Rise in C-section births alarming | Arab News

 RIYADH: The rate of babies delivered by Caesarean section in Saudi Arabia is growing alarmingly with the nationwide increase reflecting an upward trend in these cases in recent years.

A cross section of medical experts expressed concerns Saturday over the fact that caesarian delivery cases surged by 67 percent in the country last year.

A similar trend was noticed in the first quarter of 2016 with experts saying that the reasons behind the surge are preventable.


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Rise in C-section births alarming | Arab News

Beat diabetes with proper food, says expert | Arab News

RIYADH: Obesity is increasing in the Kingdom at an alarming rate and it will eventually lead to diabetes causing renal, cardiac, dental and eye diseases, said a senior official at a Riyadh-based company.

Vikrant Shrotriya of Novo Nordisk was speaking to Arab News about this year’s WHO theme, “Beat Diabetes,” to mark the World Health Day on Thursday.

“The theme is a timely choice, since there are 350 million diabetics in the world and this is expected to be doubled by 2040, and the world spends some $673 billion to treat and prevent the disease,” he said, pointing out that the deaths cause by diabetes is much more than any other disease in the world.

 Nearly 1.5 million people die of diabetes every year, according to WHO.
“One in every 11 persons become a victim of the disease,” said Shrotriya. “It is a silent killer if not properly treated.”


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Beat diabetes with proper food, says expert | Arab News

Health Day dedicated to diabetes awareness | Arab News

 RIYADH: A statistical report stated that diabetes in the Gulf has reached record numbers, with rates reaching between 12 to 24 percent, and increasing as people get older.

Rates are 8 percent in people under 35 years old, while those over 65 years old form 50.4 percent, and the percentages are expected to increase by the year 2030 to reach 24 to 50 percent.

The report pointed out that diabetes among Bahrain is is around 40 percent in people over 40 years; in Oman rates increase to reach 12 percent in adults; Kuwait has 22.4 percent; the United Arab Emirates has 19.6 percent.

This year, Global Health Day (April 7) is allocated to educate people about diabetes, said Mishari bin Hamad Al-Dakhil, general supervisor of the public directorate for nutrition in the Ministry of Health.

 Diabetes is spreading in an epidemic manner which makes it a risk at the national level. The importance of this concerns the increased rates of chronic complications due to diabetes, which increases the total costs of treating it.

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Health Day dedicated to diabetes awareness | Arab News

One in five adults may be obese by 2025, says survey | Arab News

 PARIS: One in five adults could be obese by 2025, said a major survey Friday that warned of a looming epidemic of “severe obesity” with significant health and economic costs.
The ratio of obese adults has more than doubled in the 40 years since 1975, and will climb further in the coming nine, the research showed.

Of about five billion adults alive in 2014, 641 million were obese, it found. The figure was set to exceed 1.1 billion by 2025.

 “There will be health consequences of magnitudes that we do not know,” author Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London told AFP of the research published by The Lancet medical journal.
“Obesity and especially severe and morbid obesity, affect many organs and physiological processes.

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One in five adults may be obese by 2025, says survey | Arab News

90% of Saudi children have tooth decay, says expert | Arab News

RIYADH: Some 90 percent of children are suffering from tooth decay in some parts of the Kingdom, with the Eastern Province having the lowest rates of infection, an expert told attendees at an oral hygiene event in Riyadh.

Dr. Salwa Al-Sadhan, head of Community Service at King Saud University’s Faculty of Medicine, said this at the event which focused on the importance of oral health.

 She said that students of the Faculty of Medicine are repeatedly visiting schools to spread awareness of oral health among students and to show them how to properly brush their teeth to prevent decay.

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90% of Saudi children have tooth decay, says expert | Arab News

Saudi females prove their mettle in operation theaters - Saudi Gazette

THE Ministry of Health’s statistics on the number of doctors showed that there are 71,000 male and female physicians in the Kingdom, of whom 17,000 are Saudis. The number of female Saudi doctors is 5,500, accounting for 32 percent of the total number of Saudi doctors and 7 percent of the number of doctors in the country.

Though the statistics do not say how many of the female doctors are surgeons, there are only a few in this field. But one thing is sure: female surgeons have proven themselves in this difficult field and won the admiration of the general public and the medical field. These women are able to enter the operation theaters, hold knives and scalpels and operate with confidence.

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Saudi females prove their mettle in operation theaters - Saudi Gazette

Hemophilia: Trained staff needed | Arab News

 Dr. Hazzaa Al-Zahrani, director of hematology and fellowship training programs at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, has warned against the increasing risk of hemophilia in the Gulf region.
He said about 75 percent of the people suffering from the bleeding disorder in developing countries do not receive enough or adequate treatment, or none at all, because health systems in these countries already have enough on their hands among health problems such
as dealing with malignant and infectious diseases.

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Hemophilia: Trained staff needed | Arab News

Organ transplant cases increase 300 percent | Arab News

JEDDAH: The number of transplant cases in the Kingdom increased 300
percent during 2015 in comparison with 2014, with the transplant of 778
kidneys, an increase of 24 percent, of which 634 were from live patients
and 144 from brain-dead donors.

King Faisal Specialty Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah ranked first in kidney
transplant surgeries, with 187 surgeries, an increase of 40 percent over the previous
 year. The research center in King Faisal Specialty Hospital in Riyadh came second
 with 181 transplants; King Fahd Specialty Hospital in Dammam came third with
131 transplants; Prince Sultan Medical Military City in Riyadh came fourth with
 91 cases; and King Abdulaziz Medical City for the National Guard ranked
 fifth with 52 transplants........

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Organ transplant cases increase 300 percent | Arab News

90% with genetic disorders marry cousins | Arab News

 JEDDAH: Around 90 percent of men with sickle cell anemia and thalassemia
insist on marrying first cousins even though there is a high risk of
their children having these disorders and birth defects.

This is according to Ali Al-Ghamdi, general supervisor of marriage tests at
Jeddah’s regional laboratory, who said that couples with genetic
disorders often marry because they want to adhere to traditions,
according to a report in a local publication recently.

Al-Ghamdi said that couples are not obliged to take tests. If they do, they are at
least aware of the risks involved if they tie the knot with one of them
having a genetic disorder.

He said clinics test for sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, among other diseases. If couples are negative they are given a certificate to continue their procedures. If one or
both has a genetic disease they are referred to a specialist clinic
where they will get advice on the consequences of getting married.

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90% with genetic disorders marry cousins | Arab News

KSA registered 21,761 AIDS cases since 1984 | Arab News

 JEDDAH: The Kingdom has recorded 21,761 people with AIDS in the country
since 1984, divided into 6,334 Saudis and 15,427 non-Saudis, a local
publication reported to mark World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

In 2014, there were 1,222 new cases recorded, with Saudis making up 444 and
foreigners 778, according to Tawfiq bin Ahmad Khoja, director general of
the executive office of the GCC Health Ministers’ Council.

Khoja said that infections among people in the GCC countries is the lowest in
the region, between 0.15 and 1.95 for every 1,000 individuals.

 He said HIV cases are rising because of several factors, including people lacking knowledge, movement of people between large cities, drug addicts sharing needles and the influence of migrants from countries with a high incidence of infections.Khoja said the GCC health ministries have taken several precautions to counter the spread of this virus, including stopping the importation of blood from abroad, and increasing awareness campaigns especially targeting young people.


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KSA registered 21,761 AIDS cases since 1984 | Arab News

KSA ranks fifth in Gulf for obesity | Arab News

Dr. Hanan Al-Ghamdi, assistant professor of Hepatobiliary and Laparoscopic Surgery at the University of Dammam, has warned that Saudi Arabia is located in the ‘red zone’ in relation to the prevalence of overweight and obese nationals.

“The overall proportion of Saudis who are overweight stands at 70 percent of the total population. The global rate of entry into what is known as the ‘red zone’ of concern is when
60 percent of the population is overweight,” she explained.

The proportion is divided at 72 percent among women, and 68 percent among men, she added.“Thus, the Kingdom ranked fifth among the Middle East countries, after Qatar,
Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain,” she said. 

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KSA ranks fifth in Gulf for obesity | Arab News

Cost of diabetes escalating | Arab News

 JEDDAH: Of youths under the age of 20, 5 to 10 percent suffer from
diabetes, said Vice President of the Saudi Society for Children’s
Medicine and head of the third annual conference for diabetes patients
Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Toweim.

The two-day conference launched on Wednesday at the InterContinental Hotel in Jeddah, under the auspices of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, with attendance of 40 professors
and lecturers from inside and outside the Kingdom.

According to Al-Toweim, “treatment for type I diabetes patients without any
complications costs the Ministry of Health SR10,000 annually for insulin
needles, while treatment for type 2 diabetes per patient ranges between
SR5,000 and SR8,000 annually.”........

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Cost of diabetes escalating | Arab News

67% of visits to emergency ‘not urgent' | Arab News

 JEDDAH: A whopping 67 percent of people who seek help at the emergency
units of hospitals do not need urgent attention, says a study.
The research, published by a local publication on Friday, found that these
people are only likely to delay others from getting treatment. Only 24
percent required urgent medical intervention.

In addition, over 50 percent thought that the medical staff were unfriendly and tactless.
However, 70 percent expressed satisfaction about waiting areas and
access to parking.

Fares Al-Hamzani, a consultant in health services management, said that researchers interviewed 544 people. The study revealed that only 2.79 percent of people were happy about services at emergency units, which was often the first place of contact for the
public.

Al-Hamzani urged the government to increase the number of primary health centers in some areas. He also said that a board should be set up to monitor the way patients view services, so that it could improve on them.

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67% of visits to emergency ‘not urgent' | Arab News

Saudi Statistics on Health professions in Saudi Arabia

source  Okaz newspaper  15- Sep-2015

Total Number of non-Saudis working in health professions in Saudi Arabia is   :  317,000

Total Number of Saudis working in health professions in Saudi Arabia is   :  139,000

Total of non-Saudi  doctors  is  : 102,000

Total Number of Saudi doctors : 25,800

 Non-Saudis pharmacologist : 39,000

Saudi pharmacologist           :  7,000 

other non-Saudis working in health professions :  33,000 

other Saudis working in health professions  :  8,000