Governorates Of Kuwait Research Articles

Nonspecific low-back pain in Kuwaiti children and adolescents: Associated factors

Purpose To investigate factors associated with low-back pain among Kuwaiti children and adolescents; and study their relation with social activities and school performance. Method A cross-sectional population of 400 schoolchildren aged 10 to 18 years were selected from junior and high schools in one of the governorates in Kuwait. Data were collected through personal interviews using a questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS software. Results Older adolescent females who practice strenuous physical activities and spend a significant amount of time watching TV, and smokers were found to be significantly more likely to have low-back pain. Also, high grade-point average students were found to experience more low-back pain. Methods of carrying school materials were not significantly associated with low-back pain. Low-back pain did not significantly affect the number of absent days from school. Conclusions The study suggests that back pain in Kuwaiti schoolchildren and adolescents is associated with older age, female gender, increase in physical activity, and time spent watching television.

Prevalence and Social Correlates of Consanguinity in Kuwait

Kuwait has one of the highest consanguinity rates in the world. Our objectives in this study were to assess the frequency and trend in consanguineous marriages, and to identify factors associated with inbreeding. A representative sample of 482 households from the most developed (the Capital), and the least developed (Jahra), of the five governorates in Kuwait was selected. The study involved only Kuwaiti nationals. A structured questionnaire was administered by previously trained team members through a household face-to-face interview. Data were obtained for 959 current or previous marriages. Frequency of total (first and second cousin) consanguinity was much higher in Jahra governorate (42.1%) than the Capital (22.6%). Over the last decade, the inbreeding has decreased in the Capital but not in Jahra. Bivariate analysis indicated that several socioeconomic and demographic variables were significantly associated with consanguinity. The control of confounding factors by logistic regression showed, however, that Bedouin origin and year of marriage were the only variables significantly related to consanguinity. There is a widening gap between Bedouins and non-Bedouins in the practice of consanguinity in Kuwait.

Prevalence of Obesity among 6- to 13-Year-Old Kuwaiti Children

Objective: To determine the prevalence of obesity among 6- to 13-year-old Kuwaiti children, and to investigate the familial and behavioural factors associated with obesity. Method: A cross-sectional multi-stage stratified random sample of 2,400 schoolchildren (1,256 males and 1,144 females) of ages 6–13 years was selected from the five governorates in Kuwait, between September 1995 and June 1996. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI, weight in kilograms per height in metres squared) >90th percentile of the age/sex-specific value of the National Centre of Health Statistics reference population. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, children’s behavioural factors, and family history of related diseases in parents were collected by questionnaire. Results: Prevalence of obesity was 26.5% (95% confidence interval 24.7–28.3%). Obesity was more prevalent among the female children from urban areas. BMI was negatively correlated with the number of siblings and child birth order, and positively correlated with blood pressure, after controlling for age and sex. Logistic regression analysis showed significant associations between obesity and family history of obesity (odds ratio = 3.36, p < 0.0001), family history of hypertension (odds ratio = 1.37, p = 0.024), family history of diabetes (odds ratio = 1.57, p = 0.0004) in parents, child birth order (odds ratio = 1.82, p = 0.0002), and respiratory diseases in children (odds ratio = 2.08, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The prevalence rate of obesity in Kuwaiti children is considered to be high. Obesity which is related to family, environment, and individual characteristics needs to be detected and corrected at a young age to prevent its consequences in adulthood.

Patterns of Desired Fertility and Contraceptive Use in Kuwait

This study examined ideal family size its determinants and the impact of motivation on contraceptive use in Kuwait. Data were obtained from a household survey conducted in 1994 among 615 currently married nonpregnant women aged younger than 50 years in 5 major governorates in Kuwait. Six variables (number of living children marriage age wifes employment educational status of husbands and wives ethnic background and desired fertility) explained 15% of the variance in ideal family size. Women desired about 5.3 children. Women who married before the age of 18 years desired about 1 more child than women who married at over 21 years. Bedouin women desired 5.6 children and non-Bedouin women desired 4.8 children. Illiterate women desired 6.3 children. Women without formal schooling desired about 5.0 children. Working women desired 4.9 children. Number of living children and ethnicity were statistically significantly associated with ideal family size. 41% of women did not desire another child. The proportion of women wanting to stop childbearing increased with the number of living children. Non-Bedouin women were more likely to desire a stop to childbearing. 67% had ever used contraception; 50% were current users. Current use was associated with husbands level of education and wifes employment. With controls for the 6 variables women who had the same or more children than their ideal were twice as likely to be current users as women who had not reached their ideal. Number of living children may be the most important factor in determining a stop to childbearing and the use of contraceptives.

Assessment of Air Quality in Ninety-Nine Residences of Kuwait

In the present study, we investigate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in residences of Kuwait. The objectives were to characterize indoor air exposures to VOCs and to identify potential sources of VOCs, wherever possible. A random sample of 99 residences was selected from all the five governorates of Kuwait during the period from December 1994 to June 1996 and concentrations of the compounds from indoors and outdoors were sampled. Using the statistical techniques of factor analysis on indoor and outdoor samples, we reduced the number of pollutants to four new variables (or factors) separately for the indoor data and for the outdoor data. These factors were related to certain source characteristics in an attempt to identify the potential sources of the pollutants.

Factors for Job Satisfaction among Primary Care Physicians in Kuwait

Objective: To explore factors affecting job satisfaction among primary care physicians in Kuwait amidst the various challenges in the aftermath of the Gulf war. These challenges are in terms of lower number of physicians and lesser number of reopened primary care centres post liberation. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire covering various aspects of job satisfaction was prepared and distributed to a random sample of 185 primary care physician across the five governorates of Kuwait. Factor analysis was employed to ascertain factors underlying job satisfaction. Results: Nine common factors underlying job satisfaction explained 66.9% of the variance in the data. Generally, the physicians were dissatisfied with three factors: salary and promotion, relationship with superiors, and availability of resources. They were satisfied with the remaining six factors: intrinsic work factors, work surroundings, job enthusiasm, relationship with hospital doctors, relationship with colleagues, and finally comfort at work. These nine factors were related to certain demographic variables that were indicative of social structure. Kuwaiti non-family physicians were least dissatisfied with salary and promotion and non-Kuwaiti family physicians were most dissatisfied with this factor. Conclusion: Nationality and specialty proved to be powerful predictors of satisfaction as well as other variables. This is expected because of the advantages Kuwaities have over non-Kuwaities in terms of salary and promotion, and the disadvantages facing family practitioners being, in general, better qualified to do the job, though not appreciated.