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Research question: Which machine learning model predicts the implantation outcome better in an IVF cycle? What is the importance of each variable in predicting the implantation outcome in an IVF cycle?Design: Retrospective cohort study comprising 939 transferred embryos between 2014 and 2018 in an IVF centre in Turkey with 17 selected features. The algorithms were Logistic Regression (LR), Decision Tree (DT), Naive Bayes (NB), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Neural Network (Nnet), Gradient Boost Decision Tree (GBDT), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Super Learner (SL). The results were evaluated with performance metrics (F1 score, specificity, accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC]) with 10-fold cross-validation repeated ten times.Results: RF and SL models achieved the highest performance and showed F1 scores of 74% and 73%, specificity of 94%, an accuracy of 89%, and AUROC of 83%. In addition, the model identified the top features as maternal age, embryo transfer day, total gonadotrophin dose and oestradiol concentration.Conclusions: The present study revealed that machine learning algorithms successfully predicted implantation rates in an IVF attempt. In addition, maternal age is by far the most important predictor of IVF success when compared with other variables. Istanbul Medipol University

BackgroundHearing loss and hypertension are leading causes of disability, affecting over 360 million people. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of factors such as vitamin D and sleep disorder on the risk of hearing loss among hypertensive patients.Material and methodsThis prospective cohort study involved 885 patients aged between 25 and 65 years old who visited our ENT and Endocrinology departments. The study was based on biochemical tests, physical examination, hearing assessment, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index test. Statistical analysis used bivariate and multivariate stepwise regression.ResultsOf 855 hypertensive patients, 184 (21.5%) had hearing loss. There were statistically significant differences between hypertensive patients with and without hearing loss in terms of BMI, smoking, family history of diabetes, tinnitus, vertigo, and headache. Moreover, there were statistically significant differences between hypertensive patients with hearing loss versus those with normal hearing in terms of vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, potassium, fasting glucose, HbA1C, HDL, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, microalbuminuria, and sleep quality. Among hypertensive patients, a multivariate regression analysis (stepwise method) indicated that vertigo, systolic blood pressure, vitamin D deficiency, numbness in the hand, tinnitus, vigorous activity, metabolic syndrome, sleep disturbance, and obesity were all risk predictors of hearing loss.ConclusionsControlling hypertension, vitamin D level, sleep, and lifestyle might lower the risk of hearing loss among hypertensive patients.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an inflammatory process characterized by atherosclerosis in coronary arteries and it is a major cause of death and disability in developed countries. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) has been consistently associated with CAD risk factors and predictive of CVD outcomes; additionally, it is consistently higher among type 2 diabetics than nondiabetics. However, the relationships of circulating Lp-PLA2 activity with incident CAD among patients with metabolic syndrome (MetSynd) have not been examined sufficiently. Objective: The aim is to determine contribution of Lp-PLA2 to coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with Metabolic Syndrome (MetSynd). Subjects and methods: This is a cohort prospective study based on 412 patients male and female were eligible and aged 25-75 years old patients and gave consent to participate in study. The study included socio-demographics, clinical biochemistry and the presence of co-morbid diseases. The data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate analyses. Results: There was a significant difference between MetSynd Positive and normal subjects with respect to age groups, gender, BMI, smoking, nargile use, thyroid, COPD, CAD, hypertension, diabetic and stroke. Also, there was a significant difference between MetSynd versus normal subjects with respect to BMI, Waist Circumference, hemoglobin, HbA1c, vitamin B12, fasting blood glucose, vitamin D, calcium, creatinine, triglyceride, uric acid, ferritin, systolic BP (mm Hg) and diastolic BP (mm Hg), creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) (p=0.001); Lp-PLA2 activity, (p=0.001); HOMA-IR index,(p=0.004), insulin (p=0.001); C-reactive protein (p=0.004);White blood cell (WBC) (p=0.008); Platelet p= 0.018) Mean Plate Volume (p= 0.032); red cell distribution width (p=0.001); and vitamin D levels (p=0.018), respectively. The multivariate stepwise regression analysis indicated that Lp-PLA2 (p

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of more than one year of COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life and mental health (in terms of depression, anxiety, stress, fear, burnout – workload) among Frontline Health Care Workers (HCWs). Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional survey based on 1,479 frontline HCW participants aged 20-65 years in Turkey who completed a survey including the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), Burnout, Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), and WHO (World Health Organization) Quality of Life instruments during March-July 2021. Bivariate, factorial and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between three frontline groups of HCWs (Physicians, Nurses, Others) including: age (p

We investigated the association of biological, sociocultural and economic risk factors with child mortality in Abu Dhabi from 1 January-31 December 1997. With McNemar chi-squared test, most selected biological risk factors were statistically associated with child mortality, although maternal age older than 40 years and history of fetal death were not positively correlated with neonate, infant or age under 5 mortality. Among sociocultural and economic risk factors, maternal lack of formal education and low monthly income were significantly associated with child death. Consanguinity was significantly associated with under 5 and infant but not neonatal mortality. Gestation

Akyel, Salih/0000-0001-7996-6016; Bener, Abdulbari/0000-0002-7902-5803; Morgul, Ebru/0000-0002-8298-5784 WOS:000548608100001 PubMed ID: 32650681 Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and psychological fatigue as a mental health issue among the population of Istanbul, Turkey. Participants and methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Istanbul, Turkey, between March and June 2020, where a total of 4,700 persons were approached and 3,672 (78%) of participants (64.4% males and 35.6% females ) completed the Knowledge Attitude Practices (KAP) and Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) questionnaires. Results: In this study, 64.1% of participants were categorized as psychologically fatigued and 35.9% as normal. There was a significant difference between fatigued and normal participants with respect to age, educational level, occupational status, place of residence and number of family members (p < .001). Other differences related to knowledge of COVID-19 were symptoms, treatment, ways of spreading (p < .001), prevention by avoiding crowded places (p =.008) and isolation (p =.002). For attitudinal items, normal participants generally showed more positive attitudes than the fatigued in believing that COVID-19 will finally be controlled, satisfaction with preventive measures taken by the authorities, reporting suspected cases with symptoms and trusting that Turkey can overcome the COVID-19 pandemic (p < .001). Multivariate stepwise regression analysis indicated that level of education, avoiding going to crowded places, eye, nose and mouth organs are sensitive organs to the virus, keeping physical distance due to epidemic affect by COVID-19 virus, isolation and treatment of people reduce the spread of COVID-19 virus and 14-days period of time, COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through contact with the respiratory droplets of an infected person, occupational status, health education programme needed and antibody treatment variables were significantly associated with fatigue after adjusting for age, gender and income variables. Conclusion: The current study provides valuable information for policymakers and mental health professionals worldwide regarding associations between the mental health of individuals and the ongoing outbreak, COVID-19. Istanbul Medipol University [10840098-604.01.01-E.14180] The authors thank the Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval (Research Protocol and IRB#10840098-604.01.01-E.14180).

The metabolism of vitamin D relies predominantly upon the synthesis of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) in the epidermis following exposure to sunlight (specifically ultraviolet B rays) and the subsequent hydroxylation to active forms in the liver and kidney (1). Vitamin D can also be sourced from natural dietary sources such as fatty fish or from supplemented foods such as bread or cow’s milk.

Background: this study investigated the impact of cOViD-19 on professional (hcWs) health care workers’ mental health and the prevalence of depression, anxiety, fear and stress related to their workload. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional survey including 1,554 male and female participants aged 20-65 years in Turkey who completed the 21-item Depression, anxiety, stress scale (Dass-21), Burnout and Fear of cOViD-19 scale (FcV-19s). Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between two groups defined as HCWs-frontline and non-frontline, in the following characteristics: (P=0.013), gender (P

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) attending primary healthcare. Subjects and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and participants were between 25 and 70 years old who visited the diabetes and endocrinology department of Mega Medipol University Teaching Hospital, Istanbul. The diagnosis of RLS was performed according to the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group consensus criteria. The RLS and PSQI instruments were conducted on 871 patients with T2DM. Good sleep quality was defined as PSQI score

© The Author(s) 2020. We investigated the role of vitamin D on glycemic regulation and cardiac complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A total of 1139 patients (49.3% males vs 50.7% females) were included. Information on sociodemographic lifestyle, family history, blood pressure (BP), and coronary heart disease (CHD) complications was collected. Significant differences were found between males and females regarding age-groups (P =.002), body mass index (BMI; P =.008), physical activity (P =.010), sheesha smoking (P =.016), cigarette smoking (P =.002), hypertension (P =.050), metabolic syndrome (P =.026), and CHD (P =.020). There were significant differences between vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency in relation to age-group (P =.002), income (P =.002), waist circumference (P =.002), hip circumference (P =.028), waist–hip ratio (P =.002), and BMI (P =.002). Further, mean values of hemoglobin, magnesium, creatinine, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total cholesterol, uric acid, and diastolic BP were significantly higher among patients with vitamin D deficiency compared with those with insufficiency and sufficiency. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that 25-hydroxy vitamin D, 25(OH)D, HbA1c, waist circumference, uric acid, duration of T2DM, total cholesterol, systolic and diastolic BP, and BMI were strong predictor risk factors for CHD among patients with T2DM. The present study supports that 25(OH)D may have a direct effect on CHD and on its risk factors. This work was partially supported by the Qatar Diabetes Association, Qatar Foundation. The authors would like to thank the Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval (Research Protocol and IRB# 10840098-604.01.01-E.3193 and IRB# 10840098-604.01.01-E.8421).

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Ramadan fasting on blood pressure (BP), fatigue, sleeping and physical activity among hypertensive patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2019 to July 2019. Of the total 1500 hypertensive patients approached, 1118 (74.5%) gave their consent. Data analysis included sociodemographics, lifestyle habits, anthropometric measurements and clinical biochemistry parameters at baseline, and after 3 months. RESULTS: Out of 1118 subjects, 593(47.6%) were male and 653(52.4%) were female. There were statistically significant differences between males and females regarding age groups in years, educational level, occupational status, income, smoking habits, physical exercise, sports activities and fatigue. There were statistically significant differences for the biochemistry parameters regarding vitamin D, blood glucose, HbA1c level, creatinine, bilirubin, albumin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C, uric acid and SBP for both males and females after the holy month of Ramadan as compared to before Ramadan. Also, BMI was significantly lower during the after month of Ramadan as compared to before Ramadan (P

The world experienced the greatest pandemic of the 21The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19) among population in Istanbul.This is a cross-sectional and multi-stage, stratified random sampling based on multi-center population of Istanbul. A total of 5,414 persons were contacted and 4361 participants (80.5%) gave consent. The data were analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression analyses.There were significant differences between low education and high educational level with respect to age groups, gender, occupation, income, residence, number of rooms and family members (The current study results revealed that the educational level and occupation especially sedentary are correlated positively with knowledge, attitude and practices. This finding is not surprising since higher education levels and professional status are associated with good KAP in most epidemic diseases including COVID-19. Nevertheless, the recent experience with COVID-19 has provided lessons on strategy and policy making.

Background The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of disordered internet use among adolescent university students and its association with various health complaints and behaviours, and most importantly to examine the psychometric properties of 9-item Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) using factor analyses and Rasch analysis. Methods A total of 1988 university students aged 18 to 25 years were selected via a multi-stage stratified random sampling technique among university students in Istanbul, Turkey (September 2017 to February 2018). Data collected included socio-demographics, lifestyle and dietary habits, and the 9-item IDS9-SF. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, multivariate analyses, factor analyses, path analysis, and Rasch analysis. Findings Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the study investigated the latent structure of the IDS9-SF instrument and results supported its reliability and validity. The prevalence of disordered internet use was 18.3% in the sample. There were significant differences between those who had disordered internet use and those who did not in gender, family income, school performance, number of bedrooms at home, and number of people living at home, as well as internet use duration. Using multivariate regression analysis, key predictors of disordered internet use included (among others): gender, body mass index (BMI), household income, number of people living at home, having a computer at home, internet facilities, duration of internet use, sleeping hours, frequency of eating fast food, watching television, headache, hurting eyes, tired eyes, and hearing problems. Rash analysis demonstrated that four of the nine items (2, 3, 6, and 7) were more difficult for individuals to endorse compared to other items. Conclusion Problems arising from excessive internet use were apparent among the study sample and the IDS9-SF is a valid and reliable measure for assessing disordered internet use among Turkish adolescent population.

WOS:000536262300007 PubMed ID: 32089810 Background: To explore the essence of game changing on applying joint venture (JV) approach for healthcare system improvement in developing countries. Methods: This is cross-sectional study exploring the factors influencing the successful implementation of JV for the healthcare services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study included: Qatar Statistical Authority, CIA fact book, Ministry of Health Annual Report, Hamad Medical Corporation Annual Report, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development information, and Qatar's healthcare system history. Results: The research indicated that the LMIC healthcare system would benefit from affiliation with leading technology partner for healthcare reform. The findings support the view of LMIC healthcare systems' needs to incorporate joint venture approach in implementing JV concept for process improvement and knowledge transfer to contribute in country economic growth, development, and stability. Current study explored evidence supporting decision maker and management control of JV trends in different ways in comparison with developed countries. JV can also help the organization to share the risk and cost of large capital investment. Conclusions: The present study supports observations on expending the use of JVs as approach for improvement in LMIC healthcare system. The current study confirmed the advantages of JV which include helping businesses grow faster, increasing productivity, and generating greater profits, both parties sharing the risks and costs, accessing new markets and distribution networks. School of Build Environment, University of Salford, Salford, UK; University of Salford This work was generously supported by School of Build Environment, University of Salford, Salford, UK. The authors would like to thank the University of Salford for their support and ethical approval.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive risk factors for appendicitis and the cost-effectiveness of using abdominal helical computed tomography (CT) in comparison to abdominal ultrasonography (US) for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in patients. Subjects and Methods: The typical case was a patient with abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant and suspicion of appendicitis. A total of 643 patients who were consequently treated with appendectomy upon diagnosis of acute appendicitis between January 2015 and December 2018 were included in the study. The four diagnostic alternatives chosen were US, CT, biochemistry parameters, and physical examination in the hospital. Results: There were statistically significant differences between male and female patients with regards to age, BMI, cigarette smoking, sheesha smoking, family history of diabetes, hypertension and family history of gastrointestinal discomfort (GI), anxiety (P < 0.001), red eye (P = 0.006), dizziness (P = 0.021), headache (P < 0.001), muscular symptoms, weakness and cramps (P < 0.001), bloating or swollen stomach (P < 0.001), UTI (P < 0.001), chest pain (P < 0.001), guarding (P < 0.001), loss of appetite (P = 0.004), nausea (P < 0.001) vomiting (P = 0.042), anorexia (P = 0.009), and constipation (P = 0.002). Moreover, there were statistically significant differences between male and female patients for pain (P < 0.001), pain right belly (P = 0.027), severe crumps (P = 0.007), high temperature and fever (P < 0.001), irritable bowel syndrome (P < 0.001), right iliac fossa (RIF) pain (P = 0.008), rebound tenderness (P = 0.024), positive bowel sounds (P = 0.029), and pointing tenderness (P < 0.001). Multivariate stepwise logistic regression showed nausea (P < 0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) (P < 0.001), dizziness (P = 0.016), vomiting (P < 0.001), muscular symptoms (P = 0.007), irritable bowel syndrome (P = 0.034), guarding (P = 0.040), and loss appetite (P = 0.046) were considered at higher risk as predictors for appendicitis patients. Conclusions: CT is more cost-effective than the US and clinical examination for determining appendicitis. The current study suggested that nausea, C-reactive protein, dizziness, vomiting, muscular symptoms, irritable bowel syndrome, guarding, and loss appetite were considered as higher risk predictors for appendicitis patients. Istanbul Medipol University, International School of Medicine; Istanbul Medipol University This work was supported by the Istanbul Medipol University, International School of Medicine. The authors would like to thank the Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval (Research Protocol and IRB#10840098-604.01.01-E.45424).

The current study aims at examining the effect of aggressive driver behaviour, violation and error on motor vehicle crashes and investigating the factor structure of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) factors on the crash involvement in Jordan. This is a cross-sectional study design conducted during September, 2016 to May 2017 in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The study included a representative sample of aged 22-65 years old 1450 drivers of which 1084 drivers agreed to participate (74.7%). The Manchester DBQ instrument was used to measure the aggressive, aberrant driving behaviours leading to crashes. Univariate and Multivariate logistic regression statistical analysis were performed. Out of a total 1084 responding drivers, 778 (71.7%) were males and 306 (28.3%) were females. The study revealed a statistically significant difference between males and females drivers in terms of age (p

Vitamin D plays an essential role in bone development. However, recent studies are beginningto uncover its role as a modulator of the immune system (1). Several reports have shownassociations between vitamin D deficiency (2) and the incidence as well as the severity of chronicinflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease (3, 4), inflammatory bowel disease (5), asthma(6), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (7). Consistent with this, vitamin Dsupplementations have been shown to reduce the severity of and inflammation markers in chronicinflammatory diseases (8). At the molecular level, the hormonally active form of vitamin D (α1,25dihydroxyvitamin D3) regulates the expression of vitamin D responsive genes that can lead todifferential regulation of signaling pathways in immune cells. For example, vitamin D positivelyregulates iron homeostasis and erythropoiesis via the iron-hepcidin-ferroportin axis (9). VitaminD deficiency is highly prevalent world-wide including countries with abundance of sunshine (10).Singh et al. reviewed the causes of vitamin D deficiency where they dissected the complex impactof genetic predisposition, gut microbiota, and immune system. In this review, authors examinedGWAS database (11) and listed genes variants with SNPs that associate with risk of vitamin Ddeficiency. These alleles are common in vitamin D receptor (VDR) and vitamin D binding protein(VDPB). Since gut microbiota plays a crucial role in nutrients and vitamins production, absorptionand degradation, authors also highlighted the role of vitamin D metabolism and VDR is regulatinghost-gut microbiota interactions.

WOS:000569094600015 PubMed ID: 32303036 Backround: The aim of this study was to explore the co-morbidity between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Schizophrenia (SZ) among a large number of patients describing their clinical characteristics and rate of prevalence. Subjects and methods: A cohort-study was carried out on 396 patients affected by MDD and SZ who consecutively attended the Department of Psychiatry, Rumeilah Hospital in Qatar. We employed the World Health Organization - Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WHO-CIDI) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) for diagnoses. Patients were also grouped in MDD patients with and without co-morbid SZ (MDD vs MDD/SZ) for comparisons. Results: A total of 396 subjects were interviewed. MDD patients with comorbid SZ (146(36.8%)) were 42.69 +/- 14.33 years old whereas MDD without SZ patients (250 (63.2%)) aged 41.59113.59. Statistically significant differences between MDD with SZ patients and MDD without SZ patients were: higher BMI (Body Mass Index) (p=0.025), lower family income (p=0.004), higher rate of cigarette smoking (p

Background: Sleep disturbance is a major health issue among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) has been the most widely used instrument to measure subjective sleep disturbance. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of sleeping factor structure of the PSQI as potential predictor for glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C) among people living with T2DM in the Turkish community to facilitate its use in the clinical practice and research. Subjects and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and participants were between the age group of 25 and 65 years old who visited the diabetes and endocrinology department of Mega Medipol University Teaching Hospital, Istanbul. The PSQI was conducted on 871 patients with T2DM. Good sleep quality was defined as PSQI score 7 T2DM patients with respect to gender, BMI (kg/m2), CHD, and PSQI. The study demonstrated significant differences between sleeping categories PSQI as good, average, and poor sleeping among T2DM patients with respect to age and gender. Meanwhile, significant differences were reported between sleeping categories among T2DM patients with respect to their: number of sleeping hours, wake-up time, sleeping time, HbA1c, fasting blood glucose, uric acid, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This study showed very strong statistically significant correlations between low HbA1c and poor sleep quality in patients with T2DM patients, including subjective sleep quality r = 0.763, sleep latency r = 0.327, sleep duration r = 0.472, habitual sleep efficiency r = 0.575, sleep disturbances r = 0.564, use of sleep medication r = 0.728, and daytime dysfunction r = 0.734. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that Vitamin D (mmol/L) (P < 0.001), HbA1c (P < 0.001), duration of DM (P < 0.001), uric acid (mmol/L) (P < 0.001), systolic blood pressure mmHg (P = 0.006), diastolic blood pressure mmHg (P = 0.015), and BMI (P = 0.024) were considered at higher risk as the predictors for sleeping quality among T2DM patients. Conclusion: The results suggest a strong positive correlation between PSQI with HbA1c levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, age, BMI, among type 2 diabetic patients. This study ascertains that poor sleep quality may be due to elevated level of HbA1c, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, and/or hypertension. Qatar Diabetes Association, Qatar Foundation; Istanbul Medipol University [10840098-604.01.01-E.8421, 10840098-604.01.01-E.40791] This work was generously supported and funded by the Qatar Diabetes Association, Qatar Foundation. The authors would like to thank the Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval (Research Protocol and IRB#10840098-604.01.01-E.8421 and Research Protool and IRB#10840098-604.01.01-E.40791).

Background: Several conducted studies have reported a higher and more frequent Helicobacter pylori infection rate in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and its association between H. pylori infection and T2DM. Materials and Methods: A case and control study was conducted based on 529 T2DM patients and 529 control. H. pylori was assessed by Serum anti-H. pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA. Furthermore, patients were investigated for fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum cholesterol, and other biochemistry parameters. Results: The findings showed a positive significantly higher antibody titer for H. pylori infection (IgA > 250) in diabetic patients (50.7%) compared to controls (38.2%) (P < 0.001). Similarly, H. pylori infection for IgG > 300 titer was higher in T2DM patients (73.5%) compared to controls 61.8%) (P < 0.001). Further, the mean values were statistically significant diabetes with H. pylori infection for IgG > 300 titer and IgA > 250 titer, regarding Vitamin D, HbA1C (P < 0.001), FBG, calcium, creatinine, total cholesterol, LHDL, triglyceride levels, uric acid, bilirubin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The diabetic patients showed higher prevalence rate of symptoms than controls included: hypertension (14.3%), vomiting (15.5%), muscular symptoms (35.2%), bloating/distension (13.2%), abdominal pain (17%), nausea (9.6%), anemia (17%), kidneys (20.8%), chronic bronchitis (14.7%), gastrointestinal (23.8%), and diarrhea (20.4%). Conclusions: The current study revealed that H. pylori infections were significantly higher in diabetic patients compared to controls. Furthermore, T2DM patients infected with H. pylori positive reported a higher prevalence rate of symptoms than H. pylori negative. Qatar Diabetes Association; Qatar Foundation; Istanbul Medipol University [10840098-604.01.01-E.8421, 10840098-604.01.01-E.3193] This work was generously supported and funded by the Qatar Diabetes Association, Qatar Foundation. The authors would like to thank the Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval (Research Protocol and IRB#10840098-604.01.01-E.8421 and Research Protool and IRB#10840098-604.01.01-E.3193).

Psychiatric co-morbidity is a common condition, partly due to the overlap of symptoms in the categorical diagnosis of mental disorders. The co-occurrence of schizophrenia (SZ) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common and challenging co-morbid condition. Also, the relationship between SZ and OCD remains unclear.The aim of this study was to describe the co-morbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among schizophrenia (SZ) patients and compare clinical characteristics of schizophrenia patients with versus without comorbid OCD.A cohort-study was carried out on 396 patients enrolled between November 2011 to June 2014 at the Department of Psychiatry, Rumeilah Hospital in Qatar. We employed the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WHO-CIDI), and Structured clinical interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) for diagnoses, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist for scoring OCD. Patients were grouped in SZ patients with and without comorbid OCD (SZ-OCD vs SZ).396 subjects were interviewed. Age of SZ-OCD patients was 42.69 ± 14.33 (years old) whereas SZ patients without OCD ranged 41.59 ± 13.59 years old. There were statistically significant differences in clinical characteristics between SZ with and without OCD : age (p = 0.010), BMI (body mass index; p = 0.011), education (p = 0.033), employment (p = 0.019), cigarette smoking (p = 0.039), sheesha smoking (p = 0.008), and prevalence of consanguinity (p = 0.043). In particular, the rate of consanguinity in the current generation was 31.8% [95% CI = 29.1-34.7]. Also, there were statistically significant differences at Hamilton Depression score, General Health Score, Clinical Global Impression- Score, duration of illnesses, and Global Assessment of Functioning (p 0.001). The results show that anxious, mood and psychotic dimensions rated higher among SZ - OCD ones than SZ only patients.This study confirms that SZ-OCD is a common co-morbidity and prevalence of SZ OCD is higher among patients reporting a degree of consanguinity. Even if this condition is under-recognized in clinical practice, it may significantly change SZ presentation and outcome since psychopathological dimensions report higher scores in the co-morbidity sample.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and thyroid diseases among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods: This was a cohort case and control study, 546 T2DM patients and 546 control study participants were enrolled, aged between 25 and 65 years. The subjects were also investigated for fasting blood glucose levels (FBG), post prandial glucose (PPG,) glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), T3, T4, and presence of other comorbid conditions. Thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy was suggested to patients whose thyroid nodules were greater than 1.00 cm. Results: There were significant differences between T2DM patients and control subjects regarding BMI (kg/m 2 ), physical activity, cigarette smoking, sheesha smoking, family history of diabetes, hypertension and family history of thyroid nodules. The clinical biochemistry values among T2DM for vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, fasting blood glucose, cholesterol, HbA1c, HLDL, LDL, triglyceride, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were lower than control subjects, but higher in creatinine, albumin, TSH, T3, and T4 which appeared statistically significant differences (P < 0.001). Also, the study revealed statistically significant differences between subjects vitamin D deficiency and with thyroid nodules for calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, HbA1c, high density lipoprotein (HDL), SBP and DBP, TSH, T3, and T4 among T2DM patients and control subjects (P < 0.001). Multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that TSH, HbA1c, vitamin D deficiency, SBP (mm Hg), BMI, family history of DM, serum calcium level and family history of thyroid were considered at higher risk as predictors of thyroid among T2DM patients. Conclusions: This study suggests that obesity, HbA1c, the environment, and genetic susceptibility among T2DM, may increase the risk of thyroid disease and cancer. Although evidence has shown that thyroid cancer incidence has been rising more rapidly over time than the occurrence of cancers of other sites, due to an increase of obesity, diabetes and lack of physical activity, this study lacks of direct evidence supporting this conclusion. J Clin Med Res. 2018;10(9):707-714 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jocmr3507w

Reem Jawad Al-Sulaiman,1 Abdulbari Bener,2,3 Lisa Doodson,4 Salha Bujassoum Al Bader,1 Suhaila Ghuloum,5 Alain Lemaux,1 Hekmat Bugrein,1 Reena Alassam,1 Aisha Karim1 1Department of Medical Oncology, National Center of Cancer Care and Research, Doha, Qatar; 2Istanbul Medipol University, International School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey; 3Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey; 4Department of Psychotherapy and Counseling Studies, Regent’s University London, London, UK; 5Department of Psychiatry, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar Background: An insufficient number of studies have been carried out in the Middle East to evaluate the role of structured psychotherapeutic interventions in enhancing breast cancer patients’ psychological well-being, quality of life and treatment compliance. This study has been designed to address this limitation by exploring the benefit of two structured psychotherapeutic interventions, crisis counseling and psychoeducation, in enhancing breast cancer patients’ psychological well-being, quality of life and treatment compliance in Qatar. Methods: A total of 201 women with early-stage breast cancer from the state of Qatar were recruited and randomized into either the control group or one of the treatment groups (crisis counseling or psychoeducation). Each of the two treatment interventions consisted of a total of six 60- to 90-minute sessions, which were provided over a period of 12 weeks. The short- and long-term benefits of the crisis counseling and psychoeducation interventions were evaluated in terms of improving patients’ psychological well-being, quality of life and treatment compliance by asking all the patients to complete the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, 21 item version (DASS-21) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life scale (QLQ-C30) instruments at different points in time and by monitoring their compliance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. Results: This study revealed that both of the study interventions, crisis counseling and psychoeducation, were effective in improving women’s psychological well-being and quality of life over time in comparison to the control group, but had no significant impact on patients’ compliance with treatment. In addition, the study showed that psychoeducation conferred a greater advantage than did the crisis counseling model, especially in improving women’s psychological well-being over time. Conclusion: This study is considered the first of its kind in Qatar to provide evidence on the benefit of crisis counseling and psychoeducation interventions in improving the psychological well-being and quality of life of women with early-stage breast cancer in Qatar. In addition, this study has provided innovative research that can be used as evidence to propose changes to the psychotherapy services for breast cancer patients in Qatar. This research study aims to provide a first step toward further research in the future, which will hopefully lead to a better health care system for cancer patients in Qatar. Keywords: breast cancer, DASS-21, QLQ-C30, crisis counseling, psychoeducation, NCCCR, Qatar, psycho-oncology, psychotherapy, cancer, psychological wellbeing

WOS: 000419836500052 PubMed ID: 28285988 Aim: The aim was to explore the association between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus [T2DM] treatment satisfactions of patients regarding their socio-economic, life-style, history medication and clinical outcome in a Turkish population Subject and methods: A cross-sectional study conducted from February 2016 to September 2016. Of the total 1500 diabetic patients approached, 1094 (72.9%) gave their consent. Data analysis included, sociodemographic, serum lipid profiles (LDL, HDL), calcium, uric acid, blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) at baseline and after six months. The Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) tools were used to measure the patient satisfaction. Results: The mean and standard deviation of age among gender, there were significant differences between males (51.81 +/- 14.40) and females (49.76 +/- 13.99) (p = 0.024). There were statistically significant differences between males and females regarding place of living (city 76% vs town 26%) p < 0.001) and consanguinity (p = 0.040). Almost of the patients with diabetes were overweight (males 44.5% vs females 41.8%) while more than a quarter (31.2%) males were obese. Among patients with diabetes, significantly larger proportion were treated for DM with insulin (females 28.8% vs males 22.5%) and 'insulin & oral anti diabetic drugs' (females 21.6% vs males 18.4%%; p < 0.001) in comparison. Reported average sleeping haours was significantly more among males (6.5 +/- 1.1 vs. 6.1 +/- 1.2; p < 0.001) than females. Males and females reported significantly greater improvements in mean values of blood glucose (-2.07 p < 0.001; vs.-2.36; p = 0.007), HbA1c (-1.72 p < 0.001; vs.-1.47 p = 0.038), potassium (+0.98 p < 0.001; vs. +0.93 p< 0.005); albumin (-3.38 p < 0.001; vs.-3.60; p < 0.001); billirubin (-0.69 p = 0.049; vs.-0.98; p < 0.001); uric acid (+11.9 p = 0.017; vs. +14.3; p < 0.001); systolic blood pressure (-3.86 p < 0.001; vs.-3.2 p < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (-3.17 p < 0.001; vs.-3.2 p < 0.001) in comparison to 6 months before. Multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that the satisfaction DTSQ scores for HbAlc (p < 0.001), h of sleep (p < 0.001), neuropathy (p = 0.007), diabetic education (p = 0.014), SBP (mmHg) (p = 0.021) DBP (mmHg) (p = 0.028) were identified as significantly associated with higher treatment satisfaction. Conclusion: The study confirms a positive correlation between diabetes patient's satisfaction with care and treatment. Females DM patients compared to males had a better satisfaction score with current treatment, unacceptably low blood glucose level, flexibility in treatment and understanding of DM. Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine and Medipol International School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University We are grateful to the developer of the DTSQ Professor Clare Bradley for granting us permission to use the instrument in our study. The authors would like to thank the Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine and Medipol International School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval.

Background: Marriage between close relatives has been practised globally since the early existence of human society. The role of consanguinity and inbreeding affecting human health is a topic of great interest in medical genetics. Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the extent of consanguinity and its effects on common non-communicable diseases, the related risk factors, its role in human health and susceptibility to various chronic and complex diseases in Qatari population. Subjects and methods: The study design was a cross-sectional and multi-stage sampling based on Hospitals and primary health care [PHC] centres. A representative sample of 1626 subjects were approached and 1228 subjects (75.5%) consented to participate in the study between January 2013 and May 2014. The questionnaire based on socio-demographic data and for responses, on the Premarital Screening and Genetic Counseling [PMSGC] program knowledge, attitude and practice statements. Additionally, questions were asked regarding services, activities, how to attract and motivate the genetics counseling and screening for the hereditary diseases programme. Results: The mean age ± S.D of the 1228 women interviewed was 39.25 ± 9.57 years. The rate of consanguinity in the present generation was 43.5% [95% CI = 47.7–54.4]. There were statistically significant differences between males and females with regards to age, educational status, occupation status, household income, consanguinity, BMI, cigarette smoking and sheesha (water pipe) smoking. The consanguinity rate and coefficient of inbreeding in the parental was significantly higher than the maternal rate (44.3% versus 41.4%; p

WOS: 000426992100007 Background: A few studies have been conducted to determine the relationship between road motor vehicle crashes (MVC) and serious injuries related to tiredness, fatigues and sleeping. Aim: To determine the effects of aggressive behaviour, driver sleepiness and fatigue on MVC and related injuries among Turkish population. Design and setting: Population-based case and control study conducted at the accident emergency departments of hospitals and roads. Subjects: 515 car drivers involved in crashes with injury were admitted to hospital and 1030 car drivers involved while driving on public roads as control group during the study period. Methods: The Manchester driver behaviour questionnaire (DBQ) measured the aberrant driving behaviours leading to accidents. Participants completed a fatigue severity scale (FSS) and Stanford Sleeping questionnaire an epworth scale with items related to socio-demographic information, driving experiences, adherence to traffic laws (such as speed limits and seat belt), and drivers 'driving records. Results: In a representative sampling, participant's age ranged from 25 to 65 and the mean and standard deviation were 36.5 +/- 7.8 for cases and 37.0 +/- 8.0 for controls. There was a significant difference in both group of drivers regarding BMI, level of education, marital status, driving experience, seat belt use, excessive speed limits, physical activity number of sleeping hours, mobile phone use, and cigarette smoking habit (p = 0.017). Also, there was a significant higher mean score on all the DBQ violation questions among case group in comparison with the control group (p < 0.001). Further, cases had higher prevalence of Epworth sleeping disorders (p < 0.001) and fatigue severity (p = 0.003) compared to control drivers. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that excessive speed, fatigue, lapses, errors, Stanford sleepiness score, violations, mobile phone use and Epworth sleepiness scale were significantly associated with injury involvement in vehicle crash, after adjusting for driving experience and annual mileage. Conclusion: The current study confirmed that drivers with chronic fatigue, acute sleepiness, and careless driver behavior may significantly increases the risk of road crash which can be lead to serious injury. International Faculty of Medicine [108400987-401]; Istanbul Medipol University The authors would like to thank Istanbul Medipol University, and International Faculty of Medicine (Research protocol # 108400987-401) for their support and ethical approval.

Introduction: Breast cancer has been the most common cancer type that affects women worldwide and subsequent treatment is often associated with considerable psychological and quality of life (QoL). Aim: This study aimed to assess psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) general QoL questionnaire (QLQ-C30) for breast cancer patients in Qatar. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional hospital-based study conducted on 678 breast cancer patients using Arabic version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 tool. Results: The mean age of women was 47.7 ± 10.2 years and 33.4% of women had consanguineous parents. Six subscales out of the nine met the standards of reliability with coefficients ranging from 0.55 to 0.89. The mean score of all functioning scales was high >55. Advanced breast cancer stages of III–IV had higher symptomatic scores significantly than those in early stages for the physical function, cognitive, fatigue, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, and financial difficulties. Correlation coefficients between each item ranged from –0.113 to 0.960, and item 21 (tense) and item 23 (irritable) had strongest negative correlations with their corresponding emotional functioning subscale, whereas items 29 (physical condition) and 30 (overall QoL) had the strongest positive correlation with Global Health/QoL subscale. Item 6 (limited work) showed a higher correlation with fatigue (r = 0.749). Likewise, item 19 (pain interfered with daily activities) of the pain subscale had higher correlations with physical functioning, role functioning, and fatigue subscales. Conclusion: Qatari Arabic version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 showed acceptable psychometric properties, which is a reliable and valid instrument, that can be used by oncologists.

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between Internet addiction (IA), fatigue, and sleep problems among university students. A total of 3000 Turkish students aged 18 to 25 years were approached and 2350 students (78.3%) participated in this cross-sectional study from April 2017 to September 2017 in public and private universities in Istanbul. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire including socio-demographic details, lifestyle and dietary habits, Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Fatigue Scale, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Descriptive statistics, multivariate, and factorial analyses were performed. The overall prevalence of IA among the studied population was 17.7%. There were significant differences between gender, family income, father’s occupation, school performance, frequency and duration of watching television, physical activity, Internet use duration, and sleep duration (all p < 0.001). Significant differences were also found between participants with IA and those without IA in having headaches, blurred vision, double vision, hurting eyes, hearing problems, and eating fast food frequently (all p < 0.001). Using multivariate regression analysis, the duration of Internet use, physical and mental symptoms, headache, hurting eyes, tired eyes, hearing problems, and ESS scores were significantly associated with (and primary predictors of) IA. The present study demonstrated that IA was associated with poor dietary habits, sleep problems, and fatigue symptoms. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. 10840098-604.01.01-E.9713 This work was supported by the Istanbul Medipol University, International School of Medicine. The authors would like to thank the Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval (Research Protocol and IRB# 10840098-604.01.01-E.9713).

In view of continuing reports of high prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency and low rate of infant vitamin D supplementation, an alternative strategy for prevention of vitamin D deficiency in infants warrants further study. The aim of this randomized controlled trial among 95 exclusively breastfeeding mother&ndash, infant pairs with high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was to compare the effect of six-month post-partum vitamin D3 maternal supplementation of 6000 IU/day alone with maternal supplementation of 600 IU/day plus infant supplementation of 400 IU/day on the vitamin D status of breastfeeding infants in Doha, Qatar. Serum calcium, parathyroid hormone, maternal urine calcium/creatinine ratio and breast milk vitamin D content were measured. At baseline, the mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) of mothers on 6000 IU and 600 IU (35.1 vs. 35.7 nmol/L) and in their infants (31.9 vs. 29.6) respectively were low but similar. At the end of the six month supplementation, mothers on 6000 IU achieved higher serum 25(OH)D mean &plusmn, SD of 98 &plusmn, 35 nmol/L than 52 &plusmn, 20 nmol/L in mothers on 600 IU (p &lt, 0.0001). Of mothers on 6000 IU, 96% achieved adequate serum 25(OH)D (&ge, 50 nmol/L) compared with 52%in mothers on 600 IU (p &lt, 0.0001). Infants of mothers on 600 IU and also supplemented with 400 IU vitamin D3 had slightly higher serum 25(OH)D than infants of mothers on 6000 IU alone (109 vs. 92 nmol/L, p = 0.03), however, similar percentage of infants in both groups achieved adequate serum 25(OH)D &ge, 50 nmol/L (91% vs. 89%, p = 0.75). Mothers on 6000 IU vitamin D3/day also had higher human milk vitamin D content. Safety measurements, including serum calcium and urine calcium/creatinine ratios in the mother and serum calcium levels in the infants were similar in both groups. Maternal 6000 IU/day vitamin D3 supplementation alone safely optimizes maternal vitamin D status, improves milk vitamin D to maintain adequate infant serum 25(OH)D. It thus provides an alternative option to prevent the burden of vitamin D deficiency in exclusively breastfeeding infants in high-risk populations and warrants further study of the effective dose.

Background: Studies in Arab countries have shown a significant lack of knowledge of Premarital Screening and Genetic Counseling (PMSGC) Program. PMSGC can identify and modify, through prevention and management, some behavioral, medical, and other health risk factors known to impact pregnancy outcomes. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of Qatari's toward the premarital screening program and shedding more light on a complex matter. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study based on Hospitals and Primary Health Care Centers. A total sample of 1246 participants was surveyed, and 873 participants (70.0%) expressed their consent to participate in the study during January 2013–May 2014. The questionnaire based on sociodemographic data and for responses, on the PMSGC program knowledge, attitude, and practice statements. In addition, questions were asked regarding the services, activities, and how to attract and motivate the PMSGC program. Results: The mean age and standard deviation (SD) of the males' age were 30.4 ± 6.50 and the mean and SD of females' age were 31.08 ± 5.98. There were statistically significant differences between males and females with regard to age, educational status, occupation status, household income, consanguinity, body mass index, cigarette smoking, and Shisha smoking. There were no any statistically significant differences between males and females regarding sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency cystic fibrosis, homocystinuria, HIV, and hepatitis. The response to the ''Why proceeding through high-risk marriage?'' by gender, males and females responded statistically significant differences (P = 0.019). The step-wise multivariate regression analyses as predictors for knowledge of PMSGC program revealed that age, educational level, the lack knowledge of genetics counseling, parental interventions for cousin marriage decision, positive test results affect and change marriage decision, religious impact, household income, consanguinity, hereditary diseases knowledge, occupational status, and love factors were considered as the main factors associated with the premarriage screening and genetics counseling after adjusting for age, gender, and other variables. Conclusion: The current study revealed that knowledge and attitude regarding PMSGC program were low in population. Motivation, enforcement, and implementation of program at the school and university educational campaigns are vital. Improved counseling and adding new topics for counseling on genetic, chronic, and mental illness; building healthy families; and reproduction and fertility are considered to be top priorities in community.

Background: There has been substantial interest in developing methods to predict the risk of breast cancer. The Gail model is one the first model have been widely used to identify women at higher risk of breast cancer. Aim: This study aimed to determine the 5-year and the general life-time risk of breast cancer and also to determine breast cancer predictors in women using the Gail model. Methods: We used the Gail model to estimate the risk of breast cancer in female Turkish outpatients aged above 35 years in this cross-sectional study. Age, life-style habits, breast-feeding duration, family history of breast cancer, and body mass index were compared between high and low-risk subjects. We have performed the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) tools on patients regarding depression and anxiety. We also assessed the association of these covariates with the estimated risk of breast cancer in multivariate linear regression analysis. Results: We enrolled 1065 subjects with a mean age of 52.9 ± 8.4 years. The mean of the five-year risk for breast cancer was 1.33%±0.6. Meanwhile, the mean of lifetime risks for breast cancer was 10.15%±3.18, respectively. Nearly one-third of the participants had one child, 55.9% had breast-fed their children more than six months. Meanwhile, 18.5% of the subjects had a high depression score, 15.2% had a high anxiety score. Higher age, age at first birth, and parity; lower age at menarche; presence of menopause and family history of breast cancer were higher in the high-risk group. Higher age, and age at first birth; lower age at menarche; family history of breast cancer, presence of menopause, and parity were independently associated with higher breast cancer risk. Conclusion: We identified certain risk factors for breast cancer in our study population and Gail model is a reliable and useful breast cancer risk prediction model for clinical decision-making. This study contributes to the body of evidence in order to facilitate early detection and better plan for possible malignancies in Turkish population. © 2019, Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention. 10840098-604.01.01-E.9283 The authors would like to thank the Istanbul Medipol University, Unniversity Medipol Hospitals Complexes for their support and ethical approval (IRB # 10840098-604.01.01-E.9283).The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.

WOS: 000466839700003 PubMed ID: 31148888 Aim: To ascertain the active role of uric acid and vitamin D as potential biomarkers for impaired glucose metabolism among people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Turkish community. Subjects and Methods: This study was based on 680 patients with T2DM and 680 healthy subjects aged between 25 and 70 years, who visited the diabetes and endocrinology department of Istanbul Mega Medipol University Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, during January 2016 to April 2018. The investigated biochemical indices included lipid profiles (low-density lipoprotein [LDL], high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, and triglyceride [TG]), uric acid, blood pressure (BP), serum creatinine, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), postprandial glucose, and any related comorbidities. Results: This study reported significant differences between family history duration of patients with T2DM of 5 years when compared to that of control subjects with respect to body mass index (BMI), smoking habit, sheesha smoking, income, family history of metabolic syndrome, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and nephropathy. Similarly, significant differences were found between patients with T2DM (with family history T2DM duration of less than 5 years and more than 5 years in contrast to healthy subjects' level of LDL, TG, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, systolic BP (SBP), bilirubin, albumin, magnesium, potassium, calcium, number of sleeping hours, and TSH. We uncovered the correlation between serum uric acid level with the clinical biochemical indices related to T2DM: serum calcium (r = 0.336), magnesium (r = 0.272), potassium (r = 0.205), HbA1c (r = 0.638), fasting blood glucose (P = 0.486), bilirubin (r = 0.251), albumin (r = 0.285), LDL (r = 0.322), TG (r = 0.434), diastolic BP (DBP) (r = 0.392), SBP (r = 0.344), BMI (r = 0.482), waist circumference (WC) (r = 0.366), age (r = 0.217), number of sleeping hours (r = 0.275), and TSH (r = 0.445). Multivariate stepwise logistic regression showed that variables, such as serum vitamin D, uric acid, TSH, HbA1c, DBP, WC, BMI, and SBP, were considered at higher risk as significant (P < 0.001) predictors for T2DM. Conclusion: The results suggest strong positive correlation between serum uric acid level with BP (SBP and DBP), age, BMI, and WC among patients with T2DM. This study ascertains that an increase in uric acid level may be due to elevated level of HbA1c, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, and/or hypertension. Qatar Diabetes Association, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar; Istanbul Medipol University [10840098-604.01.01-E.8421, 10840098-604.01.01-E.3193] This work was generously supported and funded by the Qatar Diabetes Association, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar. We would like to thank the Istanbul Medipol University for their support and ethical approval (Research Protocol and IRB no. 10840098-604.01.01-E.8421 and Research Protocol and IRB no. 10840098-604.01.01-E.3193).

The aims of this study were to determine the role of vitamin D, obesity and physical exercise in the regulation of glycemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients in a highly consanguineous population.Case and control study.The survey was carried out at the Hamad General Hospital and Primary Health Care (PHC) centers in the State of Qatar.The study was conducted from November 2012 to June 2014 among subjects above 30 years of age. Of the 2224 registered with diagnosed diabetes and free diseases attending Hamad General Hospital and PHC centers agreed and gave their consent to study.Questionnaire included socio-demographic variables, body mass index (BMI), consanguinity, lifestyle habits, family history of diabetes, blood pressure and development of diabetes complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy were collected at regular intervals throughout the follow-up. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were performed.There were statistically significant difference between patients with diabetic and control in terms of ethnicity (p=0.012), level of education (p=0.002), occupation (p0.001), monthly income (p0.001), BMI(p=0.024), sport activity (p=0.018), cigarette smoking (p0.001), consanguinity (p=0.029) and family history of Diabetes Mellitus (p0.001) and co-morbidity hypertension (p=0.041). Further, the biochemistry values in the studied subjects with T2DM compared to healthy controls and the study revealed that serum Vitamin D, BMI, fasting glucose level, calcium, HbA1c, total cholesterol HDL, LDL, bilirubin, triglycerides, uric acid and blood pressure systolic and diastolic were higher in T2DM compared to their counterparts. Multivariate logistic regression showed that vitamin D deficiency ng/mL, Family History of T2DM, BMI (kg/mVitamin D, family history of diabetes, consanguinity marriages' and hereditary gene-environment interactions and physical exercise may also contribute to the current diabetes epidemic in Qatari's Arab populations.

Over the past few years, there have been many encouraging advances identifying genetic risk factors in mental illnesses. Psychiatric disorders have been recognised as carrying the biggest burden of disease worldwide. This is reflected in the State of Qatar where two of the top three burdens of disease are mental disorders. We set out to study the burden of commonest psychiatric disorders among consanguineous marriages at Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) using the World Health Organisation Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WHO-CIDI) and examine their symptom patterns and co-morbidity in Qatar. A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out over one year between November 2011 and October 2012. A total of 2000 Qatari subjects aged 18 to 65 years were approached; 1475 (73.3%) gave consent and participated in this study. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders using the WHO-CIDI, version 3.0, showed that six most common disorders were major depression disorders (18.3%), any impulse contr...

WOS: 000454682200007 PubMed ID: 30588933 Background: Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan is a religious obligation for all Muslims who represent 1.8 billion of the world population (24%). This study explores the effect of Ramadan fasting on the blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, sleeping quality, and essential lifestyle parameters and also explores the safety of fasting for a whole month among diabetic patients. Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of Ramadan fasting on the blood glucose, HbAlc, lipid profile, sleeping quality, and lifestyle parameters among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Turkey. Subjects and Methods: A total of 1780 diabetic patients were approached, and 1246 (70%) participated in this cross-sectional study carried out during the period from May 27, 2017, to June 24, 2017. Data analysis comprised sociodemographic features, lifestyle habits, blood pressure measurements, serum lipid profiles, serum calcium, Vitamin D 25-hydroxy, uric acid, and HbAlc at before 4 weeks and after 12 weeks from Ramadan. Results: Out of 1246 patients, 593 (47.6%) were male and 653 (52.4%) were female. The mean +/- standard deviation age of the patients was 50.39 +/- 15.3 years. Males were significantly older than females (51.53 +/- 12.56 vs. 49.26 +/- 14.4; P = 0.003, respectively). Significant differences were found in Vitamin D, blood glucose, HbA1 c level, creatinine, bilirubin, albumin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (female), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (male), uric acid, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure after and before the holy month of Ramadan (P