Purpose With smartphone addiction’s (SA) increasing prevalence among young adults, there is a growing concern about its adverse effects on distorted dietary and lifestyle behaviors, including disturbed sleeping and eating patterns. We aim to study the prevalence of SA risk, poor sleeping quality, evening chronotype, and eating disorders (ED) risk among university students in the UAE. We also aim to assess the associations between them, emphasizing the one between ED and SA risks. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a self-administered online questionnaire was disseminated using the convenience sampling technique. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, Eating Attitude Test-26 items, and Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version were used to measure sleep quality, chronotype, ED risk, and SA risk, respectively. Descriptive and analytical statistics were applied, and P< 0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Results Out of 552 students (mean age: 21.2±5.1 years), 71% had poor sleep quality, 33.9% reported evening chronotype, 37.9% had ED risk, and 56.2% had SA risk. The risk of SA was significantly associated with both poor sleep quality (OR=2.93; 95% CI: 2.01-4.29; p<0.001) and evening chronotype (p=0.005). ED risk was significantly associated with poor sleep quality (p<0.001), but not with chronotype or SA risk. Poor sleep quality predicted best ED risk. Conclusion High prevalence of SA, ED risk, and poor sleep quality was reported among university students in the UAE. Associations between poor sleep quality, evening chronotype, SA risk, and ED risk were further confirmed, along with sleep quality predicting risks of ED.

Background In light of the pandemic, pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to increased psychological distress and in need of imperative preventive measures. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the pandemic on mental health, lifestyle adaptations, and their determinants among pregnant women in the United Arab Emirates. Methods A survey was conducted electronically between June and August 2020. Pregnant women were recruited from prenatal clinics in the UAE and invited to participate in an online survey developed on Google Forms. The questionnaire included socio-demographic characteristics, the Impact of Event Scale- Revised, the Perceived Support Scale and lifestyle-related factors. Results A total of 384 pregnant women completed the questionnaire of whom 20.6% were in their 1st trimester, 46.1% in their 2nd and 33.3% in their 3rd trimester. The mean IES-R score for the respondents was 26.15 ± 13.55, corresponding to a mild stressful impact, which did not differ significantly among trimesters of pregnancy. Pregnant women expressed increased stress from staying home (64%), work (40%), feeling frightened (66%) and apprehensive (59%). Women reported increased support and sharing their feelings with family members (59%), mainly in the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy (P < 0.05). There was a greater attention to mental health (48%), resting time (55.3%), and relaxing time (57.3%); while a decreased amount of time was spent engaging in physical activities (53.6%), which differed significantly between trimesters (P = 0.02). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a mild stressful impact among pregnant women in the UAE, braced by strong family support and self-care mental health behaviors.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) represent commonly utilized management strategies for infertility with multifactorial causes (including genetically predisposed diseases). Amongst ART, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most popular. IVF treatment may predispose the mother to increased risks and complications during pregnancy, and there may be adverse fetal outcomes. Hormonal therapies, including oral contraceptives, may impair glucose and lipid metabolism, and promote insulin resistance and inflammation. IVF treatment involves administration of reproductive hormones, similar in composition but in much higher doses than those used for oral contraception. The provision of IVF reproductive hormones to mice associates with glucose intolerance. In addition, the physiological and hormonal changes of pregnancy can trigger an inflammatory response, and metabolic and endocrine changes. There is controversy regarding the potential effects of IVF hormonal therapies in the promotion of diabetogenic and inflammatory states, additional to those that occur during pregnancy, and which may therefore predispose women with IVF-conceived pregnancies to adverse obstetric outcomes compared with women with spontaneously conceived pregnancies. This review summarizes the limited published evidence regarding the effect of IVF-based fertility therapies on glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance, cardio-metabolic profile, and markers of inflammation.

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