Determining prevalence of maltreatment among children in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to find out the overall prevalence rates for the major forms of abuse among adolescents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the differences in prevalence by age, gender and living arrangement. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in secondary high schools in five of the 13 main regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during 2012. Through a multistage stratified sampling technique, a sample (n = 16 939) of adolescents (15-19 years) were identified and invited to participate. The ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool - Child was used for data collection. The previous year's occurrence of violence exposure, psychological, physical and sexual abuse, and neglect were assessed. RESULTS: Nearly 90% of the adolescents were between 16 and 18 years of age, and over 80% were cared for by both of their biological parents. Annual prevalence of various forms of abuse in the year before the 2012 assessment ranged between 0.10 and 0.65, with the lowest rate for sexual abuse and the highest for psychological abuse. Significantly, greater rates of all forms of abuse/exposure were found when participants lived with their mother or father only (versus with both), and even greater rates for all when they lived with their biological parent and a step-parent. Rates for violence exposure, psychological abuse and neglect were significantly greater for girls, and rate of sexual abuse was greater for boys. CONCLUSIONS: More attention should be given to the effect of adolescent maltreatment particularly among girls. In addition, sexual abuse prevention programme should be targeted among boys.

Prevalence of autoantibodies in children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an increasingly encountered chronic illness in Saudi Arabia. It is known to have an immune-mediated pathogenesis, which results in the loss of insulin-secreting beta-cells responsible for maintaining normal blood glucose levels. The three main autoantibodies identified to play a role in the pathogenesis are islet cell antibodies (ICA), insulin autoantibodies (IAA) and glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GAD). This study aims to determine at what age during childhood the autoantibodies ICA, IAA and GAD are most prevalent, and identify any correlation between their presence and the severity of the initial clinical presentation. Medical records of children diagnosed with T1DM in Riyadh in 2000-2007 were reviewed, and a total of 98 patients were included in the study (age range: 1-12 years, mean: 6.6 years, equal numbers by gender), of which 49% presented with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Results showed that 67% were positive for ICA, 36% for IAA and 84.4% for GAD. The presence of ICA was predominant in children aged under six years. The presence of ICA and GAD in the absence of IAA was associated with more severe clinical presentation.