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Objective: Pandemics have affected many people's social and emotional lives. Conception planning, contraceptive usage, and pregnancy intentions are activities with minimal research. This study is the first to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced reproductive plans and contraceptive use among women during the pandemic in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2022., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted by sending an online questionnaire to married women from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire included demographics, personal obstetrics information, changes in pregnancy intentions owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and questions about contraceptive usage. Qualitative data were presented as frequencies, and a χ 2 test was performed to determine the relationships among the variables., Results: A total of 639 women enrolled in the study; most participants were 25-34 years old, and most indicated they changed their reproductive intentions during the pandemic (49%). Family planning accounted for 25.8% of participants who changed their reproductive intentions. Only 17.5% changed their choices because of fear of the COVID-19 impact. The percentage of women using contraception was significantly reduced during the lockdown, to 36.8%. Oral contraceptive pills were the most frequently used method during the curfew period (17.5%)., Conclusion: The COVID-19 lockdown affected the reproductive intentions of most women in Jeddah, and it significantly reduced contraceptive use., (© 2024 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

Background: In this study, we assessed the general population's fears towards various diseases and events, aiming to inform public health strategies that balance health-seeking behaviours., Methods: We surveyed adults from 30 countries across all World Health Organization (WHO) regions between July 2020 and August 2021. Participants rated their fear of 11 factors on an 11-point Likert scale. We stratified the data by age and gender and examined variations across countries and regions through multidimensional preference analysis., Results: Of the 16 512 adult participants, 62.7% (n = 10 351) were women. The most feared factor was the loss of family members, reported by 4232 participants (25.9%), followed by cancer (n = 2248, 13.7%) and stroke (n = 1416, 8.7%). The highest weighted fear scores were for loss of family members (mean (x̄) = 7.46, standard deviation (SD) = 3.04), cancer (x̄ = 7.00, SD = 3.09), and stroke (x̄ = 6.61, SD = 3.24). The least feared factors included animals/insects (x̄ = 3.72, SD = 2.96), loss of a mobile phone (x̄ = 4.27, SD = 2.98), and social isolation (x̄ = 4.83, SD = 3.13). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was the sixth most feared factor (x̄ = 6.23, SD = 2.92). Multidimensional preference analyses showed distinct fears of COVID-19 and job loss in Australia and Burundi. The other countries primarily feared loss of family members, cancer, stroke, and heart attacks; this ranking was consistent across WHO regions, economic levels, and COVID-19 severity levels., Conclusions: Fear of family loss can improve public health messaging, highlighting the need for bereavement support and the prevention of early death-causing diseases. Addressing cancer fears is crucial to encouraging the use of preventive services. Fear of non-communicable diseases remains high during health emergencies. Top fears require more resources and countries with similar concerns should collaborate internationally for effective fear management., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests., (Copyright © 2024 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)

Background: Central and bridge nodes can drive significant overall improvements within their respective networks. We aimed to identify them in 16 prevalent chronic diseases during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to guide effective intervention strategies and appropriate resource allocation for most significant holistic lifestyle and health improvements., Methods: We surveyed 16 512 adults from July 2020 to August 2021 in 30 territories. Participants self-reported their medical histories and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on 18 lifestyle factors and 13 health outcomes. For each disease subgroup, we generated lifestyle, health outcome, and bridge networks. Variables with the highest centrality indices in each were identified central or bridge. We validated these networks using nonparametric and case-dropping subset bootstrapping and confirmed central and bridge variables' significantly higher indices through a centrality difference test., Findings: Among the 48 networks, 44 were validated (all correlation-stability coefficients >0.25). Six central lifestyle factors were identified: less consumption of snacks (for the chronic disease: anxiety), less sugary drinks (cancer, gastric ulcer, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes), less smoking tobacco (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), frequency of exercise (depression and fatty liver disease), duration of exercise (irritable bowel syndrome), and overall amount of exercise (autoimmune disease, diabetes, eczema, heart attack, and high cholesterol). Two central health outcomes emerged: less emotional distress (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, eczema, fatty liver disease, gastric ulcer, heart attack, high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes) and quality of life (anxiety, autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome). Four bridge lifestyles were identified: consumption of fruits and vegetables (diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and insomnia), less duration of sitting (eczema, fatty liver disease, and heart attack), frequency of exercise (autoimmune disease, depression, and heart attack), and overall amount of exercise (anxiety, gastric ulcer, and insomnia). The centrality difference test showed the central and bridge variables had significantly higher centrality indices than others in their networks (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: To effectively manage chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, enhanced interventions and optimised resource allocation toward central lifestyle factors, health outcomes, and bridge lifestyles are paramount. The key variables shared across chronic diseases emphasise the importance of coordinated intervention strategies., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests., (Copyright © 2024 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)

This extensive comprehensive review explores the impact of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on men's sexual and reproductive health. We conducted a literature review focusing on the possible pathophysiology by which severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affects men's sexual and reproductive systems. We reviewed most of the studies that reported the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the Testicular, Epididymal, Prostatic, and Penile tissue. Also, we focused on evaluating the SARS-CoV-2 infection on semen parameters and male reproductive hormones. Finally, we reviewed the COVID-19 vaccine's effect on male reproductive and sexual health. Findings revealed the adverse consequences of SARS-CoV-2 at cellular and organ levels on the male genital tract. However, the reported data are still controversial. The initial data regarding COVID-19 vaccination was promising promoted safety for men's reproductive and sexual health. We conclude this paper by offering recommendations to address these adverse consequences and potentially improve sexual and reproductive health among men in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Alzahrani, Alkhani, Alassaf, Alorainy, Binsaleh and Almannie.)

Background: The health area being greatest impacted by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and residents' perspective to better prepare for future pandemic remain unknown. We aimed to assess and make cross-country and cross-region comparisons of the global impacts of COVID-19 and preparation preferences of pandemic., Methods: We recruited adults in 30 countries covering all World Health Organization (WHO) regions from July 2020 to August 2021. 5 Likert-point scales were used to measure their perceived change in 32 aspects due to COVID-19 (-2 = substantially reduced to 2 = substantially increased) and perceived importance of 13 preparations (1 = not important to 5 = extremely important). Samples were stratified by age and gender in the corresponding countries. Multidimensional preference analysis displays disparities between 30 countries, WHO regions, economic development levels, and COVID-19 severity levels., Results: 16 512 adults participated, with 10 351 females. Among 32 aspects of impact, the most affected were having a meal at home (mean (m) = 0.84, standard error (SE) = 0.01), cooking at home (m = 0.78, SE = 0.01), social activities (m = -0.68, SE = 0.01), duration of screen time (m = 0.67, SE = 0.01), and duration of sitting (m = 0.59, SE = 0.01). Alcohol (m = -0.36, SE = 0.01) and tobacco (m = -0.38, SE = 0.01) consumption declined moderately. Among 13 preparations, respondents rated medicine delivery (m = 3.50, SE = 0.01), getting prescribed medicine in a hospital visit / follow-up in a community pharmacy (m = 3.37, SE = 0.01), and online shopping (m = 3.33, SE = 0.02) as the most important. The multidimensional preference analysis showed the European Region, Region of the Americas, Western Pacific Region and countries with a high-income level or medium to high COVID-19 severity were more adversely impacted on sitting and screen time duration and social activities, whereas other regions and countries experienced more cooking and eating at home. Countries with a high-income level or medium to high COVID-19 severity reported higher perceived mental burden and emotional distress. Except for low- and lower-middle-income countries, medicine delivery was always prioritised., Conclusions: Global increasing sitting and screen time and limiting social activities deserve as much attention as mental health. Besides, the pandemic has ushered in a notable enhancement in lifestyle of home cooking and eating, while simultaneously reducing the consumption of tobacco and alcohol. A health care system and technological infrastructure that facilitate medicine delivery, medicine prescription, and online shopping are priorities for coping with future pandemics., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests., (Copyright © 2023 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Our aim was to assess sexual activity, partner relationships among males who had been infected with COVID-19, to study the impact of COVID-19 infection on partner relationship and to find out the association between partner and sexual relationship during lockdown., Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia through social media platforms via online questionnaire between December 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021 among 871 participants after a pilot study among 20 participants of which 497 were included in the study. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 20.0 (IBM Inc., Armonk, NY, USA). Responses were presented as frequencies and percentages and the association was studied using Chi squared test/Fisher's exact test. The value of p ≤ .05 was considered significant., Results: Out of the total study participants, nearly 85% of them belonged to the age range of 18 to 39 years, more than half of the participants were married. In the six months prior to the study being conducted, 268 respondents (53.9%) did not have sexual relationships. Respondents with positive COVID-19 infection reported that their partner lived with them in the same house during home isolation and was also found to be significantly associated with having intact sexual relationships in the last six months of the lockdown period (p-value < .001). Moreover, respondents who reported having good relationships with their partners during the pandemic were found to be significantly associated with having intact sexual relationships during the pandemic lockdown (p-value < .001)., Conclusions: Among the COVID-19-positive respondents, sexual activity and partner relationships were largely found to be intact during the pandemic lockdown period.

Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic has affected the psychological health of people, causing a higher level of stress. Stress can exaggerate the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).To assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic stress on patients with IBS in Saudi Arabia.A descriptive cross-sectional approach was used, which targeted accessible subjects with IBS from different regions of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from participants using a structured electronic questionnaire, which captured the participants' socio-demographic data, medical history, IBS clinical data, self-reported stress due to COVID-19, and its effect on IBS symptoms.A total of 1255 IBS patients completed the questionnaire. About 63.4% of them reported stress due to the pandemic. The most frequently reported causes of stress were fear of infection occurring in the family, followed by fear of self-infection (43.5%), and death due to COVID-19 infection (17.2%). Most of the stressed participants (56.6%) reported that stress usually exaggerated IBS symptoms. Almost 22% of them consulted a physician for stress aggravation of the symptoms, 18.1% used sedatives due to stress, 9.2% modified IBS medications due to the stress, and 75.5% of the participants reported impaired daily activities due to symptoms exacerbation. Coexisting chronic morbidities and inability to differentiate between COVID-19 gastrointestinal symptoms and IBS symptoms were significantly associated with COVID-19 related stress (P = .039 and .001, respectively).Two-thirds of IBS patients were stressed during the first few months of COVID-19 pandemic. Patients unable to differentiate between COVID-19 gastrointestinal tract symptoms and IBS symptoms, and patients suffering from chronic morbidities were more vulnerable. Pandemic stress exacerbated patients' symptoms and impacted their activities of daily life., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)