Background: Vitamin D is vital for human health but its deficiency is worldwide. There is a gap in our knowledge about vitamin D status in Bahrain. Objective: To identify vitamin D status and associated risk factors among men in Bahrain. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: Four public and four private maternity hospitals in Bahrain. Method: The study was carried out in the second and third weeks of April 2012. Three hundred sixty-four men (husbands of mothers who presented in labor) participated in the study. A questionnaire was administered and vitamin D level was measured in the blood. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis were used to evaluate differences between variables. P-value <0.05 was considered significant. Result: The mean age ± SD was 34.40 ± 7.27 years. Vitamin D mean level ± SD was 46.14 ± 12.80 nmol/L. Vitamin D level was <50 nmol/L in 233 (64%) men. The following variables showed significant association with vitamin D deficiency: high income (P-value 0.020), smoking (P-value 0.021), lack of sun exposure (P-value 0.001) and high body mass index (Pvalue 0.022). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is common among men in Bahrain. High income, lack of sun exposure and high BMI were significant and independent predictors of low vitamin D level. There is a need for population-based study in a randomly selected sample which includes all age groups and both genders.

A total of 135 patients were treated for hyperthyroidism with 131I 15 mCi radioiodine ablation. The therapeutic target was achieving hypothyroidism. Between January 2014 and December 2018, clinical records were reviewed and date was collected and reviewed for 135 patients with hyperthyroidism that were referred to the Nuclear Medicine Department at Salmaniya Medical Center, for radioactive iodine (RAI) thyroid gland ablation procedure for definitive treatment of hyperthyroidism. About 39.7% of our patients achieved response between 4-6 months out of which 35.7% of the patients showed response in the first 3 months. 21.4% of the patients took between 7-12 months to show response and only 3.2% responded after 12 months. The most significant response was hypothyroidism comprising of 94.4%. It is also worth mentioning that 4.0% of patients achieved euthyroidism and did not require any follow-up medication. Using fixed dose of RAI of 15mCi for treating various type of Hyperthyroidism, successful treatment with a single dose of RAI can be achieved in 92.7% of the patients, with first therapy failure rate in 7.3%, with few patients requiring additional doses of RAI.

The type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management represents a major challenge in the Gulf region. Hyperglycemia is a major risk factor for microvascular and macrovascular complications and increased mortality. Early dietary and lifestyle changes alongside a step-wise targeted pharmacological approach to achieve a glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) level of &#x3c;7% are recommended to limit these complications. However, achievement of this HbA_1c target remains a major challenge, especially in the Gulf region. Both physician and patient-led barriers limit timely initiation and titration of insulin. An expert-group advisory committee reviewed the current guideline recommendations, strategized best practice, and curated clinical practical advices to enable primary-care physicians to optimally initiate and titrate insulin in patients with T2DM.

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