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Background It is crucial for women to have a good understanding of menopause from a young age, as this natural transition can have significant effects on their lives. Having this knowledge can help them handle the associated changes and improve their overall well-being. This study aimed to assess the level of awareness, attitude, and misconceptions regarding hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and menopause among women residing in the Taif region. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study conducted on the general population in Taif, Saudi Arabia, using an online self-administered questionnaire through Google Forms (Google Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA) from July 2022 to December 2022. The study included women aged between 40 and 65 years. A previously validated questionnaire was used for data collection, which assessed participants' awareness and knowledge of hormone replacement therapy in Taif. A 2-point system was used to grade each variable, where 2 points were given for a correct answer, 0 for an incorrect answer, and 1 for a neutral answer. Consistent with prior use of the questionnaire, participants who correctly answered 75% were considered to have good knowledge and understanding of HRT. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY, USA). Results A total of 383 participants were enrolled in this study. The mean age of the participants was 48 ± 6.2 years (ranging from 40 to 65 years). The mean knowledge score about hormone therapy during menopause was found to be 1.9 ± 2.4 (ranging from 0 to 9) out of 10. Of these participants, 63 (16.4%) were considered to have good knowledge, while 320 (83.6%) had poor knowledge. Additionally, 95 (24.8%) participants agreed to hormone replacement therapy during menopause, 136 (35.5%) believed that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, 74 (19.3%) believed that it decreased the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and 113 (29.5%) believed that it decreased the risk of osteoporosis. The study also found that employment status, previous knowledge about hormone replacement therapy, and current use of it were significantly associated with awareness about hormone replacement therapy (p-value = 0.025, <0.001, and 0.003, respectively), with employed participants, those who heard about it, and those who currently use it tending to have higher awareness level compared to others. Conclusion Our study found that there is a poor level of knowledge and awareness about menopause and hormone therapy among the participants. Employment status was found to be associated with the level of knowledge.
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Background\Aim: Consanguinity influences the phenotypic variations of some hereditary and immune-mediated disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease. This study estimated the prevalence of consanguinity among the ancestors of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and examined the effect of various consanguinity levels on inflammatory bowel disease onset. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease who were seen at two gastroenterology outpatient clinics were consecutively recruited and surveyed for demographics, disease onset, and presence of ancestral consanguinity within three generations. The prevalence of different consanguinity levels was calculated. The association between age at inflammatory bowel disease onset and consanguinity was examined. RESULTS: Two hundred seventeen patients were recruited. The mean age, mean age at diagnosis, and mean illness duration were 32.9 ± 13.4, 18.6 ± 11.5, and 8.6 ± 7.7 years, respectively. Of the cohort, 53.5% were women, and 74.2% were native Saudis. Cigarette smoking was reported in 17.1%; 51% had Crohn's disease, while the remaining patients had ulcerative colitis. A family history of inflammatory bowel disease was reported in 29.5% of patients; consanguinity within three generations was reported in 57.6%. Consanguinity in more than one generation was reported in 38.7%; 17.5% had consanguinity in three consecutive generations. There was no association between inflammatory bowel disease onset and multi-generation consanguinity, but there was an association with disease subtype in favor of ulcerative colitis (b coefficient = 7.1 [95% confidence interval = 4.1, 10]). CONCLUSIONS: Consanguinity is extremely common among Saudi patients with inflammatory bowel disease but does not seem to influence age at disease onset. Genetic studies are needed to further clarify the effect of consanguinity on disease behavior.