Background Asthma is the most common reason for emergency visits to hospital and loss of productive hours. In Saudi Arabia, asthma affects more than 2 million people and majority of them have uncontrolled asthma with their quality of life adversely being impacted. It is well known that the prevalence of asthma has been increasing in many places around the world in the last few decades. The present review attempted to identify studies on asthma and associated factors in Saudi Arabian population and assess their time trends and regional variation. Methods The titles and abstracts of retrieved articles were compared to delete duplication and irrelevant data. A data collection form was designed to extract several key components from selected articles like bibliographic information on the article, study population, and sample size. Extracted information was grouped appropriately for data analysis. Database search retrieved 71 articles. Applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 articles were excluded and 31 qualified full articles were included for the review. Results Among 31 retained studies, Riyadh had the highest publication output followed by Jeddah. Ten studies were based on ISAAC and 5 on non-ISAAC questionnaires while 5 studies were genetic studies conducted to unravel the genetic basis of asthma. Most of the studies were conducted on pediatric subjects of less than 16 years of age. Sample sizes ranged from less than 150 to more than 10000 with study settings being predominantly urban (22 studies). The pooled weighted prevalence rates of asthma, lifetime wheeze, and rhinitis were 14.3% (95% CI: 13.4–15.2), 16.5 (95% CI 15.5–17.4), and 21.4 (95% CI 20.5–22.3), respectively. An increase in asthma prevalence from 1990 to 2000 along with a stabilized or not so significant decline in the prevalence from 2010 to 2016 was observed. Conclusion The prevalence of asthma varied in different regions without any disparity in prevalence in the rural and urban areas of Saudi Arabia. The understanding of genetic variability and recognition of risk factors in asthma patients can greatly help in individualizing the therapy for the management and control of asthma.

BACKGROUNDThe problem of substance abuse is one of the top 20 risk factors for poor health worldwide. Though widely prevalent in the Middle East, there are few studies in Saudi Arabia.OBJECTIVERecord the pattern of substances abuse and the sociodemographic characteristics of abusers attending the local rehabilitation center.DESIGNDescriptive, retrospective medical record review.SETTINGPatients admitted to psychiatric rehabilitation center.METHODSThe sample included all patients admitted to a rehabilitation center during the period of January 2016–December 2016. Data was collected retrospectively from patient records.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESDescriptive epidemiological data and statistical comparisons.SAMPLE SIZE612 patients.RESULTSThe majority of patients (73%) were 21–40 years of age. Polysubstance abuse (60%) and amphetamine (24%) abuse were most predominant in the 20–40 year olds (45%) and high school dropouts (41%). The average number of drugs being used by polysubstance abusers was 2.5 (and the maximum was 6). There was no relationship of family history of drug abuse and mental illness.CONCLUSIONThere was an increased use of polysubstances and amphetamine with a decreased abuse of prescription drugs when compared to previous studies reported in Saudi Arabia. There was a decreasing prevalence for heroin and alcohol. Substance abusers have certain epidemiological, social and drug patterns and we recommend that authorities and planners integrate their efforts to look for the reasons for substance abuse.LIMITATIONSFemales not included and prevalence of tobacco smoking not studied.

BACKGROUNDAluminum phosphide (AlP) is an insecticide and rodenticide used to protect stored grains from rodents and other household pests. This substance is highly toxic to humans and has been the cause of many accidental and intentional deaths due in part to poor regulation of sales and distribution in many countries.OBJECTIVESDescribe poisonings reported to the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia in terms of demographic variables and by time and geographic distribution.DESIGNRetrospective medical record review.SETTINGMinistry of Health hospitals nationwide.PATIENTS AND METHODSUsing a semi-structured checklist, data was collected from patient records that contained sociodemographic variables and the outcome (died or discharged).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESAggregated data, summary statistics and statistical comparisons.SAMPLE SIZE68 patients.RESULTSThirty-eight (56%) were female and the mean (SD) age of patients was 18.6 (1.86) years. Eighteen of 22 (82%) patients who died were younger than 20 years old. Mortality in patients younger than 20 years of age was greater than in adults (P=.043). Mortality was highest in patients younger than 7 years of age (P=.006). The cases were reported by the Islamic years 1427–1435, corresponding approximately to Gregorian years 2006 to 2017. Fifty-six cases (83%) were reported from Jeddah. Most cases were due to accidental exposure to phosphine gas during fumigation.CONCLUSIONMortality due to AlP poisoning was highest in children and most commonly occurred during fumigation of households. Delays in medical attention and diagnosis may have contributed to mortality.LIMITATIONSRetrospective data collection and relatively small sample size. Data on exact amount and route of phosphide ingestion or exposure not available.

No abstract

Background Poisoning has become a widespread and dangerous phenomenon worldwide. The purpose of our study was to determine and analyze the pattern of poisoning cases induced with food, drugs, and chemicals reported to the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in Qassim province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study also evaluated the correlation of demographic variables such as age, type of toxicity and geographical distribution associated with poisoning in Qassim province. Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on 381 cases of poisoning. The data was collected from Jan 2017 to Dec 2017 and revealed that out of 381 cases, 120 have food poisoning (65 % females and 35 % males), 180 have drug poisoning (55.56 % females and 44.44 % males), whereas 81 cases have chemical poisoning (41.98 % female and 58.02 % male). Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS/PC statistical package. The study revealed that the most common agents involved in acute poisoning were drugs (47.25 %), especially analgesics such as Paracetamol (Acetaminophen), followed by antipsychotic drugs. Food poisoning was the second acute poisoning with (31.40 %). Finally, chemical poisoning involved in acute poisoning with 21.20 % of cases reported household products accomplished strongest bleach (chlorines)(Clorox®) and insecticides were the secondary source for chemical poisoning.

The MKPs (mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatases) are a family of at least ten DUSPs (dual-specificity phosphatases) which function to terminate the activity of the MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases). Several members have already been demonstrated to have distinct roles in immune function, cancer, fetal development and metabolic disorders. One DUSP of renewed interest is the inducible nuclear phosphatase MKP-2, which dephosphorylates both ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) and JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) in vitro. Recently, the understanding of MKP-2 function has been advanced due to the development of mouse knockout models, which has resulted in the discovery of novel roles for MKP-2 in the regulation of sepsis, infection and cell-cycle progression that are distinct from those of other DUSPs. However, many functions for MKP-2 still await to be characterized.

This research reveals that drugs and chemicals poisoning have been reported to have severe and fetal side effects on health provided by doctors in statistics and periodical records. This work aimed to explore the interaction among drug and chemical poisoning patterns concerning risk factors, especially gender, age, exposure circumstances, and outcomes in the Makkah region. A retrospective analysis was of clinical drug and chemical poisoning cases (2014–2015). The data were retrieved from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health received 1216 reports of drug and chemical poisoning during 2014–2015 in Makkah. This study has found that, the most affected gender was that of males (65%). The most affected age category with drug poisoning was over 15 years old (67%), but under 5 years for chemical poisoning (60%). The majority of drug poisoning cases are unknown drugs (42%), which accidental poisoning was a minority compared with other drug causes (27%). Chemical poisoning accidents were the majority causes of the recorded cases (63%). We reported healthy recovered without complications for most patients from drug and chemical poisoning (85–95%). Antidotes were administered in only (5%) of cases, and fatalities were reported (0.5% of cases). We have shown a flagrant increase in the number of people poisoned by drugs and chemical agents during 2015. Increases poisoning cases involved both genders and all studied age categories, especially males over 15 years up to 25 (drugs) and < 5 years (chemicals). Most cases were accidental (chemicals) and reported healthy recovery for most patients.

Star anise (Illicium verum Hook. fil.) is commonly utilized as a culinary and medicinal fruit and is most famous in indigenous systems of medicine. The present research work aims to appraise and validate the potential of polyphenol-rich star anise tea (SAT) on oxidative stress, obesity and related biochemical parameters in high-fat-sugar-diet (HFSD)-induced obesity model in rats. SAT was prepared using the traditional method in warm water. The Reverse Phase High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis was performed for the simultaneous determination of phenolic acids and flavonoids in SAT. Two doses (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight) were selected to investigate the anti-obesity potential of SAT using HFSD-induced obese rat model. Major (>5 mg/100 mL) phenolic acids in SAT were p-coumeric acid, gallic aid, cinamic acid, chlorogenic acid and ferulic acid while catechin and rutin were the major flavonoids detected in the SAT. SAT exhibited 51.3% DPPH radical scavenging activity. In vivo study showed that higher doses of SAT (500 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced the body weight increase (74.82%) and BMI (0.64 g/cm2). Moreover, significant reductions in the levels of serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and VLDL were recorded in all the treatment groups in comparison to the HFSDC group. Furthermore, SAT reduced the alterations in MDA, SOD and GSH levels of experimental groups thus showing the potential against oxidative stress. The SAT-500 group showed a significant decrease in the elevated kidney and liver weights and atherogenic index in comparison to the HFSDC group. The present study proved that SAT exhibited strong protective effects against obesity and oxidative stress, especially at higher doses.