Saudi Med J
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To systemically review the evidence concerning the prevalence and reported risk factors of smoking among adolescents in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, studies that examined the prevalence and risk factors of smoking among adolescents in Saudi Arabia were identified through a computerized literature search using the following databases up to March 2018: PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and BIOSIS. The following search terms were used: smoking OR smok* OR tobacco OR cigar* OR shisha OR shesha OR sheesha AND Saudi Arabia OR KSA. Peer-reviewed articles published within the period from 2007 to 2018 were selected. Studies that reported prevalence data, patterns, and risk factors of smoking among adolescents were included. Extracted data from each study were tabulated, and data were narratively synthesized. ⋯ Thirty-two studies that reported the prevalence of smoking in the adolescent age group were included in the narrative evidence synthesis. These studies were conducted on secondary school students (n=11), college students (n=14), and an adolescent age group without educational specifications (n=7). According to published reports between 2007 and 2018, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among adolescents in Saudi Arabia ranged from 2.4% to 39.6%. Influence of friends, and family negligence were the most commonly reported risk factors for smoking. Conclusion: The prevalence of smoking is relatively high among adolescents in Saudi Arabia. The social influence of friends, teachers or parents, low academic performance, having spare time, living away from home, and the desire to relieve stress were the most commonly reported risk factors for smoking.
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To explore the relationship of menarcheal age with body mass index (BMI), to find mean menarcheal age in Saudi population and compare it with global data, and to create awareness in health science students on harmful effects of obesity. ⋯ Mean menarcheal age of subjects was 13.1 years. Early menarche was observed in 35.6% of the students. Of the 21.7% overweight/obese group, 45.6% reported early menarche. The early menarcheal group had significantly higher BMI compared to late menarcheal group (p=0.021). Significant negative correlation was found between BMI and menarcheal age (p=0.0006). Conclusion: The present study indicates a downward secular trend in the menarcheal age of the Saudi population. Moreover, a negative correlation between BMI and menarcheal age was also documented.
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To measure stigma among doctors in one of the major specialized hospitals in Saudi Arabia. ⋯ The results of this study showed a relatively high MICA-4 score that could indicate a high stigmatizing attitude among physicians toward patients with mental illnesses compared with the other MICA-4 studies. Thus, training workshops could improve the attitudes in the short-term.
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To investigated the diagnostic performance of circumpubertal eruption stages which identify skeletal maturity stages using the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) method in a Saudi population. ⋯ In treatment planning for cases that require identifying the growth peak, the use of eruption stages is not recommended as an indicator of skeletal maturity except for the early permanent dentition stage where strong diagnostic performance for identifying post-pubertal skeletal growth stage has been shown.
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To evaluate any association between the frequency of hereditary hemochromatosis (HFE) gene mutation (H63D and C282Y) and iron overload in beta-thalassemia major (BTM) patients. ⋯ H63D polymorphism is associated with iron overload in BTM patients. Larger-scale research is required to give an elaborated view of the association of the HFE mutation with iron overload in these patients and to confirm our conclusion.