To date, no culture-specific food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) are available in North Africa. The aim of this study was to adapt and examine the reproducibility and validity of an FFQ or use in the Moroccan population. The European Global Asthma and Allergy Network (GA2LEN) FFQ was used to assess its applicability in Morocco. The GA2LEN FFQ is comprised of 32 food sections and 200 food items. Using scientific published literature, as well as local resources, we identified and added foods that were representative of the Moroccan diet. Translation of the FFQ into Moroccan Arabic was carried out following the World Health Organization (WHO) standard operational procedure. To test the validity and the reproducibility of the FFQ, 105 healthy adults working at Hassan II University Hospital Center of Fez were invited to answer the adapted FFQ in two occasions, 1 month apart, and to complete three 24-h dietary recall questionnaires during this period. Pearson correlation, and Bland-Altman plots were used to assess validity of nutrient intakes. The reproducibility between nutrient intakes as reported from the first and second FFQ were calculated using intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). All nutrients were log-transformed to improve normality and were adjusted using the residual method. The adapted FFQ was comprised of 255 items that included traditional Moroccan foods. Eighty-seven adults (mean age 27.3 ± 5.7 years) completed all the questionnaires. For energy and nutrients, the intakes reported in the FFQ1 were higher than the mean intakes reported by the 24-h recall questionnaires. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the first FFQ and the mean of three 24-h recall questionnaires were statistically significant. For validity, de-attenuated correlations were all positive, statistically significant and ranging from 0.24 (fiber) to 0.93 (total MUFA). For reproducibility, the ICCs were statistically significant and ranged between 0.69 for fat and 0.84 for Vitamin A. This adapted FFQ is an acceptable tool to assess usual dietary intake in Moroccan adults. Given its representativeness of local food intake, it can be used as an instrument to investigate the role of diet on health and disease outcomes.

Background: In Morocco, there are no studies that focused on the hypertension and its associated risk factors through patients with type 2 diabetes. Different findings show that the frequency of type 2 diabetes has risen rapidly in Morocco. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among a group of patients with type 2 diabetes and to examine the level of control of hypertension among type 2 diabetic patients with hypertension. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 525 type 2 diabetics in three Moroccan regions. The structured questionnaire was used to gather information on sociodemographic variables, history of hypertension, use of anti-hypertensive medications and duration of diabetes. Anthropometric measurements including weight and height were measured by trained staff. Blood pressure was measured using standardized sphygmomanometers. Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 70.4%. The logistic regression indicated that hypertension was positively associated with age (p<10-4), BMI (p<0.0002) and duration of diabetes (p Conclusion: Hypertension is a common co-morbidity among Moroccan diabetic patients with high rate of ignorance of hypertension among study subjects. The focus must be on patients and family education, counseling and behavioral interventions designed to modify lifestyle such as increasing physical activity and adopting recommended dietary changes, as well as compliance with medications.

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of herbal medicine use by patients hospitalized or consultant in the nephrology department of University Hospital center Hassan II Fez, the reasons of this use, to identify socio-demographic characteristics, and the etiology of kidney disease related to herbal medicine use, also the most used plants. Cross-sectional study on the use of herbal medicine conducted at the nephrology department of University Hospital Center Hassan II Fez, Morocco. During 6 months between August 2015 and February 2016. Patients older than 15 years (n=471) with varying degrees of kidney disease were included. The questionnaire contained questions related to socio-demographic data, the use of plants, knowledge about herbal medicine toxicity, and etiology of KD. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze socio-demographic characteristics related to herbal medicine use. A total of 471 patients responded; the prevalence of herbal medicine use was 50.7%. Herbal medicine users were more likely to be males (OR 0.43; 95%CI 0.25-0.74); unemployed (OR 0.51; 95%CI 0.29-0.89), with unknown etiology (OR 0.43; 95%CI 0.22-0.84). Reasons of use were: belief in its efficacy (74%), easy access to medicinal herbal medicine (70%), and lower cost (48%). The most commonly used herbal medicine were Rosmarinus officinalis L.; Origanum compactum Benth; Artemisia herba-alba Asso and Mentha pulegium L. Potentially harmful herbal medicine included Aristolochia longa. The prevalence of herbal medicine use is high among patients with kidney disease in nephrology department.