Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health

This study examined correlations of historical changes in diet and physical inactivity with the rise of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Kenya. Historical data on diet, wage jobs by industry, urbanization, gross domestic product (GDP), and morbidity due to NCDs were extracted from Kenya Statistical...

Important challenges facing global healthcare include the increase in the number of people affected by escalating healthcare costs, chronic and infectious diseases, the need for better and more affordable elderly care and expanding urbanisation combined with air and water pollution. Recent advances in...

Objectives: Trial registration has a great potential to increase research transparency and public access to research results. This study examined the availability of results either in journal publications or in the trial registry from all studies registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. Methods: All 137,612...

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has plagued the Middle East since it was first reported in 2012. Recently, at the end of December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases were reported from Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China, linked to a wet seafood market with a new coronavirus identified...

Orbital lesions vary in their classification, incidence, and presentation depending on the age and geographic distribution. Such lesions in the pediatric age group have been studied extensively because of the possibility of faster progression of orbital involvement and the higher risk of morbidity in...

Background: Antibiotic overuse is influenced by several factors that can only be measured using a valid and reliable psychosocial measurement instrument. This study aims to establish translation and early stage validation of an instrument recently developed by this research team to measure factors influencing...

The study aims to assess the counselling services provided to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) under the Indian programme of prevention of parent-to-child transmission of HIV (PPTCT). Five hospitals in Delhi providing PMTCT services were randomly selected. A total of 201 post-test...

It is estimated that 884 million people do not have access to clean drinking water in the world. Increasing salinity of natural drinking water sources has been reported as one of the many problems that affect low-income countries, but one which has not been fully explored. This problem is exacerbated...

The global boom in premature mortality and morbidity from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) shares many similarities with pandemics of infectious diseases, yet public health professionals have resisted the adoption of this label. It is increasingly apparent that NCDs are actually communicable conditions,...

This review aims to locate existing studies on health-seeking behavior of people in Indonesia, identify gaps, and highlight important findings. Articles were retrieved from Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete (via Ebsco), and ProQuest with a number of key words and various combinations....

This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of health education on menopausal symptoms, knowledge, and attitudes about menopause. To evaluate the efficacy of a training program, information about menopausal symptoms, knowledge, and attitude toward menopause was collected before and after...

The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage that 1–2 million Muslims undertake in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which is the largest mass gathering event in the world, as the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia holds the largest visa quota for the Hajj. All Hajj pilgrims under the quota system are...

For certain subgroups within people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [active tuberculosis (TB), pregnant women, children <5 years old, and serodiscordant couples], the World Health Organization recommends antiretroviral therapy (ART) irrespective of CD4 count. Another subgroup which...

There is limited information on the causes of paediatric diarrhoea in Sydney. This cross-sectional study used clinical and microbiological data to describe the clinical features and pathogens associated with gastrointestinal illnesses for children presenting to two major public hospitals in Sydney with...

Human brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease and is especially concerning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), where livestock importation is significant. We analyzed reported human brucellosis disease trends in KSA over time to help policymakers understand the magnitude of the disease and guide...

The study examined the associations between lifestyle habits and overweight/obesity among Saudi females attending health science colleges. A total of 454 female students were randomly recruited from five health science colleges at King Saud University, using a multistage stratified cluster sampling technique....

Studies have generally shown a positive association between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity in low-income countries, but few have tested this relationship in the Middle East where obesity prevalence is extraordinarily high and the nutrition profile more closely resembles developed world contexts....

In California, local mosquito and vector control districts have successfully controlled mosquito and vector-borne diseases by improving drainage patterns and applying pesticides. The Bay-Delta Conservation Plan, which is a proposed habitat conservation plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta estuary,...

Background: Current data from the Middle East suggest a rapid increase in the incidence of smoking water-pipes (narguileh in Lebanon) in parallel with cigarettes. The social context in which these two behaviors are initiated and associated has not been studied. Methods: Data from a standardized questionnaire...

This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of Malay translated version of the brief questionnaire of smoking urges (QSU-Brief). The translation procedure was done following the standard guidelines. The reliability and validity of the Malaysian version scale were evaluated based on the data...

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly evolving global pandemic for which more than a thousand clinical trials have been registered to secure therapeutic effectiveness, expeditiously. Most of these are single-center non-randomized studies rather than multi-center, randomized controlled trials....

Background: Double Burden of Malnutrition (DBM)—the coexistence of undernutrition along with overnutrition—is a significant public health issue in the Asia-Pacific region. The scope of the DBM in this region is largely unknown. This review aims to determine the prevalence of under- and overnutrition...

A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 202 children aged 1–5 years residing in an urban slum to study the extent of malnutrition and its association with common childhood illness(es). The participants were selected using convenient sampling (nonprobability), and the appropriate...

This was an evaluation of home respiratory therapy (HRT) services administered through the Madinah Home Medical Program (MHMP) Center of the Ministry of Health (MoH), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Using a retrospective design and descriptive analyses, we analyzed 83 patient records for the clinical...

Animal studies have shown that vitamin A plays a role in immunity and protection against infectious diseases. Its role reducing incidence of diarrhea and measles, and childhood mortality is known, but its role in relation to malaria is unclear. Thus, a comprehensive, systematic literature search was...

Background: Infection is one of the major threats to Healthcare Workers (HCW) worldwide. It exposes HCW to more than 20 kinds of blood-borne pathogen infections, especially the most severe cases, namely Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The impact...

With growing concerns about international spread of disease and expanding use of early disease detection surveillance methods, the field of syndromic surveillance has received increased attention over the last decade. The purpose of this article is to clarify the various meanings that have been assigned...

Although evidence suggests sport and recreation are powerful contributors to worldwide public health, sizable gender differences persist. It is unknown whether country characteristics moderate gender differences across countries. The primary purpose of this study was to examine if countries’ levels of...

Kazakhstan is one of the countries with higher-than-average smoking prevalence and tobacco-related mortality. Intention to quit is a key step toward smoking cessation, yet has not been studied in Kazakhstan. This study explored prevalence and correlates of intention to quit among smokers in Kazakhstan....

Facing the availability of the new generation of quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccines (Menveo®, Menactra® and others pending for license) and their recent implementation in Saudi Arabia, experts from 11 countries of the Middle East region met at a “Meningococcal Leadership Forum” (MLF), which...

Introduction: All applicants for work and/or residence in Abu Dhabi are screened for tuberculosis at the time of issuing or renewing their residence visa. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of TB among visa applicants and the likelihood of testing positive among different subgroups. Methods:...

Approximately 17.3 million people died from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 2008, and approximately 80% came from low- and middle-income countries. However, previous studies document poor research productivity related to CVD prevention and treatment in these countries between 1991 and 1996. The World...

In developing countries, public health professionals and scientists need targeted training and practical skills to respond to global emerging infectious disease threats. The Certificate in Emerging Infectious Disease Research was developed in 2008 to aid such professionals to respond to complex emerging...

Background: Restricted outdoor activities and online learning during COVID-19 pandemic may pose threats on the physical and mental health of Chinese adolescents in middle schools. The study was to explore the relationship of Physical Activity (PA) and Sedentary Time (SED) with mood states among Chinese...

In India, cervical cancer screening is conducted at various levels; however, after screening, the adherence to the cancer care continuum is barely understood. This study evaluated a community-based cancer screening program conducted in a rural setting (Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts) in South India...

This study aimed to predict seasonal influenza activity and detection of influenza outbreaks. Data of all registered cases (n = 53,526) of influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) from sentinel sites of healthcare centers in Iran were obtained from the FluNet web-based tool, World Health Organization (WHO), from...

In Asia, which has a rapidly aging population, dementia is the most prominent disease. This article presents an application of Latent Growth Mixture Model (LGMM) to identify classes of individual Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other dementias Years Lived with Disability (YLD) rates for Asian and North...

Background Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), is an emerging virus respiratory infection. It has a high mortality rate and a wide spectrum of clinical features. This study describes the clinical characteristics and outcome of MERS infected patients. Methods A retrospective study...

In Brazil, a scoring system was adopted to diagnose tuberculosis in childhood. This study determined the accuracy in diagnosing tuberculosis in children with either a negative smear or with no smear or culture conducted in a reference center in João Pessoa Paraíba – Brazil. It is a phase III validation...

Diabetes mellitus substantially increases cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Among Saudi Arabian citizens with diabetes, little is known about the prevalence and control of other CVD risk factors. We extracted data from medical records of a random selection of 422 patients seen between 2008 and 2012...

Background: A marked geographic variability has been reported in stone disease, partially attributed to the Mean Annual Temperature (MAT), as well as to the seasonal fluctuations of climatic conditions. Accordingly, peaks in Emergency Department (ED) visits for renal colic are commonplace during the...

There is increased emphasis on physician attention to the overall health and wellness of homosexual and bisexual men, though little is known about the health-related attitudes of these groups. This study determined factors associated with the health attitudes of homosexual and bisexual men and identified...

Introduction: Mass gatherings (MG) may provide ideal conditions for influenza transmission. The evidence for an association between MG and influenza transmission is reviewed to assess whether restricting MG may reduce transmission. Methods: Major databases were searched (Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL),...

Medical students have limited exposure to field epidemiology, even though will assume public health roles after graduation. We established a 10-week elective in field epidemiology during medical school. Students attended one-week didactic sessions on epidemiology, and nine weeks in field placement sites....

Ovarian cancer is the 2nd most common and the deadliest gynecological malignancy in Nigeria; yet very little is known about women’s knowledge about the disease in our environment. We evaluated the levels of awareness of ovarian cancer risk factors and symptoms among the Nigerian women, and also determined...

Background: We sought to determine the knowledge of, perception, attitudes, and behaviors toward influenza virus and immunization, and the determinants of vaccination among students, patients, and Healthcare Workers (HCWs) at the American University of Beirut and its affiliated Medical Center. Methods:...

Investigation of the prevalence and risk factors of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the basis for developing prophylactic strategies against cervical cancer, especially for young women. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of HPV infection among a cohort of sexually active...

Effective use of resources in healthcare research is essential in meeting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 to achieve universal health coverage, increase retention of healthcare workers, and strengthen the capacity of all countries to reduce risk and manage global health risks;...

Background: This study was aimed to evaluate five Multiple Imputation (MI) methods in the context of STEP-wise Approach to Surveillance (STEPS) surveys. Methods: We selected a complete subsample of STEPS survey data set and devised an experimental design consisted of 45 states (3 × 3 × 5), which differed...

Allergic rhinitis (AR) related inflammation might worsen the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), however, the relationship between the two disorders remains controversial. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of AR and atopic markers in OSA. This cross-sectional study recruited participants...

The objective of the study is to evaluate the quality of the data, the sensitivity of the surveillance, and the completeness of identification and investigation of tuberculosis (TB) patient’s contacts. The study covered the TB surveillance program in Al-Madinah province in 2011. First, we reviewed all...

Serological tests for tuberculosis are inaccurate and WHO has recommended against their use. Although not used by the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), serodiagnostics are widely used in the private sector in India. A root-cause analysis was undertaken to determine why serological tests...

The goal of syndromic surveillance is the earlier detection of epidemics, allowing a timelier public health response than is possible using traditional surveillance methods. Syndromic surveillance application for public health purposes has changed over time and reflects a dynamic evolution from the collection,...

Development assistance for health (DAH) and foreign aid have been criticized for being poorly associated with health and economic outcomes on a national level. This study is an attempt to examine whether DAH targeted specifically to malaria, HIV and tuberculosis (TB) is associated with changes in malaria,...

Pediatric diarrheal disease is a significant source of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. While several studies have demonstrated an increased incidence of diarrheal illness in boys compared with girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), the reasons for this difference are unclear....

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a main hurdle for national programs due to increase in drug resistance to antitubercular drugs. World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed Line Probe Assay, Genotype MTBDRsl Ver 2.0, gives opportunity for rapid diagnosis and molecular characterization of different mutations in...

Background: China’s vigorous anti-COVID-19 campaign has been going on for three months since January 20, which has contained the spread of the virus across China. Objectives: Epidemiological investigations found that COVID-19 fatality rates in Wuhan, rest parts of Hubei province except Wuhan (Rest of...

This study aims to evaluate the antibiotic prescribing rate for acute bacterial rhinosinusitis in community pharmacies and to study the corresponding attitude and behavior of participants. A cross-sectional, nationwide study was conducted using a patient-simulated case of bacterial rhinosinusitis. Descriptive...

Successive sampling (SS)–population size estimation (PSE) is a technique used to estimate the sizes of hidden populations using data collected in respondent-driven sampling (RDS) surveys. We assess past estimations and use new data from an RDS survey to calculate a new PSE. In 2012, 852 adult women in...

Background: The aim of this study is to compare Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) result and interferon gamma response to human PPD (purified protein derivative), in scar positive and scar negative BCG-vaccinated children. Methods: Between August 2007 and May 2008 a total of 236 children aged 1–168 months...

Background and Objectives: Europe has experienced a major resurgence of measles in recent years, despite the availability and free access to a safe, effective, and affordable vaccination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR). The main driver for this is suboptimal vaccine coverage. The three objectives...

The new coronavirus syndrome (COVID-19) is a multi-organ pathological manifestation that, in severe forms, causes greater damage to the respiratory system, especially in the lung district with severe respiratory failure. In many cases, especially in elderly patients with high comorbidity degree, the...

The Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI) has not been adequately translated to the Arabic language. The aim of this study is the translation and cultural adaption of the English HU-DBI into standard Arabic. The English HU-DBI was translated into Arabic by three bilingual dental academics....

This paper hypothesized that democratic nations, as characterized by Polity IV Project regime scores, spend more on health care than autocratic nations and that the association reported here is independent of other demographic, health system or economic characteristics of nations. WHO Global Observatory...

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated poor metabolic and blood pressure control in the diabetic population in Trinidad. The aim of this study is to compare baseline and follow-up metabolic parameters and blood pressures taken within a 16-month period to ascertain if there have been improvements. Method:...

Mass gatherings bring large numbers of people into physical proximity. Typically, this physical proximity has been assumed to contribute to ill health (e.g., through being stressful, facilitating infection transmission, etc.). In this paper, we add a new dimension to the emerging field of mass gatherings...

The cost of playground-related injuries remains significant. Measures adopted to prevent such fractures or reduce their severity would translate into appreciable financial savings. Our study looks at the changes in playground-related extremity fracture epidemiology over the past decade after the implementation...

Objective: To observe frequency and possible association of tooth loss with prevalent coronary heart disease in Pakistani population. Methodology: Angiographically determined coronary heart disease (CHD) patients of Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore, Pakistan, and healthy individuals were enrolled...

Introduction: Campylobacteriosis is one of the leading causes of gastroenteritis worldwide. This study describes the epidemiology of laboratory-confirmed Campylobacter diarrheal infections in two facility-based surveillance sites in Guatemala. Methods: Clinical, epidemiologic, and laboratory data were...

Epidemiology of breast cancer in the Arab region is understudied as compared with Western countries. We aimed to examine breast cancer epidemiology in Arab countries from 1990 to 2016. We analyzed the Global Burden of Disease, 2016 data for breast cancer among women in 22 Arab countries. Epidemiological...

Vitamin D inadequacy, frequently underdiagnosed, affects people of all age groups worldwide. This prospective study aims at determining the percentage of inadequate vitamin D levels among students and evaluating the impact of pharmacist counseling on raising the awareness of the importance of sun exposure...

Background: India was one of the countries to institute strict measures for Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) control in the early phase. Since, then, the epidemic growth trajectory was slow before registering an explosion of cases due to local cluster transmissions. Methods:...

Few reports have described pediatric Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the former Soviet republics, despite the fact that these countries have the highest proportion of TB cases that are MDR. We aimed to examine pediatric MDR-TB in Ukraine. This retrospective cohort study included all children...

Objective: To examine the patterns of antituberculous drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients with pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in the Eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a retrospective study of antibiotic susceptibility of 1681 non-repetitive...

Cognitive impairment is thought to be a major cause of disability worldwide, though data from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are sparse. This study aimed to investigate the association between cognitive impairment and disability in a cohort of community-dwelling older adults living in Tanzania. The study cohort...

Central American immigrants to the United States are a growing population with rates of food insecurity that exceed national averages. We analyzed multiple years of data from the Center for System Peace and the Current Population Survey, Food Security Survey Module, from 1998 to 2015. We used ordered...

Road traffic crashes (RTC) are of serious global health concern. To identify whether the number of ambulance calls, injuries, and deaths has declined after the implementation of the new traffic law (NTL) 2015 in Bahrain, de-identified administrative RTC data obtained from the tertiary care center, and...

Tuberculous Meningitis (TBM) is the most common form of central nervous system Tuberculosis (TB), accounting for 5–6% of extrapulmonary TB cases. Nowadays, TBM continues to be a major topic in public health because of its high prevalence worldwide. This retrospective study aimed to describe the clinical,...

Background and Objectives: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health emergency. Health Care Workers (HCWs) with sound knowledge and practices can help curb the pandemic. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of HCWs about COVID-19 and compare physicians...

Background: Hemoglobinopathies represent a major public health problem in Saudi Arabia (SA). Reports suggest that their higher prevalence is not evenly distributed in SA. Regional differences were studied in sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia and their at-risk marriages using national data. Methods:...

To carry out their duties more effectively, health care professionals in the UAE often ask about the population structure and the main causes of mortality and morbidity in the country. This paper summarizes what is known about these topics drawing on secondary data sources that are available in the public...

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to examine associations between deaths owing to terrorism, civil war, and one-sided violence from 1994–2000 and substance use disorder disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Methods: The relationship between terrorism, and related violence and substance use...

Cigarette and waterpipe (shisha and hookah) smoking are main public health concerns in Lebanon. We aim to assess the relationship between smoking and stroke, mainly waterpipe smoking, to better apply preventive and therapeutic interventions. A case-control study was conducted at five tertiary private...

Background/objective: Pregnant women experience a myriad of physiological and metabolic changes that affect different organ systems in the body. Cutaneous and appendageal alterations that manifest during pregnancy are largely modulated by hormonal, immunologic, and metabolic factors. Detailed reports...

Two cases of hydatid cyst were reported in the Microbiology department, Siddartha Medical College in 2011. 42 year old female presented with a history of painless swelling in the right inguinal region for 5 years which was insidious in onset and gradually increasing in size. She developed itching prior...