ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7387-8277
Current Organisations
University of Vienna
,
World Health Organization
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Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 31-08-2022
Abstract: Insufficient physical activity is considered a strong risk factor associated with non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on physical (in)activity behavior in 10 Arab countries before and during the lockdown. A cross-sectional study using a validated online survey was launched originally in 38 different countries. The Eastern Mediterranean regional data related to the 10 Arabic countries that participated in the survey were selected for analysis in this study. A total of 12,433 participants were included in this analysis. The mean age of the participants was 30.3 (SD, 11.7) years. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between physical activity levels and the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, watching TV, screen time, and computer usage. Physical activity levels decreased significantly during the lockdown. Participants’ country of origin, gender, and education were associated with physical activity before and during the lockdown (p 0.050). Older age, watching TV, and using computers had a negative effect on physical activity before and during the lockdown (p 0.050). Strategies to improve physical activity and minimize sedentary behavior should be implemented, as well as to reduce unhealthy levels of inactive time, especially during times of crisis. Further research on the influence of a lack of physical activity on overall health status, as well as on the COVID-19 disease effect is recommended.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 17-03-2022
Abstract: During pregnancy, woman’s diet is one of the most preeminent factors affecting mother and child’s health. Prior to the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, inadequate maternal diet and low adherence to dietary guidelines was reported among pregnant women in the Arab countries. Nowadays, COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is widely discussed among literature. However, there is limited data on the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-infected pregnant women. This substantially larger group also suffered significant lifestyle changes during the lockdown period. The aim of the study is to characterize dietary patterns, intake and adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pregnancy guidelines before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Arab pregnant women. Using a specially designed questionnaire and using the snowball s ling method, the survey was carried out among a convenient s le of 1,939 pregnant women from five Arab countries. Our study found an increment in the consumption of cereals, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, and nuts that occurred during the pandemic compared to the preceding period. Despite this noticeable increase during the pandemic, the Arab pregnant women in this study had significantly lower adherence to the USDA pregnancy guidelines. The daily consumption of almost all food groups was lower than the USDA’s daily recommendations, except for fruits intake, which was higher than the daily standard. Demonstrated poor adherence to prenatal USDA dietary guidelines by Arab pregnant women can lead to numerous deficiencies and health risks among their offspring. In conclusion, our study showed that before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, poor adherence to dietary recommendations occurred in a considerable number of Arab pregnant women. The findings emphasize the need for nutritional education and intervention during prenatal visits.
Publisher: E.U. European Publishing
Date: 11-11-2022
DOI: 10.18332/TID/155007
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-04-2022
Abstract: Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a salient metabolite that can be used to assess Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure in humans and animals. The carcinogenic potency of AFB1 and AFM1 was severely reported. The aims of this study were (1) to survey the contamination level of AFM1 in the most traded infant powdered formula brands (IPF) (n = 42) along with the AFB1 level in under 5’s children food brands (biscuits, cornflakes, and cereals) (n = 42) and (2) to assess the estimated daily intake (EDI), the hazard quotient (HQ) and the margin of exposure (MOE) of AFM1 among infants (0–12 months) in Lebanon. All of the s les were analyzed using ELISA technique. AFB1 was below detection limit in all of the children’s food brands s les. Out of 42 IPF s les 9.5% were AFM1-positive in the range of 29.54–140.16 ng/L and exceeded the maximum tolerable limit (MTL) set by the European commission (25 ng/kg). The overall average contamination level was 5.72 ± 0.014 ng/L. The EDI of AMF1 for male was in the range of 0.37–0.78 ng/kg/b.w./day and 0.40–0.87 ng/kg/b.w./day for females. Similarly, the HQ calculation resulted in an average of 3.05 for males and 3.28 for females. MOE calculations were far lower from 10,000 in both genders which indicates a high risk of genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Our findings show that AFM1’s EDI, HQ and MOE scored high among Lebanese infants. As infants consume more IPF relative to their body weight, the persistence of IPF with high AFM1 levels threatens their health. Thus, infant’s exposure risk to AFM1 in IPF should be a continuous focus of attention.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 15-02-2022
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the Eastern Mediterranean Region's food system's fragility posing severe challenges to maintaining healthy sustainable lifestyle. The aim of this cross-sectional study ( N = 13,527 household's family members, mean age: 30.3 ±11.6, 80% women) is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food consumption patterns and household's dietary ersity in 10 Eastern Mediterranean countries. A food frequency questionnaire was used to investigate the consumption patterns along with the calculation of the Food Consumption Score (FCS), a proxy indicator of dietary ersity. Data collected on cooking attitudes, shopping and food stock explore the community mitigation measures. In the overall population, before and during the pandemic, most food groups were consumed less or equal to 4 times per week. As evident from our findings and considering that the pandemic may be better, but it's not over, small to moderate changes in food consumption patterns in relatively short time periods can become permanent and lead to substantial poor dietary ersity over time. While it is a priority to mitigate the immediate impact, one area of great concern is the long-term effects of this pandemic on dietary patterns and dietary ersity in Eastern Mediterranean households. To conclude, the COVID-19 crisis revealed the region's unpreparedness to deal with a pandemic. While the aggressive containment strategy was essential for most countries to help prevent the spread, it came at a high nutritional cost, driving poor dietary ersity.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-09-2022
Abstract: Mothers are understandably concerned about protecting the well-being of their offspring in every way possible, including providing oral dietary supplements (DSs). Up to now, there has been limited data on maternal knowledge and attitudes toward concomitant maternal–child DSs practices in Lebanon. This study evaluated the maternal knowledge and attitudes toward DSs and documented the DS-related practices in mothers and their under-5 children with their correlates. This cross-sectional study involved a representative stratified cluster random s le of 511 mother–child dyads (mothers: mean age ± SD = 30.25 ± 4.98 years children: mean age ± SD = 18.7 ± 15.5 months, girls: 55.0%). A self-administered questionnaire was used to meet study aims. Most mothers lack awareness and hold unfavorable attitudes regarding DS use. Among all mothers, 47% were DS users, with the majority using vitamin D (82%). Almost 64% of mothers provide DSs for their children, with a predominant use of multivitamin drops (61.0%). “To keep the child healthy” was the reported reason by 60.0% of mothers to provide DSs for their children. Physicians were the primary information source about DSs for most mothers (64.0%). The usage of DSs among mothers was influenced by their pregnancy status, child’s age, number of children per household, and their awareness and attitudes towards DSs. DS usage among children was correlated with maternal DS use and their mothers’ attitudes towards DSs. DS usage among Lebanese mother–child dyads is common. Mothers should be the focus of education sessions regarding DS use.
No related grants have been discovered for Ayoub Al Jawaldeh.