Publications by authors named "Romona D Govender"

Background: Containment of the COVID-19 pandemic has been impaired by the denial and defiance of preventive recommendations.

Aims: We aimed to study the attitudes toward COVID-19 social measures among laypersons and healthcare professionals.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the United Arab Emirates using a self-administered online questionnaire.

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Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder that is provoked by the consumption of gluten in genetically vulnerable individuals. CD affects individuals worldwide with an estimated prevalence of 1% and can manifest at any age. Growth retardation and anemia are common presentations in children with CD.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Muslims are increasingly present in non-Muslim countries, but there is a shortage of Muslim healthcare providers, leading to potential disparities in care due to non-Muslim clinicians' limited understanding of Islamic health practices.
  • - This literature review highlights the importance of enhancing the therapeutic relationship between non-Muslim clinicians and Muslim patients, covering topics like cancer screening, mental health, nutrition, and Islamic perspectives on important life events.
  • - The review emphasizes that improving cultural competency among non-Muslim clinicians can help reduce health inequities for Muslim patients and calls for more research in this area to enhance patient care.
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Objective: To characterize patients with celiac disease (CD), examines the clinical spectrum of CD, and evaluate the performance of serologic tests used for CD screening, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: Medical charts of patients received at the Digestive Diseases Institute of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi from January 2015 to December 2020 were reviewed. Patients who were screened for four serologic biomarkers (anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA [Anti-tTG-IgA], anti-tissue transglutaminase IgG [Anti-TtG-IgG], anti-deamidated gliadin peptide IgG [Anti-DGP-IgG], and anti-deamidated gliadin peptide IgA [Anti-DGP-IgA]) were included.

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Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death both globally and in the United Arab Emirates. Despite public health measures and health education, the rates of death from CVD remain stable. Barriers previously identified to lifestyle changes include cultural reasons, boredom, and lack of family support.

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Background: Heart failure (HF) prognosticates a death sentence, and despite recent advances in treatment, long-term outcomes for patients with advanced HF are very poor, with only a 50%-60% survival rate at 5 years. This is alarming for the approximately 26 million people worldwide living with HF.

Aims And Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between HF and the risk of recurrent cardiovascular disease (CVD) events or CVD death among the national population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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Major depressive disorders are prevalent conditions with limited treatment response and remission. Pharmacogenomics tests including CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genomic variants provide the most reliable actionable approach to guide choice and dosing of antidepressants in major depression to improve outcomes. We carried out a meta-analysis and meta-regression analyses of randomised controlled trials evaluating pharmacogenomic tests with CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 polymorphisms in major depression.

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Background: Increased blood pressure (BP) is a major cardiovascular disease risk factor. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of hypertension and its awareness and control among parents of school-aged children in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: A total of 605 parents participated in this cross-sectional study.

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Background: Multimorbidity, defined as having two or more chronic diseases, has a major impact on public health and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This study aims to assess the prevalence of medication adherence and associated factors among patients with multimorbidity.

Methods: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted by a trained interviewer across patients with multimorbidity attending outpatient clinics in two tertiary referral hospitals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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Background: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and intermittently scanned CGM (is-CGM) have shown to effectively manage diabetes in the specialty setting, but their efficacy in the primary care setting remains unknown. Does CGM/is-CGM improve glycemic control, decrease rates of hypoglycemia, and improve staff/physician satisfaction in primary care? If so, what subgroups of patients with diabetes are most likely to benefit?

Methods: A comprehensive search in seven databases was performed in June 2021 for primary studies examining any continuous glucose monitoring system in primary care. We excluded studies with fewer than 20 participants, specialty care only, or hospitalized participants.

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Introduction: Studies demonstrate that optimal glycaemic control reduces morbidity from diabetes mellitus but remains elusive in a significant portion of patients. Although research shows that continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and flash glucose monitoring (FGM) improves glycaemic control in selected subsets of patients with diabetes in specialty practices, we found no systematic reviews evaluating the use of CGM/FGM in primary care, where the majority of patients with diabetes are cared for.This systematic review aims to answer the questions: 'compared with usual care of self-monitoring blood glucose and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), does the addition of CGM/FGM use in the primary care of patients with diabetes improve glycaemic control, decrease rates of hypoglycaemia, and improve patient and physician satisfaction?' and if so, 'what subgroups of primary care patients with diabetes are most likely to benefit?'.

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We aimed to assess global trends in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and evaluate progress toward eradication since the inception of the pandemic. Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 update and the UNAIDS Data 2019. The datasets included annual figures from 1990 to 2019 for HIV/AIDS in 204 countries and all world regions.

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Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an independent predictor of mortality. Several creatinine-based equations are used to assess the estimated glomerular filtration rate or creatinine clearance and mortality prediction in various ethnic populations. Similarly, renal insufficiency is associated with poor prognosis of UAE nationals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

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Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction models are useful tools for identifying those at high risk of cardiovascular events in a population. No studies have evaluated the performance of such risk models in an Arab population. Therefore, in this study, the accuracy and clinical usefulness of two commonly used Framingham-based risk models and the 2013 Pooled Cohort Risk Equation (PCE) were assessed in a United Arab Emirates (UAE) national population.

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Objectives: Prediction models assist health-care providers in making patient care decisions. This study aimed to externally validate the REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) prediction model for recurrent cardiovascular disease (CVD) among the Emirati nationals.

Results: There are 204 patients with established CVD, attending Tawam Hospital from April 1, 2008.

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Objectives: A high body mass index (BMI) is associated with risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is experiencing a marked increase in obesity. Nonetheless, no data are available regarding the incidence of type 2 DM in the high-risk adult UAE population.

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The rising burden of type 2 diabetes is a major concern in healthcare worldwide. This research aimed to analyze the global epidemiology of type 2 diabetes. We analyzed the incidence, prevalence, and burden of suffering of diabetes mellitus based on epidemiological data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) current dataset from the Institute of Health Metrics, Seattle.

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Background: Individuals with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk factors such as age, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus are at an increased risk of recurrent cardiovascular events and death. The incidence rate of recurrent CVD events varies between countries and populations. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has one of the highest age-standardized death rates for CVD worldwide.

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Objectives: Numerous studies reported that achieving near-normal glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in patients with diabetes may delay or even prevent vascular complications. However, information regarding the impact of non-optimal HbA1c control on adverse health outcomes in an Arab population is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the fraction of deaths and potential years of life lost (PYLL) attributable to non-optimal HbA1c control among Emirati men and women with diabetes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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Background: Patients with cardiovascular disease are at an increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, data on incident CKD in patients with multiple vascular comorbidities are insufficient. In this study, we identified the predictors of CKD stages 3-5 in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease and used their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to construct a nomogram to predict the 5-year risk of incident CKD.

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Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality worldwide; however, the epidemiology of CVD among nationals from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remains unknown. This study aimed to estimate the 9-year incidence rate of CVD and determine the risk factors associated with CVD among UAE nationals at high cardiovascular risk. In addition, we investigated whether sex was an important modifier of the risk factors associated with incident CVD in this population.

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