Tocilizumab Reduces Depression Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Depression is a possible cause of the increased mental health risks associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), including depression-related complications. Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARDs) therapies have emerged as innovative anti-inflammatory drugs with positive effects on mental well-being. Tocilizumab is a bDMARDs commonly used to treat RA and its influence on depression needs to be studied.

Risk Factors for Low Quality of Life among Women Using Different Types of Contraceptives in Saudi Arabia: A Questionnaire-Based Study.

This study aimed to assess and identify the risks for poor quality of life among female Saudi contraceptive users by administering an online questionnaire. The validity of the Arabic version of the Spanish Society of Contraception Quality of Life (SEC-QOL) questionnaire was assessed by incorporating the relevant items into an exploratory factor analysis and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

Patients' Attitudes Toward the Use of Artificial Intelligence as a Diagnostic Tool in Radiology in Saudi Arabia: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely used in various medical fields, including diagnostic radiology as a tool for greater efficiency, precision, and accuracy. The integration of AI as a radiological diagnostic tool has the potential to mitigate delays in diagnosis, which could, in turn, impact patients' prognosis and treatment outcomes. The literature shows conflicting results regarding patients' attitudes to AI as a diagnostic tool.

Medication Adherence Barriers and Their Relationship to Health Determinants for Saudi Pediatric Dialysis Patients.

Medication adherence is critical for the treatment and improved outcomes of chronic diseases. However, there is little research on the medication adherence of pediatric dialysis patients in Saudi Arabia. This study examines medication adherence barriers and their relationship to health determinants among Saudi children on dialysis, to enhance treatment success.

Prevalence of Varicose Veins and Its Risk Factors among Nurses Working at King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This quantitative observational cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence and level of risk scores for varicose veins among nurses, and the association between varicose veins and sociodemographic, occupational, and lifestyle risk factors. Using simple random sampling, from August-December 2022, 250 nurses from different departments at King Khalid University Hospital completed a validated self-administered questionnaire and underwent an observational physical examination. Most nurses (191) had low-risk scores for varicose veins, 46 nurses had moderate-risk scores, and 13 nurses had high-risk scores.

Effect of a ketogenic diet on decrease of seizures in refractory epilepsy among children (infancy to 14 years old) in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Refractory (intractable/pharmaco-resistant) epilepsy in children is considered if disabling seizures continue despite appropriate trials of two anti-seizure drugs, either alone or in combination. Ketogenic diets are used as a treatment option in many countries for children with refractory seizures; however, few patients have tried it in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we examined the relationship between the exposure to a ketogenic diet and its effect in decreasing seizure frequency in infants and children up to 14 years who had refractory epilepsy and assessed factors that could improve the outcome of seizures.

Effect of type of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs on depression and anxiety of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can cause depression and anxiety. This study evaluated the factors associated with depression and anxiety in patients with RA and examined the effect of conventional and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a regional hospital in Riyadh between March and November 2022 and included 213 patients with RA.

Anxiety, Depression, and Common Chronic Diseases, and Their Association With Social Determinants in Saudi Primary Care.

Introduction: Patients with chronic diseases can experience psychological conditions, including anxiety and depression. However, the association between chronic diseases and these psychological conditions remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the relationship between anxiety, depression, and common chronic diseases (hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and rheumatoid arthritis), and their association with social determinants at an outpatient primary care setting.

Caregivers' Sources of Information About Immunization as Predictors of Delayed Childhood Vaccinations in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study.

Purpose: This study compared the most used sources of information by caregivers for scheduled childhood vaccination in Saudi Arabia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the effect of this decision-making.

Methods: An electronic survey was administered to 577 caregivers of children aged ≤2 years residing in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic curfew. The sources of information on childhood vaccination considered by the caregivers and their influence on the caregivers' decision to delay scheduled vaccination were assessed and statistically analyzed.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Routine Childhood Immunization: A Saudi Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Routine childhood immunization is the most cost-effective method to prevent infection and decrease childhood morbidity and mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected access to health care in Saudi Arabia, including mandatory vaccinations for young children. We aimed to assess the prevalence of intentionally delayed vaccinations in children aged ≤ 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic curfew in Saudi Arabia, its relation to the caregivers' fear of infection, and identifying factors affecting the caregivers' decision.

Healthcare Workers' Perspectives on the Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccine in Terms of Their Exposure to the Influenza Vaccine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

In 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)) caused a global pandemic. There was an urgent need to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 to reduce its spread and economic burden. The main objective of this study was to understand the attitudes and concerns of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, whether their decision was influenced by their history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine, and factors that influence the acceptance of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine.

Physicians' job satisfaction, ethics and burnout in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To investigate the frequency of job satisfaction, burnout and ethics among physicians across specialties with varied levels of experience and seniority, in hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: From April-May 2016, job satisfaction, burnout and ethics were assessed in 136 physicians across specialties from six government hospitals in Makkah. Data collection was via a self administered questionnaire.

Correction: Effect of methotrexate use on the development of type 2 diabetes in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Effect of methotrexate use on the development of type 2 diabetes in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The high risk of cardiovascular disease is well recognized in rheumatoid arthritis. Type 2 diabetes also attributes to this increase in risk. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition, which aggravates insulin resistance, placing the patients at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and subsequent cardiovascular outcomes.

Effectiveness of digital health using the transtheoretical model to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in impaired glucose tolerance patients: protocol for a randomized control trial.

Background: There is high prevalence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Saudi Arabia that is still increasing. Early diagnosis of prediabetes, and immediate, effective intervention is yet unestablished. Conventional health promotion approaches are used to educate prediabetic patients.

Genetic polymorphism of the methotrexate transporter ABCG2, blood pressure and markers of arterial function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: repeated cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Methotrexate (MTX) treatment is associated with lower blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated associations between single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the ATP-binding cassette efflux transporter gene (rs2231142), BP, and arterial stiffness in RA patients treated with MTX.

Patients And Methods: Clinical and 24-hour peripheral and central BP, arterial wave reflection (Augmentation Index, AIx), arterial stiffness (Pulse Wave Velocity, PWV), and intracellular MTX polyglutamate (MTXPGs) concentrations were assessed in 56 RA patients on stable treatment with MTX using a repeated cross-sectional study design with measurements at baseline and after 8 months.

Diets high in n-3 fatty acids are associated with lower arterial stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a latent profile analysis.

Supplementation with n-3 fatty acids can influence inflammation and markers of arterial stiffness that are increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, it is unknown whether specific patterns of dietary fatty acid intake are similarly associated. In a longitudinal study, eighty-six RA patients reported their dietary intake and had arterial stiffness measured using the augmentation index (AIx) at baseline and 8 months.

Methotrexate, blood pressure and markers of arterial function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a repeated cross-sectional study.

Background: Methotrexate (MTX) treatment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with lower cardiovascular risk compared to other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). We sought to identify whether the MTX-associated cardioprotection involves changes in blood pressure (BP) and/or arterial function.

Methods: Clinic and 24-hour peripheral and central systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP), augmentation index (AIx), pulse wave velocity (PWV) and plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) were assessed in RA patients on stable treatment with either MTX ± other DMARDs (MTX group, = 56, age 61 ± 13 years, 70% females) or other DMARDs (non-MTX group, = 30, age 63 ± 12 years, 76% females).

The Temporal Relationship between Arterial Stiffening and Blood Pressure Is Modified by Methotrexate Treatment in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The temporal relationship between arterial stiffness and blood pressure (BP) may vary depending on age and other clinical and demographic factors. Since both BP and arterial stiffness are also affected by inflammatory processes, we examined the temporal arterial stiffness-BP relationship in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with either methotrexate (MTX), an anti-rheumatic agent shown to reduce cardiovascular risk in meta-analyses, or other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Measurements of clinic and 24-h peripheral and central systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were assessed in RA patients on stable treatment with either MTX ± other DMARDs (MTX group, = 41, age 61 ± 14 years, 73% females) or other DMARDs (non-MTX group, = 18, age 65 ± 13 years, 89% females).

The impact of traditional cardiovascular risk factors on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. However, the individual impact of traditional CV risk factors in RA is unknown.

Objective: To assess the strength of the association between individual CV risk factors and rate of either myocardial infarction (MI), combined CV morbidity (MI, angina pectoris, heart failure, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD)) or CV mortality in RA patients.

Impact of obesity on reproductive outcomes after ovarian ablative therapy in PCOS: a collaborative meta-analysis.

Obesity is known to interfere with reproductive outcomes in polycystic ovary syndrome. There is no consensus regarding the impact of obesity on reproductive outcomes after ovarian ablative therapy (OAT) and there is no level I evidence to answer this question. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the strength of the association between obesity and ovulation or pregnancy rates after OAT.