The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been under continuous populational influences from Asia, Europe, and Africa, making it an ideal site for epidemiological studies on Helicobacter pylori. However, there has been a paucity of well-designed prevalence studies on H. pylori from UAE. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of H. pylori and its associated risk factors in the UAE. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on healthy asymptomatic residents of UAE. Socio-demographic, lifestyle, and gastrointestinal characteristics of participants were obtained through a questionnaire in parallel within the stool sample collection. A total of 350 participants were included in this study and were tested for H. pylori using the stool antigen test (Premier Platinum HpSAT). Out of the total tested study participants, 41% were found to be H. pylori-infected. Logistic regression analysis has shown a significant association between H. pylori infection and gender, age, ethnicity, profession, domestic overcrowding, source of drinking water, and gastrointestinal characteristics of participants. Based on the results from this study, we suggest that preventive measures against H. pylori infection should be considered worthy by public health authorities.

Objective The objective of this study was to develop a simple non-invasive risk score, specific to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizens, to identify individuals at increased risk of having undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. Research design and methods A retrospective analysis of the UAE National Diabetes and Lifestyle data was conducted. The data included demographic and anthropometric measurements, and fasting blood glucose. Univariate analyses were used to identify the risk factors for diabetes. The risk score was developed for UAE citizens using a stepwise forward regression model. Results A total of 872 UAE citizens were studied. The overall prevalence of diabetes in the UAE adult citizens in the Northern Emirates was 25.1%. The significant risk factors identified for diabetes were age (≥35 years), a family history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, body mass index ≥30.0 and waist-to-hip ratio ≥0.90 for males and ≥0.85 for females. The performance of the model was moderate in terms of sensitivity (75.4%, 95% CI 68.3 to 81.7) and specificity (70%, 95% CI 65.8 to 73.9). The area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve was 0.82 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.86). Conclusions A simple, non-invasive risk score model was developed to help to identify those at high risk of having diabetes among UAE citizens. This score could contribute to the efficient and less expensive earlier detection of diabetes in this high-risk population.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe demographic and clinical characteristics including features that were consistent with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), use of diagnostic tests, emergency department (ED) discharge diagnoses, and disposition of adult patients presenting with an acute headache to EDs statewide across Queensland, Australia. In addition, potential variations in the presentation and diagnostic workup between principal‐referral and city‐regional hospitals were examined.Methods: A prospective cross‐sectional study was conducted over 4 weeks in September 2014. All patients ≥ 18 years presenting to one of 29 public and five private hospital EDs across the state with an acute headache were included. The headache had to be the principal presenting complaint and nontraumatic. The 34 study sites attend to about 90% of all ED presentations statewide. The treating doctor collected clinical information at the time of the ED visit including the characteristics of the headache and investigations performed. A study coordinator retrieved results of investigations, ED discharge diagnoses, and disposition from state databases. Variations in presentation, investigations, and diagnosis between city‐regional and principal‐referral hospitals were examined.Results: There were 847 headache presentations. Median (range) age was 39 (18–92) years, 62% were female, and 31% arrived by ambulance. Headache peaked instantly in 18% and ≤ 1 hour in 44%. It was “worst ever” in 37%, 10/10 in severity in 23%, and associated with physical activity in 7.4%. Glasgow Coma Scale score was < 15 in 4.1%. Neck stiffness was noted on examination in 4.8%. Neurologic deficit persisting in the ED was found in 6.5%. A computed tomography (CT) head scan was performed in 38% (318/841, 95% CI = 35% to 41%) and an lumbar puncture in 4.7% (39/832, 95% CI = 3.4% to 6.3%). There were 18 SAH, six intraparenchymal hemorrhages, one subdural hematoma, one newly diagnosed brain metastasis, and two bacterial meningitis. Migraine was diagnosed in 23% and “primary headache not further specified” in 45%. CT head scans were more likely to be performed in principal‐referral hospitals (41%) compared to city‐regional hospitals (33%). The headache in patients presenting to the latter was less likely to be instantly peaking or associated with activity, but was no less severe in intensity and was more frequently accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Their diagnosis was more likely to be a benign primary headache. Variations in CT scanning could thus be due to differences in the case mix. The median (interquartile range) ED length of stay was 3.1 (2.2 to 4.5) hours. Patients was discharged from the ED or admitted to the ED short‐stay unit prior to discharge in 57 and 23% of cases, respectively.Conclusions: The majority of patients had a benign diagnosis, with intracranial hemorrhage and bacterial meningitis accounting for only 3% of the diagnoses. There are variations in the proportion of patients receiving CT head scans between city‐regional and principal‐referral hospitals. As 38% of headache presentations overall underwent CT scanning, there is scope to rationalize diagnostic testing to rule out life‐threatening conditions.

Objectives To determine and describe the prevalence and pattern of dyslipidaemia and its associated risk factors among an adult Emirati population. Design Population-based, cross-sectional study. Setting Adults living in the Northern Emirates. Participants 824 adult participants (51.8% men, 48.2% women, mean age 42.8±13.4 years old). Primary outcome measures Fasting blood samples were collected, blood pressure and waist circumference were measured. Results The overall dyslipidaemia prevalence was 72.5%, with 42.8% of the participants showing high total cholesterol (TC) level, 29% showing high triglyceride (TG) level, 42.5% showing low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level, 38.6% showing high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and 72.3% showing high cholesterol ratio. The regression models showed that gender was a significant predictor of a high TG level, low LDL-C level and high cholesterol ratio. Middle-aged individuals (30–59 years old) had a significantly higher risk of having high TC, TG and LDL-C levels than young (<30 years old) and elderly (≥60 years old) individuals. Diabetes mellitus was a significant predictor of low TC, high TG and low HDL-C levels, while central obesity was a significant predictor of a high TG level, low HDL-C level and high cholesterol ratio. Smoking was a significant predictor of a high TG level only in men. Conclusions The prevalence of dyslipidaemia was considerably high among the local adult Emiratis. The identified dyslipidaemia predictors were gender, age, smoking, central obesity and diabetes. Further studies are recommended to assess other important risk factors and aggressive preventive measures in the United Arab Emirates.