Digestive Discomforts and Effect of Ingested Food in People Performing Hajj

Abstract

A variety of health issues have been investigated in the Hajj pilgrims (HPs) in KSA. However, it is still obscure to decide which meals contribute to health related issues specifically gastrointestinal disorders and allergies. Hence present study was planned to compare the effect of using different meals on GIT disorders and allergies. The data was categorized into two groups. Group 1 of age matched HPs comprised a Functional Digestive System Questionnaire (FDSQ) to study digestive disorders. Group 2 HPs were compared for those received Toafa Corporation Meals (TCM) and those did not received Toafa Corporation Meals (NTCM). The FDSQ showed some of the gastrointestinal symptoms in male and female Hajj pilgrims differing significantly (p<0.05). The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated by subject recovery scoring (SRS). The 61.7% HPs taking TCM revealed various discomforts and food allergy and the 50.6% HPs using NTCM did not suffer from any disorders. However, the pilgrims taking the meals provided by the Toafa corporation but not showing allergy were more significant in number (p=0.0002). The existing study presents a new method (construction of a FDSQ) for comparing gastrointestinal and other disorders. The present study recommends that Toafa Corporation should provide suitable meals for the pilgrims to meet their actual needs during Hajj and health situation.

The Emergence, Persistence, and Dissemination of Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria in Environmental Hajj Settings and Implications for Public Health

“…In a systematic review of 15 studies of 262,999 pilgrims from 2002 to 2013 showed that the prevalence of diarrheal illness among pilgrimage was 2.3% (range: 1.1-23.3%) [21]. Cited risk factors for diarrhea among pilgrimage were: eating in restaurants [24] and being male [25,26], however, the source of food and eating raw vegetables were not associated significantly with the occurrence of 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through its Ministry of Health, has provided curative and preventative medical services to all pilgrims through the establishment of several hospitals and clinics in the Hajj premises. One of its many mandates is to control any potential spread of infectious diseases during the Hajj [8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…In a systematic review of 15 studies of 262,999 pilgrims from 2002 to 2013 showed that the prevalence of diarrheal illness among pilgrimage was 2.3% (range: 1.1-23.3%) [21]. Cited risk factors for diarrhea among pilgrimage were: eating in restaurants [24] and being male [25,26], however, the source of food and eating raw vegetables were not associated significantly with the occurrence of diarrhea [25]. Diarrheal illness was reported among 12% of attendees in the annual Arbaeen mass gatherings in Iraq [27] and among 4.5% among attendees of the 2015 Grand Magal [28] in one study, and 14.5% had gastrointestinal symptoms in another study [29].…”