Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are suggested to be associated with advanced maternal age in different ethnicities and geographical locations. To provide a profound ground for comparison with Saudi Arabian population, in this study, we have assessed the association between maternal age and congenital heart diseases for different age groups during the period from 2016 to 2018 in King Abdul-Aziz Medical City in Jeddah. In this case-control study, we found no evidence relating maternal age to the incidence of CHD. However, an association between maternal age and the type of CHD was found. Mothers who are 35 years old or younger are more likely to have a baby with atrial septal defects, while babies of mothers who are older than 35 presented mostly with ventricular septal defects and patent ductus arteriosus. Therefore, no modification to the local clinical practice, including a referral of patients for fetal echocardiography based on maternal age, is recommended.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is excess and fat accumulation that lead to negative effects on health. Many studies found an association between obesity and MPV. MPV is a determinant of platelet function, since platelet size has been proven to reflect platelet activity, which is an useful predictive biomarker for a variety of diseases. This is the second study in which MPV was evaluated in obese patients in KSA. AIM: The aim of study is to evaluate the relation between MPV and obese patients without metabolic risk factors at NGHA Jeddah, KSA. Secondary objectives are to compare between genders and to evaluate the association between total platelets count and obesity. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, A. Inclusion criteria: For the first group, any patient with BMI ≥ than 30 kg/m2 aged 18 years or more. Second group, non-obese aged 18 years or more. Exclusion criteria: Metabolic risk. RESULTS: There were 279 participated in this study. Most of the participants 214 (72.1%) were females, and 83 (27.9%) were males (Table 1). The mean age was 33.39 ± 10.19. There were 148 (49.8%) participants with normal BMI level, and 149 (50.2%) considered as obese. For MPV classification, 287 (96.6%) were normal, and 10 (3.4%) were high. In this case–control study, we found no significant evidence relating the association between MPV and obesity. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found no significant difference between MPV and platelet count between them. However, there was a significant positive week correlation between BMI and age with p = 0.0001.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of NCD risk factors among first-year medical college students at Jeddah's King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS). Duration of the study: The study was completed in 8 months in 2021 (started from submitting the proposal in January, 2021). Methods: WHO STEP-wise approach to Surveillance (STEPS) of NCD risk factors was used, which includes three steps for assessing the risk factors: 1) Questionnaire 2) objective physical measurements 3) biochemical measurements. The estimated minimum sample size was calculated using the software Raosoft website, which were 227. To analyze the data, SPSS version 27.0 was used. Results: A total of (232) first-year medical students took part in the study. Data on sociodemographic factors, diet, salt intake, smoking, physical activity, and illness conditions were collected using a structured questionnaire. Conclusion: Results of the present study showed a high prevalence of NCDs risk factors among the participants. The study shows the importance to bring change in medical students' lifestyles to avoid the onset of NCDs later in life. Colleges need to assist students and intervene to lower these risk factors. Programs that promote healthy lifestyle and awareness are particularly essential for high school and college students. In all of schools and colleges in KSA, students should have access to sports and fitness facilities along with appropriate counseling and periodic screenings of students.