COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on the Trajectories of Cognitive Decline and Depression Symptoms in Long-Term Care Facility Residents.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the longitudinal rates of change in cognition and depressive symptoms between 2019 (pre-COVID-19 pandemic) and 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic) among long-term care facility (LTCF) residents in Iowa, which ranked among the top 10 US states that suffered from extreme nursing staff shortages during this crisis. DESIGN: A longitudinal cohort study analyzing the Long-Term Care Minimum Data Set (MDS) version 3.0 between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: LTCF residents from the state of Iowa, with a first assessment before March 10 for each year (2019 and 2020), LTCF stay period >60 days, and at least 2 documented assessments with a minimum of 45 days in between. LTCF residents with a Brief Interview for Mental Status score (BIMS) <3 were excluded. METHODS: We computed doubly robust estimators by combining regression and propensity score models for BIMS (cognitive decline) and Nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; depression symptoms) monthly scores for 2020 vs 2019. RESULTS: A total of 24,025 residents from 436 LTCFs were included. Our research revealed a marginally accelerated monthly decline in BIMS scores during 2020 as opposed to 2019, with a rate of -0.012 per month (95% CI -0.022, -0.002; P = .016). Simultaneously, we observed a monthly increment of 0.016 in the PHQ-9 scores among LTCF residents in 2020 (95% CI 0.006, 0.028; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study identified a notable yet modest increase in cognitive decline and depressive symptoms among NH residents in Iowa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although statistically significant, the changes were small and may not have clinical relevance over 1 year. Further research is needed to examine risk factors for cognitive decline during pandemic scenarios such as social isolation, loneliness, inappropriate patient-centered care, and the relationship with staff shortage and facility resources.

Consumer Behavior at Supermarkets during Grocery Shopping in Saudi Arabia: A National Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Use of nutrition facts labels can be associated with healthier eating behaviors; however, consumers currently face difficulty understanding these labels or do not use them often. Thus, improving healthy grocery shopping behaviors among consumers might increase the overall health of the community. AIM: The study aims to explore consumers' behavior during grocery shopping and measure their basic knowledge regarding food product labels. METHOD: A national observational study (cross-sectional) was carried out on a convenience sample of Saudi Arabian residents aged 18 years and above. The data were obtained from all 13 administrative regions in Saudi Arabia at three different major supermarkets in each region. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, and binary logistic regression was used to investigate behavior variables. RESULTS: A total of 12,675 participants were observed; of those, 52.2% did not interact with the product before putting it in their shopping cart. The study found that the production date (66.6%) and expiry date (51%) were the most frequently checked aspects of food labels; they were checked more frequently than nutrition facts (29%). Furthermore, there was a low level of dietary knowledge among consumers and a moderate level of believing food packages and media claims. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the Saudi community's understanding of food product information is limited and greater awareness and community education campaigns are required to improve the use of nutritional labels and increase nutritional knowledge.

National Cross-Sectional Study of Community-Based Adverse Drug Reactions in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: An adverse drug reaction (ADR) is a response to a medicine that is not intended and is harmful, and which occurs at normal dose levels for humans. Currently, there are no estimates of the population-based prevalence of ADRs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to (1) estimate the population-based prevalence of ADRs in KSA, (2) describe the ADRs experienced by survey respondents, and (3) investigate the level of awareness of the ADR reporting system. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey using stratified, population-based sampling conducted at a chain of community pharmacies. RESULTS: Analysis was conducted on 5228 surveys; 50.17% of respondents were males, and the mean age was 39 ± 15 years (min = 18, max = 98). The sample prevalence of ADRs was 23.45% (95% CI 22.30-24.60%, P < 0.001). The estimated population prevalence (after weighting) was 28.00% (26.10-30.00%). Gastrointestinal disorders were the most commonly reported ADRs (58.73%), followed by general disorders and administration site conditions (19.74%). The largest drug class that was reported to lead to ADRs was nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (11%). Over 19% of the respondents who experienced an ADR required medical intervention to control the suffering induced by the ADR. Of the respondents who experienced an ADR, 371 (30.26%) were aware of the ADR reporting system but only 53 (14.29%) said that they had filed a report in the system. CONCLUSIONS: Our study estimated that 28% of the population experienced an ADR over a 1-year period in KSA. Risk factors for ADR included certain chronic disease groups and the use of certain classes of medications. Regulatory authorities in KSA intend to conduct more research and deploy educational interventions to reduce ADR rates in KSA. This will hopefully occur in an international context that promotes the standardized measurement of ADRs in the community. A subset of findings from this report was presented in an oral presentation at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) Annual Conference, September 27, 2018. In addition, a subset of findings from this report were presented on a poster at the International Conference of Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management (ICPE), August 27, 2019.

Waterpipe Tobacco Chemical Content, Microbial Contamination, and Genotoxic Effects: A Systematic Review.

The spread of tobacco smoking has increased over time at the global and national levels. One of the widely spread tobacco products is waterpipe. Recent studies showed that waterpipe tobacco smoke contains toxic substances, including carbon monoxide and nicotine. Some of them are genotoxic carcinogen, such as formaldehyde. This study aims to provide comprehensive insight into the types and depth of the scientific literature on waterpipe tobacco smoke chemical content, its genotoxic effects, and waterpipe device microbial contamination. We conducted a systematic comprehensive review of articles published between 1986 and December 2018. Primary research articles focusing on the content of waterpipe smoke, including chemical, genotoxic, and microbial contaminants, were eligible for inclusion. Of the 1,286 studies generated, 22 studies were included. Twenty-three chemical families were extracted from waterpipe smoke. Aldehydes were the most identified chemical family in 6 studies, and next is polycyclic hydrocarbons, found in 5 studies. About 206 chemical compounds were identified. Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, coagulase-negative Staphylococci, and Streptococcus were the most abundant pathogen contaminants. Waterpipe smoke had elevated levels of many DNA damage markers (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and cytochrome P450 1A1) and inhibited levels of many DNA repair genes (OGG1 and XRCC1) in waterpipe smokers. Waterpipe smoke is associated with the genotoxic effect, which elevates the levels of many DNA damage markers and inhibits the levels of many DNA repair genes. In addition, waterpipe smoking can expose smokers to a range of pathogenic bacteria.

Tuberculosis mortality and associated factors at King Abdulaziz Medical City Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a public health challenge in Saudi Arabia, particularly for the elderly. This study was conducted to estimate mortality per 1000 person-year among TB and resistant TB cases and to identifying factors associated with mortality. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of 713 new TB cases at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh diagnosed between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2016. Patient medical records and microbiology lab databases were used to identify TB cases. Through reviews were conducted of patients' medical records, including physician notes, physical examinations, radiology (scans and imaging), laboratory tests, and follow-up notes. Collected data include demographic information, clinical features, diagnoses, comorbidities, and death rates. RESULTS: Of the 713 TB patients included in this study, 110 died, giving an average mortality rate of 22 per 1000 person-years (PY; 95% CI: 18.2-26.4). Elderly patients (≥ 60 years) had a higher mortality rate of 36.5 per 1000 PY (95% CI: 28.9-45.5). As age increases by one year, the hazard of mortality increase by 2.4% (aHR: 1.024 [95% CI: 1.009-1.039, P = 0.002]). Higher hazard of mortality was found among males (aHR: 2.014 [95% CI: 1.186-3.418, P = 0.010]). Patients with respiratory and other types of comorbidities and cancer had a higher mortality hazard (aHR: 1.898 [95% CI: 1.005-3.582, P = 0.048]; aHR: 2.346 [95% CI: 1.313-4.192, P = 0.004]; aHR: 3.292 [95% CI: 1.804-6.006, P = 0.001]), respectively. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) was found in 2 cases (0.28%) (95% CI: 0.08-1.02), 1.68% were resistant to only one antibiotic, 0.14% had rifampicine-resistant TB (RR-TB), 0.28% had MDR-TB, and 0.14% had extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). CONCLUSIONS: The mortality rate among TB patients was found to be 22 per 1000 person-year at our center. TB was associated with high mortality rates among males, the elderly, and patients with cancer, respiratory illness, and other comorbidities. Future clinical practice should include establishing an efficient TB diagnostic program and continued hazard assessment of TB treatment options.

Prevalence of drug-drug interactions in geriatric patients at an ambulatory care pharmacy in a tertiary care teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE: A cross-sectional study was performed from February to May 2015, to estimate the prevalence of drug-drug interactions in geriatric patients at the ambulatory care pharmacy at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: A total of 310 patients were included, with a mean age (± SD) of 73.78 ± 6.96, and 48.70% were female. The overall prevalence of DDIs of all categories was 90.64%. Category B DDIs was 55.80%, category C DDIs 87.74%, category D DDIs 51.93%, and category X DDIs 16.45%. Atorvastatine plus omeprazole was identified as the most common interacting pair, with a prevalence of 25.26%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that category D or X DDIs are more likely to occur in the female patient (OR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.07, 2.97), the patient taking more than three medications (OR = 22.62; 95% CI 2.93, 174.83), and the patient with more than two conditions (OR = 3.09; 95% CI 1.81, 5.27).