Caries risk assessment in preschool children in Saudi Arabia.

Purpose: Caries is a prevalent condition in Saudi Arabia. At present, knowledge regarding caries risk factors in Saudi Arabia is limited. The present study aimed to identify characteristic features of Saudi preschoolers at high risk for caries, using the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry caries risk assessment tool (CAT ) and to report the most significant caries risk predictors.

The presence of atypical mycobacteria in the mouthwashes of normal subjects: role of tap water and oral hygiene.

Background: The nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have been found in different environmental sources. They tend to colonize different body surfaces and secretions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the presence of NTM in the oral cavity of healthy individuals and its relationship to tap water or oral hygiene.

Smoking habits of King Saud University students in Abha, Saudi Arabia.

Background: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of smoking among university students of King Saud University in Abha City, to determine ecological factors for the problem, and to assess the studentsâ knowledge about the health effects of smoking, and attitudes towards public action against smoking.

Materials And Methods: All medical students at the University College of Medicine (MC) (n=202), and a representative sample of students of the College of Education (CE) (n=300), were subjected to a modified Arabic version of the World Health Organization standard questionnaire for young people to study their knowledge, attitudes and practices of smoking.

Results: The study revealed the following results among students of the CE and those of the MC, respectively.

Pattern and factors associated with glycemic control of Saudi diabetic patients.

Background: The pattern and factors which can be associated with the glycemic control of Saudi adult diabetic patients were examined in this study.

Patients And Methods: Confirmed diabetic patients from all regions of Saudi Arabia constituted the study population. Random blood glucose <10 mmol/L and >10 mmol/L was used to categorize patients into good and poor glycemic control patients, respectively.

Sleep disorders in Saudi health care workers.

Background: The objective of the study was to screen for sleep habits and various sleep disorders, using a standard questionnaire.

Patients And Methods: The questionnaire was designed to assess sleep habits, the degree of daytime sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and specific sleep problems. A random sample of Saudi employees working as medical or paramedical personnel was selected.

Intrafamilial clustering of Helicobacter pylori infection in Saudi Arabia.

Aim: To study the pattern of Helicobacter pylori infection among family members in the Saudi population.

Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based, seroepidemiological study of family members was undertaken in a Saudi population using saliva H pylori immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies (Helisal kit).

Results: A total of 42 families comprising 271 children and 84 parents were studied (355 subjects; mean age 23 years, SD 19 years) The overall frequencies of H pylori IgG antibodies in mothers, fathers and children were 67%, 64% and 23%, respectively.

Hepatitis A in Saudi Arabia: A comparative sero-epidemiological study.

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version.

Helicobacter pylori and intestinal metaplasia with its subtypes in the gastric antrum in a Saudi population.

Background: There is a close association between intestinal metaplasia (IM) and the development of gastric cancer as well as a relationship between Helicobacter pylori, IM, and gastric cancer. Our aim was to study the frequency and subtypes of IM in a Saudi population with dyspepsia, a population with a low prevalence of gastric cancer.

Methods: Endoscopic antral biopsy specimens were histologically studied for the presence of IM and H.

Seroepidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection in Saudi children 8 years after a mass hepatitis B vaccination programme.

Objectives: On October 1 1989, a programme was begun in Saudi Arabia in which the HBV vaccine was added as the 'seventh' primary immunogen of the Extended Programme of Immunization (EPI). In 1990, another programme was launched by the Ministry of Health to vaccinate all school children. Eight years after this mass vaccination programme, the efficacy of HBV vaccine was evaluated in a community-based study.

Population-based epidemiological study on characteristics of risk factors of hypercholesterolemia in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: To study the characteristics of risk factors for hypercholesterolemia among the Saudi population.

Design: Population-based cross-sectional national epidemiological randomized household survey.

Subject: 4548 Saudi subjects, aged 15 years and above.

Non-neoplastic changes in gastric antrum: are they different in distally located intestinal and diffuse-type gastric adenocarcinoma?

A total of 126 cases of primary adenocarcinoma of distal (antrum and/or adjacent body) stomach were reviewed. These cases were collected from the histopathology laboratory of Asir Central Hospital, Southwestern Saudi Arabia over an 8 year period (1987-94). Only gastrectomy specimens with non-neoplastic antral mucosa available for histological examination were included.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: schedules for intralesional treatment with sodium stibogluconate.

Background: Various therapeutic modalities have been used for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis. Intralesional pentavalent antimonial injection is one of the effective therapeutic modalities. In this study, the efficacy of three different intralesional schedules with sodium stibogluconate have been investigated.

The population survey as a tool for assessing family health in the Keewatin region, NWT, Canada.

The population survey is an important tool in community health assessment, including the physical and psychological aspects of family health. It provides data on health status and health determinants not available from vital statistics and health service utilization. The Keewatin Health Assessment Study (KHAS), which was designed in collaboration with the Keewatin Regional Health Board (KRHB), surveyed a representative sample of the predominantly Inuit population in 8 communities in the central Canadian Arctic.

Determinants of tuberculin sensitivity in a child population covered by mass BCG vaccination.

A cross-sectional survey of 701 Indian children aged 1-15 in five northern Canadian communities showed that 82% had a documented history of BCG vaccination while only 78% had a visible scar. The prevalence of 5 mm or more induration on Mantoux testing varied from 6 to 26%. Multiple logistic regression indicated that community, age, past use of isoniazid and time since the last Mantoux test were positive predictors of sensitivity.