THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAFFEINE ADDICTION AND STRESS AMONG LEBANESE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN LEBANON

Stress and behavioral addiction are becoming major health problems growing in strength and prevalence. They are often associated with a large array of debilitating diseases and conditions including psychosocial impairments. Medical students remain a vulnerable territory for developing stress and addiction mainly relating to caffeine consumption. Methods: A cross-sectional design was utilized in this study. Results: The study revealed that academic and learning issues are the most stressful and alarming levels of caffeine dependence. Conclusions: This showed a high impact of academic issues on medical students stress and performance, which mandates thorough actions to be considered by both medical institutions and medical students to fight this stress and maintain a healthier life and academic development

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF WEIGHT MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS: ACHIEVED GOALS AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Obesity is becoming a major health problem growing in strength and prevalence. It is often associated with large array of debilitating diseases and conditions including psychosocial impairments. Morbid obesity rarely responds to conservative treatment regimens but has been successfully managed with bariatric interventions that have been achieving sustained weight loss of about 50% of excess body weight with improvement or resolution of most obesity-associated conditions. This cross sectional study evaluates the impact of weight changes by bariatric interventions on psychosocial functioning among Lebanese patients. 38 participants who signed consent were examined at pre-interventional and 6-month follow-up period. The spectrum of examination consists of demographic variables including height and weight measurements and psychosocial functioning evaluated through four standardized questionnaires well recognized and pretested in several previous studies. Data was analyzed using SPSS program. Positive impact of bariatric intervention was prevalent in approximately all studied parameters. This should be taken into consideration as a therapeutic tool in positive psychology-oriented intervention and necessitated pre-interventional psychological clearance and follow up as well

Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) Among Lebanese College Students

Internet addiction is an emergent problem; yet, both a strong conception of the factors precipitating challenging activities and a gold standard tool for evaluating symptoms are deficient. The aim of this study was to carry out a psychometric analysis using the most commonly employed screening tool, the young Internet Addiction Test (IAT), comprising a sample of Lebanese University medical students. Two hundred and fifty-six undergraduate medical students from a university in Beirut, Lebanon were included in our IAT. Exploratory factor analysis was employed, and four factors were extracted. These four factors were named as Lack of Control, Social Withdrawal and Emotional Conflict, Time Management Problems, and Concealing Problematic Behavior. Furthermore, the selected factors explained 56.5% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the internal reliability of the scale was found to be 0.91. For each subscale, the internal consistency score was approximated and detected as 0.76, 0.74, 0.69, and 0.63 for the first through fourth factor, respectively. Item total correlations were calculated and had a value range from 0.37 to 0.63 for the 20 items. IAT is a proper tool for evaluating internet addiction in Lebanese college students

Associations of lifestyle and dietary habits with hyperlipidemia in Lebanon

Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of dietary and lifestyle habits on several blood lipid parameters in the Lebanese population.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study for 2,000 individuals, of whom 1,003 completed the survey about their dietary and lifestyle habits. Anthropometric measurements and blood tests were performed and recorded.Results: Up to 53.2% of the population was hypercholesterolemic. Gender and age contributed to the prevalence of high levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or triglycerides. Prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and high LDL-C levels was higher in smokers, physically inactive or those who consume fatty meat or eggs. Prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was not affected by consumption of whole milk, skimmed milk or fruits and vegetables. However, the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and high LDL-levels was higher in individuals who consumed whole milk, and lower in those who consumed skimmed or fruits and vegetables.Conclusion: Hyperlipidemia affects more than half of the Lebanese population. The finding that the majority of the individuals were unaware of their lipid profile mandates warrant efforts for both patient and public education