Background: Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease affecting approximately 2% of the world’s population. Besides vitiligo cosmetic issues, patients suffer from psychological comorbidities. This results from the stigmatization they encounter from surrounding individuals. Accordingly, the current study was the first to assess Jordanians’ knowledge and attitude toward vitiligo. Methods: Data collection was completed by an online questionnaire consisting of four sections to capture participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, previous exposure, and knowledge and attitude toward vitiligo. The analysis took place through R and RStudio. Results: Of our 994 surveyed participants, only 8.45% and 12.47% had a low level of vitiligo knowledge and negative total attitude score, respectively. Moreover, independent predictors of positive attitudes included younger age (18–30), high school education or lower, hearing about or living with a vitiligo patient, and higher knowledge scores. The highest prevalence of positive attitudes was observed when physicians were the source of knowledge. Conclusion: Some critical misconceptions were identified despite the Jordanian public having sufficient overall knowledge. Furthermore, higher knowledge reflected a higher prevalence of positive attitudes toward the patients. We recommend that future efforts target the public understanding of the nature of the disease and its being non-communicable. Moreover, we emphasize that medical knowledge should be communicated through qualified healthcare providers.

Purpose: Our current study investigates the relationship between ABO blood groups and brain tumor incidence in the Jordanian pediatric population in a case-controlled manner. Patients and Methods: This case-control study targeted pediatric primary brain tumor patients and tumor-free controls. Cases included patients younger than 18 when given a histologically confirmed diagnosis with a primary brain tumor, ascertained from two tertiary hospitals in Jordan. Controls were age- and gender-matched to cases and acquired from JUH pediatric clinics, with an exclusion for all patients with a personal history of tumors. Through using available records and calling guardians, our team obtained patients’ and controls’ blood groups. Results: Our case control included 81 (35.4%) pediatric primary brain tumor patients and age- and gender-matched tumor-free controls 148 (64.6%). When compared to O blood group, patients with A and B blood groups were not at higher risk of developing pediatric primary brain tumors (P=0.742, P=1.000, respectively). However, Chi-square analysis revealed a 2.79-fold higher risk for pediatric primary brain tumors in AB blood group patients (P=0.024). Gender-specific analysis revealed a 3.42-fold higher risk for pediatric brain tumors in AB blood group males when compared to O blood group males. Conclusion: This work represents the first published study on the association between blood groups and pediatric brain tumors. With future research with larger samples and control of confounding factors, AB blood group may become a more established risk factor for pediatric brain tumors, aiding in screening.

Background Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease with a 2–3% prevalence. As with other diseases with cutaneous manifestations, psoriasis patients suffer from psychological issues and social isolation. The general population's misconceptions and prejudicial attitudes toward those patients are highly implicated in ensuing psychological issues. Accordingly, this study is the first to investigate the Jordanian population's knowledge about and attitude toward psoriasis. Methods Our cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered online questionnaire that 1306 participants from the Jordanian population completed. The questionnaire constituted of four sections addressing the sociodemographic characteristics, previous exposure to psoriasis, knowledge about psoriasis, and attitudes toward psoriasis. The data analysis was conducted using R and Rstudio packages. Results The averages and standard deviations of knowledge and attitude scores of the total sample were 7.54 ± 2.38 and 3.45 ± 9.22, respectively. When further classified into categories, 73.81% laid in the moderate knowledge category. Moreover, 61.49% had a positive total attitude score. Among the common misconceptions identified were thinking that psoriasis is a hereditary disease (30.09%), denying that psoriasis increases the risk of diabetes (51.68%) and heart disease (67.69%), and not knowing that it affects the social life of patients (26.11%). Of the prominent negative attitudes observed were those related to the intimate relationship status and sharing a swimming pool with a psoriasis patient. Conclusion Although the Jordanian population's overall knowledge level appeared sufficient, some critical misconceptions were identified. Moreover, this research revealed a high prevalence of negative attitudes toward psoriasis among the Jordanian public. Future research could link every negative behavior to their exact triggering misconception. This may further assist in the institutional effort to combat discriminatory behaviors.

Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorder affecting both adults and children worldwide, with an average prevalence of approximately 2%. Recent evidence suggests that several hematological inflammatory parameters and vitamin levels may serve as accessible biomarkers for disease activity and severity assessment. Methods: This single-center retrospective case–control study was conducted at Jordan University Hospital using electronic medical record data from January 2019 to December 2023. The study included 142 patients with psoriasis and 277 age- and sex-matched controls. Psoriasis severity was assessed using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Hematological inflammatory indices—including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII)—as well as vitamin D and vitamin B12 levels were evaluated. Results: The mean age ± standard deviation was 43.76 ± 16.78 years, with no significant differences between psoriasis cases and controls. Females accounted for 54.93% of psoriasis cases compared with 54.41% of controls. The mean PASI score was 9.02 ± 9.00. Approximately 51.79% of psoriasis patients were vitamin D deficient, while 17.82% had vitamin B12 deficiency. No significant differences in psoriasis severity categories were observed across vitamin B12 or vitamin D levels (p = 0.808 and p = 0.184, respectively). The mean NLR, PLR, and SII were 2.21, 124.6, and 588,441.8, respectively. These inflammatory indices did not demonstrate statistically significant differences between psoriasis patients and controls (p > 0.05). Conclusion: No significant associations were observed between psoriasis severity and inflammatory hematological indices (NLR, PLR, SII) or vitamin deficiencies. These findings suggest limited standalone utility of these biomarkers for routine assessment of psoriasis severity in this retrospective cohort.

Aim: Delayed diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may lead to increased treatment costs and surgical risks. This study aims to describe the extent of IBD diagnosis delay in Jordan. Methods: Our study included 110 IBD patients, utilizing interviews and medical records from Jordan University Hospital. Data covered sociodemographic characteristics, health history, time from symptom onset to diagnosis, time from the first consultation to diagnosis, number of physicians consulted before diagnosis, and IBD-related surgical history. Results: The median time from symptom onset to IBD diagnosis was 9 months. Median diagnosis times for Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were 11 and 9 months, respectively. Regression analysis revealed that longer diagnosis delays were associated with higher paternal education levels. Lower maternal education levels (high school or less) and a household income between 1200 and 2000 Jordanian dinars correlated with consulting more physicians before diagnosis. Conclusions: Early aggressive treatment is essential for IBD, as delayed diagnosis negatively impacts patient outcomes. Further research is needed to identify factors contributing to diagnosis delay. Our findings suggest that parental education and income levels influence diagnosis delays, highlighting the importance of targeted awareness campaigns for specific population groups and general practitioners to mitigate delays.