The level of association between hemoglobin level/anemia and obesity during pregnancy is not yet fully understood. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hail Maternity Hospital in northern Saudi Arabia from March to May 2023 to assess the associations between hemoglobin levels, anemia, and obesity among pregnant women. Reproductive history was gathered through a questionnaire. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated/computed from the women’s weight and height. Linear and binary regression analyses were performed. A total of 334 pregnant women were enrolled. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) age and parity were 33.2 (27.4–37.8) years and 3 (1–5), respectively. Of the 334 women, 52 (15.6%) were normal weight, while 87 (26.0%) were overweight and 195 (58.4%) were obese. In the multiple linear regression, parity (coefficient = $-$0.121, p = 0.001) and BMI (coefficient = 0.030, p = 0.006) were negatively associated with the hemoglobin level. Ninety-nine (26.9%) women had anemia. In the multivariate analysis, primiparity (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.30–0.97), increasing BMI (AOR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.89–0.97), and obesity (AOR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.16–0.61) were associated with decreased ORs of anemia. Increasing parity was associated with increased ORs of anemia (AOR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.05–1.32). Being overweight was not associated with anemia (AOR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.27–1.16). In the current study, a high hemoglobin level and lower prevalence of anemia were observed among obese pregnant women.

Anaemia during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and child health. Investigations of anaemia and its predictors among pregnant women are needed for preventive measures. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and determinants of anaemia in early pregnancy in Khartoum, Sudan. Clinical characteristics were gathered using a questionnaire. Serum ferritin, magnesium and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured using different laboratory methods. Of the 180 women in the study, 65.0% had anaemia (haemoglobin [Hb] <11 g/dl), 0.6% had severe anaemia (Hb <7 g/dl), 38.9% had iron deficiency (serum ferritin <15 μg/l), 30.6% had iron deficiency anaemia (<11 g/dl and serum ferritin <15 μg/l) and 57.2% had magnesium deficiency (<1.80 mg/dl). There was no significant difference in the age, parity, gestational age, body mass index (BMI) and hs-CRP between anaemic and non-anaemic pregnant women. Anaemic pregnant women had significantly lower levels of serum ferritin and serum magnesium. While age, parity, gestational age, BMI and hs-CRP were not associated with anaemia, low serum ferritin (odds ratio [OR] 0.97 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.96 to 0.99]) and low serum magnesium (OR 0.91 [95% CI 0.84 to 0.99]) were associated with anaemia. There were significant positive correlations between Hb and serum ferritin (r=0.382, p<0.001) and serum magnesium (r=0.192, p=0.010). The role of magnesium as a possible contributing factor to anaemia in pregnancy has important implications for prevention and treatment of these women.

Plantago ovata has been utilized as an effective natural remedy with minimal side effects, offering a promising alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals. The supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of Plantago ovata leaves yielded 0.417 g and 0.532 g at 40 °C and 80 °C, respectively. The 40 °C extract exhibited stronger antimicrobial activity, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) as low as 15.62 µg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) as low as 31.25 µg/mL against Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans. In contrast, the 80 °C extract demonstrated reduced activity, with MICs and MBCs up to 250 and 500 µg/mL, respectively. The 40 °C extract also showed superior lipase inhibition (IC₅₀ = 17.21 µg/mL) compared to the 80 °C extract (IC₅₀ = 26.42 µg/mL), although orlistat remained the most potent (IC₅₀ = 6.02 µg/mL). In addition, cytotoxicity assays revealed stronger effects of the 40 °C extract on Caco-2 colon cancer cells (IC₅₀ = 109.47 µg/mL) compared to the 80 °C extract (IC₅₀ = 174.81 µg/mL). These results suggest that the lower-temperature SFE of P. ovata yields extracts with enhanced antimicrobial, anti-obesity, and anticancer activities, supporting its potential for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection can lead to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes and is a risk for mortality in pregnant women. There are few published data on the seroepidemiology of HEV infection in pregnant women and none are available from Sudan specifically. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the seroepidemiology of anti-HEV Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in mothers and newborns in Medani Hospital, Sudan. Socio-demographic, clinical and obstetric characteristics of the women were gathered using questionnaires. Anti-HEV IgG antibodies were investigated in the paired maternal and newborn sera using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Two hundred and nine women were enrolled to the study. The mean (SD) of their age, parity and gestational age was 27.5 (5.5) years, 2.2(1.5) and 38.8 (1.8) weeks, respectively. Out of these 209, 25 (12.5%) women had a positive result for anti-HEV IgG and two (1.0%) newborns had a positive result for anti-HEV IgG.In logistic regression none of the investigated factors (age, parity, gestational age, residency and education) were associated with anti-HEV IgG seropositivity. There is a high seroprevalence of HEV among pregnant women in central Sudan regardless of their age, parity and gestational age. Optimal preventive measures against HEV infection should be employed.

Objective: Proper blood bank inventory management and safe, efficient blood transfusion services require a thorough understanding of ABO and Rh(D) blood group distributions in specific populations. The objective of this research was to evaluate the distribution of ABO and Rh blood types among different ethnic blood donors in the Hail region of Saudi Arabia and compare the results to those of other populations. Methodology: Data from 3,166 blood donors were analyzed retrospectively. Blood bank records provided sociodemographic information as well as blood group phenotypes. Descriptive statistics were employed. The distribution of ABO and Rh blood types was statistically examined using the chi-square test. Results: The study identified a total of 3,166 blood donors, with the majority being males (3,083 (97.4%)). The median age of the donors was 35 years, with an interquartile range of 30-41 years. Of the cohort, 1,425 (45%) consisted of young donors, defined as individuals aged 30-41 years. The O blood type accounted for 1,409 (44.5%) of all types, making it the most prevalent. The next most common blood types were B at 837 (26.4%), A at 741 (23.4%), and AB at 179 (5.7%). When combined, O positive was the most prevalent type, accounting for 1,226 (38.7%) of the total. This was followed by type B positive at 745 (23.5%), type A positive at 651 (20.6%), O negative at 183 (5.8%), AB positive at 171 (5.3%), B negative at 92 (2.9%), A negative at 90 (2.8%), and AB negative at eight (0.3%). Conclusion: According to the results, out of all the ABO phenotypes, O was the most common. B, A, and AB came next. In addition, Rh(D) positivity was observed in 88.2% of the donors. These results have considerable consequences for blood transfusion strategies in the Hail region.

Cancer management is highly dependent on the immune status of the patient. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of people suffered from anxiety and depression, especially cancer patients. The effect of depression on breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC) patients, during the pandemic has been analyzed in this study. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6) and oxidative stress markers malondialdehyde (MDA) and carbonyl content (CC) were estimated in patients’ serum samples. Serum antibodies against in vitro hydroxyl radical (^•OH) modified pDNA (^•OH-pDNA-Abs) were estimated using direct binding and inhibition ELISA. Cancer patients showed increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6) and oxidative stress markers (MDA and CC levels), which were further significantly enhanced in cancer patients with depression compared to normal healthy (NH) individuals. Increased levels of ^•OH-pDNA-Abs were detected in breast cancer (0.506 ± 0.063) and prostate cancer (0.441 ± 0.066) patients compared to NH subjects. Serum antibodies were found to be significantly elevated in BC patients with depression (BCD) (0.698 ± 0.078) and prostate cancer patients with depression (PCD) (0.636 ± 0.058). Inhibition ELISA also exhibited significantly high percent inhibition in BCD (68.8% ± 7.8%) and PCD (62.9% ± 8.3%) subjects compared to BC (48.9% ± 8.1%), and PC (43.4% ± 7.5%) subjects. Cancer is characterized by enhanced oxidative stress and increased inflammation, which may be exaggerated with COVID-19 related depression. High oxidative stress and compromised antioxidant homeostasis exerts alterations in DNA, leading to formation of neo-antigens, subsequently leading to the generation of antibodies. COVID-19 pandemic related depression needs to be addressed globally for improved cancer patient care and cancer disease management.