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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Fertility policy and family planning in the Arab countries.

An increasing number of Arab countries are instituting family planning programs to lower their populations' high fertility rates. This article examines Arab governments' perceptions of their countries' fertility situation, their desire to intervene in order to reduce or increase the rate of population growth, and the measures they have taken to influence the level of fertility. Special attention is given to family planning programs and access to methods of fertility regulation. A combination of stronger program effort and improved socioeconomic conditions account for much of the variation in contraceptive prevalence rates in 11 countries. Socioeconomic setting and political factors are found to be of primary importance in determining Arab fertility policies.

Family Planning Services↗
PubMed1990

Bibliometric aspects of medical information in Arab countries.

This paper discusses the current state and development of health and biomedical literature in Arab countries. The study concentrates on the Arabic sources of medical articles, and surveys and analyzes the size of the literature and its development in the past 100 years. Two aspects of these sources are covered: the Arab medical information sources published within the Arab region, and those published outside the region. This includes the quantity of material available within and outside the Arab region. The size of the Arab medical literature indicates that it is worthy of collection. Treatment of the Arab medical literature, a pressing and urgent issue, is needed to assist in the research and development of an Arab medical infrastructure.

Bibliometrics↗
PubMed1987

Phenylketonuria in Kuwait and Arab countries.

Seven cases of phenylketonuria including a pair of siblings were detected among 451 institutionalized mentally retarded individuals in Kuwait. A further 13 cases from eight Arab families of different nationalities were ascertained among referral cases. The occurrence of phenylketonuria in Kuwait and other Arab countries is discussed in view of the high consanguinity rate and large family size. Our findings stress the need for neonatal screening.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Comment on large gender difference on death anxiety in Arab countries.

In the recent interesting and excellent article by Abdel-Khalek (2) the large mean difference between Death Anxiety Scale (6) for males and females in Lebanon was noted. I have also noted such large differences in other studies with subjects in Arab countries (1, 3, 4). These studies and that of Abdel-Khalek (2) provide a total of 12 gender differences in four different countries--Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Libya. Although these large gender differences would be notable in comparison to those of most studies in the United States or other English-speaking countries, the comparison was made with the differences provided by the two studies that presented norms and norm-like information (5, 8). These two studies contain 12 pairs of means for both sexes. Eight of the 12 Arab difference means were higher than the highest American difference mean (chi 2 = 12.00, p less than .01). The reason(s) for the larger gender differences on death anxiety are not known, but it appears reasonable to suggest that in countries in which there are large sex-role differences that likely include bravery, men would be more expected to report lower death anxiety than women. Cross-cultural and demographic research with the recently developed Death Depression Scale (7) would likely yield interesting findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Childhood diabetes in Arab countries. Diabetes Epidemiology Research International Study Group.

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a chronic disease of childhood that is associated with high costs, mortality and morbidity, but which is of unknown etiology. Globally, the incidence and prevalence of the disease are highly variable. Study of IDDM among Arab children, who have similar genetic characteristics, but markedly different environmental backgrounds, could provide important insight into its cause. Few studies of IDDM in Arab populations have been carried out, but the limited data available indicate that there are marked variations in the risk of the disease and in its distribution between the sexes. It is therefore very important that IDDM registries be established in Arab countries since this could lead to a greater understanding of the disease and perhaps its prevention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Psychiatric problems in patients from Arab countries].

In 1979-1988 at the Prague Psychiatric Clinic 26 patients from Arab areas were hospitalized. The reason for admission were acute mental disorders involving paranoid, paranoid hallucinatory, manic or depressive syndromes, alcoholism and aggressive behaviour. No bizarre or at least remote psychopathological symptoms were recorded. The author draws attention to the frequent incidence of alcoholism and aggressiveness: these manifestations are at variance with traditions of Arab morality. In the diagnostic evaluation syndromological conclusions proved more useful than nosological ones.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A splice junction mutation in intron 2 of the carbonic anhydrase II gene of osteopetrosis patients from Arabic countries.

Clinical manifestations in patients with carbonic anhydrase (CA) II deficiency include osteopetrosis, renal tubular acidosis, and cerebral calcification. Of the 39 reported cases of the carbonic anhydrase II deficiency syndrome, 72% were patients from North African and Middle Eastern countries, most, if not all, of whom were of Arabic descent. We have analyzed DNAs from members of six unrelated Arabic kindreds and found five to be homozygous and one heterozygous for a novel splice junction (donor site) mutation at the 5' end of intron 2. These findings suggest that a common "Arabic" mutation may be the predominant cause of CA II deficiency in this region. The mutation introduces a new Sau3A1 restriction site which allows polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnosis of this mutation that should be useful in diagnosis, carrier detection, and prenatal diagnosis. The presence of mental retardation and relative infrequency of skeletal fractures distinguish the clinical course of the patients with the Arabic mutation from those of the American and Belgian patients with the His 107-->Tyr mutation.

Acidosis, Renal Tubular↗
PubMed1991

Incidence and severity of gestational diabetes mellitus according to country of birth in women living in Australia.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was diagnosed in 1928 of 35,253 (5.5%) tested pregnancies at the Mercy Maternity Hospital in Melbourne between 1979 and the end of 1988. Compared with women born in Australia and New Zealand, the incidence of GDM was significantly greater in women born on the Indian subcontinent (15%); in women born in Africa (9.4%), Vietnam (7.3%), Mediterranean countries (7.3%), and Egypt and Arabic countries (7.2%); and in Chinese (13.9%) and other Asian (10.9%) women. There was no significant difference for women born in the United Kingdom and northern Europe (5.2%), Oceania (5.7%), North America (4.0%), or South America (2.2%). With the World Health Organization criteria as a guide to the severity of hyperglycemia, compared with mothers born in Australia and New Zealand, there were significant increases in the incidences of the more severe grades of GDM in parturients born in the Mediterranean region, Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Egypt, and Arabic countries. The incidence of GDM increased significantly in all racial groups, rising from 3.3% during 1979-1983 to 7.5% during 1984-1988.

Africa↗
PubMed1977

Cancer in the Africans and Arabs of Zanzibar.

Among 392 cancers histologically diagnosed in Zanzibar during 1957-62 and 1964-67, a definite pattern seems to emerge. Skin and cervix cancers were the most common types in both Africans and Arabs. Skin cancer was predominantly of the squamous cell type. The Zanzibar Arabsthus appear to be protected against basal cell carcinoma which in the Arab desert community has been diagnosed with about the same frequency as squamous-cell carcinoma. In the same manner, the Zanzibar Arab immigrants seem to have a reduced risk for stomach and oesophageal cancers, which are common in other Arab countries. This is probably because Arabs in Zanzibar have adopted the dietary habits and other customs of the Zanzibar Africans in whom cancer of the alimentary tract seems to be uncommon. On the other hand, unlike Zanzibar Africans, the Arabs have an increased risk for Hodgkin's disease similar to that of the Middle East Arab population.

Africa, Eastern↗
PubMed1991

The epidemiology of echinococcosis in Israel.

Shifts in population and employment patterns in Israel since 1948 have been accompanied by profound changes in the distribution of echinococcal disease. Formerly, it was most commonly imported with the mass immigration of Jews after 1948 from the Arab countries of North Africa and Asia Minor, and appeared to be relatively uncommon in Israel-born Jews and Arabs. In 1980 the disease was made notifiable, and this paper presents a review of the years 1981-1989. The prevalence pattern that prevailed after the end of mass immigration has reversed so that cases are now twice as common in Arabs as in Jews. Among the Arabs the disease appears most commonly in the north of the country, especially among the Druze, less commonly among Christians and least in Muslims. We suggest that this prevalence pattern is related largely to home slaughter of sheep, to differing attitudes to dogs, and possibly also to the hunting of wild pig. Targetted education and better enforcement of existing regulations can lead to a reduction in disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Imbalance of distribution of physicians in the Arab world].

The Arab world, as a whole, now has 8.5 medical doctors per 10,000 population. This average covers a great diversity of national situations; for example 0.6 doctors per 10,000 population in Somalia, and 17.5 doctors per 10,000 population in Qatar. From the viewpoint of medical staffing, the Arab countries can be grouped into four categories: (i) Countries with low medical density: their national staff is scarce, they do not have a long academic tradition, and they have to rely on foreign physicians (Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia, Mauritania). (ii) Countries with acceptable medical density: they have strengthened their medical training system during the last decades, their production of medical graduates is now fairly high, and there is seemingly a threat of oversupply (Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq). (iii) Countries with relatively high medical density: their medical staffing is below that of developed countries, but their economic possibilities are reduced, which leads to an oversupply; these countries are exporters of medical manpower (Egypt, Jordan). (iv) Countries that import medical manpower although their own medical density is quite high: their medical training is recent or non-existent and their health system relies to a great extent on foreign doctors (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Kuwait). They are all oil producers. In brief, a shortage and an oversupply of medical doctors coexist in the Arab world, and concerted action is required.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of contraceptive use: trends and issues.

This article discusses the sources of data for estimates of contraceptive use, including their reliability and validity. Data from sample surveys and from censuses are presented by countries from the 1960s to the present time. Tables on proportions of users by method of contraception for various time periods are included. The relationship between contraceptive use and level of fertility is also shown. Contraceptive use has increased rapidly in much of Asia and Latin America, but much less so in Arab countries and sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, about 400 million of the 800-850 million married couples of reproductive age practice contraception; of these, about 340 million use a modern method. Sterilization is the most widely practiced method of contraception in the world, with tubal ligations far outnumbering vasectomies.

Contraception↗
PubMed1986

Malignant neoplasms in Jordanian children.

Three hundred and seventy-three cases of malignant disease in children were diagnosed in Jordan during the 5-year period 1975-79. Lymphomas (28.7%) were the most frequently encountered tumours, followed by leukaemias (19.6%) and brain tumours (16.1%). One third of the children with lymphoma had Hodgkin's disease. Burkitt's lymphoma accounted for another one third, and lymphocytic lymphoma the remaining third. Abdominal involvement was frequently encountered in children with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Our data are similar to those reported from the neighbouring Arab countries, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt, and contrast with the data available from developed countries in which leukaemias and brain tumours are more frequent than lymphomas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Epidemiology of childhood type I diabetes in Sudan, 1987-1990.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of type I diabetes in children 0-14 yr of age in Khartoum, Sudan. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Prospective registration of newly diagnosed patients in a hospital-based registry with independent validation of completeness of case ascertainment. Eligible patients were Sudanese children < 15 yr of age, who developed type I diabetes during the period 1 January 1987 through 31 December 1990, and who were living in Khartoum city at the time of diagnosis. The denominator is the stable childhood population of Khartoum city, as estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics. RESULTS: In 4 yr, 239 cases were notified in the primary source and 268 in the secondary source. Some 196 patients were registered in both sources. Using the capture-recapture method to correct for underascertainment, the estimated total number of cases was 327, and the overall degree of ascertainment was 95%. The incidence of type I diabetes in children 0-14 yr of age increased from 5.9/10(5) in 1987 to 10.1/10(5) in 1990 (P < 0.001). Girls exhibited slightly higher incidence rates than boys in the 10-14-yr age-group throughout the 4 yr, but the differences were not statistically significant. The age distribution at onset was bimodal with a clear peak at age 12 yr in girls and age 14 yr in boys and another smaller peak at age 7 yr in both sexes. The number of new cases was markedly higher in the cooler months of the year, with a peak in January and a nadir in June (P < 0.01). This trend was consistent over the period of observation. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood diabetes is increasing in Sudan. Our incidence figures are higher than those reported from other Arab countries and is similar to reports from France and Italy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Wilson's disease in a Saudi Arabian female patient. Rapid changes in cerebral x-ray computed tomography].

Reports on Wilson's disease from Arab countries in the Middle East are rare, while the high frequency of consanguineous marriages should increase the prevalence of autosomal recessive diseases. The case of a 20-year old woman, born from first degree cousins in a relatively isolated area of Saudi Arabia, is reported. The presentation initially led to the diagnosis of catatonic schizophrenia but neurological deterioration occurred rapidly. Brain CT was normal 2 months after the clinical onset of the disease but showed necrosis of both putamens 15 months later. Diagnostic difficulties and the rapid brain CT changes are commented.

Adult↗