To describe current prevalence of obesity and related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We used data from the cross-sectional UAE National Diabetes and Lifestyle Study (UAEDIAB), which surveyed adult expatriates living in the UAE for at least 4 years. We report crude prevalence of overweight and obesity, indicated by gender and ethnicity-specific body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) cut-offs, by lifestyle and biomedical characteristics, as well as age and sex-adjusted odds ratios. Out of a total of 3064 recruited expatriates (response rate 68%), 2724 had completed all stages of the UAEDIAB study. Expatriates were; 81% men, mean age 38 years (range 18–80), 71% South East Asians, and 36% university graduates. In this sample, the prevalence of overweight and obesity, by BMI, were 43.0 and 32.3%, respectively. 52.4 and 56.5% of participants were at a substantially increased risk according to WC and WHR, respectively. The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were 15.5, 31.8, and 51.7%, respectively, with the prevalence of each being higher in those with obesity. Prevalence of obesity and associated NCDs are extremely high in UAE expatriates. Without comprehensive prevention and management, levels of disease will continue to increase and productivity will fall.

Background and Objectives: A dental environment possesses a serious ergonomic health issue on the dental team members which in turn contributes to the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The present research is aimed at evaluating the frequency of musculoskeletal disorders and their associated sociodemographic and work environment risk factors among dentists in the United Arab Emirates. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a pretested and validated questionnaire was sent via email as well as on different social media platforms to a total of 497 dentists. A total of 179 dentists completed the study survey, with a total response rate of 36%. A binary logistic regression model was conducted to identify significant risk factors associated with WMSDs. Results: Dentists in the United Arab Emirates experience a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (90.4%) which were associated with high levels of stress in the work environment. Furthermore, dentists in the private sector worked more clinical hours per day (p = 0.000) and had more financial stress (p = 0.007) as compared to those in the governmental sector. Gender (p = 0.007), age (p = 0.01), monthly income (p = 0.073), work experience (p = 0.037), number of patients treated per day (p = 0.049), and the use of an ergonomic dental chair (p = 0.005) were all factors associated with a greater number of affected body regions by WMSDs. Multivariate binary logistic regression for the number of regions affected by WMSDs revealed that not using an ergonomic dental chair (OR 2.70, 95% CI, 1.14–6.36) and high stress in the work environment (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.02 to1.67) were associated with more body regions being affected by WMSDs. Conclusions: This study highlights the high prevalence rate of WMSDs among dentists in the UAE. Future research should be directed towards reducing stress in the work environment, increasing awareness regarding the importance of an ergonomic dental chair, and reducing gaps between private and governmental practices.

Objective: To translate the German 9-item Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) to Arabic and assess its psychometric properties for measuring Arabic-speaking patients' perceptions of the shared decision-making (SDM) process. Design: Multicentre cross-sectional study. Setting: Secondary healthcare settings; outpatient clinics of 10 major hospitals were selected in four emirates in the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain). Participants: Patients with chronic diseases who attended outpatient clinics of participating hospitals. Measurements: The original German SDM-Q-9 was translated to Arabic. International multiphase translation guidelines and the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-reported measures were used. Various psychometric properties were assessed, including reliability (internal consistency), and construct validity (exploratory factor analysis [EFA] and confirmatory factor analysis [CFA]). Results: The final Arabic version of the SDM-Q-9 was tested among 516 secondary care patients. Internal consistency yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.929 for the whole scale. EFA showed a one-factorial solution, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.907 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ ² =3413.69, df=36, p<0.0005). For the CFA, two different models were tested; Model 1 included the nine items and Model 2 was monofactorial that included items 2–9 and thus excluded item 1. Both models were adequate as they produced similar indices. Conclusions: The Arabic version of SDM-Q-9 showed excellent reliability and acceptable validity parameters among secondary care patients. The newly translated Arabic questionnaire is the first psychometrically tested tool that can be used in the 22 member states of the Arab league to assess patients’ perspectives on the SDM process.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to increase anxiety levels within the community and in particular medical students who are already considered psychologically vulnerable groups. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, no study has yet estimated the effect of this pandemic on university students in the UAE or its impact on the psychological well-being of medical students. Methods: In this study, we surveyed 1485 medical (comprising medical and dental) and non-medical university students across 4 emirates within the UAE. We used an online platform to assess knowledge, sources of information, changes in hygienic behavior, perceptions of fear and worry and anxiety levels using the generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale. The GAD-7 score was measured at three time points; during hospital visits for medical/dental students, before the introduction of online learning and after online learning for all students. Results: The majority of students demonstrated high levels of knowledge and utilized reliable sources of information. Non-medical students exercised higher compliance with social restrictions, while medical students practiced better hand hygiene. Almost half of students reported anxiety levels ranging from mild to severe with females reporting higher anxiety scores during hospital visits (OR=2.02, 95% CI,1.41 to 2.91) and medical students reporting lower anxiety levels in comparison to dental students (OR=0.61, 95% CI,0.45 to 0.84). Medical students reported higher levels of anxiety during their clinical rotations which decreased with the introduction of online learning, yet, non-medical student's anxiety levels increased with online learning. Conclusions: This is the first study to provide important information on the initial response and anxiety levels in university students across the UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from our study can be used to support the development of effective screening strategies and interventions to build psychological resilience among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic or any other public health emergencies in the future.

Breast cancer (BC) has become the most common cancer globally in 2020 as well as in the United Arab Emirates. The breast tumor microenvironment is composed of various immune cell types, including lymphocytes. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) play a crucial role in tumor eradication and progression. Further, immune checkpoint markers such as programmed death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1) and indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) have been associated with tumor evasion from the immune system. In this study, we aimed to explore the status of TILs, PD-L1 and IDO as well as to investigate their association with the clinicopathological parameters. A total of 59 patients diagnosed with primary infiltrating BC were selected, after which tissue sections were stained to identify TILs along with immunohistochemical staining of PD-L1 and IDO. Moreover, in-silico tools were used to assess the expression of PD-L1, IDO and CD3ε in various molecular subtypes of BC. It was found that the percentage of TILs correlated with estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression. This was supported by the finding that most of the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cases belonged to the group with a high percentage of TILs (h-TILs). Similarly, the expression of PD-L1 and IDO was correlated with the ER and PR, whereas TNBC cases showed a high expression of PD-L1 and IDO. This goes in line with the in-silico findings where the TNBC group showed the highest expression of PD-L1 and IDO as well as the T cell marker CD3ε. This study highlighted a possible link between the immunosuppressive markers PD-L1 and IDO with TILs density in the BC microenvironment.

The COVID-19 pandemic originated in Wuhan, China on December 31 ^st and spread into international borders, leading to a public health crisis and complete shutdown of countries. The strict quarantine measures taken by governments kept a large number of people, around the world, in isolation and affected many aspects of people’s lives. These unprecedented changes triggered a wide variety of psychological problems ranging from panic disorders, anxiety and depression. In this study, we aim to explore anxiety levels among parents, teachers and the general community amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the UAE, as well as identify emotional and anxiety disorders in children. Using a web-based cross-sectional survey we collected data from 2,200 self-selected assessed volunteers. Demographic information, knowledge and beliefs about COVID-19, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) using the (GAD-7) scale, emotional problems in children using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), worry and fear about COVID-19, coping mechanisms and general health information were collected. The overall prevalence of GAD in the general population was 71% with younger people (59.8%) and females (51.7%) reporting the highest levels of anxiety. Parents who were teachers reported the highest percentage of emotional problems in children (26.7%) compared to parents only (14.6%) or teachers only (4.7%). Multivariate logistic regression for GAD-7 score showed that females, participants who felt public fear was justifiable, persons who worried about COVID-19, persons who intended to take the COVID-19 vaccine and smokers were all associated with anxiety. Multivariate logistic regression for SDQ showed parents who had severe anxiety levels were 7 times more likely to report more emotional problems in their children (OR=7.00, 95% CI, 3.45 to 14.0) than less anxious parents. Findings suggest the urgency of policy makers to develop effective screening and coping strategies for parents and teachers and more specifically for vulnerable children.