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Background: Elder abuse has evolved into a global public health and human rights issue. COVID-19 had a significant impact on Egypt's economic development and style of life. Aim: This research aimed to estimate the prevalence of elder abuse in the Fayoum Governorate of Egypt during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the prevalence of different elder abuse subtypes and study the effect of different demographic characteristics on these abuse subtypes. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey among 201 older adults aged 60 and above in the Fayoum Governorate. The structured questionnaire used in the study had three sections: demographic characteristics, the Hwalek-Sengstock elder abuse screening test, and the Questions to Elicit Elder Abuse screening tool. Results: This research documented that the prevalence of elder abuse was (72.6%) and the most prevalent types were emotional and neglect abuse (71.1% and 64.7%, respectively). In our study, 22.9% of older adults were exposed to a single type of abuse, 29.9% to two types, 26.9% to three types, and 10.4% to four types. Female is significantly higher than male abuse exposure (66.7% vs. 33.3%). 52.4% versus 7.1% were more likely to be abused than elderly persons who earn enough income. Conclusion: According to this study, emotional and neglect abuse were the most common types of elder abuse. Risk factors for elder abuse included being between the ages of 60 and 70 years, being a woman, residing in a rural location, being illiterate, jobless, married, earning little money, and belonging to a middle-class socioeconomic group. For the general public to better comprehend the consequences of elder abuse on their health and human rights, awareness and education must be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Much research has found that smoking is one of the major risk factors for a variety of physical diseases and mental disorders; however, few studies have been conducted on smoking in Egypt. Furthermore, to the researcher's best knowledge, no study in Egypt has compiled data on smoking prevalence, motives, and levels of nicotine dependency. In order to fill in this gap, the current study has attempted to summarize the situation and construct an accurate picture of smoking in Egypt. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 2000 Egyptian adults in Fayoum through a multistage cluster sampling technique. For data collection, the Socioeconomic Status Scale was deployed. In addition, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS), the Modified Reasons for Smoking Scale (MRSS), and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) were used. Data analysis performed using SPSS version 22.0. For qualitative data, Chi-square test was used to determine statistical significance. Bivariate Pearson correlation was used to test for the association between quantitative variables. RESULTS: Of the total sample of 2000 adults, 40.4% had anxiety and 24.3% had stress, and 19.5% showed severe to extremely severe level of depression. For MRSS, tension reduction or relaxation was found in 46.5% adults while 9.8% had high level of nicotine dependence. There was a statistically significant association between psychometric disorders, on one hand, and both smoking motivation and nicotine dependence, on the other (P < 0.001). The DASS score had a statistically significant correlation with age, smoking duration, nicotine dependence level, and MRSS subscales. CONCLUSION: Smoking is linked to psychological symptoms and shows a moderate to high level of nicotine dependence, with a higher level of dependency, smoking pleasure, stress reduction/ relaxation, and hand-mouth movement as motives for smoking. Furthermore, there was a correlation between nicotine dependence, on one hand, and depression and stress on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective  The current study aims to assess the association between different characteristics of neonatal jaundice and common types of allergic diseases in childhood (as bronchial asthma, acute urticaria, and allergic rhinitis). Study Design  A case-control study is conducted on 300 allergic children and 300 healthy children as a control group at Fayoum University Hospital. The study was conducted over a span of 2 years, from May 2016 to May 2018. Bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, and acute urticaria diagnoses were based on physician clinical examination using specific guidelines for each. For the data regarding children's demographic and maternal characteristics, a structured questionnaire was used. Regarding neonatal jaundice, data were collected from the patients' hospital records. Results  Children with neonatal jaundice are more likely to develop allergy with 57% higher than neonates without jaundice. Early onset jaundice and treatment by phototherapy have statistically significant association with the development of allergic diseases. Conclusion  Different aspects of neonatal jaundice are associated with the development of common allergic diseases in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major health problem with a paucity of available information about its impact on female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Aim: We aimed to study the association between NAFLD and FSD in Egyptian premenopausal women. Methods: Sexually active married premenopausal women who visited our NAFLD outpatient screening clinic (2019 to 2022) were divided into NAFLD and non-NAFLD (control) groups based on liver ultrasound and fatty liver index data. All participants completed the Arabic Female Sexual Function Index (ArFSFI) questionnaire. The resulting data were used to calculate the domains and total scores. FSD is then graded as follows: no FSD (≥28.2), minimal (21.7-28.1), mild (14.5-21.6), moderate (7.3-14.4), and severe (≤7.2). Outcomes: We determined the proportions of patients and controls for whom ArFSFI scores indicated dissatisfaction with their sexual lives. Results: Of 995 women participants whose FSFI scores were available, NAFLD was detected in 487 (48.9%) and absent in 508 (51.1%). The two groups were comparable in age, socioeconomic level, residence, and history of female genital cutting. The NAFLD patients had significantly much lower mean scores for the sexual arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain domains of the FSFI (P < .001 for all), while no statistical difference was noticed in the desire domain for NAFLD patients compared with the controls. NAFLD women had significantly lower mean total FSFI scores than the controls (mean [SD] 16.7 [6.8] vs 21.7 [5.1], respectively; P < .001) with higher rates of FSD (98.5% vs 82.1%; P < .001, respectively). Most NAFLD women had higher FSD grades than controls (%): no FSD (1.5, 17.9), minimal (20.6, 51.8), mild (42.5, 38.8), moderate (26.2, 9.4), and severe (10.7, none), respectively. Clinical Implications: Given the high prevalence of FSD in patients with NAFLD, greater attention to FSF could improve the quality of life in patients with NAFLD. Strengths and Limitations: This study was limited by the lack of testing of sex hormones and some other important factors that were not tested (eg, age, socioeconomic level, residence, and female genital cutting), as these characteristics were previously matched. Strengths of the study include the large study size, to our knowledge the largest to date to investigate the possible link between FSD and NAFLD in premenopausal women, together with the inclusion of the detailed version of the validated ArFSFI. Conclusions: In Egyptian premenopausal women, NAFLD could harm their sexual function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]