BackgroundData regarding comorbidities of hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are lacking. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of HCV among Saudi patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Dammam, KSA.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study done in 2011, a total of 1054 Saudi DM patients were randomly selected from the Diabetes Center in Dammam Medical Complex, KSA, for interview and HCV screening using the HCV Rapid Test. Positive cases were later confirmed via INNO-LIA HCV score line immune assay.ResultsSeropositivity of HCV was 1.9 %. DM duration of >5 years increased the probability of HCV risk to 3.7 fold while insulin users were 3.2 times more likely to have HCV infection. Increased hospital admission (3–4 times) also increased HCV risk by 11.5 times and 13.6 times among patients with ≥5 admissions. Similarly, having 3–4 surgical procedures increased HCV risk by 8.6 times and 39.3 times with ≥5 procedures. HCV transmission is 4 times more likely by blood transfusion. Those who shared personal items were 8.5 times more likely to have HCV. Tattooing increased HCV risk by 6.7 times. The likelihood of HCV infection was also higher among DM patients with liver diseases and elevated liver enzymes.ConclusionThe study confirmed a significant association between HCV risk and DM. Frequency of HCV among DM Saudis was 1.9 %. Predictors of HCV among DM patients were sharing personal items, occupational exposure to blood or its products, elevated transaminases, tattooing, disease duration > 5 years, increased hospital admission and blood transfusion.

Neisseria remained the main etiologic agent of meningitis. TB emerged as the second pathogen. Rate of bacterial un-detection was high. Mean age of meningitis had shifted to adult age. Other bacteria, pneumococci, MTB and advanced age were important predictors for mortality.

Background: Prevalence of Caesarean delivery (CD) is increasing worldwide including Egypt. Alexandria is one of the governorates recording the highest rates in Egypt. Identifying factors associated with CD is important to plan for reduction. Objective: To identify prevalence, indications and determinants of CD in Alexandria, Egypt. Methods: This cross sectional survey was carried out in Alexandria, Egypt between July and December 2017. Target population was ever-married fertile women aged 15-49 years. Only women having at least one child aged ≤ 5 years were included. Using the cluster sample survey, 900 eligible women were selected and subjected to an interview questionnaire for data collection. It included socio-demographic data, habits, reproductive history and medical profile. Results: Prevalence of CD in Alexandria (2017) was 70.4%. The reported leading causes for CD were previous CD (34.9%) and women request (12.1%). The significant socio-demographic factors associated with CD included educational level (p< 0.000) and residence (OR=2). Biomedical variables involved previous abortion (p= 0.005), previous complicated pregnancy (OR=1.6), frequent antenatal visits (OR=1.8), pre-/eclampsia (OR=1.

Background: Food addiction (FA) is a growing problem worldwide, associated with physical and psychological dysfunction. The original Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) was developed in 2009 for diagnosis of FA. Updated long and short forms of the Scale were developed in 2016 and 2017 respectively. An Arabic version of the updated short form suiting epidemiological purposes is lacking. Objective(s): The study aimed to adapt and test reliability of an Arabic version of the short form modified Yale Food Addiction Scale (mYFAS 2.0) for epidemiological purposes in Arab countries. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Alexandria, Egypt from June1st to September15th 2019. The short form mYFAS 2.0 was translated into Arabic language following the WHO translation guidelines. A self-report questionnaire including both English and Arabic versions was completed by 296 Arab adults fluent in Arabic and English, interviewed at public places. Weight and height were self-reported and Body Mass Index was calculated. Results: Kuder-Richardson alpha was 0.89 and 0.92 and Cronbach's Alpha was 0.93 and 0.94 for symptoms and the whole scale respectively. Cronbach's alpha decreased if any item was deleted. Corrected item-total correlation coefficients ranged between 0.5-0.7. These values indicate good internal consistency. Kappa coefficients ranged between 0.85-0.99 (P<0.001) indicating almost perfect agreement between Arabic and English versions of mYFAS 2.0. Food addiction rate was 17.6%. Conclusion: The present study adapted a reliable Arabic version of mYFAS 2.0 that can be a substitute to the English version in epidemiological work. The study recommends further multidisciplinary population studies to assess the problem, determine correlates and suggest appropriate interventions.

The study confirmed a positive association between HCV and DM. The frequency of HCV among patients with diabetes was 1.9%. Predictors of HCV among DM patients were sharing articles, elevated transaminases, occupational exposure to blood or its products, disease duration more than 5 years, tattooing, blood transfusion, and hospitalization more than two times. We recommend screening for HCV among DM patients with elevated serum transaminases and those having the disease for more than 5 years and education of patients with diabetes as regards their high risk for HCV and how to avoid infection.