PIM prescribing in RMH was less compared with what was published in the literature in other countries. It was unclear whether these results reflect the level of elderly healthcare services provided to RMH patients or because of underreporting. Drug utilization review programs, medical education, recruiting physicians and clinical pharmacists who are specialized in geriatrics, finding safer medications or integration of computer software to detect such medications during prescriptions entry can improve the medical services provided to the elderly.

BackgroundThis study aims to review all published systematic reviews on the prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors among women from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC). This is the first review of other systematic reviews that concentrates on lifestyle related diseases among women in GCC countries only.MethodLiterature searches were carried out in three electronic databases for all published systematic reviews on the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in the GCC countries between January 2000 and February 2016.ResultsEleven systematic reviews were identified and selected for our review. Common reported risk factors for cardiovascular disease were obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and hypertension. In GCC countries, obesity among the female population ranges from 29 to 45.7%, which is one of the highest rates globally, and it is linked with physical inactivity, ranging from 45 to 98.7%. The prevalence of diabetes is listed as one of the top ten factors globally, and was reported with an average of 21%. Hypertension ranged from 20.9 to 53%.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases among women population in GCC is a ticking time bomb and is reaching alarming levels, and require a fundamental social and political changes. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive work among the GCC to strengthen the regulatory framework to decrease and control the prevalence of these factors.

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BackgroundEgypt has the largest proportion of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection worldwide and there is an urgent need to increase community awareness and knowledge about the disease in the country. The main aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness about HCV in clinically diagnosed HCV patients in Egypt.MethodsThis was a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted between 1 February 2014 and 30 April 2014 in Cairo, Egypt using validated questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. A structured questionnaire was developed based on similar published surveys. Data collected included demographic characteristics, exposure to the disease, health insurance status, the source of medical information, and knowledge of different routes of transmission; a point was given for each correct answer with a possible score of 0 to 12.ResultsA total of 203 patients took part in this study with a response rate of 90%. Most—142 (70%)—were married, 119 (63%) were unemployed, 127 (62.9%) were aged above 50 years, 88 (45.1%) were living in Cairo, and 45 (22.4%) had a college degree. Half of the participants believed that HCV infection is not transmitted through sex, while 79 (39.9%) did not know that HCV could be transmitted from a mother to her infant during labor. A quarter of participants believed that HCV vaccine is available, and 45 (24.6%) never knew if their treatment was successful. The median knowledge score of HCV infection in the survey was 7.5; 100 (50.3%) participants had ≤ median knowledge score of HCV infection. Logistic regression analysis showed a duration of infection (OR 1.647, CI 1.189–2.82) and the participants who visited physicians when only they felt sick were less likely to have the above median knowledge score (> 7.5) of HCV infection (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19–0.87).ConclusionsConsidering the unsatisfactory level of HCV knowledge among infected patients, Egyptian healthcare authorities should organize national awareness campaigns encouraging HCV testing based on educational interventions and activities to improve the level of knowledge. More investment in research is also needed to limit the further growth of the HCV disease burden in Egypt.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5672-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.