This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and inadequate sleeping among the public in Egypt during the novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. An online snowball sampling approach was used to collect data from netizens in four Egyptian governorates between 16 and 30 April 2020. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed to assess sociodemographic characteristics, sleeping hours per day, and psychological disturbances (depression, anxiety, and stress) of participants using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. Out of 1629 participants, 48.1% were aged ≤ 30 years, 42.4% were men, and 20.0% were working in the health sector. The participants reported a high prevalence of depression (67.1%: mild to moderate 44.6% and severe to very severe 22.5%), anxiety (53.5%: mild to moderate 30.6% and severe to very severe 22.9%), stress (48.8%: mild to moderate 33.8% and severe to very severe 15.0%), and inadequate sleeping (< 6 h/day) 23.1%. Female sex, working in sectors other than the health sector, watching/reading COVID-19 news ≥ 2 h/day, and lack of emotional support from family and society were associated with a high prevalence of severe to very severe depression, anxiety, and stress. In conclusion, the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on the public in Egypt were enormous, therefore, providing psychological support and counsel is warranted.

Background Menstrual disorders are highly prevalent among girls and may interrupt school attendance. This study aimed to investigate the association between menstrual disorders and school absenteeism among schoolgirls in South Egypt. Subjects and methods A multi-stage random sampling method was adopted to select 930 schoolgirls. A self-administered questionnaire composed of 3 sections (socio-demographic characteristics, menstrual disorders, and school absenteeism) was used to assess the relationship between different menstrual disorders and school absenteeism during the previous 6 months. Results The mean age of the participating schoolgirls was 15.5 ± 0.8 years, age of menarche 13.2 ± 1.2 years, menstrual cycle duration 28.8 ± 7.3 days with average flow days 5 ± 1.3. During the previous 6 months, 43.9% of schoolgirls reported school absenteeism. Dysmenorrhea (89.1%) and premenstrual symptoms, especially abdominal spasm (62.2%), fatigue (32%), and headache (22.7%) were heavily reported during the same period. Menstrual flow >4 days [odds ratio (OR) 1.37, 1.04–1.80], premenstrual abdominal spasm (OR 1.60, 1.22–2.11), fatigue (OR 1.69, 1.27–2.24), breast tenderness (OR 1.67, 1.17–2.38), insomnia (OR 1.92, 1.31–2.80), abdominal bloating (OR 2.29, 1.34–3.91), dysmenorrhea (OR 4.44, 2.58–7.62), dysmenorrhea for more than 1 day (OR 1.38, 1.03–1.84), menstrual acne flare (OR 2.23, 1.68–2.97), dysuria (OR 1.96, 1.31–2.93), and facial hair (OR 2.59, 1.26–5.31) were significantly associated with school absenteeism. Conclusion Premenstrual and menstrual disorders are associated with school absenteeism among schoolgirls in South Egypt. Future research should focus on the effect of school counseling on reducing the absenteeism rate attributed to menstrual disorders.

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This study aimed to investigate whether young and old non-professional drivers in South Egypt have aberrant driving behaviors compared with their middle-aged counterparts. Materials and methods In this cross-sectional study, a total of 1764 non-professional drivers aged � 19 years, residing in Beni-Suef in South Egypt, and having � one year of driving experience were randomly selected. All drivers were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire, including personal information, driving habits, and the Arabic version of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire which evaluates driving violations, errors, and lapses. Results This study included 560 young drivers (19-25 years), 850 middle-aged drivers (26-59 years), and 354 old drivers (� 60 years). Compared with middle-aged drivers, young drivers reported more non-use of the seatbelt, eating while driving, and driving while feeling drowsy. Old drivers, in contrast, showed more careful driving behaviors including fewer violations, errors, and lapses and less likelihood of driving while feeling sleepy. Conclusion This study supports the conception that young drivers pose less careful driving habits. Initiating educational programs targeting young drivers to improve their driving habits and create a traffic safety culture in Egypt is highly warranted.