Awareness of Preeclampsia and Its Associated Factors Among Women in Al Baha Region, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is associated with the incidence of common fetal problems including intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR), premature delivery oligohydramnios, placental abruption, fetal discomfort, and intrauterine fetal death. Pregnant women are not well-informed about preeclampsia, including its symptoms, risk factors, and consequences. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the awareness of preeclampsia and its associated factors among women in the Al Baha region, Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: An observational cross-sectional design was employed to assess the awareness of preeclampsia and its associated factors among women in the Al Baha region of Saudi Arabia. Data was collected from April 2023 to September 2023. A questionnaire was designed to gather information on participants' sociodemographic characteristics (such as age, educational level, and residency) and their awareness of preeclampsia, including knowledge about signs/symptoms, risk factors, and complications. RESULTS: In the current study, we included 485 pregnant women. The majority of participants were aged 40 years or older (37.5%), followed by those aged 35-39 (20.4%). Among the participants, 70.9% confirmed that they had heard about pre-eclampsia before. The most common signs and symptoms were high blood pressure (47.4%), increased protein in urine (40.2%), continuous headache (39.2%), and vomiting/nausea (40.0%). Participants demonstrated awareness of obesity (29.7%), diabetes mellitus (35.5%), chronic hypertension (47.0%), and chronic kidney disease (31.3%) as major risk factors. Participants were aware of potential risks such as kidney disorders (34.6%), heart disorders (23.7%), and preterm delivery (50.9%). The analysis reveals that younger participants below 20 years old (3.3%) and lower educational levels (5.6%) had lower awareness of preeclampsia compared to older age groups. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight a reasonable level of preeclampsia awareness and knowledge among Saudi Arabian women residing in the Al Baha region. While the majority of participants were familiar with preeclampsia, there were significant knowledge gaps regarding the precise symptoms, risk factors, and consequences of the condition.

Assessment of Sleep Quality Among Adolescents and Adults With Self-Diagnosed Irritable Bowel Syndrome, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Background The frequency of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has increased significantly in the last ten years. Few studies were done in Saudi Arabia to assess the relationship between sleep quality and IBS. This study aims to assess the prevalence of IBS and its association with sleep quality among adolescents and adults in Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was done on 651 participants aged 15-65 years. An online questionnaire was used to collect data, including demographics; the Rome IV criteria (R4DQ) was used in the diagnosis of IBS, the IBS symptoms severity scale (IBS-SSS) assessed IBS symptoms and severity, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality. Results Based on the Rome IV criteria, 25.7% of the participants had IBS. Among them, 23.3%, 17.9%, 47.3%, and 11.5% had IBS types constipation (C), diarrhea (D), mixed bowel habits (M), and undefined subtype (U), respectively. Mild, moderate, and severe IBS were found among 43.1%, 39.5%, and 17.4% of IBS cases, respectively. About 46% had poor sleep quality, which was significantly higher among those with younger mean age, females, and students. Patients with IBS exhibited a considerably greater prevalence of poor sleep quality, and IBS-C had the highest prevalence. Conclusion A correlation was found between poor sleep quality and the positive status of IBS diagnosis among adolescents and adults. An evaluation of specific sleep disorders among IBS patients is needed.

Prevalence of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) Among Electronic Cigarette-Smoking University Students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most common gastrointestinal tract diseases. Although there is a strong association between smoking and GERD, it is poorly understood until now. Electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) are widely used nowadays. So, our study aimed to investigate the prevalence of GERD among all Jeddah university students and its relation to E-cigarette smoking. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students of all specialties in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using an online questionnaire to collect data distributed in a Google Form (Google LLC, Mountain View, California, United States) from August to November 2022. Results This study included 397 students, 36.5% of whom were from 18 to 20 years old, and the majority were females (69.3%). Of the participants, 43.8% were non-smokers, 13.1% were ex-smokers, and 43.1% currently smoked; of the last, 13.6% smoked tobacco cigarettes, 17.6% smoked hookah, and 35% were current E-cigarette smokers. The study found that among the participants, 19.9% had GERD based on the GerdQ, with females having a significantly higher percentage of GERD. A weak association was found between the prevalence of GERD and smoking cigarettes (p=0.49), hookah (p=0.988 ), and E-cigarettes (p=0.788 ) but this could be attributed to the high BMI. Conclusion E-cigarette smoking is more prevalent among university students in Jeddah than traditional cigarettes or hookah. However, there was no statistically significant link between E-cigarette smoking and GERD. High BMI could be a superadded factor.

Outcome of stroke patients on clopidogrel plus proton-pump inhibitors: a single-center cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest a higher risk of adverse cardiovascular outcome and mortality in patients co-prescribed clopidogrel with proton pump inhibitors (PPI). OBJECTIVE: Investigate the impact of concomitant prescription of clopidogrel and PPI on 30-day unplanned readmission and one-year all-cause mortality. DESIGN: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: Single academic tertiary center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included patients admitted with a diagnosis of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke between 2010 and 2014. Demographic and outcome data were collected and compared for patients on clopidogrel plus PPI vs those on clopidogrel plus H2blockers and those not on clopidogrel. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: One-year mortality and 30-day unplanned readmissions were compared among different patient groups using multivariable logistic regression modeling. SAMPLE SIZE: 464 patients. RESULTS: Out of 464 patients, 175 (37.7%) were discharged on clopidogrel. The concomitant prescription of clopidogrel and PPI was noted in 107 (24.4%) and clopidogrel and H2 blockers in 36 patients (7.8%). The one-year all-cause mortality in the entire cohort was 22.2%. Patients on clopidogrel plus PPI did not have a higher risk of one-year mortality compared to the non-PPI cohort (6.2% vs. 4.8%, p 0.7). There was a non-significant suggestion of lower one-year mortality in patients on clopidogrel plus PPI vs those not on clopidogrel (6.2% vs. 10.1%, p 0.23). In multivariable logistic regression, the use of clopidogrel plus PPI did not predict higher one-year mortality (odds ratio 0.6, P=0.6). The risk of unplanned 30-day readmission was lower in those with clop-idogrel plus PPI (odds ratio 0.6, P=.03). CONCLUSION: The use of clopidogrel plus PPI resulted in lower readmission rates and was not associated with higher mortality compared with the non-PPI cohorts. LIMITATIONS: Single center study, not generalizable. Given the retrospective nature of this study, we did not collect data on duration of treatments or patient compliance. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.