8 research outputs found
Prevalence and correlates of autism spectrum disorder in Qatar: a national study
Background
Few epidemiological data on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exist for Arabic countries. We conducted the first survey of ASD in Qatar, a population with high consanguinity level.
Methods
This crossâsectional survey was conducted from 2015 to 2018 in Qatar schoolâage children (N = 176,960) from national and immigrant families. Children diagnosed with ASD were identified through medical centers and special needs schools. Records were abstracted and supplemented by parental interviews. Additionally, children attending 93 schools were screened; ASD case status was confirmed in random samples of screenâpositive and screenânegative children. Prevalence was estimated after taking into account different sampling fractions and participation rates at each survey phase.
Results
One thousand three hundred and ninetyâthree children already diagnosed with ASD were identified. Among 9,074 school survey participants, 760 screenânegative children and 163 screenâpositive children were evaluated; 17 were confirmed to have ASD including five children newly diagnosed. Prevalence was 1.14% (95% CI: 0.89â1.46) among 6â to 11âyearâolds. ASD was reported in full siblings/extended relatives in 5.9% (95% CI: 0.042â0.080)/11.8% (95% CI: 0.095â0.146) families. Firstâdegree consanguinity in Qatari cases (45%) was comparable to known population levels. Among 844 ASD cases (mean age: 7.2 years; 81% male), most children experienced language delay (words: 75.1%; phrase speech: 91.4%), and 19.4% reported developmental regression. At the time of the survey, persisting deficits in expressive language (19.4%) and peer interactions (14.0%) were reported in conjunction with behavioral problems (ADHD: 30.2%; anxiety: 11.0%). In multivariate logistic regression, ASD severity was associated with parental consanguinity, gestational diabetes, delay in walking, and developmental regression.
Conclusions
ASD prevalence in Qatar is consistent with recent international studies. The methods employed in this study should help designing comparable surveys in the region. We estimated that 187,000 youths under age 20 have ASD in Gulf countries. This figure should assist in planning health and educational services for a young, fastâgrowing population.The study was supported by the Qatar National Research Fund. The sponsor had no role in the design and conduct of the study, or the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data, or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript, and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The authors thank all the independent and private schools that have participated in the SCQ screening phase. The authors thank the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education for providing their team with the data required throughout the study. The authors would like to express our gratitude to the psychological services team at the Shafallah Center for Children with Disabilities, as well as Dr. Irshad Shafeullah and Dr. Zakariah Al-Sayed for their support in patient recruitment. The authors also thank our colleagues from QBRI: Dr. Hatem Al-Shanti for his assistance in patient phenotyping, and Mr. Yasser Al-Sarraj and Ms. Hamda AlMutawwa for their support with patient recruitment. The authors thank Dr. Hanaa Massoud for assisting with patient recruitment through the clinic at the Child Development Center in Rumailah Hospital. The authors would also like to express their appreciation to the QBRI administration team for their assistance with planning and logistics pertaining to research-related training sessions and research collaborator visits. Additionally, the authors would like to thank all of the special needs centers and clinics which collaborated with us to provide data needed for the high probability cases; Shafallah Center for Children with Disabilities, Hamad Medical Corporation, Child Development Center ? Rumailah Hospital, Child Development Center-Private, Renad Academy, Al-Tamakun school, Step by Step Center, Qatar Institute for Speech and Hearing, and Hope Center. The authors also thank the HBKU Sponsored Research Office for the support provided throughout the research funding period.?K.R. and the OHSU Biostatistics & Design Program was partially supported by the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI) through OHSU Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA UL1TR0002369) National Consortium. The authors are immensely grateful to the families and their children for their time and participation in any of the phases of the research. F.A. and E.F. designed the research plan. F.A., M.A., and E.F. applied for funding. F.A., H.A., S.E., I.G., M.T., M.A., M.K., N.A.A., M.A., A.H.S., and L.D. organized the data collection. F.A., H.A., S.E., and I.G. completed data entry and cleaning, and performed initial data analyses with M.A. E.F. performed data and statistical analyses. K.R. provided biostatistical advice. E.F., F.A., and I.G. wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript. The authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest.Scopu
Condition assessment of outdoor porcelain insulator based on dielectric dissipation factor evaluated from nonâlinear equivalent circuit
Biochemical and Sensory Evaluation of Carotene and Protein Enriched Biscuits
Page(s): 9 (1), 104-113, 17 Ref.Market biscuits prepared conventionally from wheat flour were supplemented with legume flour and carrot powder to enhance their protein and vitamin A levels, respectively. Addition of 18% chick pea or pigeon pea flours to wheat flour biscuits increased the protein content from 10% in market biscuits to 13.5% in supplemented samples. Incorporation of carrot powder at 10% level gave vitamin A content of 426 RE/100g for chick pea supplemented biscuits against 39l RE/100g for pigeon pea supplemented biscuits. Chickpea biscuits recorded best preference among penalists and were significantly (PÂŁ0.05) better than pigeon pea biscuits. The essential amino acid lysine was significantly (PÂŁ0.05) improved from 1.26 g/100g protein in conventional market biscuits to 3.39 g/100g protein in chickpea biscuits, which possessed higher in vitro protein digestibility (95%) compared to market biscuits (82.5%). The calculated protein efficiency ratio of chickpea biscuits (1.6) was significantly (PÂŁ0.05) higher than that of the market biscuits (0.81).Khartoum University Pres