Evaluating Night-Eating Syndrome in bariatric surgery patients: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Night-Eating Syndrome (NES) is a complex eating disorder that has gained recognition in the context of bariatric surgery. However, its prevalence and associated factors in this specific patient population remain understudied, particularly in the Saudi Arabian context. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from June to November 2022. Adult patients who had undergone bariatric surgery with a postoperative follow-up of 6 months were included. NES was assessed using the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ). RESULTS: A total of 154 patients were enrolled in the study, with a mean age of 38.8 ± 11.4 years. The mean BMI before surgery was 44.8 ± 8.2 kg/m2, which reduced to 28.9 ± 5.8 kg/m2 post-surgery. Of these, 52 patients (33.8%) met the criteria for NES based on NEQ scores. The prevalence of NES was significantly higher among female patients, with 35 out of 83 females (42.2%) compared to 17 out of 71 males (23.9%) experiencing NES. While NES was not significantly associated with age, nationality, diet adherence, BMI, or surgery type, chronic diseases-particularly diabetes-emerged as significant risk factors for NES in post-bariatric surgery patients. CONCLUSION: NES is a prevalent concern among post-bariatric surgery patients, with distinct associations with gender and chronic diseases, particularly diabetes. This study provides valuable insights into NES prevalence and its risk factors in the Saudi Arabian context, highlighting the importance of addressing eating disorders within the framework of bariatric surgery care.

Comparison of nutrition care services for adult obesity at primary care in two different periods in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Dietitians are healthcare professionals with potential roles and impacts in primary care (PC) settings when applying knowledge and expertise to educate healthcare clients at all levels and treat chronic diseases. This study seeks to compare and evaluate the nutrition care services and practices in obesity management in primary care centres for two periods (2016 and 2019) in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Surveys with service self-reporting evaluation used responses from 18 and 27 centres in 2016 and 2019. Services evaluation used no reference to a standard, but 18 of the surveyed PC centres in 2019 were previously visited in 2016 to assess the provided nutrition care services for adult obesity in PC centres. The re-visit survey investigated improvements in services achieved in 2019 concerning services for adults with obesity. A chi-square test was used to compare the surveys' results in the two periods, which resulted in a significant difference in the provided nutrition care services for adult obesity between 2016 and 2019. RESULTS: Dietitians' employment has significantly changed (P < .0001) in 2019 compared to 2016. Dietitians were significantly noticed as the primary source of nutrition information after their integration into the services (P < .0001) in 2019. Services provided for adult obesity increased significantly (P value < .0001) in the second phase. However, there was no significant difference in serving adult groups between the two periods (P = .056). CONCLUSIONS: Integrating dietitians into the PC services significantly enhanced their role in supporting PC services for conditions relating to adult obesity, which allowed them to be the most important source of the delivered nutrition information to patients. The employment rate of PC dietitians accredited by the governing body is significantly increasing; the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties will need to monitor it to ensure that dietitians have the qualifications and skills to provide professional medical nutrition therapy to patients. Further research to evaluate the quality of PC dietetic practice and improvements in patient outcomes is required to strengthen the importance of integrating registered dietitians into the services.

Investigating the quality of breakfast for female adolescents using a multi-method approach in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study.

Breakfast has been shown to provide nutritional adequacy and improve the healthy lifestyle status of adolescents. However, limited information is available on the quality of breakfast among adolescents. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of breakfast among adolescents using a multiple-method approach in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional, school-based study was conducted in 3 public high schools in Al-Jumum, Saudi Arabia. High school females (n = 174) aged 15 to 18 years old were selected considering the regularity of consuming breakfast (≥ 4 d/wk and not after 10:00 a.m.). The quality of breakfast was assessed using 3 approaches: the modified Saudi food frequency questionnaire, the adapted method of breakfast quality, and the nutrient profile model. Sweet food items were consumed most frequently (64.9%, n = 113), followed by drinks (57.4%, n = 100), while the least frequently consumed items were sandwiches and burgers (43.52%, n = 76), snacks (41.9%, n = 72), and dairy and fats (41.8%, n = 71). The majority of breakfast eaters were classified as eating breakfasts of poor quality (50.6%), while the rest ate breakfasts of either good quality (38.1%) or very poor breakfast quality (10.8%). Based on the nutrient profile model of breakfast, high fat salt sugar (HFSS) food/drink items and non-HFSS items were consumed by 44.4% and 55.5% of the participants, respectively. This study showed that the majority of female adolescents consume poor-quality breakfast, mostly sweets and sweetened beverages. The nutrient content analysis emphasized these results by presenting a similar consumption of non-HFSS and HFSS breakfast foods. Future education programs on healthy breakfast options should be implemented among this population.

Testing the Arabic-Saudi Arabia version of the Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire for functional gastrointestinal disorders for Children living in Saudi Arabia.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) are a worldwide phenomenon described by painful, recurrent or chronic gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. Variable types of FGID exist in a significant portion of children in Saudi Arabia (SA). While the studies and reports on child FGID are limited, the available ones show a notable significance of FGID in children in SA. The self-report Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire (DQ) globally recognizes the selection of symptom criteria and incidence thresholds. Using such a questionnaire would help clinicians provide a provisional diagnosis, serve as a case definition for epidemiological surveys, and identify inclusion criteria for clinical trials. This research aimed to pilot test the collective FGIDs prevalence among preschool children in Jeddah city and its countryside of Saudi Arabia, using Rome IV DQ in Arabic-SA. Of the 59 responses, 11.8% (n = 7), 5% (n = 3), 1 (1.6%), and 1 (1.6%) participants have functional dyspepsia, functional constipation, functional irritable bowel syndrome, and functional aerophagia, respectively according to the Rome IV criteria. The tested translated DQ in this study was the first translated version available in Arabic- SA, which could provide researchers and clinicians in SA with a diagnostic tool for FGIDs. However, because this study is a pilot study in a new field, the conclusions cannot be extrapolated to the demographic of the targeted population of children. The same researchers plan a larger study to use the current results and a larger calculated sample to assess FGIDs prevalence in children 4+ years old in Jeddah and its countryside, Saudi Arabia.

Perioperative nutrition care and dietetic practices in the scope of bariatric surgery in Saudi Arabia using adapted protocols for evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the availability of perioperative nutritional care protocols and the practices of bariatric registered dietitians in Saudi Arabia. The primary outcomes of the study were conducted using an adapted American survey "with permission." METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of a selected 32 dietitians providing bariatric services completed a self-administered online questionnaire from 12 hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: All surveyed dietitians were females, mainly Saudi nationals (93.9%, n = 30), and accredited by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (93.8%, n = 30). Only 37.5% (n = 6) of the dietitians were specialized in bariatric surgery. Perioperative common practices of dietitians included a conduct of screening for nutrition risk before (44%, n = 14) and after surgery (62.5%, n = 20) and applied a nutrition management protocol that is mainly based on the application of nutrition care process (62.5%, n = 20). Dietitians (81%, n = 26) reported the importance of having standardized protocols for nutritional management of patients undoing bariatric surgery, where 69% (n = 22) confirmed the availability of pre-operative written protocols in hospitals and 75% (n = 24) confirmed the existence of post-operative protocols. Pre-operative practices included using approaches for weight loss before surgery, for example, very low and low-calorie diet. Dietitians (25%, n = 8) see two to ten patients per month. The sleeve gastrectomy procedure is the most often performed surgery. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to evaluate the perioperative nutrition care protocols and practices related to bariatric surgery in Saudi Arabia. Perioperative bariatric protocols are available, but some dietitians are not aware of their availability and contents. Researchers emphasize the importance of creating national protocols by the Saudi Credentials Body to standardize practices within the field.