Fatema Mohsen

Background: Eating disorders (EDs) are a complex group of disorders that affect mental and physical health and pose a challenge for medical professionals to diagnose. This study aims to screen for eating disorders among Syrian university undergraduates. Methods and materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Syrian university students using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: socio-demographic characteristics, dietary habits and barriers to healthy eating, and the Sick, Control, One, Fat, Food (SCOFF) score. The chi-square test was used to evaluate the factors related to eating disorders. Results: Of 728 students, 45.3% were males and 54.7% females. The majority of participants studied medicine 32.3%, followed by pharmacy 25.7% and dentistry 17.6%. Overweight and obese participants represented 21.4% and 6.8% respectively. Merely 36% of students reported adopting a healthy diet, a greater percentage of females 58.8% reported having snacks compared to males 48.5% (P = 0.006), a higher percentage of females 38.8% reported consuming fast food compared to males 26.6% (P < 0.001). Most of the students' eating habits worsened during exams 55.7%, females 60.6% markedly reported worse eating habits during exams compared to males 50% (P = 0.017). Lack of time 72.7%, not accessible 38.3%, and unenjoyable 31.6% were frequent barriers to healthy food. About 20.3% of students screened positive for probable eating disorders. Factors that elevate the likelihood of acquiring an ED encompass being female, having a lower or higher BMI, eating worse during exams, and psychological behaviors. Conclusions: Probable EDs were prevalent among Syrian undergraduates. The addressed socio-demographic and psychological factors were significantly affecting students’ eating behaviors. These findings can be used to provide targeted lifestyle modification advice via health promotion programs for these specific groups.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) has become vastly conceded in the last decade as a possible reason for significant morbidity in childhood. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of OSAS among school children and to assess the interrelationship between OSAS and daytime sleepiness. Methods and materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 1029 children and adolescents aged 6–15 years attending elementary and secondary schools in Damascus, Syria. The questions involved 19 sleep problems items using the children sleep habits questionnaire, and 4 sleep disorder items (loud snoring, having snorts or gasps, breathing pauses, daytime sleepiness). Total sleep time (TST) was determined by sleep habits. Severe possible OSAS (p-OSAS) was addressed as having all OSA symptoms “frequently”, and mild p-OSAS was defined as having any of the symptoms “sometimes”. Severe and mild daytime sleepiness were rated as being very sleepy during the day “frequently”, and “sometimes”, respectively. Logistic regression was applied to predict risk factors of severe and mild daytime sleepiness. Results: The prevalence of p-OSAS was 22.2%, of them 15.8% were mild, and 6.3% were severe. p-OSAS was more recognized in males 15.2% children (PP≤0.001). Predicted risk factors for severe and mild daytime sleepiness were students’ grade level (PP≤0.001), and TST less than 6 h (P≤0.001). Conclusions: A significant number of children have p-OSAS, affecting daytime sleepiness in school age. Physicians should consider loud snoring, and breathing pauses as marked symptoms of severe daytime sleepiness. Moreover, raising parents awareness about OSAS and daytime sleepiness is essential to ensure early access to primary care.

Objectives This study aims to compare the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, outcomes and overall survival time of patients with COVID-19 with and without comorbidities. Design Retrospective design. Setting This study was undertaken at two hospitals in Damascus. Participants A total of 515 Syrian patients met the inclusion criterion, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exclusion criteria were suspected and probable cases that were not confirmed with a positive reverse transcription-PCR assay, and patients who self-discharged from the hospital against medical advice. Primary and secondary outcome measures First, assess the impacts of comorbidities on COVID-19 infection in four areas (clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, severity and outcomes). Second, calculate the overall survival time for patients with COVID-19 with comorbidities. Results Of 515 patients included, 316 (61.4%) were male and 347 (67.4%) had at least one coexisting chronic disease. Patients with comorbidities compared with no comorbidities were more vulnerable to poor outcomes such as severe infection (32.0% vs 9.5%, pConclusion This study revealed that COVID-19 infection had poor outcomes among those with comorbidities. Severe complications, mechanical ventilation usage and death were more prevalent among patients with comorbidities compared with those with no comorbidities.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is the third top-ranking global causative of death. Ninety per cent of babies with sepsis who were admitted to the ICU in the Middle East had antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We aim to describe the epidemiology, culture findings, bacterial antibiotic resistance, as well as the outcomes of children who present with nosocomial or community-acquired infections. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted to analyze children with positive culture results presenting with nosocomial or community-acquired infections in Damascus Hospital, Damascus, Syria, which is considered one of the biggest hospitals in Syria. Results: In all, 116 patients with 177 positive culture results were included in the study. However, 54 (47%) were males, and 62 (53%) were females. Ages ranged between 3 h and 13 years. Cases of positive culture results peaked at the age or period of 0–11 months, that is 59(50%). The most prevalent bacteria were Staphylococcus a ureus (33%), Enterobacter (21%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15%) and Escherichia coli (12%). The most used antibiotics were ceftriaxone (70%), vancomycin (60%) and amikacin (25%). The highest bacterial antibiotic resistance occurred with third-generation cephalosporins, and the most antibiotic-resistant bacterium was P. aeruginosa . Nosocomial infections occurred in 51% of the patients. Death was the outcome of 16% of the patients. Conclusion: The situation regarding bacterial resistance to antibiotics is critical, with the most notable examples of these resisted antibiotics being ceftriaxone, cefepime, cefotaxime, trimethoprim, gentamycin, levofloxacin and piperacillin with tazobactam, and there is no doubt that this is a major contributing factor to the high prevalence of nosocomial infections and death rates found in this study.

Background: Me ' nie`re's Disease, a long-term debilitating disorder has been increasingly found among patients with hypothyroidism. Our study aims to evaluate the prevalence of me ' nie`re's disease among hypothyroid patients and assess the interrelationship between patients' symptomology and me ' nie`re's disease. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at the endocrinology clinics at Damascus Hospital and Syrian Red Crescent Hospital, Damascus, Syria between September 2021 and January 2022. Patients with hypothyroidism were interviewed using a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions about sociodemographic information, hypothyroid history, diagnostic criteria of me ' nie`re's disease, chief complaint, medical history, and lab test results. Patients, who reported me ' nie`re's disease symptoms, were referred to the otorhinolaryngology clinic for confirmation or exclusion of me ' nie`re's disease. At the clinic, patients underwent an otoscopy and a pure tone audiometry, probable and definite me ' nie`re's disease was diagnosed accordingly. Results: Of 217 hypothyroid patients included in the sample, 17 (7.8%) were diagnosed with definite me ' nie`re's disease and 31 (14.3%) were diagnosed with probable me ' nie`re's disease. Hypothyroid symptoms reported among patients diagnosed with definite me ' nie`re's disease compared to no diagnosis differed by feeling low (x2 (1, 217) = 4.014, p = 0.045), and depressive appearance (x2 (1, 217) = 8.887, p = 0.003). Patients diagnosed with definite me ' nie`re's disease, probable me ' nie`re's disease, and both definite and probable me ' nie`re's disease were more likely to report that their symptoms affected their lifestyle compared to those that reported no effect (x2 (3, 217) = 62.565, p < 0.001), (x2 (3, 217) = 31.380, p < 0.001), and (x2 (3, 217) = 35.542, p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion: A high number of hypothyroid patients were diagnosed with MD. Clinicians should consider clinically screening for MD among hypothyroid patients presenting to clinics.

Purpose Our study aims to describe post-vaccination side effects, evaluate the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines and determine the reasons for vaccine hesitancy among Syrians. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between April 13 and May 28, 2022. The survey was distributed through social media platforms and face-to-face interviews. Data from vaccinated and unvaccinated participants were collected and analyzed using the chi-square test, multivariable logistic regression to detect factors associated with side effects and severe side effects, and Kaplan-Meier plot to evaluate vaccine efficacy. Results Of the 3509 participants included, 1672 (47.6%) were vaccinated. The most common reasons for not taking the vaccine were concerns about the vaccine’s side effects 815 (44.4%) and not being convinced with the vaccine benefits 762 (41.5%). The majority of symptoms were mild 788 (47.1%), followed by moderate 374 (22.3%), and severe 144 (8.6%). The most common symptoms were tiredness 1028 (61.5%), pain at the injection site 933 (55.8%), and low-grade fever 684 (40.9%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that < 40 years (vs. ≥40; OR: 2.113, p-value = 0.008), females (vs. males; OR: 2.245, p-value < .001), did not receive influenza shot last year (vs. did receive Influenza shot last year OR: 1.697, p-value = 0.041), AstraZeneca (vs. other vaccine brands; OR: 2.799, p-value < .001), co-morbidities (vs. no co-morbidities; OR: 1.993, p-value = 0.008), and diabetes mellitus (vs. no diabetes mellitus; OR: 2.788, p-value = 0.007) were associated with severe post-vaccine side effects. Serious side effects reported were blood clots 5 (0.3%), thrombocytopenia 2 (0.1%), anaphylaxis 1 (0.1%), seizures 1 (0.1%), and cardiac infarction 1 (0.1%). Fully vaccinated participants had higher free of infection time compared with partially vaccinated and previously infected unvaccinated participants (p-value < .001). Conclusion Our study revealed that most side effects reported were mild in severity and self-limiting. Increasing the public’s awareness of the nature of the vaccine’s side effects would reduce the misinformation and improve the public’s trust in vaccines. Larger studies to evaluate rare and serious adverse events and long-term side effects are needed to overcome vaccine hesitancy among people.

COVID-19 pandemic has led to psychological health issues one of which is fear. This study validates the Arabic version of the fear of COVID-19 scale and suggests a new cutoff score to measure fear of COVID-19 among the Syrian Population. A total of 3989 participants filled an online survey consisting of socio-demographic information, the fear of COVID-19 scale, the patient health questionnaire 9-item, and the generalized anxiety disorder 7-item. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to define cutoff scores for the fear of COVID-19 scale in relation to generalized anxiety disorder 7-item and the patient health questionnaire 9-item. The Cronbach α value of the Arabic fear of COVID-19 scale was 0.896, revealing good stability and internal consistency. The inter-item correlations were between [0.420–0.868] and the corrected item-total correlations were between [0.614–0.768]. A cutoff point of 17.5 was deduced from the analysis. According to the deduced cutoff point, 2111(52.9%) were categorized as extreme fear cases. This cutoff score deduced from this study can be used for screening purposes to distinguish community members that may be prone to developing extreme fear of COVID-19. Therefore, early preventive and supportive measures can then be delivered.

Background:Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases in the world. It has negative impacts, including complications, and comorbidities, all negatively impacting one’s quality of life.Aims: The current study aims to determine the prevalence of AR among students at Syrian Private University.Methods:A cross-sectional was conducted at the Syrian Private University. The survey included questions about demographics and two allergy-specific questionnaires, the mini rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire and the activity impairment plus classroom impairment questionnaire. The mini rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire was translated to Arabic language and then validated via Cronbach's alpha test.Results:Most participants were male 197(54%), residents of Damascus/ Rural Damascus 321(87%), and smokers 208(56%). Their ages ranged from 19-32 years, with a mean of 21.7 (±1.91) years. The prevalence of students diagnosed with AR was 115(31.1%). Total loss of academic attendance was 12.1%, whereas the impairment of academic productivity was 21.8%Conclusion:Almost a third of the sample has allergic rhinitis, and a fifth reported impaired academic productivity, consequently exerting burdens upon students' lives. Further studies are required to evaluate the causes and establish effective management plans.