Alcohol-related research from the Arab world has rarely touched on the experiences or views of Arab adolescents. In this article, we present an in-depth analysis of youth alcohol drinking patterns and determinants derived from focus group discussions completed with more than 100 Lebanese high school/vocational students (15-19 years). The social ecology of alcohol use framework guided our research and analysis. Findings reveal that alcohol drinking is perceived as a pervasive and serious public health problem, triggered by a complex web of social relations, and facilitated by lax policies. Recommendations to curb heavy/harmful alcohol drinking among adolescents include regulating the role of alcohol industry, providing alternative recreational spaces/pass-times, educating about alcohol-related harms, and promoting more research on alcohol and its harms. Findings confirm the social ecology of alcohol use framework, and suggest the addition of the macro level of influence to this model, namely, a comprehensive alcohol harm reduction policy.
Variation in the distribution of diagnoses between Muslim and Christian groups likely reflects differences in population structure and ancestry. In particular, the increased prevalence of mesangioproliferative GN among offspring of consanguineous unions in Muslims suggests a recessive genetic component to this disease which may be identified via homozygosity mapping. These findings have important implications for formulating renal health policies and designing research studies in this population.
Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is an extremely rare cause of growth failure and delayed puberty. It can be diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, showing an ectopic or absent posterior pituitary, an absent or interrupted pituitary stalk, or small anterior pituitary, in combination with growth hormone or other pituitary hormone deficiencies. The exact etiology of PSIS is unknown. In this article, we describe two cases of PSIS in Syria which are, as far as we know, the first published cases.
IntroductionIn 1996, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), instituted a National Injury Surveillance System (NISS) to assess the contribution of injuries to the overall burden of disease in Egypt and to identify areas of interventions.ObjectivesTo evaluate the performance of the NISS based on injury surveillance data during 2007.MethodsAn evaluation of the NISS was conducted of five attributes: acceptability, flexibility, representativeness, simplicity and stability based on the systems design and history. Additional attributes were also evaluated, including timeliness and data quality based upon data collected during 2007. Injury cases are identified on the first time of emergency department (ED) accessing with any type of injury.ResultsCurrently the system collects data from 234 Public and central hospitals, 221 specialised hospitals, 487 health integration hospitals and 194 rural health groups and 9 educational hospitals constituting 55.38% of Egyptian health facilities. ED data are collected monthly from hospitals and become available centrally within a month. All cases included in the data meets the Injury case definition. The system has shown its flexibility by recently adapting to changes to ICD10 coding. The system doesn't include health insurance hospitals, universal hospitals, Police and prison hospitals, railways hospitals and private sector hospitals.ConclusionsTHE MOHP NISS provides detailed and timely information on outpatient injury cases that can identify areas of interventions in injury prevention in Egypt. The engagement of other health institutions such as the university and private sectors will enhance the efficacy of the system
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