Objectives: We aimed to find out the prevalence and associated risk factors of GDM among females who attended antenatal clinic at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: This retrospective study was carried out from 25th September 2016 till 20th December 2016, at the Endocrine Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, KAUH, Jeddah, SA. A total of 5000 women attended antenatal clinic and 637 women were referred to the endocrine clinic for GDM. The data of only 103 GDM was included in the study because only these patients’ complete data was available. The electronic record of 93 pregnant age and BMI matched females, not having GDM were selected as a control group. Results: The prevalence of GDM was 12.75% (637/5000). Parity was associated with GDM (X2=16.82, P=.001) and GDM was significantly higher in multigravida while no association of GDM was found with working status, place of living, hypertension, family history of DM and BMI. Logistic regression analysis revealed that grand multigravida female had the lower risk of GDM as compared to multi, primi and nulligravida while age, working status, place of living, hypertension, family history of DM and BMI were not found significant risk factors for GDM. In GDM group, according to nationality, 68(66%) women were Saudi while 35(34%) were expatriates’ (Yemeni 11.2%, Egyptians 3.9%, Indians 3.9%, Pakistanis 2.9%, Sudanese 2.9%, Syrians 2.9% and others). Conclusions: The prevalence of GDM was 12.75% and it was not associated with working status, place of living, hypertension, family history of diabetes and BMI. How to cite this:Abualhamael S, Mosli H, Baig M, Noor AM, Alshehri FM. Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus at a University Hospital in Saudi Arabia. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(2):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.2.498 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Background: hypothyroidism is of concern in our society; it has an effect on metabolic parameters. Objective: this study aimed to predict the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among patients with hypothyroidism in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to determine the effect of treating hypothyroidism on MetS. Methods: we conducted this cross-sectional study, in which MetS was defined by presence of at least three of the five AHA/NHLBI criteria. We included patients with hypothyroidism that were managed in an outpatient department or admitted in King Abdulaziz University Hospital from 1 March to 30 April 2016. We measured lipid parameters, blood pressure (BP), waist circumference (WC) and serum fasting blood glucose (FBG). Results: in total 57 patients were included in our study, of which 47 (82%) were females. the majority of patients were greater than 50 years of age (n=35, 60%). We found that 36.8% of patients uncontrolled for hypothyroidism had high levels of TSH (serum level of TSH >5 mlu/L) , while 64.9% of patients who were controlled for hypothyroidism had normal levels of TSH (serum level of TSH 0.5-5 mlu/L). Overall, 71.9% (n=41) of hypothyroidism patients had MetS. However, we found that 51.8% (n=21) uncontrolled hypothyroidism patients suffered from MetS and 48.2% (n= 20) patients controlled for hypothyroidism suffered from MetS. However, 70.68 %, 31.03%, 34.48%, 79.31% and 70.6% of participants had abnormal waist circumference (WC), hypertriglyceridemia, abnormal high-density lipoprotein (HDL), hypertension and elevated serum levels of fasting blood sugar, respectively Conclusion: hypothyroidism plays an important role in MetS. Future advanced studies including larger numbers of patients are needed to test the effect of treating hypothyroidism on MetS. Routine screening for cardiovascular risk factors in patients with hypothyroidism may unmask MetS.

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bone mineral density is reduced due to altered bone microstructure, which results in increased skeletal fragility and incidence of various types of fractures. Adipokines such as chemerin, vaspin, omentin-1 and osteoprotegerin are involved in bone remodeling. The current study was designed to determine the changes in circulating chemerin, vaspin, omentin-1, and osteoprotegerin levels after treatment with oral ibandronate 150 mg in postmenopausal osteoporotic females. The present study enrolled 107 postmenopausal osteoporotic females from a tertiary care hospital in Faisalabad, Pakistan, based on stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria. Sixty-six healthy postmenopausal, non-osteoporotic females with no systemic illness were chosen from the general population. The assessment of bone mineral density (BMD) was done using a DEXA scan. Serum levels of chemerin, vaspin, omentin-1 and osteoprotegerin were estimated using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The collected data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. Following 6 months of ibandronate treatment, there was a significant decrease of 24.24% (p < .033) in serum chemerin levels, as well as a significant increase in serum vaspin levels 343.32% (p < .001) and osteoprotegerin levels 19.57% (p < .001), with no significant change in omentin-1 levels. Thus, an increase in serum chemerin levels and a decrease in serum vaspin and osteoprotegerin levels could be implicated in osteoporosis.

To assess the diabetes mellitus (DM) knowledge, attitudes, preventive practices, and associated factors among a sample of adult non-diabetic Saudi residents. Methods: The present survey was conducted in April-June 2022. People from the general population were invited to participate in the study, and the data were collected using a validated questionnaire. Results: A total of 1207 non-diabetic subjects participated in the study [females 798(66.1%) and males 409(33.9%)], and the response rate was 80% (1207/1500). Two-thirds (66.86%) of non-diabetic adult community members had good knowledge of DM, 47.8% had positive attitudes, and 62.14% maintained a healthy lifestyle to avoid DM. There was a family history of DM in more than half of the subjects 723(59.9%). Participants who had a direct relative with diabetes scored higher on the knowledge question than those who did not (p<0.001). Practice questions responses for preventing DM showed that about 459(38%) were using fatty food less frequently, and only 338(28%) and 153(12.7%) were doing physical activities 30-60 minutes per day frequently and very frequently, respectively. Most participants were smoking tobacco, 890(73.7%), and getting checked their BP, 704(58.3%), very frequently. The participants with a master's and Ph.D. degree were likelier to have positive attitudes and good practices than students. Individuals with a history of DM in their families were 2.10 times (OR=2.10, p<0.001), 1.95 times (OR=1.95, p<0.001), and 2.03 times (OR=2.03, p<0.001) more likely to be knowledgeable, had positive attitudes and good practices than those with no DM in their family, respectively. Conclusion: Over half of the individuals possessed a positive mindset, adequate knowledge, and good practicing behavior for preventing DM. Having Master's and Ph.D. degrees and a family history of DM were associated with a positive attitude and good practices. There is a need to expand community awareness campaigns utilizing social media channels.