QU Health Research
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/38783
2024-03-29T05:32:20ZDietary Intake Is Not Associated with Body Composition nor with Biochemical Tests but with Psychological Status of Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/53099
Dietary Intake Is Not Associated with Body Composition nor with Biochemical Tests but with Psychological Status of Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy
Subih, Hadil S.; Al-Shwaiyat, Esraa A.; Al-Bayyari, Nahla; Obeidat, Belal S.; Abu-Farsakh, Fadi; Bawadi, Hiba
Chemotherapy can negatively affect cancer patients’ eating patterns, psychological status, body composition, and quality of life. In this study, we aimed to investigate the correlations between dietary intake/care and the psychological status of cancer patients treated with chemotherapy. An observational study was conducted on 75 participants during their first cycle of chemotherapy treatment, and they were followed up for three cycles. Each participant completed a reliable validated questionnaire, psychological questionnaire, quality of life questionnaire, and three-day food records. Dietary intake was considered adequate if there was an adherence of participants to dietary recommendations offered by the dietitian and was confirmed by ESHA analysis software (version 10.6.3). Seventy-five percent of participants had inadequate nutrition intake. All anthropometric measurements decreased after 2 months of chemotherapy regardless of patients’ dietary intake. Approximately half of the participants reported depression and anxiety. There were significant differences between all nutrient intake levels when compared to the recommended dietary allowance except for fat, unsaturated fatty acids, and iron. Also, there were associations between nutritional intake and life quality and depression. In conclusion, poor dietary intake was associated with depression and insufficient macro- and micronutrient intake. Emotional and nutritional support from healthcare providers and family are highly necessary.
2023-12-13T00:00:00ZRevolutionizing cancer care strategies: immunotherapy, gene therapy, and molecular targeted therapy
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/52833
Revolutionizing cancer care strategies: immunotherapy, gene therapy, and molecular targeted therapy
Zafar, Aasma; Khan, Muhammad Jawad; Abu, Junaid; Naeem, Aisha
Despite the availability of technological advances in traditional anti-cancer therapies, there is a need for more precise and targeted cancer treatment strategies. The wide-ranging shortfalls of conventional anticancer therapies such as systematic toxicity, compromised life quality, and limited to severe side effects are major areas of concern of conventional cancer treatment approaches. Owing to the expansion of knowledge and technological advancements in the field of cancer biology, more innovative and safe anti-cancerous approaches such as immune therapy, gene therapy and targeted therapy are rapidly evolving with the aim to address the limitations of conventional therapies. The concept of immunotherapy began with the capability of coley toxins to stimulate toll-like receptors of immune cells to provoke an immune response against cancers. With an in-depth understating of the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and their relationship to disease prognosis, molecular targeted therapy approaches, that inhibit or stimulate specific cancer-promoting or cancer-inhibitory molecules respectively, have offered promising outcomes. In this review, we evaluate the achievement and challenges of these technically advanced therapies with the aim of presenting the overall progress and perspective of each approach.
2024-12-01T00:00:00ZUse of machine learning to assess factors affecting progression, retention, and graduation in first-year health professions students in Qatar: a longitudinal study
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/52275
Use of machine learning to assess factors affecting progression, retention, and graduation in first-year health professions students in Qatar: a longitudinal study
Hammoudi Halat, Dalal; Abdel-Salam, Abdel Salam G.; Bensaid, Ahmed; Soltani, Abderrezzaq; Alsarraj, Lama; Dalli, Roua; Malki, Ahmed
Background: Across higher education, student retention, progression, and graduation are considered essential elements of students’ academic success. However, there is scarce literature analyzing these attributes across health professions education. The current study aims to explore rates of student retention, progression, and graduation across five colleges of the Health Cluster at Qatar University, and identify predictive factors. Methods: Secondary longitudinal data for students enrolled at the Health Cluster between 2015 and 2021 were subject to descriptive statistics to obtain retention, progression and graduation rates. The importance of student demographic and academic variables in predicting retention, progression, or graduation was determined by a predictive model using XGBoost, after preparation and feature engineering. A predictive model was constructed, in which weak decision tree models were combined to capture the relationships between the initial predictors and student outcomes. A feature importance score for each predictor was estimated; features that had higher scores were indicative of higher influence on student retention, progression, or graduation. Results: A total of 88% of the studied cohorts were female Qatari students. The rates of retention and progression across the studied period showed variable distribution, and the majority of students graduated from health colleges within a timeframe of 4–7 years. The first academic year performance, followed by high school GPA, were factors that respectively ranked first and second in importance in predicting retention, progression, and graduation of health majors students. The health college ranked third in importance affecting retention and graduation and fifth regarding progression. The remaining factors including nationality, gender, and whether students were enrolled in a common first year experience for all colleges, had lower predictive importance. Conclusions: Student retention, progression, and graduation at Qatar University Health Cluster is complex and multifactorial. First year performance and secondary education before college are important in predicting progress in health majors after the first year of university study. Efforts to increase retention, progression, and graduation rates should include academic advising, student support, engagement and communication. Machine learning-based predictive algorithms remain a useful tool that can be precisely leveraged to identify key variables affecting health professions students’ performance.
2023-12-01T00:00:00ZImpact of Moderate Physical Activity on Inflammatory Markers and Telomere Length in Sedentary and Moderately Active Individuals with Varied Insulin Sensitivity
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/51437
Impact of Moderate Physical Activity on Inflammatory Markers and Telomere Length in Sedentary and Moderately Active Individuals with Varied Insulin Sensitivity
Almuraikhy, Shamma; Sellami, Maha; Al-Amri, Hadaia Saleh; Domling, Alexander; Althani, Asmaa A.; Elrayess, Mohamed A.
Introduction: Physical activity-associated immune response plays a crucial role in the aging process. This study aimed to determine the impact of short-term moderate physical activity on cytokine levels, oxidative stress markers, and telomere length in lean/ overweight young subjects. Methods: Fasting blood samples were collected from 368 participants at Qatar Biobank. Based on their homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), participants were categorized as insulin sensitive (IS) or insulin resistant (IR). Subsequently, they were divided into four groups: sedentary IS (n = 90), sedentary IR (n = 90), moderately active IS (n = 94), and moderately active IR (n = 94). Moderate physical activity was defined as walking at least two days per week for more than 150 minutes, as determined by physical activity questionnaires. Serum samples were analyzed for circulating inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-6, IL-10, IL-22, MCP-1/CCL2, TNF-α), as well as antioxidant enzyme levels (SOD and catalase). Telomere lengths were measured in the respective DNA samples. Results: Moderately active IR participants exhibited significantly lower SOD activity, while catalase activity did not show significant differences. Moderately active IS participants had higher IL-6 and IL-10 levels compared to sedentary IS participants, with no significant differences observed in the IR counterparts. Telomere length did not significantly differ between the physically active and sedentary groups. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects of moderate physical activity in individuals with insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance. However, no significant changes in telomere length were observed, suggesting a complex relationship between physical activity and the aging process. Further research is needed to fully understand the underlying mechanisms and optimize the balance between anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation through exercise and lifestyle adjustments.
2023-11-20T00:00:00Z