Skin-lightening products and Jordanian women: Beliefs and practice. A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The use of skin-lightening products (SLPs) among Jordanian women has immensely increased and healthcare professionals have a vital role in raising public awareness of SLPs. The aim of this study is to identify SLPs practices among Jordanian women and their basic knowledge of the agents and the side effects associated with using these products. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted during October to December of 2022. Jordanian women above 18 years of age were invited to participate via a survey link. Descriptive statistics were used, and logistic regression was applied to screen for variables affecting the knowledge score of the participants. RESULTS: The mean age of the study participants (n = 384) was 32.04 (SD = 12.678). Results demonstrated that more than half of the participants (n = 193) reported current or past use of SLPs. Additionally, less than one-fifth (18.2%) of the participants (n = 70) reported previously experiencing some side-effects after using SLPs. About 90% of participants thought that these side-effects were caused by the active ingredients in SLPs. Most of the participants were able to identify some of the active ingredients used in SLPs such as Vitamin C (87.8%) and Hydroquinone (62.0%). It was also found that young participants, and those employed, or university students had higher knowledge scores of SLPs' active ingredients, and of their side-effects. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that Jordanian women are adequately informed about skin-lightening products. Moreover, the practices revealed an educated pattern of action when obtaining information regarding SLPs. Fundamentally, healthcare providers should be influential in educating consumers on the proper use. Strict guidelines and policies should target the practices concerned with these products.

Risk factors associated with sickle cell retinopathy: findings from the Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease.

BACKGROUND: Sickle cell retinopathy (SCR) is one of the most important ocular manifestations of sickle cell disease (SCD). This study aims to assess the prevalence of SCR in SCD, identify risk factors for its development and progression to proliferative sickle cell retinopathy (PSCR), and evaluate the potential implications of these results on clinical practice. METHODS: This research is a secondary analysis of patients diagnosed with SCD from the epidemiological, multicenter Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease (CSSCD). We included all patients who completed a full ophthalmic evaluation. We identified clinical and laboratory SCD characteristics associated with SCR using multivariate logistic regression models. Proliferative sickle cell retinopathy (PSCR) was diagnosed according to the Goldberg classification system. RESULTS: Of the 1904 study participants with SCD who met the inclusion criteria, 953 (50.1%) had retinopathy; of which 642 (67.3%) had bilateral disease. SCR was associated with older age (p < 0.001), history of smoking (p = 0.001), hematuria (p = 0.050), and a lower hemoglobin F (HbF) level (p < 0.001). PSCR risk increased with smoking (p = 0.005), older age (p < 0.001) higher hemoglobin level (p < 0.001) and higher white blood cell count (p = 0.011). Previous blood transfusion (p = 0.050), higher reticulocyte count (p = 0.019) and higher HbF level (p < 0.001) were protective factors against the development of PSCR. Ocular symptoms were associated with progression to PSCR in patients with SCR (p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: In this cohort of individuals with SCD, half of the participants had signs of SCR. Smoking and blood hemoglobin level were the two modifiable risk factors associated with increased retinopathy progression. Screening to identify the different stages of retinopathy, actively promoting smoking cessation, and optimizing the hematological profile of patients with SCD should guide treatment protocols designed to prevent the vision-threatening complications of the disease.