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IntroductionSmokeless tobacco (SLT) has been linked with various oral signs and symptoms, such as oral mucosal lesions and gingival and periodontal effects. However, there is limited research on the prevalence of SLT use and its impact on gingival and periodontal health in the adult population of the Emirates of Sharjah. AimTo assess the prevalence of SLT consumption and its effects on gingival and periodontal health in the adult population of the Emirates of Sharjah. MethodsThe study evaluated 171 dentate patients aged 18–77 years who use SLT or are nonsmokers. Data were collected through a questionnaire on SLT use and periodontal health assessed using plaque index, gingival index (GI), attachment score, and gingival recession (GR). Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 27.0 version. ResultsAmong 390 screened participants, 28 subjects (21 males and 7 females) were SLT users with prevalence of 7.18%. No significant differences were found in plaque index, GI, or periodontal pocket depth. However, SLT users had significantly higher clinical attachment loss scores (mean 4.01 mm, SD 0.35) compared to non-users (mean 1.49 mm, SD 1.12). Significant differences were also observed in GR. ConclusionsThis study provides insights into the prevalence and impact of SLT use on periodontal and gingival health in UAE adults. SLT usage is associated with a higher risk of periodontitis and gingivitis, indicating the need for awareness and intervention. Further research is required to validate results and consider confounding factors.

This study is an endeavour to explicate the dissonance of the linguistic quality outcome of study abroad (SA) experiences by exploring the second language (L2) motivation of six academic sojourners in Manchester. A person-in-context approach revealed that developing intimate relationships with 'native-speakers', providing L2-mediated interaction opportunities with international students, and social approval were key determinants of the extent to which SA students were invested in social practices. Such social engagements were found to stem from second language motivation that is part of identity construction process. In addition, the thematic analysis of the narrative inquiries suggests that the global status of the English language defies the traditional conceptualisations of L2 motivation as most participants' motivations were formed despite their negative or neutral attitudes towards the English community. The findings also endorse the role of the other as a robust motivational source by which learners can replenish their motivation stream, leading to social identity investment to construct their ideological selves. The paper concludes with a recommendation to re-interpret the conceptualisation of the Ideal L2 Self system because 'native-speakers' are rarely the closest parallels to L2 learners, and it should incorporate explicit intrinsic orientations. Furthermore, language institutions in SA contexts should direct their focus on establishing conversation clubs and hosting social events for SA students to provide a safe space for their identities to be developed, enacted and reconstructed.

Abstract Purpose To investigate the health-related factors and analyze the expression of epigenetic related genes and inflammatory genes in metabolic syndrome Trigger Finger (TF) and smoker TF. Methods Samples from patients’ fingers with symptomatic TF were collected. There were seven groups: healthy control group, carpal tunnel syndrome (as a control for gene expression analysis), TF, diabetic TF, hypertensive TF, dyslipidemic TF and smoker TF. The expression levels of epigenetic related genes and inflammatory genes in metabolic syndrome TF and smoker TF were evaluated by the reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaires, disability of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) and numeric pain rating scale were given to the participants to fill out. Results There was a significant increase in hand dysfunction in the metabolic TF groups and smoker group compared to the TF group (p

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of the global food system, sending shockwaves across countries' societies and economy. This has presented formidable challenges to sustaining a healthy and resilient lifestyle. The objective of this study is to examine the food consumption patterns and assess diet diversity indicators, primarily focusing on the food consumption score (FCS), among households in 38 countries both before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 37 207 participants (mean age: 36.70 ± 14.79, with 77 % women) was conducted in 38 countries through an online survey administered between April and June 2020. The study utilized a pre-tested food frequency questionnaire to explore food consumption patterns both before and during the COVID-19 periods. Additionally, the study computed Food Consumption Score (FCS) as a proxy indicator for assessing the dietary diversity of households. Findings: This quantification of global, regional and national dietary diversity across 38 countries showed an increment in the consumption of all food groups but a drop in the intake of vegetables and in the dietary diversity. The household's food consumption scores indicating dietary diversity varied across regions. It decreased in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, including Lebanon (p

Aim and Objective: This study aimed to explore how caregivers of persons with Down syndrome (DS) believe caring had an impact on their own lives. A secondary objective was to understand their experience of seeking educational, social, and health care services for the persons with DS. Methods: This qualitative exploratory study was conducted with 21 caregivers of persons with DS in Kuwait. Results: Caregivers struggled to accept the diagnosis initially that led them to search for answers to many of their concerns about raising a person with DS. For the caregivers, who mostly comprised of mothers, dealing with health conditions that persons with DS suffered from was initially difficult. Caring for these individuals led to heavy impact upon their caregivers' own lives who took extraordinary efforts to cope with the burden. Seeking quality education for the persons with DS and participation in social activities was also challenging, and the caregivers believed that better services, facilities, and benefits for the families of persons with DS may help them better cope with the socioeconomic and psychological burden. Conclusions: Improving the availability of specialized services, the delivery of guidance and counselling, and social integration may help overcome challenges of raising a person with Down syndrome.

Employees’ work environment has drastically shifted from offices to homes. Telework is often a desired employee benefit, but employers consider it a temporary setting. The lasting COVID-19 pandemic has changed the concept of telework. Home office has gained importance and will likely become an essential part of the working environment even after the pandemic. This paper aims to identify the preferences of employees from culturally diverse backgrounds in relation to the setting of their work location and time after the end of the pandemic. A web-based questionnaire survey as a quantitative research method was used. Data were collected from employees in Slovakia and Kuwait. The research findings indicate that employees value time flexibility, although localization flexibility is also growing in importance. The proposed hybrid work model seems to be the most suitable solution in line with the employees’ preferences. It is crucial to understand employees’ needs in terms of working time and place because only workplaces that are designed for employees and show organizational resiliency can survive and maintain competitiveness in the future.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract. This cross-sectional study among female schoolteachers assessed the prevalence of i) unawareness of HPV infection’s causal role in cervical cancer; ii) unawareness of HPV vaccine availability and iii) examined the sociodemographic variables associated both the outcome variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among female schoolteachers employed in public and private sectors schools in Kuwait using a structured questionnaire for data collection. Prevalence of each of the outcome variables was computed. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate independent predictors of two dependent variables. Results: A total 1341 female schoolteachers were enrolled. Of the participants, 60% were unaware of HPV causal role in cervical cancer and 88% were unaware of HPV vaccine availability. Among those who were aware of HPV vaccine availability, 83.8% were unvaccinated. Multivariable logistic regression (MLR) model showed that 20–29 years old participants or those with low family income (< 500 KD/month) were significantly (p < 0.05) more likely to be unaware of HPV causal role in cervical cancer. Moreover, participants with family/ personal history of cervical cancer were significantly (p < 0.05) less likely to be unaware of HPV role in causation of cervical cancer. A separate MLR model revealed that the participants were significantly more likely to be unaware of HPV vaccine availability if they were Kuwaiti nationals or non-Kuwaiti Arabs (p < 0.05), employed in public schools (p = 0.003) or less likely to be unaware if they had personal or family history of cervical cancer (p < 0.001). Conclusion: High prevalences of unawareness of causal role of HPV in cervical cancer and unawareness of HPV vaccine availability were recorded. Targeted education among identified sociodemographic groups with high levels of unawareness is warranted. If undertaken, future studies may evaluate the impact of recommended efforts.

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is common in liver cirrhotic patients, usually manifesting as chronic gastrointestinal bleeding. It has been linked to gastroparesis and delayed gastric emptying. It is usually diagnosed by endoscopy. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a rapidly emerging bedside diagnostic tool that is becoming very popular in medical practice. It helps physicians reach early diagnoses in various situations. In our case, POCUS was used for early diagnosis of PHG in a cirrhotic patient complaining of recurrent vomiting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeTo describe the prevalence of burnout among frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated sociodemographic and occupational factors.MethodsA cross sectional survey study was carried out to study HCWs burnout using the 19-item Full Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) that includes personal, work, and patient-related burnout subscales. Bivariate analysis was used to test for associations and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 207 responses received; where the mean score of personal burnout was 67.23, the mean of work-related burnout was 61.38, and the mean of patient-related burnout was 54.55. Significant associations were found; where female HCWs, those working in rotating day-and-night shifts, working more than 55-h per week, and who had their shift time and hours changed during the pandemic, had higher levels of personal and work-related burnout (P < 0.05). Patient-related burnout was higher among those who were single (divorced or separated), nurses, non-Citizens, those with fewer years of experience, and who were infected by COVID-19 and have been quarantined (P < 0.05). Age was not a significant factor of burnout in any of the CBI subscales.ConclusionsThere is a prevalent level of burnout among frontline HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings highlight key sociodemographic and occupational factors affecting burnout; which can help planning for psychological support strategies. Furthermore, effective administrative control is important to institute policies and mechanisms to identify, and freely report burnout symptoms among HCWs to promote their wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the Eastern Mediterranean Region's food system's fragility posing severe challenges to maintaining healthy sustainable lifestyle. The aim of this cross-sectional study (N = 13,527 household's family members, mean age: 30.3 ±11.6, 80% women) is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food consumption patterns and household's dietary diversity in 10 Eastern Mediterranean countries. A food frequency questionnaire was used to investigate the consumption patterns along with the calculation of the Food Consumption Score (FCS), a proxy indicator of dietary diversity. Data collected on cooking attitudes, shopping and food stock explore the community mitigation measures. In the overall population, before and during the pandemic, most food groups were consumed less or equal to 4 times per week. As evident from our findings and considering that the pandemic may be better, but it's not over, small to moderate changes in food consumption patterns in relatively short time periods can become permanent and lead to substantial poor dietary diversity over time. While it is a priority to mitigate the immediate impact, one area of great concern is the long-term effects of this pandemic on dietary patterns and dietary diversity in Eastern Mediterranean households. To conclude, the COVID-19 crisis revealed the region's unpreparedness to deal with a pandemic. While the aggressive containment strategy was essential for most countries to help prevent the spread, it came at a high nutritional cost, driving poor dietary diversity.

Abstract Introduction Globally, the epidemiology of psoriasis is poorly understood, and most countries lack essential epidemiologic data regarding disease burden and its determinants. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of psoriasis among adolescents in Kuwait and assess its association with different risk factors, including obesity, sibship size, breastfeeding, and exposure to household secondhand smoke (SHS) and pets. Methods Schoolchildren aged 11–14 years (n = 3864) were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Lifetime and current (past 12 months) prevalence of psoriasis were ascertained according to ever having a history of doctor-diagnosis plus current active lesion(s) and/or current use of treatment of psoriasis. Associations were assessed using Poisson regression with robust variance estimation, and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Results The lifetime and current prevalence of psoriasis were estimated to be 3.6% (136/3806) and 1.1% (42/3806), respectively. Commonly reported anatomical sites affected by psoriasis included scalp (47.6%) and the extensor surface of the knees (50%) and elbows (38.1%). Household SHS exposure was associated with increased lifetime psoriasis (aPR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.07–1.98), and showed a trend for association with current psoriasis (1.77, 0.89–3.53). Similarly, cat-keeping during infancy was associated with lifetime psoriasis (1.96, 1.14–3.37), and demonstrated a trend for association with current psoriasis (1.49, 0.52–1.98). In contrast, breastfeeding was associated with a decreased lifetime psoriasis (0.62, 0.44–0.89), but was not associated with current psoriasis. Trend analyses showed that the prevalence of lifetime and current psoriasis increased with increasing numbers of total, older, and younger siblings. Conclusions Psoriasis affects a considerable proportion of schoolchildren in Kuwait. Interestingly, psoriasis prevalence was related to risk factors also found in allergic diseases, such as exposure to SHS, cat-keeping in infancy, breastfeeding, and sibship size, possibly suggesting a role of immune dysregulation.

BackgroundWorkplace burnout is a state of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization of others (DP), and low personal accomplishment (PA) owing to workplace stressors. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of burnout and its associated factors among surgical specialists in Kuwait.MethodsThis cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of burnout among 489 surgeons in practice at Kuwait Ministry of Health (MOH). Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which defines burnout as having a high score of EE or DP, or a low score of PA; with severe burnout involving all. The associations between burnout or severe burnout with sociodemographic and occupational characteristics were assessed using multivariate binary logistic regression to adjust for potential confounders.ResultsPrevalence estimates for burnout and severe burnout were 76.9% (95% Confidence Interval = 72.9–80.7%) and 14.0% (11.0–17.5%), respectively. The prevalence estimates for high EE, high DP, and low PA scores were 44.7, 43.1, and 47.2%, respectively. The prevalence of burnout and severe burnout was highest among neurosurgeons. Burnout was lowest among otolaryngology surgeons and severe burnout was lowest among cardiothoracic surgeons. After adjustment, burnout was associated with younger age, lower income, and more on-calls per month. The four most common sources of stress included less family time, verbal assault, case overload, and highly complicated cases.ConclusionThe prevalence of burnout among surgeons in Kuwait MOH hospitals is high. Occupational health programs should use these findings to design and implement interventions that can treat and prevent burnout in this population.

Objective: To review the literature comparing functional endoscopic sinus surgery to dupilumab for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, in terms of symptom control, cost-effectiveness and complications. Method: A literature review was conducted using PubMed, ScienceDirect and Cochrane databases. Data were extracted manually. Results: A total of six papers relevant to the main objective were found. Conclusion: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Both functional endoscopic sinus surgery and dupilumab achieve comparable disease control and result in good symptom relief. Dupilumab is far more expensive than functional endoscopic sinus surgery and is not considered cost-effective for the time being. This is expected to change after 10 years when the drug patent expires. More research is needed to compare the complications of both treatment modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protraction of posterior teeth to close the spaces in patients with congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisors is challenging. Mini-implants are a reliable source of anchorage for this purpose. This case report demonstrates the application of a T-bar protraction appliance with a palatal mini-implant for en masse protraction of posterior teeth into the lateral incisor space in an adolescent patient. The patient’s occlusion and esthetics were significantly improved, and ideal overjet and overbite were obtained after 30 months of treatment. Follow-up records six months after the completion of the treatment displayed stable results.

The distinction between cardiac aneurysms and diverticula can be very difficult by angiography. Left ventricular (LV) aneurysms usually occur following transmural myocardial infarction. On the other hand, cardiac diverticula are most commonly congenital. They are commonly detected by cardiac CT with a prevalence of 2.2%. Here we present a case of a 60-year-old male with the incidental finding of multiple LV aneurysms masquerading as diverticula in the setting of myocardial infarction with near normal coronary arteries. Moreover, this case highlights the limitation of coronary angiography in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction with no obstructive atherosclerosis (MINOCA).

Background. Work-related lower back pain (WrLBP) is a global health issue and a rising concern in the State of Kuwait. The prevalence and the risk factors of WrLBP among radiographers are not well documented. Objective. The purpose of the study was to determine the one-year prevalence, characteristics, impact, and physical risk factors of WrLBP among radiographers in the State of Kuwait. Methods. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 200 radiographers. The questionnaire collected data on demographics, physical risk factors, and the occurrence of WrLBP in the previous 12 months. Descriptive statistics, frequency calculations, and chi-square analyses were performed. Results. One hundred forty-six radiographers completed and returned the questionnaires with a response rate of 73% (146/200). The one-year prevalence of WrLBP was 16%. The prevalence of WrLBP was not significantly associated with the participants’ demographics. Although WrLBP was significantly associated with work demands, the overall impact of WrLBP on work duties was minimal. Conclusions. The occurrence of WrLBP among radiographers in Kuwait was low, particularly when compared to healthcare providers involved in more patient handling and direct contact. However, various physical risk factors were identified. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of a treatment and prevention program on the prevalence of WrLBP.