Background. Asthma is the most common reason for emergency visits to hospital and loss of productive hours. In Saudi Arabia, asthma affects more than 2 million people and majority of them have uncontrolled asthma with their quality of life adversely being impacted. It is well known that the prevalence of asthma has been increasing in many places around the world in the last few decades. The present review attempted to identify studies on asthma and associated factors in Saudi Arabian population and assess their time trends and regional variation.Methods. The titles and abstracts of retrieved articles were compared to delete duplication and irrelevant data. A data collection form was designed to extract several key components from selected articles like bibliographic information on the article, study population, and sample size. Extracted information was grouped appropriately for data analysis. Database search retrieved 71 articles. Applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 articles were excluded and 31 qualified full articles were included for the review.Results. Among 31 retained studies, Riyadh had the highest publication output followed by Jeddah. Ten studies were based on ISAAC and 5 on non-ISAAC questionnaires while 5 studies were genetic studies conducted to unravel the genetic basis of asthma. Most of the studies were conducted on pediatric subjects of less than 16 years of age. Sample sizes ranged from less than 150 to more than 10000 with study settings being predominantly urban (22 studies). The pooled weighted prevalence rates of asthma, lifetime wheeze, and rhinitis were 14.3% (95% CI: 13.4–15.2), 16.5 (95% CI 15.5–17.4), and 21.4 (95% CI 20.5–22.3), respectively. An increase in asthma prevalence from 1990 to 2000 along with a stabilized or not so significant decline in the prevalence from 2010 to 2016 was observed.Conclusion. The prevalence of asthma varied in different regions without any disparity in prevalence in the rural and urban areas of Saudi Arabia. The understanding of genetic variability and recognition of risk factors in asthma patients can greatly help in individualizing the therapy for the management and control of asthma.

The problem of substance abuse is one of the top 20 risk factors for poor health worldwide. Though widely prevalent in the Middle East, there are few studies in Saudi Arabia. Record the pattern of substances abuse and the sociodemographic characteristics of abusers attending the local rehabilitation center. Descriptive, retrospective medical record review. Patients admitted to psychiatric rehabilitation center. The sample included all patients admitted to a rehabilitation center during the period of January 2016-December 2016. Data was collected retrospectively from patient records. Descriptive epidemiological data and statistical comparisons. 612 patients. The majority of patients (73%) were 21-40 years of age. Polysubstance abuse (60%) and amphetamine (24%) abuse were most predominant in the 20-40 year olds (45%) and high school dropouts (41%). The average number of drugs being used by polysubstance abusers was 2.5 (and the maximum was 6). There was no relationship of family history of drug abuse and mental illness. There was an increased use of polysubstances and amphetamine with a decreased abuse of prescription drugs when compared to previous studies reported in Saudi Arabia. There was a decreasing prevalence for heroin and alcohol. Substance abusers have certain epidemiological, social and drug patterns and we recommend that authorities and planners integrate their efforts to look for the reasons for substance abuse. Females not included and prevalence of tobacco smoking not studied. None.

Aluminum phosphide (AlP) is an insecticide and rodenticide used to protect stored grains from rodents and other household pests. This substance is highly toxic to humans and has been the cause of many accidental and intentional deaths due in part to poor regulation of sales and distribution in many countries. Describe poisonings reported to the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia in terms of demographic variables and by time and geographic distribution. Retrospective medical record review. Ministry of Health hospitals nationwide. Using a semi-structured checklist, data was collected from patient records that contained sociodemographic variables and the outcome (died or discharged). Aggregated data, summary statistics and statistical comparisons. 68 patients. Thirty-eight (56%) were female and the mean (SD) age of patients was 18.6 (1.86) years. Eighteen of 22 (82%) patients who died were younger than 20 years old. Mortality in patients younger than 20 years of age was greater than in adults (P=.043). Mortality was highest in patients younger than 7 years of age (P=.006). The cases were reported by the Islamic years 1427-1435, corresponding approximately to Gregorian years 2006 to 2017. Fifty-six cases (83%) were reported from Jeddah. Most cases were due to accidental exposure to phosphine gas during fumigation. Mortality due to AlP poisoning was highest in children and most commonly occurred during fumigation of households. Delays in medical attention and diagnosis may have contributed to mortality. Retrospective data collection and relatively small sample size. Data on exact amount and route of phosphide ingestion or exposure not available. None.

Fever is considered as a frequent symptom in childhood and is the cause of almost 65% to 70% of pediatric visits. Saudi Arabia has about 10% of child population (under 4 years of age), imposing a high burden of childhood illnesses including fever. A total of 1700 questionnaires were distributed to Saudi parents with children visiting pediatric clinic. Most of the participants were mothers (77.4%). A temperature of 38.0 °C was defined fever by 42% of participants. The majority of parents (80%) believed seizure is the consequence of untreated high fever. A total of 72.5% indicated that 40.7 to 43.20°C is the highest temperature that can be reached if untreated. There was a statistically significant relationship between mothers and fathers for overall knowledge, attitude, and practice scores. This study indicates that numerous misconceptions still persist regarding fever as more than 90% of parents demonstrated undue fear of consequent body damage from fever and also believed antibiotics can reduce high temperature.

Poisoning has become a widespread and dangerous phenomenon worldwide. The purpose of our study was to determine and analyze the pattern of poisoning cases induced with food, drugs, and chemicals reported to the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in Qassim province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study also evaluated the correlation of demographic variables such as age, type of toxicity and geographical distribution associated with poisoning in Qassim province. This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on 381 cases of poisoning. The data was collected from Jan 2017 to Dec 2017 and revealed that out of 381 cases, 120 have food poisoning (65 % females and 35 % males), 180 have drug poisoning (55.56 % females and 44.44 % males), whereas 81 cases have chemical poisoning (41.98 % female and 58.02 % male). Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS/PC statistical package. The study revealed that the most common agents involved in acute poisoning were drugs (47.25 %), especially analgesics such as Paracetamol (Acetaminophen), followed by antipsychotic drugs. Food poisoning was the second acute poisoning with (31.40 %). Finally, chemical poisoning involved in acute poisoning with 21.20 % of cases reported household products accomplished strongest bleach (chlorines)(Clorox®) and insecticides were the secondary source for chemical poisoning.

Patients with mild cognitive impairment eventually progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD) causing a strong impact on public health. Rosmarinus officinalis has long been known as the herb of remembrance and can be a potential cognition enhancer for AD. The aim of this review was to summarize the qualitative and quantitative aspects of R. officinalis and its active constituents in enhancing cognition. A structured search was conducted on Google Scholar and PubMed to find relevant studies that assessed the effect of R. officinalis extract or any of its active constituents on cognitive performance in animals. The following information was extracted from each study: 1) article information; 2) characteristics of study animals; 3) type of intervention: type, dose, duration, and frequency of administration of R. officinalis; and 4) type of outcome measure. Data were analyzed using Review Manager and meta-analysis was performed by computing the standardized mean difference. Twenty-three studies were selected for qualitative analysis and fifteen for meta-analysis. From the fifteen included papers, 22 with 35 comparisons were meta-analyzed. Effect sizes for intact and cognitively impaired animals were 1.19 (0.74, 1.64) and 0.57 (0.19, 0.96), indicating a positive effect on both groups. The subgroup analyses showed substantial unexplained heterogeneity among studies. Overall, R. officinalis improved cognitive outcomes in normal and impaired animals, and results were robust across species, type of extract, treatment duration, and type of memory. However, studies had a considerable amount of heterogeneity, and subgroup analyses failed to find any heterogeneity moderator.