind that neurologists often function as consultants for other physicians

Methods: We have conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in Tabuk city population, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted during the period from October to December 2017. The participants who attended the clinical years and interns at College of Medicine at University of Tabuk were included in the study. The total sample obtained was 104. A self-administered questionnaire, about perception and knowledge about neurological specialties, was filled by participants

Results: The range of age was 21-26, with a mean [SD] of 22.72 [1.837], the majority were interns [34.6%]. Nearly [31%] of them reported neurosurgery as the most difficult specialty

Conclusion: This study highlights some of the reasons and suggestions to improve and correct perception of neurological specialties and subjects

Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension in overweight and obese people in Riyadh City, KSA 2017

Background: overweight and obesity are well known risk factors for high morbidity and mortality rates and are associated with chronic diseases including hypertension and diabetes

Objectives: evaluating the prevalence of hypertension [HTN] and diabetes mellitus type II [DMT2] in overweight and obese adult Saudi population

Methods: a cross sectional community based study was undertaken among 549 of overweight and obese Saudi subjects in Riyadh region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA].All enrolled volunteers were subjected to the following clinical history taking, calculating BMI, diagnosis of HTN and measurement blood pressure

Results: the age of the subjects was 20-35 years old in 23.9%, 48.2% were 36-50 years old and 27.9% were older than 50 years old. About 55%of respondents were females and 45% were males. 60.8% of subjects were overweight and 39.2% were obese. The HTN and DM prevalence were found to be significantly higher among obese subjects than overweight group

Conclusion: the results indicated that obese subjects were at increased risk of hypertension and diabetes. Also, obese females were more susceptible to DM and HTN than men