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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is limited information on overweight and obesity in Saudi children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to establish the national prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi children and adolescents. METHODS: The 2005 Saudi reference data set was used to calculate the body mass index (BMI) for children aged 5 to 18 years. Using the 2007 WHO reference, the prevalence of overweight, obesity and severe obesity were defined as the proportion of children with a BMI standard deviation score more than +1, +2 and +3, respectively. The 2000 CDC reference was also used for comparison. RESULTS: There were 19 317 healthy children and adolescents from 5 to 18 years of age, 50.8% of whom were boys. The overall prevalence of overweight, obesity and severe obesity in all age groups was 23.1%, 9.3% and 2%, respectively. A significantly lower prevalence of overweight (23.8 vs 20.4; P

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Blood pressure levels may vary in children because of genetic, ethnic and socioeconomic factors. To date, there have been no large national studies in Saudi Arabia on blood pressure in children. Therefore, we sought to establish representative blood pressure reference centiles for Saudi Arabian children and adolescents. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We selected a sample of children and adolescents aged from birth to 18 years by multi-stage probability sampling of the Saudi population. The selected sample represented Saudi children from the whole country. Data were collected through a house-to-house survey of all selected households in all 13 regions in the country. Data were analyzed to study the distribution pattern of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and to develop reference values. The 90th percentile of SBP and DBP values for each age were compared with values from a Turkish and an American study. RESULTS: A total of 16 226 Saudi children and adolescents from birth to 18 years were studied. Blood pressure rose steadily with age in both boys and girls. The average annual increase in SBP was 1.66 mm Hg for boys and 1.44 mm Hg for girls. The average annual increase in DBP was 0.83 mm Hg for boys and 0.77 mm Hg for girls. DBP rose sharply in boys at the age of 18 years. Values for the 90th percentile of both SBP and DBP varied in Saudi children from their Turkish and American counterparts for all age groups. CONCLUSION: Blood pressure values in this study differed from those from other studies in developing countries and in the United States, indicating that comparison across studies is difficult and from that every population should use their own normal standards to define measured blood pressure levels in children.

There is a high rate of consanguinity in Saudi Arabia; however, information on its relationship with genetic disorders is limited. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore the role of consanguinity in genetic disorders.The study sample was determined by a multistage probability random sampling procedure. Consanguinity status was obtained during household visits. Primary care physicians performed a history and physical examination of all children and adolescents younger than 19 years, and all cases of genetic diseases were recorded. The chi-square test was used to compare proportions.During the two-year study period (2004-2005), 11 554 of 11 874 (97%) mothers answered the question on consanguinity, and 6470 of 11 554 (56%) were consanguineous. There was no significant association between first-cousin consanguinity and Down syndrome (P=.55). Similarly, there was no significant association with either sickle cell disease (P=.97) or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (P=.67) for first-cousin consanguinity. A borderline statistical significance was found for major congenital malformations (P=.05). However, the most significant association with first-cousin consanguinity was congenital heart disease (CHD) (P=.01). Finally, no significant association was found for type 1 diabetes mellitus (P=.92). For all types of consanguinity, similar trends of association were found, with a definite statistically significant association only with CHD (P=.003).The data suggest a significant role of parental consanguinity in CHD. However, a relationship between consanguinity and other genetic diseases could not be established. The effect of consanguinity on genetic diseases is not uniform and this should be taken into consideration in genetic counseling.

A cross-sectional population-based survey employing a cluster sampling method and household visits by trained health teams investigated hypertension prevalence in the Kingdom among 13,700 individuals of both sexes in all age groups. The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of hypertension of = 160/95 mmHg was used; it was found that 9.1% and 8.7% of the total sample investigated were systolic and diastolic hypertensives, respectively. However, 12.4% and 7.9% of children younger than 18 years were systolic and diastolic hypertensive. Among adults aged 18 years and above, 5.3% were systolic and 7.3% were diastolic hypertensives; 87.5% of systolic and 79.4% of diastolic hypertensives were aged 40 years and over. Females had statistically significant elevated systolic hypertension compared with males (P < 0.01). However, if blood pressure = 140/90 mmHg is used as a criterion for hypertension definition, the prevalence among the latter age groups would be 20.4% for systolic and 25.9% for diastolic hypertension. The prevalence of Isolated Systolic Hypertension (ISH), Isolated Diastolic Hypertension (IDH) and Systolic Diastolic Hypertension (SDH) among adults above 18 years was 1.8%, 3.8% and 3.5% respectively. ISH was higher among females compared with males (2% vs 1.4%), while IDH was higher among males than females (4.4% vs 3.4%). There is a need for tracking childhood hypertension, which could provide long-term analysis for risk of adult hypertension.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Data on stature in Saudi children and adolescents are limited. The objective of this report was to establish the national prevalence of short stature in Saudi children and adolescents. DESIGN AND SETTING: Community-based, cross-sectional study conducted over 2 years (2004, 2005) PATIENTS AND METHODS: The national data set of the Saudi reference was used to calculate the stature for age for children and adolescents 5 to 18 years of age. Using the 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) reference, the prevalence of moderate and severe short stature was defined as the proportion of children whose standard deviation score for stature for age was less than -2 and -3, respectively. In addition, the 2000 Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the older 1978 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/WHO references were used for comparison. RESULTS: Using the 2007 WHO reference, sample size in the Saudi reference was 19 372 healthy children and adolescents 5 to 17 years of age, with 50.8% being boys. The overall prevalence of moderate and severe short stature in boys was 11.3% and 1.8%, respectively; and in girls, 10.5% and 1.2%, respectively. The prevalence of moderate short stature was 12.1%, 11% and 11.3% in boys and 10.9%, 11.3% and 10.5% in girls when the 1978 WHO, the 2000 CDC and the 2007 WHO references were used, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The national prevalence of short stature in Saudi children and adolescents is intermediate compared with the international level. Improvement in the socioeconomic and health status of children and adolescents should lead to a reduction in the prevalence of short stature.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is no published information on the prevalence of malnutrition in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence data. METHODS: The prevalence of nutritional indicators in the form of underweight, stunting, and wasting in a national sample of children younger than 5 years of age was calculated using the new WHO standards as reference. Calculations were performed using the corresponding WHO software. The prevalence of moderate and severe underweight, wasting and stunting, was defined as the proportion of children whose weight for age, weight for height, and height for age were below –2 and –3 standard deviation scores, respectively. RESULTS: The number of children younger than 5 years of age was 15 516 and 50.5% were boys. The prevalence of moderate and severe underweight was 6.9% and 1.3%, respectively. The prevalence of moderate and severe wasting was 9.8% and 2.9%, respectively. Finally, the prevalence of moderate and severe stunting was 10.9% and 2.8%, respectively. The prevalence was lower in girls for all indicators. Comparison of the prevalence of nutritional indicators in selected countries demonstrates large disparity with an intermediate position for Saudi Arabia. CONCLUSION: This report establishes the national prevalence of malnutrition among Saudi children. Compared to data from other countries, these prevalence rates are still higher than other countries with less economic resources, indicating that more efforts are needed to improve the nutritional status of children.

Thallium-201 myocardial perfusion imaging (Tl-201 MPI) performed in patients after maximum exercise is widely used to evaluate patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Intravenous dip...

Fever of unknown origin constitutes a continual challenge to clinicians all over the world. The pattern of etiological factors varies from one geographic area to another. Over a 4-year period, 62 p...

The results of the National Nutrition Survey of the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia showed that the prevalence of arterial hypertension (BP/= 160/95 mmHg) among the adult population is 5.3% and 7.3% for systolic and diastolic hypertension, respectively. The objective of this study, which is part of the Survey, was to investigate if the diversified ecological nature of the life of the people of the Kingdom has an effect on the prevalence of arterial hypertension in the adult population in the different geographical regions of the Kingdom.The Survey was population-based, employing cluster sampling methods and household visits by health teams trained by the same investigators to avoid individual variations and ensure data validity. 2,556 families with 17,892 individuals of all ages were randomly selected from 12 areas according to the population distribution all over the Kingdom. The total number examined for BP with complete data amounted to 13,700 individuals, of whom 6,260 were adults (over 18 years of age). The WHO definition of arterial hypertension was used. Also used was the definition of 140/90 mmHg.Systolic blood pressure hypertension (SBPH) showed a statistically significant difference (P0.001) among the regions. The highest prevalence was found in Farasan (8.9%) and the lowest was reported from Asir (2.2%). There was a higher prevalence among females compared to males in the 40-75 year age group in all regions, except in the highlands of Al Taif and Asir. However, the difference was not statistically significant, except in Makkah (25.9%, P0.001) and Al Sharikia (22%, P0.03). Diastolic blood pressure hypert ension (DBPH) prevalence increased with age in all regions, except in males of Farasan, Makkah, and in females of Asir. The difference in the prevalence between regions was statistically significant (P0.001). The highest DBPH prevalence (sexes combined) was reported from Al Qassim (10.6%) and the lowest from Makkah (4.2%). Using the definition of hypertension as 140/90 mmHg, the highest SBPH prevalence was reported from Makkah (sexes combined) (27.9%), while the lowest was from Makkah and Asir (22% each). The prevalence of SBPH and DBPH was insignificantly higher among females than males in eight and seven of the 12 regions, respectively.There is a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of SBPH and DBPH in the different regions of the Kingdom (P0.001). The prevalence pattern tends to be fairly similar to that found in the affluent societies in the Western countries.

In this study, 103 Saudi males and 172 Saudi females were referred for medical check-up for employment purposes and/or as undergraduate students. Clinical evaluation of all participants included full cardiovascular examination, with the following investigations being performed: ECG, chest x-ray, and cross-sectional echocardiography. Bicuspid aortic valve was detected in three males and in four females, for a total percentage of 2.5%. Isolated mitral valve prolapse was detected in seven males (6.7%) and six females (3.5%). Association with mitral valve prolapse was reported in five males and seven females, with a total percentage of 4.3%. This association seems to have important etiological, medical and surgical implications.

Fifty-six patients were diagnosed to have mitral valve prolapse (MVP) syndrome by auscultatory criteria, confirmed by cross-sectional echocardiography. Complete physical examination and x-ray of the bony thorax revealed bony deformities which were subdivided into four main groups according to the predominant deformity. Shallow chest with pectus excavatum, straight back, kyphoscoliosis and elliptical chest in marfanoid patients were reported in the cases studied. It is concluded that musculoskeletal abnormalities have to be considered as nonauscultatory features of MVP. Therefore, any patient with musculoskeletal deformity has to be screened for MVP by cross-sectional echocardiography to prevent life-threatening complications.

This study sought to compare the effectiveness and side effects of praziquantel versus oxamniquine in treating 200 patients with Schistosoma mansoni infection and praziquantel versus metrifonate in...

Seven patients with cardiac amyloidosis were referred to King Khaled University Hospital. All patients in this study developed congestive heart failure. They had a long duration of illness and thickened ventricular wall with marked abnormalities in the left ventricular filling, and normal systolic function. Diastolic function is suggested as a possible mechanism of congestive cardiac failure in the patients presented.

This is a study of the prevalence and clinical presentation of 112 cases of cardiomyopathy seen at a large teaching hospital in Riyadh. All patients satisfied the diagnostic criteria for c...

A retrospective review of 65 consecutive patient charts with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation was performed in order to study the prevalence of associated underlying diseases. Rheumatic ...

Four commercially available ELISA kits and three confirmatory tests were evaluated for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and confirmation on sera from four groups of Saudi patients: (1) ...