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Objective: To determine the prevalence and significant correlates of prediabetes (pre-DM), diabetes mellitus (DM), prehypertension (pre-HT), and hypertension (HT) among adults in all districts of Duhok Governorate through a community-based screening study. Methods: This is a cross-sectional community-based screening study involving 3,000 non-fasting adults not diagnosed as prediabetes or DM and prehypertension or HT conducted in all districts of Duhok Governorate. Random glucose and blood pressure reading according to American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association Guidelines in 2023 will be used in a community-based screening. BMI will be also calculated in the present study as a screening tool. Results: Findings reveal that 18.2% had DM, 14.7% had pre-DM and 41.3% had HT and 11.5% had pre-HT. The study also revealed that nearly two third had increased BMI in which 40.1% were overweight and 24.5% were obese. Among screened subjects 32% were smokers. Around half of screened subjects reported having family history of DM and HT, DM alone (10.8%), HT alone (12.1%) and 28.9% had family history of both DM and HT together. The study also shows that screened male subjects reported higher prevalence of pre-DM, DM, pre-HT and HT than screened female subjects. Older age group of screened subjects tend to have more abnormal blood sugar and blood pressure levels than younger age group. Conclusion: This study has shown a high prevalence of pre-DM, DM, pre-HT and HT among adults in all districts of Duhok Governorate. Significant correlates of pre-DM, DM, pre-HT and HT in this study were age, gender, BMI, smoking and family history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stay-at-home orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced abrupt changes to daily routines and lifestyles. This study assessed changes in mental health and social activity during the confinement period, in response to the global pandemic. Methods: This study was a face-to-face interview survey targeting adults in Duhok city, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The questionnaire was distributed from October 2021 to February 2022, and collected information on mental well-being, mood, and social activity participation. All questions were presented as "before" and "during" the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: In total, 407 adult participants have included: 207 females and 200 males. Overall, during the pandemic, mental well-being score was reduced by 13.4% (particularly for the employed), and social participation by 11.1% (particularly for the older age group). Around the same time, the bad mood and feelings score increased by 51.3%. These changes are expected and have been reporworldwidewide. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic produced significant negative lifestyle effects well beyond the virus itself, and confining people has led to a decline in mental health and social activities. People need support to counteract the effects of confinement on mental well-being, e.g., by providing basic life needs and enhancing at-home communication and physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries., Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance, policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data available for both survey years., Results: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%, and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decreased or remained at a low level in 8.3%, 15.8%, and 28.6% of the countries, respectively. The highest capacity for PA promotion was found in Europe, the lowest in Africa and low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although a large percentage of the world's population benefit from at least some PA policy, surveillance, and research efforts in their countries, 49.6 million people are without PA surveillance, 629.4 million people are without PA policy, and 108.7 million live in countries without any PA research output. A total of 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of the world's population live in countries where PA promotion capacity should be significantly improved., Conclusion: Despite PA is essential for health, there are large inequalities between countries and world regions in their capacity to promote PA. Coordinated efforts are needed to reduce the inequalities and improve the global capacity for PA promotion.

Aims: The role of apolipoprotein A in early onset ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is not clear. This study sought to assess the apolipoprotein A in cohort of patients diagnosed with early onset acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and to corelate it with major traditional cardiovascular risk factors., Methods: A total of 50 such patients and 40 age and sex-matched healthy controls, both aged less than 50 years with their baseline demographic, clinical characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors were studied. Apolipoprotein A was estimated for all enrollees., Results: The mean age of cases was 43.37 ± 5.85 years. The levels of apolipoprotein A among cases were not significantly lower compared to controls ( P = 0.52). They were lower among the male, current smokers and the dyslipidemia ( P 's < 0.05). Considering the apolipoprotein A as the dependent factor, the early onset ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction was associated significantly with the male and the dyslipidemia in linear regression ( P < 0.001 and 0.030), respectively., Conclusion: Lower levels of apolipoprotein A are significantly related to conventional risk factors in early onset ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. This apolipoprotein A that particularly develops in young patients with clustering of traditional cardiovascular risk factors should be targeted. Further studies are warranted to determine the diagnostic and prognostic indicators of this apolipoprotein in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction., (Copyright © 2019 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)