Background
Patients can and do search the Internet for information on various health-related topics. YouTube™ is one popular website they may consult.

Aim
To examine the quality of information offered by YouTube™ for patients seeking information on early childhood caries (ECC).

Design
YouTube™ was searched for videos on ECC. The usefulness of selected videos in providing adequate information about ECC was evaluated using a 13-point usefulness score. The guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry were used for benchmarking.

Results
Most videos were uploaded by healthcare professionals (60%, n = 18). Videos had generally low usefulness scores (mean: 5.1 ± 2.9; range: 1–11). An average YouTube™ video on ECC was viewed two times/day (range: 0.07–34.4 views/day). Less useful videos ranked early on the viewing list, and viewer's interactions with videos were not affected significantly by their usefulness.

Conclusion
YouTube™ should not be used as a trusted site for educating patients on ECC.

YouTube as a source for parents' education on early childhood caries

Coeliac disease

To investigate the prevalence and contributing factors of early childhood caries (ECC) in preschool children of Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK), United Arab Emirates (UAE). Cross-sectional. The sample consisted of 540 healthy preschool children between four and six years of age attending 10 nursery schools in RAK, UAE. A structured questionnaire was distributed to the mothers of children who gave consent for their children to be included in the study. The questionnaire was used to collect information regarding child and mother’s demographic data, children’s feeding and dietary habits, oral hygiene practices and frequency of dental visits. The dental examination of children was conducted by one investigator using a mouth mirror and a torch light source. Five hundred and forty children with a mean age of 5.1 (SD = 0.71) years were included in the study. The prevalence of ECC was 74.1%, the mean dmft was 3.07 ± 0.135. The significant caries index (SiC) was very high (13.3) and the care index was very low (3.8%). A high proportion of caries-free children and those with ECC were either never or only visited dentists when in pain. However, the difference in frequency of dental visits was statistically highly significant (p < 0.001). There was also a statistically significant difference in frequency of tooth brushing between children with and without caries and more than two-thirds of children with ECC spent less than two minutes when brushing their teeth. The difference in sweet consumption was not statistically significant. The prevalence of dental decay and the mean dmft were high and the care index was extremely low. There is a great need for prospective studies and community preventive programs to solve the problem of ECC and set plans to treat open cavities in RAK preschool children.

Early childhood caries and associated risk factors among preschool children in Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Background and Objectives: The associations of breastfeeding and early childhood caries (ECC) risk have been evaluated in several epidemiological studies with conflicting results. We performed an update meta-analysis to estimate the association of feeding patterns, breastfeeding durations and ECC risk. Methods and Study Design: Studies were identified through searching Pubmed, Web of Science, and Embase from January 1990 to December 2015. Results: Thirty-five studies involving 73,401 participants aged 0-71 months were included. The overall analysis showed children ever breastfed had a reduced risk of ECC compared with those never breastfed (OR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.61-0.97, p=0.026). Subgroup analysis revealed ever breastfeeding significantly reduced ECC risk for the studies with 3-6 years old children (OR=0.70, 95% CI: 0.54-0.90, p=0.005), with sample size ＞500 subjects (OR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.46-0.87, p=0.004), with Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) score ≥6 (OR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.46-0.94, p=0.023), published after 2010 (OR=0.50, 95% CI: 0.30-0.82, p=0.006), with adjusted OR (OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.18-0.88, p=0.023). Exclusive breastfeeding did not significantly decrease ECC risk compared with bottle feeding (OR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.35-1.31, p=0.248). The children breastfed ≥12 months significantly increased ECC risk compared with those breastfed ＜12 months (OR=1.91, 95% CI: 1.41-2.59, p＜0.001). Whereas, children breastfed ≥6 months did not significantly increase ECC risk compared with those breastfed ＜6 months (OR=1.13, 95% CI: 0.83-1.53, p=0.428). Conclusions: Our analysis suggests ever breastfeeding may protect children from ECC, and breastfeeding duration ≥12 months is associated with higher ECC risk. Additional large cohort studies are required to illustrate the relationship in further study.

Breastfeeding and early childhood caries: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background and Aim: The data presented in this study aimed to document caries prevalence and severity among a representative sample of 6, 12, and 15 years old Saudi Children Methodology: The study examined a total of 1,986 school children from 75 schools in urban and rural areas of Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia Children having one or more dental caries lesion were used to determine prevalence of dental caries Total number of decayed filled teeth (dft) was used to assess caries severity in the 6 years group while the DMFT was used to assess severity of dental caries at the 12 and 15 years age group Results: The caries prevalence was 8577% in the 6 years group, 6498% in the 12 years group, and 7135% in the 15 years group Mean dft was 14 (SD ± 11) The mean DMFT was 172 (SD ± 049) at 12 years and 266 (SD ± 055) at 15 years Both caries rate and severity were higher in rural areas than urban areas although the differences were not statistically significant Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the prevalence and severity of dental caries in Saudi Arabia remain high, when compared to global averages

/pdf/a-comparison-of-dental-caries-in-urban-and-rural-children-of-21fntgb9pu.pdf

A Comparison of Dental Caries in Urban and Rural Children of the Riyadh Region of Saudi Arabia.

Epidemiology of dental caries in children in the United Arab Emirates.

Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) is a multifactorial autoimmune disorder, and studies have reported that patients with Turner syndrome (TS) are at risk for CD. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the weighted prevalence of CD among patients with TS and determine the weighted strength of association between TS and CD. Methods: Studies published between January 1991 and December 2019 were retrieved from four electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. Eligible studies were identified and relevant data were extracted by two independent reviewers following specific eligibility criteria and a data extraction plan. Using the random-effects model, the pooled, overall and subgroup CD prevalence rates were determined, and sources of heterogeneity were investigated using meta-regression. Results: Among a total of 1,116 screened citations, 36 eligible studies were included in the quantitative synthesis. Nearly two-thirds of the studies (61.1%) were from European countries. Of the 6,291 patients with TS who were tested for CD, 241 were diagnosed with CD, with a crude CD prevalence of 3.8%. The highest and lowest CD prevalence rates of 20.0 and 0.0% were reported in Sweden and Germany, respectively. The estimated overall weighted CD prevalence was 4.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.3-5.9, I2, 67.4%). The weighted serology-based CD prevalence in patients with TS (3.4%, 95% CI, 1.0-6.6) was similar to the weighted biopsy-based CD prevalence (4.8%; 95% CI, 3.4-6.5). The strength of association between TS and CD was estimated in only four studies (odds ratio 18.1, 95% CI, 1.82-180; odds ratio 4.34, 95% CI, 1.48-12.75; rate ratio 14, 95% CI, 1.48-12.75; rate ratio 42.5, 95% CI, 12.4-144.8). Given the lack of uniformity in the type of reported measures of association and study design, producing a weighted effect measure to evaluate the strength of association between TS and CD was unfeasible. Conclusion: Nearly 1 in every 22 patients with TS had CD. Regular screening for CD in patients with TS might facilitate early diagnosis and therapeutic management to prevent adverse effects of CD such as being underweight and osteoporosis.

/pdf/prevalence-of-celiac-disease-in-patients-with-turner-2313axquly.pdf

Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Patients With Turner Syndrome: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background There is a dearth of information on liver abscesses in the United Arab Emirates. Herein, we describe the clinical features of liver abscesses and determine their incidence rates and clinical outcomes. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical charts of adult patients with a primary diagnosis of liver abscess at a major hospital over a 7-year period. Results Amongst 45 patients, 82.2% (37/45) had a pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) and 17.8% (8/45) had amoebic liver abscesses (ALA). Overall, patients were young (median age 42 years, IQR 35-52), mostly males (77.8%, 35/45) from the Indian subcontinent (55.6%, 25/45), presented with fever (88.9%, 40/45) and abdominal pain (88.9%, 40/45), and had a solitary abscess on imaging (71.1% (32/45). Crude annual incidence rates were 35.9/100,000 hospital admissions (95% CI 26.2-48.0) and 5.9/100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 4.3-7.9). All ALA patients were from the Indian subcontinent (100%, 8/8). Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most frequent pathogen in PLA (43.2% [16/37], 95% CI 27.1-60.5%). The hospital stay was shorter in ALA (7.5 days, IQR 7-8.5) than in PLA (14 days, IQR 9-17). No deaths were recorded within 30 days of hospitalisation. Conclusions ALA was exclusively seen in migrants from the Indian subcontinent, suggesting importation. Further research to characterise K. pneumoniae isolates and assess potential risk factors is needed.

/pdf/importation-of-entamoeba-histolytica-and-predominance-of-2tsu7p1n4f.pdf

Importation of Entamoeba histolytica and predominance of Klebsiella pneumoniae in liver abscesses: a 7-year retrospective cohort study from the United Arab Emirates.

Introduction Coeliac disease (CD) is a genetic autoimmune disorder characterised by a permanent sensitivity to the gluten contained in some grains. Certain patient groups are considered high risk for the development of CD, including, but not limited to, those with chromosomal disorders such as Turner syndrome (TS). Here, we present a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis that aims to comprehensively summarise the literature, and quantitatively estimate the weighted strength of the association between TS and CD. Methods and analysis Our protocol follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 guidelines. We will search PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Embase databases for relevant articles. Variant and broad search terms will be selected for identifying epidemiological studies reporting on the crude and/or adjusted association between TS and CD. Retrieved citations will be screened, and data from the eligible research reports against specific eligibility criteria will be extracted. We will then assess the risk of bias associated with the eligible studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The overall weighted strength of the pooled association will be quantified using the random-effects model. Ethics and dissemination This review will use data from published literature; hence, ethical approval will not be needed. The resulting review will be the first to produce a comprehensive synthesis of the strength of the association between TS and CD. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal as well as in local and international conferences and symposiums. Results dissemination would help healthcare providers and policy-makers to make informed decisions regarding the diagnosis and management of CD in high-risk individuals. PROSPERO registration number CRD42019131881, dated 3 September 2019.

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/10/7/e037478.full.pdf

Strength of the association between Turner syndrome and coeliac disease: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Dental caries is a considerable public health problem in young children (age 12 years and below) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) The aim of this work is to design a health promotion intervention aiming to reduce the prevalence of dental caries in Abu Dhabi children aged 6 years and below. If the intervention showed evidence of success this intervention can be generalized to the whole UAE. Materials and Methods: Literature review was done to discuss the prevalence of dental caries and its determinants. Based on the findings, a health promotion intervention plan was proposed together with an implementation proposal and an evaluation plan. Expected Result: Reduction of dental caries prevalence is expected among Abu Dhabi young children (6 years and below) and an increase in awareness about oral hygiene practice and eating habits among Abu Dhabi pregnant and new mothers are expected if this program was implemented properly. Conclusion: There is high prevalence of dental caries and its risk factors in the UAE including Abu Dhabi. This will have an increasing economic and health impact on the UAE. Preventing dental caries and controlling its risk factors by a well-developed health promotion program will help to change the current situation to the desired outcome which is the reduction of dental caries dmft (decayed, missing and felt primary teeth) and prevalence in UAE children. Keywords: health promotion intervention; Dental caries; children, United Arab Emirates.

/pdf/dental-caries-health-promotion-intervention-in-abu-dhabi-2f5lit38mw.pdf

Ghada S. M. Al-Bluwi

Papers

Epidemiology of dental caries in children in the United Arab Emirates.

Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Patients With Turner Syndrome: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importation of Entamoeba histolytica and predominance of Klebsiella pneumoniae in liver abscesses: a 7-year retrospective cohort study from the United Arab Emirates.

Strength of the association between Turner syndrome and coeliac disease: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Dental caries health promotion intervention in abu dhabi among young children