Diabetes mellitus is a disease whose dramatic increase in prevalence worldwide poses a global health crisis. Saudi Arabia has the seventh highest rate of diabetes in the world and the second highest rate in the Middle East. The incidence of diabetes has risen due to insufficient knowledge, attitude, and practice surrounding the disease. Saudis’ quality of life has decreased due to the recent rise in diabetes-related mortality and illnesses. Hence, leading healthy lives requires patients to have positive attitudes and self-awareness, which will eventually contribute to reducing diabetes mellites-related complications. A cross-sectional study among patients with type 2 diabetes mellites (T2DM) in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia was conducted to assess Saudi adults’ knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding the disease. The patients participated in the study by filling in a questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using R software, version 4.0.5 (R Studio: Integrated Development for R, Boston, MA) and the analysis included general sample demographics. KAP scores were the dependent variables. Following the sample description, regression analysis was performed to examine the adjusted relationships between KAP factors and independent variables. The impact of all independent variables on KAP variables was examined using multiple linear regression analysis. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant, and the beta coefficient was applied to estimate the associations between the independent variables and the KAP variables. A total of 424 participants were involved in this study, with 194 male participants and 230 female participants. The mean duration of having T2DM was 7.63 ± 7.19 years. More than half of the study participants had a degree (58.49%), and nearly half were employed (42.45%). Married participants had higher knowledge and attitude scores than single and divorced or widowed participants (9.19 ± 3.38, 80.14 ± 14.72, respectively). In comparison, divorced or widowed participants had higher practice scores than single and married participants (16.35 ± 7.42). Participants with higher education attainment had higher knowledge and attitude scores than those with no degree (9.54 ± 3.39, 80.58 ± 17.57, respectively), whereas participants with no degree demonstrated higher practice scores (16.85 ± 8.3) than those with degrees. In examining the study participants’ KAP scores, we found knowledge to be insufficient in 51.2% and sufficient in 48.8% of the participants. Of the participants, 7.8% were found to have negative attitude levels and 92.2% were found to have positive attitude levels. Finally, study participants’ practice levels were found to be negative in 24.8% and positive in 75.2% of participants. This study revealed that patients have gaps in their knowledge, attitude, and practice in regard to T2DM. In this study, associations and correlations were established between KAP scores and the sociodemographic characteristics of the patients. The findings of this study could be helpful to policymakers, decision-makers, health care professionals, and patient advocacy groups in developing interventions to improve the health outcomes in T2DM patients.

Background: Studies on the role of weight self-stigma on the quality of life of young adults are limited. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between different forms of weight self-stigma (self-devaluation and fear of enacted stigma) and the quality of life among Saudi youth in the Jazan region. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a sample of 399 participants who were invited through social media platforms. We used Arabic, validated versions of the weight self-stigma questionnaire (WSSQ) and the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire. Data analysis was performed by independent samples t-test and analysis of variance with Tukey's post hoc test. Results: The study sample consisted of 399 participants aged 21.12 years ± 2.91 years. A total of 264 (66.2%) were female. The overall weight self-stigma score of the study population was 34.81 ± 10.73 on the WSSQ. The analysis showed a significant association between weight self-stigma and quality of life and body mass index (BMI; p < 0.01). In addition, participants who were overweight and obese had more self-devaluation and fear of enacted stigma than did participants with normal weight. Participants with high weight self-stigma had lower quality of life than did those with less weight self-stigma. Conclusions: The results of this study show that weight self-stigma is negatively correlated with the individual's quality of life. Weight self-stigma was positively associated with BMI.

In previous studies, there was an apparent lack of health education about dengue fever (DF) among the Saudi population. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) about dengue fever among the Jazan region population, which is one of the most prevalent diseases in the region in Saudi Arabia (KSA). This was a cross-sectional and community-based study. The adult population was divided into governorates according to the regions that were close to each other, and then a convenient stratum was selected from each region. Next, random sampling was applied. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Exclusion criteria were young people (<18 years old) and health workers. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression. Of the 392 participants in this cross-sectional study, 59.18% were male, 76.28% were aged 18–35 years, 72.96% had a university degree, and 63% had a monthly income of less than SAR 5000 (USD1 = 3.76). The scores (mean ± SD) for KAP regarding DF among the responders were 22.77 ± 7.9, 22.68 ± 7.24, and 25.62 ± 9.4, respectively. KAP constructs were positively correlated according to the Pearson’s coefficient. In multiple linear regression analysis, males were favorably and substantially linked with attitude score (β = 2.76, p = 0.001) and negatively associated with practice score (β = −2.45, p = 0.023). No-degree participants scored lower on knowledge (β = −2.78, p = 0.003). There is potential for more research in Saudi Arabia to increase the generalizability to reduce the impact of dengue epidemics.

Background: Admission to medical school is competitive, and different countries use various tests in addition to high school grades to minimize selection bias. A few studies have been conducted to evaluate the usefulness of these tests as predictors for students’ academic performance. In this article, we aimed to assess factors that influenced students’ grades in medical school. Methods: A cross-sectional study included all students who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Jazan University between 2018 and 2020. Scores of the included participants were extracted from the registry of Jazan University, and additional questions about study habits were completed by the included students. Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were performed for the factors that impacted academic performance. Results: There were 331 included candidates, and the majority of them were female (53%). About 60% of the participants were medical residents at the time of the study, and 40% were interns. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that grades in high school and the pre-requisite tests were positively associated with students’ academic performance. Further, studying more than two hours per day was positively correlated with better grades in medical school. Conclusion: Scores of the admission tests can serve as predictors for student performance in medical school. National studies are deemed essential to evaluate additional admission tests for medical school, an action that would minimize selection bias.

This study is aiming to investigate the association between walking and depression, anxiety and stress among adults from Jazan, Saudi Arabia. This study was a cross-sectional investigation where data was collected via an online self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire had 4 components that measured demographics of the sample, presence of depression, anxiety and stress, and walking history. Differences in median scores of depression, anxiety, and stress according to the measured characteristics were tested via the Mann–Whitney U test. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to estimate odds of reporting depression, anxiety, and stress according to the measured characteristics. A total of 472 adult subjects participated in the current study. The median age of the participants was 23 years, and 52% were males. Half of the participants had variable degrees of depression and anxiety while 39% of the participants had variable degrees of stress. Gender appeared to have the strongest influence on level of depression, anxiety, and stress among the recruited sample (odds ratio 1.8, 2.1, 1.6 respectively (P values < .01). Upon stratifying the sample according to gender, marital status seems to have an association with depression, anxiety, and stress among females (P values < .05). Among males, only walking more than 3 days was associated with the reduction of anxiety (P value .005) and depression (P value .06). This study identified gender difference where walking was not associated with mental health among women but relatively associated among males.

Background: Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory, chronic, idiopathic, corneal disease characterized by thinning of the core or paracentral part of the cornea. In this study, we demonstrate the prevalence of keratoconus among patients seeking refractive surgery using laser vision correction (LVC) at the Department of Ophthalmology, Private Eye Center, Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was undertaken with the data from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 in the ophthalmology department of Jazan city. This study included 1068 eyes of 534 patients of which 56.8% were men. The mean patient age was 28.5 (SD = 8.3) years. The analyst performed chi-square tests for the report. Prevalence was calculated at a 95% confidence interval at specified times in the year (CI). Results: The prevalence of manifest unilateral keratoconus was 3% and that of bilateral keratoconus was 18.72%; on the other hand prevalence rates of suspected unilateral KC was 16.48% and of bilateral KC 9.36%. Significant differences between eyes were noted and recorded. Conclusion: The occurrence and spread of this condition are on the rise in the city of Jazan and on the outskirts. Terminology: eyeball disorder (keratoconus), prevalence, risk factors, treatment of the disorder (vision).