Effect of Simvastatin and Atorvastatin on Serum Vitamin D and Bone Mineral Density in Hypercholesterolemic Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Besides lipid-lowering effect of statins, they have been shown to have nonlipid lowering effects, such as improving bone health. An improvement in bone mineral density (BMD) has been indicated in some studies after the use of statins, in addition to an increase in 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) level. The aim of this study is to explore the association between statins and bone health taking into consideration 25OHD level and BMD. Methods. This is a randomized, cross-sectional comparative study. Subjects were divided into two groups, hypercholesterolemic participants taking simvastatin or atorvastatin as the study group and a matched control group not taking statins. All participants were assessed for serum 25OHD and BMD at lumbar spine and femoral neck. Results. A total of 114 participants were included in the study, 57 participants in each group. Results of serum 25OHD showed no significant difference between study and control groups (P=0.47), while BMD results of lumbar spine and femoral neck showed significant difference (P=0.05 and 0.03, resp.). Conclusion. Simvastatin and atorvastatin, at any dose for duration of more than one year, have no additive effect on 25OHD level but have a positive effect on the BMD

Prevalence and intensity of smoking among healthcare workers and their attitude and behavior towards smoking cessation in the western region of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional study

Introduction This study aimed to estimate the magnitude of tobacco smoking among healthcare workers (HCWs) and to assess the need to establish a smoking cessation program. Methods This is an institute survey that targeted HCWs from the following specialties: physicians, allied healthcare professionals and administrative workers who are affiliated to a tertiary healthcare institution in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). An electronic self-administrated questionnaire was distributed among the study subjects during the day shift from June to September, 2015. The analysis was descriptive, and comparison of the characters of smokers and nonsmokers was done. Results The total number of participating HCWs was 697 with about 62.3% response rate. Males (62.3%), allied health professionals (45.2%), and age group 19–30 years old (44.5%) dominated the sample. The crude prevalence of the current smoking was 18.4%, while 9.8% were past smokers, and 71.9% never smokers. Administrative workers, males and Saudis demonstrated significantly higher prevalence of current smoking (p>0.001). Approximately half of the current smokers had a mild smoking intensity and the subgroups did not show any significant differences for nicotine dependence (p>0.05). The results of the attitude towards smoking cessation showed that 80.3% of the currently smoking HCWs had positive attitudes and there were no statistically significant differences based on the characteristics of the participants (p>0.05). Conclusions The smoking prevalence among HCWs included in the study parallels nationally reported values. The results showed a need for the establishment of smoking cessation programs targeting HCWs, which eventually should make Mecca (Makkah) city truly free from smoking