Consanguinity and reproductive health among Arabs

Consanguineous marriages have been practiced since the early existence of modern humans. Until now consanguinity is widely practiced in several global communities with variable rates depending on religion, culture, and geography. Arab populations have a long tradition of consanguinity due to socio-cultural factors. Many Arab countries display some of the highest rates of consanguineous marriages in the world, and specifically first cousin marriages which may reach 25-30% of all marriages. In some countries like Qatar, Yemen, and UAE, consanguinity rates are increasing in the current generation. Research among Arabs and worldwide has indicated that consanguinity could have an effect on some reproductive health parameters such as postnatal mortality and rates of congenital malformations. The association of consanguinity with other reproductive health parameters, such as fertility and fetal wastage, is controversial. The main impact of consanguinity, however, is an increase in the rate of homozygotes for autosomal recessive genetic disorders. Worldwide, known dominant disorders are more numerous than known recessive disorders. However, data on genetic disorders in Arab populations as extracted from the Catalogue of Transmission Genetics in Arabs (CTGA) database indicate a relative abundance of recessive disorders in the region that is clearly associated with the practice of consanguinity

Induced abortion, pregnancy loss and intimate partner violence in Tanzania: a population based study

BACKGROUND: Violence by an intimate partner is increasingly recognized as an important public and reproductive health issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence is associated with induced abortion and pregnancy loss from other causes and to compare this with other, more commonly recognized explanatory factors. METHODS: This study analyzes the data of the Tanzania section of the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence, a large population-based cross-sectional survey of women of reproductive age in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya, Tanzania, conducted from 2001 to 2002. All women who answered positively to at least one of the questions about specific acts of physical or sexual violence committed by a partner towards her at any point in her life were considered to have experienced intimate partner violence. Associations between self reported induced abortion and pregnancy loss with intimate partner violence were analysed using multiple regression models. RESULTS: Lifetime physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence was reported by 41% and 56% of ever partnered, ever pregnant women in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya respectively. Among the ever pregnant, ever partnered women, 23% experienced involuntary pregnancy loss, while 7% reported induced abortion. Even after adjusting for other explanatory factors, women who experienced intimate partner violence were 1.6 (95%CI: 1.06,1.60) times more likely to report an pregnancy loss and 1.9 (95%CI: 1.30,2.89) times more likely to report an induced abortion. Intimate partner violence had a stronger influence on induced abortion and pregnancy loss than women's age, socio-economic status, and number of live born children. CONCLUSIONS: Intimate partner violence is likely to be an important influence on levels of induced abortion and pregnancy loss in Tanzania. Preventing intimate partner violence may therefore be beneficial for maternal health and pregnancy outcomes

Expression Profiling of <i>Pdx1</i>, <i>Ngn3</i>, and <i>MafA</i> in the Liver and Pancreas of Recovering Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Studies in animal diabetic models have demonstrated the possibility of islet regeneration through treatment with natural extracts, such as Allium sativum (garlic). This study aimed to investigate the effect of garlic extract (GE) on the expression of three genes (Ngn3, Pdx1, and MafA) in the pancreas and liver of diabetic rats. Thirty-two rats were divided into two groups, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats (n = 16) and healthy rats (n = 16). Both groups were subdivided into GE-treated (n = 8), and those administered 0.9% normal saline (NS) (n = 8) for 1 week (n = 4) and 8 weeks (n = 4). In the pancreas of diabetic rats treated with GE for 1 week, all three genes, Ngn3, Pdx1, and MafA, were significantly upregulated (p ≤ 0.01, p ≤ 0.05, and p ≤ 0.001, respectively) when compared to diabetic rats treated with NS only. However, after eight weeks of GE treatment, the expression of all three genes decreased as blood insulin increased. In the liver, only Pdx1 expression significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased after 8 weeks. The significant expression of Ngn3, Pdx1, and MafA in the pancreas by week 1 may have induced the maturation of juvenile β-cells, which escaped the effects of STZ and caused an increase in serum insulin

Epidemiology of smoking among Kuwaiti adults: prevalence, characteristics, and attitudes.

INTRODUCTION: In 1996 we conducted a cross-sectional survey to study the epidemiology of smoking among Kuwaiti adults. METHODS: The 4000 participants were selected using a three-stage stratified cluster sampling design. Altogether 3859 participants (1798 males, 2061 females) returned a completed self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking was 34.4% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 32.2-36.6) among men and 1.9% (95% CI = 1.3-2.5) among women. Among men, the highest prevalence (56.5%; 95% CI = 36.2-76.8) was observed in the youngest age group (< or = 20 years). Among women the highest prevalence was observed in one of the older age groups (46-50 years) (7.1%; 95% CI = 3.1-11.1). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the following factors were independently associated with smoking: lower levels of education (odds ratio (OR) 3.5; 95% CI = 1.5-8.4), lower employment grade (OR = 4.1; 2.5-6.7), and being a separated, divorced, or widowed woman (OR = 4.9; 95% CI = 2.0-11.8). The majority of smokers (68%) began smoking when younger than 20 years; significantly more men (70%) than women (33%) began smoking at these ages (P < 0.0001). On average, men began smoking at an earlier age (18 years vs 21 years; P < 0.001) and therefore had smoked for a longer period (15 years vs 12 years; P < 0.05); men also consumed a higher number of cigarettes each day (26 vs 17; P < 0.05). A large proportion of smokers were ignorant about the health consequences of passive smoking: about 77% of those with children reported that they smoked in the presence of their children. Almost half (47%) of all smokers stated that they wanted to stop smoking, and about 56% had attempted to quit. The biggest perceived barrier to quitting was uncertainty about "how to quit". A total of 338 respondents (8.8%; 95% CI = 5.8-11.9) were classified as former smokers. About half of the former smokers had quit between the ages of 20 and 29 years; the average age of quitting was 28 years. Former smokers were more likely to have smoked fewer cigarettes per day and to have smoked for significantly less time than current smokers. DISCUSSION: Given the fact that free education is provided at all levels by the government, anti-tobacco education and awareness should be included as an integral part of the curriculum in schools and colleges

Timing and determinants of the introduction of complementary foods in Kuwait: Results of a prospective cohort study

© The Author(s) 2014. Background: The early introduction of complementary foods is common in Middle Eastern countries but little is known about the determinants of this practice in this region. Objectives: This prospective cohort study conducted from October 2007 to October 2008 investigated the determinants of the very early (before 17 weeks) introduction of complementary foods in Kuwait and compared rates of this practice against rates reported in the mid-1990s. Methods: A total of 373 women were recruited from maternity hospitals in Kuwait City and followed to 26 weeks postpartum. Data on complementary feeding practices were available from 303 women. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the association of very early introduction of complementary foods with infant sex and maternal characteristics including age, years of education, employment intentions at 6 months postpartum, parity, prepregnancy body mass index, and prepregnancy smoking status. Results: All infants had received complementary foods by 26 weeks of age, with 30.4% receiving complementary foods before 17 weeks of age. Women born in other Arabic countries were less likely to introduce complementary foods before 17 weeks (adjusted odds ratio [adj OR] = 0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.73) than women born in Kuwait. Women who were exclusively formula feeding at 6 weeks postpartum were less likely to introduce complementary foods before 17 weeks (adj OR = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.23-0.71) than women who were still breastfeeding. Conclusion: Compared to the mid-1990s, fewer infants in Kuwait were receiving complementary foods before 17 weeks. Nevertheless, all infants had received complementary foods by 6 months of age