Browsing by Author "Bener A."

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Effect of ramadan fasting on glycemic control and other essential variables in diabetic patients
(2018-10-01) Bener A.; Al-Hamaq A.O.A.A.; Öztürk M.; Çatan F.; Haris P.I.; Rajput K.U.; Ömer A.
Background: Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan is a religious obligation for all Muslims who represent 1.8 billion of the world population (24%). This study explores the effect of Ramadan fasting on the blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, sleeping quality, and essential lifestyle parameters and also explores the safety of fasting for a whole month among diabetic patients. Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of Ramadan fasting on the blood glucose, HbA1c, lipid profile, sleeping quality, and lifestyle parameters among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Turkey. Subjects and Methods: A total of 1780 diabetic patients were approached, and 1246 (70%) participated in this cross-sectional study carried out during the period from May 27, 2017, to June 24, 2017. Data analysis comprised sociodemographic features, lifestyle habits, blood pressure measurements, serum lipid profiles, serum calcium, Vitamin D 25-hydroxy, uric acid, and HbA1c at before 4 weeks and after 12 weeks from Ramadan. Results: Out of 1246 patients, 593 (47.6%) were male and 653 (52.4%) were female. The mean ± standard deviation age of the patients was 50.39 ± 15.3 years. Males were significantly older than females (51.53 ± 12.56 vs. 49.26 ± 14.4; P = 0.003, respectively). Significant differences were found in Vitamin D, blood glucose, HbA1c level, creatinine, bilirubin, albumin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (female), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (male), uric acid, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure after and before the holy month of Ramadan (P < 0.05 for each). HbA1c (P < 0.001), physical activity (P < 0.001), hours of sleeping (P < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (BP) (mmHg) (P = 0.007), BMI (P = 0.016), diastolic BP (mmHg) (P = 0.018), family history (P = 0.021), and smoking (P = 0.045) were identified as significantly associated with Ramadan fasting as contributing factors. Conclusion: In one of the largest studies of its kind, we show that Ramadan fasting has positive effects on T2DM patients as it reduces their blood pressure, blood glucose, HbA1C, and BMI. Furthermore, there are improvements in the duration of sleep and physical activity, the role of Ramadan fasting in diabetes therapy has been confirmed.
Health services management in Turkey: Failure or success?
(2019-01-01) Bener A.; Alayoglu N.; Çatan F.; Torun P.; Yilmaz E.
Background: The unfair distribution and delivery of health-care resources have been recognized as a problem in the worldwide. In the past 18 years, Turkey has undergone rapid social, cultural, and economic changes. The lifestyle and dietary habits of its people have also been changing, and the rates of diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other chronic diseases have increased dramatically over the past two decades. The health transformation program (HTP) has improved the Turkish health-care system since 2003. The main goal of HTP was to progress government, to provide equality between citizens, to give satisfaction to users and providers, and to subsidise the health-care system in Turkey. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess health-care services and health care quality delivery in the Republic of Turkey with special emphasis on governmental hospitals, university hospitals, primary healthcare centers (PHC) and to make comparison with low-, medium-and high-income countries. Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive study. The ministry of health Annual Reports, websites of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The World Fact Book, organization for economic cooperation and development report, Compendium of Health Statistics, the Google engine, and PubMed were searched for information about Turkey's health-care system and its history. Papers and websites in English were evaluated. There was no restriction on types of articles and sources. Results: Turkey has made outstanding reforms in health status in the last two decades, especially after the implementation of the HTP. The doctor's perception has more influence regarding consultation length and visit than the patient's. The results of consultations in volunteer practices in Istanbul showed that the mean and SD of the consultation length for the whole sample of 360 patients was 7.95 ± 4.38, (with range = 3-25 min). Consultation time has been affected by the patients' diseases, genders that women got longer consultation time, medical practices at the urban or rural areas, and ages which older patients required longer consultation time. The current study revealed that increasing doctor's workload leads to decrease the length of consultations. Moreover, average life expectancy reached 75.3 for men and 80.7 for women in 2015. The infant mortality rate decreased to 10.7/1000 live births in 2015, down from 117.5 in 1980. The leading causes of death are diseases of the circulatory system followed by cancer. Conclusions: The Turkish health system and health-care delivery have been improved over the last decade. Still far from perfect, there is a particular planning to increase medical workforce in PHC including well-Trained staffs for a specific area. An urgent need is to acquire more accurate and reliable data from hospital and PHC centers in Turkey. Additional some attempts should be made to assess quality of healthcare in relation to services and process.
Internet Addiction, Fatigue, and Sleep Problems Among Adolescent Students: a Large-Scale Study
(2019-08-15) Bener A.; Yildirim E.; Torun P.; Çatan F.; Bolat E.; Alıç S.; Akyel S.; Griffiths M.D.
The aim of the present study was to examine the association between Internet addiction (IA), fatigue, and sleep problems among university students. A total of 3000 Turkish students aged 18 to 25 years were approached and 2350 students (78.3%) participated in this cross-sectional study from April 2017 to September 2017 in public and private universities in Istanbul. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire including socio-demographic details, lifestyle and dietary habits, Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Fatigue Scale, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Descriptive statistics, multivariate, and factorial analyses were performed. The overall prevalence of IA among the studied population was 17.7%. There were significant differences between gender, family income, father’s occupation, school performance, frequency and duration of watching television, physical activity, Internet use duration, and sleep duration (all p < 0.001). Significant differences were also found between participants with IA and those without IA in having headaches, blurred vision, double vision, hurting eyes, hearing problems, and eating fast food frequently (all p < 0.001). Using multivariate regression analysis, the duration of Internet use, physical and mental symptoms, headache, hurting eyes, tired eyes, hearing problems, and ESS scores were significantly associated with (and primary predictors of) IA. The present study demonstrated that IA was associated with poor dietary habits, sleep problems, and fatigue symptoms.