Determinants for Mediterranean diet adherence beyond the boundaries: a cross-sectional study from Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates.

BACKGROUND: Substantial evidence embraced the nutrition competence of the Mediterranean diet (MD) as a healthy model for decreasing the risk of chronic diseases and increasing longevity, with the bonus of ensuring environmental sustainability. Measuring adherence to this diet is marginally investigated in the Arabian Gulf region, an area away from the Mediterranean region. The current study aimed to assess the MD adherence among adults in Sharjah/the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to identify the most influential predictors for MD adherence among the study participants. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed using a self-reported, web-based electronic questionnaire that questioned sociodemographics, lifestyle factors, and familiarity with the MD. The MD adherence was assessed by the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener validated questionnaire. The adherence level was classified as low for a total score of [0-5], medium [score 6-7], and high (8-13). RESULTS: The study included 1314 participants (age 25-52 years) comprised 822 (62.6%) females and 492 (37.4%) males. There was a moderate adherence score (5.9 ± 1.9) among the study participants. The food constituent expressed the lowest contribution to the MD was fish (9.3%), followed by fruits (12.3%), and legumes (18.3%). The multivariable linear regression analysis showed an overall significant linear trend for the association between the MD adherence score and physical activity, while nutrition information from dietitians and social media were the most two strongly related predictors for the higher adherence (ß = 0.747; 95% CI 0.51-0.98, and ß 0.60; 95% CI 0.269-0.93; p < 0.001, respectively). On the other side, being a smoker and from a non-Mediterranean country was associated with lower adherence scores (ß = 0.538; 95% CI 0.252-0.82, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings of the current study showed a moderate adherence, low proportion for high adherence, and a gap in the familiarity with the diet name. Being married, physically active, non-smoker, and getting nutrition information from dietitians and social media were the strongest predictors for higher adherence. It is warranted that public health and nutrition specialists/dietitians to tailor new modern approaches for promoting healthy dietary behaviours consistent with the MD.

Diabetes-related lower limb wounds: Antibiotic susceptibility pattern and biofilm formation.

The expeditious incidence of diabetes mellitus in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there is a significant increase in the total number of people with diabetic foot ulcers. For diabetic lower limb wound infections (DLWs) to be effectively treated, information on the prevalence of bacteria that cause in this region as well as their patterns of antibiotic resistance is significant. Growing evidence indicates that biofilm formers are present in chronic DFU and that these biofilm formers promote the emergence of multi-drug antibiotic resistant (MDR) strains and therapeutic rejection. The current study targeted to isolate bacteria from wounds caused by diabetes specifically at hospitals in Riyadh and assess the bacterium's resistance to antibiotics and propensity to develop biofilms. Totally 63 pathogenic microbes were identified from 70 patients suffering from DFU. Sixteen (25.4%) of the 63 bacterial strains were gram-positive, and 47 (74.6%) were gram-negative. Most of the gram-negative bacteria were resistant to tigecycline, nitrofurantoin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cefalotin, and cefoxitin. Several gram-negative bacteria are susceptible to piperacillin, meropenem, amikacin, gentamicin, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim. The most significant antibiotic that demonstrated 100% susceptibility to all pathogens was meropenem. Serratia marcescens and Staphylococcus aureus were shown to have significant biofilm formers. MDR bacterial strains comprised about 87.5% of the biofilm former strains. To the best of our knowledge, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is the first region where Serratia marcescens was the most common bacteria from DFU infections. Our research findings would deliver information on evidence-based alternative strategies to develop effective treatment approaches for DFU treatment.

Caffeine intake and its association with nutrition, sleep, and physical activity among schoolchildren in the United Arab Emirates: a national cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: Recent surveys indicate a significant increase in total caffeine intake among schoolchildren. Limited research has been published concerning the total intake of caffeine among schoolchildren in the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including the UAE. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey estimated the total caffeine intake from foods and beverages among 10,275 schoolchildren in the UAE. Caffeine intakes were related to the European Food Safety Authority's level of no safety concern (3.0 mg/kg BW) and level of effects on sleep (1.4 mg/kg BW). RESULTS: More than half (56.2%) of the students consumed more than 100 mg (the upper limit allowed) of caffeine from dietary sources. High intake of caffeine (> 100 mg/day) was significantly associated (p = 0.001) with reduced sleep duration, difficulty falling asleep, infrequent exercising, using smart devices for more than 2 h a day, getting a lower GPA, skipping breakfast, eating fewer servings of vegetables than recommended, frequent consumption of fast food and more frequent snack consumption. CONCLUSION: Excessive intake of caffeine from different dietary sources coexists with unhealthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors and sleep problems. Tailoring educational programs and intervention strategies is warranted to correct the unhealthy intake of caffeine and the associated unhealthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors among schoolchildren in the UAE.

Caffeinated energy drink consumption among Emirati adolescents is associated with a cluster of poor physical and mental health, and unhealthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Consumption of caffeinated energy drinks (CED) has escalated during the last few years, especially among schoolchildren, with evident adverse health sequelae in this critical age group. Objective: This study examined the prevalence of CED consumption and its associations with sleep, physical and mental health, and dietary and lifestyle habits among schoolchildren in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Method: A structured self-administered online questionnaire was developed and disseminated among schoolchildren aged 14-18 years, selected from schools of the seven emirates of the UAE. Results: More than 4,500 (N= 4,648) responses received. A relatively low prevalence of CED consumption (20%) was found among schoolchildren in the UAE. However, those who reported CED consumption were more likely to report unhealthy dietary (skipping breakfast, frequent snacking, and eating fast foods, low fruit, and vegetable intake) and lifestyle behaviors (long screen time, poor sleep health), in addition to poor self-reported mental and physical health than non-users. CED consumption was significantly and variably associated with multiple sociodemographic factors such as students' nationality, parental companionship, sex, school type, education level (children's and parents'), daily allowance, academic performance, screen time, sleep quality parameters, self-reported physical and mental health, and parents' employment. Sources of knowledge about CED were social media (55%), friends/schoolmates (52%), and family members (52%). Students believed that CED constitute sugar (87%), caffeine (69%), artificial flavors (67%) sweeteners (54%), and stimulating components (43%). The majority (70%) of students reported that CED consumption increases the risks for heart disease, diabetes, high blood sugar (65%), addiction (64%), high blood pressure (59%), and obesity (57%). Conclusion: These results offer important insights for health professionals, child health specialists, policymakers, and parents in the UAE regarding adolescents' attitudes, knowledge and behaviors toward CED consumption.

Corn Silk (Zea mays L.) Induced Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer (MCF-7) Cells via the ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Pathway.

Cancer has been recognized as one of the life-threating diseases. Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality among women. In spite of current developments in the therapy and diagnosis of cancer, the survival rate is still less. Recently, plant-derived natural products gain attention as anticancer agents due to the nontoxic nature. Therefore, the aim of present study was to investigate the anticancer capacity of corn silk extract (CSE) on human breast cancer (MCF-7) and normal human mesenchymal (hMSC-TERT4) cells. Following 24 h treatment to corn silk extract, the cytotoxicity was assessed by MTT, NRU, and morphological assays. The oxidative stress markers (GSH and LPO), ROS production, MMP change, and expression of apoptotic marker genes (p53, Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and caspase-9) were also studied in MCF-7 cells treated at 250 to 1000 µg/ml of CSE for 24 h. Our results showed that CSE decreased the cell viability and increased the apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The level of LPO and ROS production was found significantly higher; however, GSH and MMP level was observed lower in CSE-treated MCF-7 cells. The real-time PCR data showed a significant upregulation in p53, Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 and downregulation in the mRNA expression of Bcl-2 genes in MCF-7 cells exposed to CSE. Collectively, the data from this study stated that corn silk extract induced apoptosis via the ROS-mediated mitochondrial pathway in MCF-7 cells.