BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Shisha smoking, one of the commonest methods of smoking tobacco among Arabs, increases the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of shisha smoking among male students of three colleges and to identify factors associated with shisha smoking.METHODS:This cross-sectional study included 500 male students of three colleges (medicine, applied medical sciences and dentistry). Data were collected from 371 students using a self-administered questionnaire.RESULTS:The overall prevalence of shisha smoking was 12.6% (8.6% shisha only and 4.0% both shisha and cigarettes). Thirty students (63.8%) started shisha smoking at ages of 16 to 18 years. Seven students (15%) smoked shisha daily. Cafés or restaurants were the favorite places for smoking (70.2% of students). There was a high prevalence of shisha smoking among students whose mothers had a secondary (19.1%) and higher (53.3%) education.CONCLUSIONS:There was a high prevalence of shisha smoking among university students. The majority of students started shisha smoking at a young age. Public health measures, including the banning of smoking in public places are recommended.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:Few studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia to assess the level of awareness and knowledge of the population about diabetes mellitus (DM) risk factors and preventative measures. The objective of this study was to measure this knowledge among attendees of a primary care center in eastern Saudi Arabia.METHODS:A sample of 300 male and female Saudis aged 18 years and older from the catchment area of the Aqrabya Primary Care Center were randomly selected for this cross-sectional survey. Data were collected through a structured face-to-face interview using a pre-piloted Arabic instrument. Regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of knowledge.RESULTS:The 288 participants interviewed included 100 males and 188 females. The mean (SD) age was 44.7 (12.6) years for males and 33.8 (12.4) years for females. Fewer than 50% of participants knew about DM risk factors and preventive measures. In a regression model that included age, sex and education, education had a statistically significant positive association with knowledge of risk factors (odds ratio 12.5, 95% CI 6.26-25.2, P<.001) and preventive measures (odds ratio 7.6, 95% CI 4.01-14.2, P<.001), and age had a statistically significant negative association with knowledge of DM risk factors (odds ratio 0.377, 95% CI 0.207-0.685, P=.001) and prevention (odds ratio 0.407, 95% CI 0.231-0.717, P=.001). The main risk factor stated by participants was obesity (35.8%), while the main preventive measure mentioned was weight reduction (37.9%).CONCLUSION:Attendees had poor knowledge of DM risk factors and preventive measures. The level of education and age were important predictors of knowledge. Programs for health education of the community about DM risk factors and preventive measures are needed.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESHealth-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important health outcome, representing one of the most important goals of all health interventions. The objectives of this study were to determine HRQOL and the factors affecting it in type 2 diabetic patients.PATIENTS AND METHODSThis cross-sectional study was conducted in five primary health care (PHC) centers in the Al-Khobar area. From a random sample of 225 type 2 diabetic patients, 216 patients were included in the study along with 216 age-, sex- and nationality-matched controls. Nine patients refused to participate. Type 2 diabetic patients and controls were interviewed with the translated Arabic SF-12 questionnaire.RESULTSThe mean ages were 50.0±10.0 years for cases and of 49.3±10.3 years for controls (P=.526). Type 2 diabetic patients had lower socioeconomic status and educational level than controls. Obesity was significantly higher in diabetics than controls. HRQOL in type 2 diabetic patients was significantly lower than controls. The mean physical component score was 41.3±8.9 for cases vs. 47.5±9.5 for controls (P<.001), and the mean mental component score 47.8±9.1 in cases vs. 51.5±9.4 in controls (P<.001). HRQOL was significantly lower in females than males (P<.001). HRQOL was impaired in uncontrolled patients (fasting plasma glucose [FPG]>130 mg/dL) in comparison with controlled patients (FPG≤130 mg/dL) (P<.05).CONCLUSIONSHRQOL was lower in type 2 diabetic patients than controls and was affected by many factors. Females had lower HRQOL than males, possibly because of a higher incidence of obesity. Uncontrolled diabetic patients had a lower HRQOL than controlled diabetics. Improving HRQOL in diabetic patients is important.

Medico-legal tasks are not exclusive to forensic medical experts -any physician may face medico-legal issues in his career. Hence, the practice of medicine requires education in legal issues. In Saudi Arabia, there are 30 universities with medical colleges, but we do not know how they teach undergraduate forensic medicine and medico-legal issues. The aim of this study was to discover undergraduate training courses in forensic medicine in Saudi universities. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving all colleges of medicine in Saudi Arabia. A structured, self-administered questionnaire containing 13 items relating to the undergraduate forensic medicine course was distributed. Out of a total of 30 universities, 27 universities responded. Of these 27 universities, 16 (59.26%) teach forensic medicine to undergraduate medical students, and 11 (40.74%) do not teach forensic medicine in their undergraduate curriculum. Of the 27 universities that responded, none has a department of forensic medicine. Eleven universities that do not teach forensic medicine have no forensic medicine unit/division or faculty at all. Forensic medicine belongs to the pathology department in 11 universities, while it belongs to different departments in five universities. There is variation in teaching methods, years where the course is taught and length of the course. Practical and morgue visits take place in 7/16 (43.8%) universities, while 9/16 (56.3%) universities only teach the theoretical aspects of forensic medicine. All 16 universities teach forensic medicine only to medical students and do not teach it to students in other colleges such as dentistry and nursing.

SA Fam Pract 2010;52(4):344-349Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major public health problem in Saudi Arabia. Its prevalence is on the increase, being as high as 23.7% among adult citizens. Misconceptions and wrong beliefs regarding DM and its management among those attending primary health care centres (PHCCs) can result in poor control, more complications and increased incidence of morbidity and mortality.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in eight randomly selected PHCCs in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The study population comprised all adult male attendees older than 15 years. The total number of attendees interviewed was 1 030, giving a response rate of 84.1%. Data were collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire pertaining to the following: socio-demographic characteristics, misconceptions of PHCC attendees about DM regarding the aetiology, general concepts, diabetic diet, treatment and herbal treatment. Chi-square and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis.Results: The majority of the attendees were Saudi (92%) of young age (15-34 years; 60.7%). Only 12% had DM. A high proportion of the attendees had misconceptions about the aetiology of DM (21.2%), general concepts of the disease (13.8%) and the diet of diabetic patients (10.7%). Moreover, 11.8% of the attendees had misconceptions about all aspects of DM. The factors that were found to be independently and significantly associated with increased levels of misconception were a low level of education (OR = 0.752) and lower family income (OR = 0.684).Conclusion: There is a great need for continuous health education of PHCC attendees in general and regarding diabetics in particular to raise their knowledge and awareness of DM. This can be done by all primary health care team members.Peer reviewed. (

Background: Bronchial asthma (BA) is a chronic non-communicable disease affecting children and adults. Despite the availability of written guidelines for diagnosis and management, yet still knowledge and application were inadequate. The aim of this study was to assess asthma knowledge of primary health care centers (PHCCs) personnel in Dammam city, eastern Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 22 PHCCs. The sample consisted of 194 personnel (50 physicians and 144 nurses). Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire which contained 58 questions. Knowledge score about asthma was coded as good and poor. Descriptive statistics, paired t-test and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Results: The majority of PHCCs personnel (96.9%) had no postgraduate studies and 78.4% of them didn't receive any training about BA. More than half (55.2%) of the PHCCs personnel showed good total knowledge score about BA. Also, 81.8% of the physicians and 52.7% of the nurses had good total knowledge level regarding the total aspects of BA in children. Physicians had statistically higher mean knowledge score than nurses regarding all components and total knowledge scores. Knowledge about role of exercise and prognosis was inadequate. Being a physician, female, younger, less years of work in PHCCs were statistically signifi cant and associated with good knowledge level. Conclusions: There are still some defi ciencies in knowledge about different aspects related to bronchial asthma. It is recommended that both physicians and nurses receive training about national asthma guidelines through continuing medical education.

Background: There is growing evidence that tobacco use other than cigarettes is spreading across all world regions. Few reports have been published about shisha smoking among university students. It is important that medical students, the future medical practitioners, have adequate knowledge of smoking-related diseases and skills in smoking cessation. Aim of the study: Was to assess the level of knowledge about shisha smoking and to identify behaviors and perceptions concerning shisha smoking among male medical students at

Background: Several studies have shown that use of mobile phones may cause adverse health problems such as headache, sleep disturbances, ear warming and other symptoms. Aims & Objective: To determine the prevalence of symptoms due to the use of mobile phone and to identify some factors associated with its use among primary health care (PHC) attendees in Al-Khobar city, eastern Saudi Arabia. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using interviewer-administered questionnaire during the month of May 2009 in Al-Khobar city. Three PHC centers were randomly selected and 431 attendees were interviewed. Results: About 68.0% were using mobile phones for more than five years. About 43% had a single call time of 5-9 minutes and 56.8% had a daily call time from 30 minutes to one hour. Symptoms due to use of mobile phone included ear warming (52.9%), headache (15.1%), and facial numbness (13.0%). Factors found to be statistically significantly associated with presence of symptoms due to mobile phone use were daily call time of 30 minutes or more, using mobile phone for 3 or more years, and ending the call because of medical reasons. Conclusion: The use of mobile phones was associated with subjective symptoms. It is suggested that excessive daily use of mobile phones should be avoided. Further research is needed to establish a cause-effect relationship.