Objective: To identify the prevalence and factors related to fast food consumption among Mutah University students in Jordan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from January-April, 2019. A sample of 503 students was recruited from different faculties. The participants were interviewed using a structured and a validated questionnaire. Height and weight were measured for the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation. Statistical analyses were performed using descriptive, t-test and correlational methods. Results: The prevalence of regular fast food (RFF) consumption (³ 2 times/week) was 59.4%. This prevalence was significantly higher among students spending ³ 21 JD/ week (p= 0.020) and those who were not performing physical exercise (p = 0.025).  Significant correlations were found between RFF consumption and fried potato (r=0.374, p < 0.001), processed meat products (r=0.509, p < 0.001), coffee (r=0.122, p=0.006) and candies (r=0.092, p=0.039). No significant relation was found between fast-food consumption and BMI, religion, gender, field of study or living away from family. The most common reason for RFF consumption was shortage of time (38.5%). Lunch time was the most preferred time to consume fast food (70.2%). Interestingly, 32.4% of the students were willing to read the nutrient information and about two-thirds were interested to choose healthy meals if they were available in the menu. Conclusion: The prevalence of fast food consumption is high. RFF consumption is significantly related to lower physical exercise performance and the amount of pocket money. Raising awareness of university students through nutritional education is highly recommended. Continuous...

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Objectives: The objectives of the study were to provide normal values of the Torg-Pavlov ratio (TPR) of the lumbar spine in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the Jordanian population and examine differences observed according to factors including age, gender, lumbar level, dural sac area, or ethnic group. Material and Methods: Two hundred and eighteen lumbar MRIs from the Picture Archiving and Communication System were reviewed. These were collected from three main governmental hospitals, in North, Central, and South of Jordan. The mid-sagittal diameters of the vertebral body, spinal canal, and dural canal area were measured at all levels. Patients’ gender and age were documented as well. Exclusion criteria were kyphoscoliosis alignments disorders, lumbar spinal canal compression regardless of the cause, vertebral bony disease (including fractures), and the presence of technical artifacts. Statistical analyses used descriptive and correlational methods. Comparisons were made between genders, age groups, lumbar level, dural sac area in the study population using independent t-test and one-way ANOVA tests, and between ethnicities by reviewing previous reports on subjects of different ethnicities. Results: The mean TPR ratio for the study participants was 0.4502 ± 0.097. The value of TPR was widest in the 20–29-year-old group at all vertebral levels and in both males and females. Females had a significantly wider TPR than males (P = 0.003) in all age groups. TPR differed significantly between the five vertebral levels (P = 0.026). The difference in TPR between age groups was not statistically significant. TPR showed a positive significant correlation with dural sac (r = 0.203, P = 0.003). Comparison with the previous literature demonstrated variation in the TPR where Jordanian population had a lower TPR in comparison with Negros and Caucasoids whereas similar to Koreans, especially in females. Conclusion: There are significant differences in TPR according to gender, dural sac area, lumbar spinal level (except between L1 and L2), and ethnic group, but no significant difference with the age was found. The present study has identified normal values of Torg’s ratio in the Jordanian population. Although the study may not be able to provide clear guidelines for use in clinical practice, it has still highlighted possible between countries variations and has identified differences in these values to different factors. Implications on clinical practice could be reflected on the diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis or on predicting the prognosis of lumbar spine injury.

Background: There is a growing international development in community pharmacists’ and authority prescribing role. Objective: The study assess the attitudes of community pharmacists toward expanding their prescribing role and to identify any contributing factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Jordan. A validated self-administered questionnaire addressing participants’ attitudes toward expanding the prescribing role of community pharmacists, the preferred model, barriers and training need was used. Results: In general, 62.3% of community pharmacists exhibited neutral attitudes toward expanding their prescribing role, and 79.4% favored the supplementary prescribing model. The key drivers for expanding prescribing were a better use of community pharmacists’ skills (88.7%) and drug knowledge (79.4%). However, the most perceived barriers were inadequate training in patient assessment and monitoring (75%) and diagnosis of disease (73%). Female respondents had higher mean attitude scores (65.5± 6.79) than males (63.1± 7.89),(p= 0.021, t=2.321). Respondents with a Pharm .D degree had higher mean attitude scores (68.0 ±9.19) than those with a postgraduate degree (66.3±7.59) or those with bachelor of pharmacy (63.6±6.88, p= 0.010, F=4.709). Conclusion: Although overall attitudes of community pharmacists toward prescribing role were neutral, there were some gaps in their knowledge and skills. Community pharmacists, therefore, require further and urgent training in certain areas together with addressing the identified barriers.