Baby walker injury, disability, and death in a high-income middle eastern country, as reported by siblings.

BACKGROUND: Baby walkers (BWs) are frequent causes of infant injuries. Little research is reported from the Middle East and few population-based studies anywhere. METHODS: Using multistage random sampling in a city of the United Arab Emirates, 4 of 8 female Arab government high schools and 3 final-year classes each from science and arts tracks were selected. Structured self-administered questionnaires assessed prevalence, frequency, severity, and external causes of BW incidents and injuries, and residential hazards. RESULTS: Response was 100 %, 696 students, 55 % (n = 385) Emirati citizens. 87 % (n = 605) of families used/had used BWs. Among 646 injuries were 118 ER (emergency) visits, 42 hospitalizations, 11 disabilities, and 3 deaths. Average risk was 1 incident/user, 1 injury/4 users, 1 ER visit/20, 1 hospitalization/55, 1 disability/200, 1 death/1000. Odds ratios for >1:1 floor levels were 2.3 (95 % confidence interval: 1.2, 4.3) for hospitalization, 16.8 (95 % CI: 2.1, 132.5) disability. Incidents included hitting objects 48 % (n = 1322), overturning 23 % (n = 632), accessing hazardous objects 17 % (n = 473), and falling down stairs 11 % (n = 300); 1 % (n = 32) fell into swimming pools. In 49 % (n = 297/605) of user families, ≥1 child had been injured. CONCLUSIONS: Despite causing many injuries including disabilities and fatalities, BWs were used by nearly all families. Governments should consider Canada's lead in prohibiting importation, sales, and advertising of BWs.

Baby walker injury awareness among grade-12 girls in a high-prevalence Arab country in the Middle East.

Baby walkers (BWs) are a consumer product frequently associated with infant injuries. With little research in the Middle East and few population studies anywhere, female students in grade 12 in the United Arab Emirates were surveyed, assessing the prevalence of use, perceived safety, and interventions. The study population included grade-12 students in a large UAE city. Multistage random sampling selected 4/8 female Arab government schools and 3 classes each from science and arts tracks for interview by self-administered questionnaire. Response was 100%, with a total of 696 students, 55% (n = 385) of whom were Emirati citizens; 90% (n = 619) of the families used/had used BWs. Among the reasons for use, 92% reported "keeping baby safe," with 11% perceiving BWs as very safe and 74% as moderately safe. Only 16% perceived that BWs could cause injuries. Despite causing many injuries, including fatalities, BWs were perceived to be safe and used by nearly all families. Effective education of professionals, patients, the public, and decision makers is needed. Governments should consider countermeasures such as prohibiting importation, sales, and advertising, together with public education and provision of stationary activity centers.

Paternal asthma is a predictor for childhood asthma in the consanguineous families from the United Arab Emirates.

Consanguinity is known to increase the burden of genetic disorders among offspring. However, the effect of consanguinity on a complex disorder like childhood asthma has not been studied previously. Therefore, we explored this relationship by studying the asthma prevalence in children between 6 and 14 years of age among the local Arab families of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where consanguinity is known to be highly prevalent. A total of 1136 children from 295 families met our inclusion criteria. The prevalence of childhood asthma was higher among children in consanguineous families (43.3%) compared to non-consanguineous (22.6%, p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the degree of consanguinity and the number of asthmatic children per family (p = 0.0002). Girls from consanguineous families had proportionately more asthma (42.9%, p < 0.001) compared to boys (23.1%, p = 0.539). Paternal asthma in consanguineous families increased asthma risk for both boys and girls (p = 0.021 for boys, p < 0.001 for girls), while maternal asthma had no significant impact on asthma in offspring. Prevalence of childhood asthma was significantly higher in consanguineous families. The significant asthma predictors for girls from the consanguineous families were the degree of consanguinity and paternal asthma. The only predictor for boys was paternal asthma. These interesting observations merit further studies on both larger samples and in other consanguineous communities for confirmation.