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Hypertension is one of the major risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we will assess the frequency of hypertension among healthy university students and its association with gender, body mass index, smoking, and family history of both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. We screened healthy university students ranging from 18 to 26 years of age. For each participant, we performed blood pressure measurements using a previously validated device and obtained demographic data, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, and family history of both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Out of the total number of 505 participants included in this study, 35.2% have blood pressure between 130/80 and 139/89, and 13.5% have blood pressure of more than 140/90. We found significant gender differences in both systolic pressure (p = 0.003) with mean difference = 18.08 mmHg (CI: 16.13 to 19.9) and diastolic pressure (p = 0.011) with mean difference = 3.6 mmHg (CI: 2.06 to 5.14), higher in males than in females. Upon comparing the mean difference in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure with BMI, we found significant differences in both systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic (p = 0.002) blood pressure. We also found that smokers have significantly (p = 0.025) higher systolic blood pressure (mean difference = 4.2 mmHg, CI: 3.2 mmHg to 8.8 mmHg), but no significant difference for diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.386), compared to nonsmokers. First-degree family history of both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases affected systolic but not diastolic blood pressure. Taking into account the adverse short- and long-term effect of hypertension, we recommend adopting an awareness program highlighting the importance of screening blood pressure in young adolescent populations, keeping in mind that both high BMI and smoking are important modifiable factors.

ObjectiveImprovements in the health care system, resulted in a greater number of geriatric patients diagnosed with acute kidney injury (AKI). We evaluated the incidence and outcome of AKI in octogenarians, as studies in the Middle-East region are few; moreover, treatment approaches, in addition to medical decisions, may require special consideration for advanced age to improve the outcomes.ResultsAt King Abdullah II teaching and referral hospital, we recruited patients aged 80–90 years who were admitted to the medical floor between January 2010 and December 2013. Patients were followed-up for at least 1 year after discharge.850 patients were admitted during the study period. Of these, 135 were excluded from our analysis. The most common admission diagnoses were uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and acute coronary syndrome. AKI occurred in 216 patients (30.2%). Using the acute kidney injury network classification; stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 disease were present in 59, 17.5, and 23.5% of patients, respectively. Of the 115 patients who died before discharge (16.1%), 87 (75.6%) had developed AKI. Hypertension, the use of angiotensin receptor blockers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, heart failure, and exposure to radiologic contrast media were significant risk factors for AKI.

BackgroundAcute kidney injury (AKI) caused by contrast exposure is a common problem, which may cause a significant increase in patients in-hospital stay and therefore the cost of treatment. This study was conducted to evaluate the role of inflammation, inflammatory markers in predicting contrast induced nephropathy (CIN). This is a prospective study that was carried out in a major tertiary referral hospital in Jordan.MethodsClinical data, blood and urine samples were collected from all patients admitted to the cardiology unit. All patients who agreed to participate in the study had creatinine level analysis 48–72 hours after the procedure. The CIN was defined as an increase in serum creatinine by 25% or 44 μmol/L from the baseline within 48-72 hours after the contrast administration. Patients with stage 4, 5 renal failure, patients on dialysis, and patients with recent intravenous contrast use, active infection or cancer were excluded from the study.ResultsOf the total 202 patients, 30 (14.8%) developed CIN. The incidence rate was 21.1% among females and 12.4% among males. In the multivariate analysis, beside eGFR, diuretics, and alkaline phosphatase, IL-33 was significantly associated with CIN, while the other cytokines did not to show this an association.ConclusionSerum level of IL-33 was a significant predictor for development of CIN. Good clinical judgment and high serum levels of IL-33 may stratify patients into low and high risk for CIN.

Chronic kidney disease is one of the most common chronic diseases globally. Many studies have shown it is strongly associated with increased social and psychological problems such as depression and anxiety which are considered as common psychiatric disorders that occur in patients with chronic kidney disease. We investigated the prevalence of depression, anxiety and perception of quality of life in a sample of chronic kidney disease patients at the Jordan University Hospital. We aimed to see any association of the mental health in these patients; mainly depression and anxiety with their quality of life and correlation to socio-demographics or laboratory and metabolic profile of this population. 103 chronic kidney disease patients were interviewed using a questionnaire in the Nephrology outpatient clinics of the Jordan University Hospital, the questionnaire included four sections, the first sections handled socio-demographic data. Also, it contains a brief Clinical and laboratory parameter of our patients. The second part consisted of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) that used to measure the severity of depression. The third part included the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) to evaluate the severity of anxiety, the fourth part assessed participants quality of life (QOL) using The World Health Organization Quality of Life, Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. More than half of the participants have depression and anxiety with a percentage of 58.3% and 50.5%, respectively. There was a negative moderate to strong correlation between depression score and quality of life domains scores (p < 0.001).Only marital status had a significant relationship with depression (p < 0.001).Weak positive correlation between Glomerular Filtration Rate and anxiety score (p = 0.04),with significant positive correlation between lipid profile and anxiety score. There was a negative correlation between anxiety score and quality of life domains scores. Females had higher anxiety score than males (p = 0.27). Patients who do not work had a lower physical functioning score compared to others (p value = 0.024).Patients with higher serum Hemoglobin had higher physical and psychological scores. Anxiety, Depression are common among our chronic kidney disease patients, more interventions are needed to improve the mental health of our patients and their quality of life perception. This kind of study allows us to gain a deeper understanding regarding the effects of chronic kidney disease on psychosocial well-being of those patients, and helps health care providers to put depression, anxiety and Quality of life into consideration when treating patients.