Highlights Mental health issues are frequently underestimated in developing countries, although they are expected to be highly prevalent, particularly in the context of a severe socio-economic crisis and political instability. Fear of COVID-19 and fear of poverty were independently associated with higher stress and anxiety, while family satisfaction and financial wellness were linked to lower stress. Combined fear of COVID-19 and financial distress were associated with further stress and anxiety.

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Objectives: To validate an Arabic version of the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) and identify factors (such as depression, stress, anxiety and body dissatisfaction) that might be associated with disordered eating among a sample of the Lebanese population. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: All Lebanese governorates. Participants: A total of 811 participants randomly selected participated in this 5-month study (January–May 2018). Results: The EAT-26 scale items converged over a solution of six factors that had an eigenvalue over 1, explaining a total of 60·07 % of the variance (Cronbach’s α = 0·895). The prevalence of disordered eating attitudes was 23·8 %. Higher EAT-26 scores (disordered eating attitudes) were significantly associated with higher depression (β = 0·325), higher emotional eating (β = 0·083), daily weighing (β = 3·430), higher physical activity (β = 0·05), starving to reduce weight (β = 4·94) and feeling pressure from TV/magazine to lose weight (β = 3·95). Conclusions: The Arabic version of EAT-26 can be a useful instrument for screening and assessing disordered eating attitudes in clinical practice and research. Some factors seem to be associated with more disordered eating attitudes among participants for whom psychological counseling may be needed. Yet, our findings are considered preliminary, and further studies are warranted to confirm them.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess factors associated with depression in a representative sample of the Lebanese population. Design/Methods: A cross-sectional study, conducted between November 2017 and March 2018, enrolled 789 participants. Depression was measured using the Arabic version of the Hamilton Depression Scale. Results: The participants' mean age was 30.30 ± 12.52 years (54.8% males). More than half of the participants had depressive symptoms (59.7%). Anxiety (β = .457), alcohol dependence (β = .290), suicidal ideation (β = 1.427), high socioeconomic status (β = 1.910), being widowed (β = 4.564), and physical work fatigue (β = .090) were significantly associated with higher depression. Higher social emotional awareness was significantly associated with lower depression (β = −.176).

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Background Medication waste is a public health problem affecting developed and developing countries. In Lebanon, a developing country in the Middle East, efforts are being deployed in hospitals but not in the community. Objective This study aimed to validate a questionnaire to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards the disposal of unused and expired medicines among the Lebanese population and then identify the factors associated with these variables comparatively between the general population and healthcare professionals. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among the general Lebanese population in May–June 2022 using a standardized questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the KAP scales were assessed, then a thorough statistical analysis was done to explore the factors associated with these scales. Results The KAP scales generated by this study were valid and reliable. Using these scales, 24.5%, 22.6%, and 21% of participants demonstrated proper knowledge, attitude, and practice, respectively. Higher knowledge scores were significantly associated with female gender (Beta = 0.97), a high monthly income (Beta = 1.68), a secondary (Beta = 6.11) or university (Beta = 6.80) education level, and postgraduate education (Beta = 7.13). However, older age (Beta = − 0.06) and a low monthly income (Beta = − 3.06) were significantly associated with lower knowledge scores. A higher knowledge score (Beta = 0.06) was significantly associated with a more positive attitude regarding unused or expired medication disposal. Being a healthcare professional (Beta = 0.72) was significantly associated with a higher practice score, while being a female (Beta = − 0.32) and living in a rural area (Beta = − 0.37) were significantly associated with lower practice scores. Conclusion This study validated KAP scales regarding medication waste in Lebanon and showed low KAP scores in the majority of respondents. Factors associated with higher KAP scores in various aspects of medication disposal, including gender, age, education level, and profession (healthcare professionals), suggest the need to consider those when implementing targeted corrective measures. Although further studies are required to confirm our findings, this study could be the ground for a medication waste management national strategy in Lebanon.

Background: Quarantine/confinement is an effective measure to face the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Consequently, in response to this stressful situation, people confined to their homes may change their everyday eating behavior. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to evaluate the association between quarantine/confinement stressors and eating behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak. The secondary objective is to evaluate the association of quarantine/ confinement stressors and eating behavior amongst two groups of participants selected from the population: individuals attending diet clinics and individuals who are not attending diet clinics.Method: A cross-sectional web-based online survey carried out between April 3 and 18, 2020, enrolled 407 participants from the Lebanese population. Eating Disorder Examination – Questionnaire (EDE-Q) were used to measure the behavioral features of eating disorders. Results: More than half of the sample (53.0%) abide to the home quarantine/confinement, 95.4% were living with someone in the quarantine/confinement and 39.6% continued to work from home. Using the lower scores as reference group, higher fear of COVID-19 was found in 182 (44.8%) participants, higher boredom in 200 (49.2%) participants, higher anger in 187 (46.3%) and higher anxiety in 197 (48.5%) participants. A greater fear of COVID-19 (Beta=0.02), higher BMI (Beta=0.05), and physical activity (Beta=1.04) were significantly associated with a higher restraint score. Higher anxiety, higher fear of COVID-19, higher BMI, practicing physical exercise and higher number of adults living in the quarantine/confinement were significantly associated with a higher shape and weight concern. Conclusion: Our results showed that the fear of COVID-19 was correlated with more restraint eating, weight, and shape concern in the whole sample and more specifically in the dietitian clients group. Public health control measures are needed to define factors of eating disorders during the quarantine/confinement period related to the COVID-19 outbreak.