El Rhazi Karima

Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University · Faculty of Medicine

Background The dual existence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and obesity within a single individual may describe a combined adverse health effects, including impaired quality of life and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Oxidative stress is a contributing factor to the pathogenesis of obesity. Meanwhile, dietary antioxidants ma...

Aim: This systematic review aims to investigate the level of empathy among medical students in Arabic speaking countries and analyze its determinants. of empathy among medical students in Arabic speaking countries. The databases PubMed, Scopus, web of science and google scholar were searched. Results: Ten studies from six countries were included. N...

Background Prostate cancer stands as the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men globally, with over 600,000 new cases annually. In-depth epidemiological studies play a pivotal role in delineating the unique characteristics of specific populations. This study endeavors to comprehensively document the histopathological pattern of Moroccan prostat...

Aims A new approach to a healthy diet is the assessment of dietary Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC). The aim of this study was to assess the dietary TAC among Moroccan Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients and identify the main food sources contributing to the total antioxidant capacity intake. Methods A total of 254 patients with T2DM was incl...

Background The current cancer epidemiological profile in Yemen suffers from a lack of locally representative data and resources, posing a challenge in determining the real incidence, prevalence, survival and mortality rates, particularly data extracted from national hospitals. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the cancer burden...

Background The Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) is a widely used screening tool for identifying patterns of cannabis use that have negative health or social consequences for both the user and others involved. This brief screening instrument has been translated into multiple languages, and several studies examining its psychometric properties ha...

Background In Morocco, medical research ethics training was integrated into the medical curriculum during the 2015 reform. In the same year, a law on medical research ethics was enacted to protect individuals participating in medical research. These improvements, whether in the reform or in the enactment of the law, could positively impact the know...

The aim of our study was to assess the overall survival rates for colorectal cancer at 3 years and to identify associated strong prognostic factors among patients in Morocco through an interpretable machine learning approach. This approach is based on a fully non-parametric survival random forest (RSF), incorporating variable importance and partial...

Background The use of the social media has increased significantly in recent decades, and research on the impact of problematic social media use on mental health is a relatively new and growing area of study in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Social media users are prone to developing addictive behaviors and suffering from mental il...

Introduction Empathy is an essential communication skill in the doctor-patient relationship. In fact, measuring its level in medical students is becoming increasingly important. There is a Lack of tools to measure it in Morocco. The aim of this study was to validate the Arabic version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) among Moroccan medical s...

Abstract Introduction: Yemen has a unique low-income population with several sociopolitical challenges and the association between weight disorders and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors is not clearly understood. Aim: The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight among Yemeni adults, and to identif...

Advances in the field of celiac disease have led to a better understanding of the disease, but it remains underdiagnosed and poses a daily challenge to clinicians to make a timely diagnosis. This study aims to analyze and describe diagnosis characteristics, diagnosis delay, and the factors influencing this delay in Moroccan children. Our study incl...

Background: The timing of a breast cancer (BC) diagnosis has a significant psychological impact on patients. However, it reported that those eligible for treatment regimens based on neoadjuvant chemotherapy may experience high levels of depression, anxiety and distress. To cope with this situation, patients deploy psychological coping strategies. T...

Background The Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) instrument consists of 18 items with a six-factor structure. This questionnaire is widely utilized to measure the degree of problematic online gaming, but the scale has not, up to date, been validated in Arabic language. This study aimed to assess POGQ scale validity and reliability in M...

Background Transcultural validation studies of depression scales are rare in Morocco. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is commonly one of the most common and frequently used screening instruments for depressive symptoms, but the scale has not, up to date, been validated in dialect of Arabic in Moroccan contexts. Given t...

Background patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) are often treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). This study aims to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and their sociodemographic and clinical factors in patients recently diagnosed with LABC and before NACT. Methods: A total of 209 LABC patients without metastatic...

Poverty is strongly associated with all-cause and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality. Less is known about the contribution of poverty to spirometrically defined chronic airflow obstruction (CAO)—a key characteristic of COPD. Using cross-sectional data from an asset-based questionnaire to define poverty in 21 sites of the Burden...

Members of research ethics committees (RECs) face a number of ethical challenges when reviewing genomic research. These include issues regarding the content and type of consent, the return of individual research results, mechanisms of sharing specimens and health data, and appropriate community engagement efforts. This article presents the findings...

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem. The aim of this study is to estimate the mean annual direct medical cost per patient with CKD before the start of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Morocco. Methods: This is a cross-sectional cost-of-illness study, using a prevalence approach among adults with CKD bef...

Background Transcultural validation studies of depression scales are rare in Morocco. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is commonly one of the most common and frequently used screening instruments for depressive symptoms, but the scale has not, up to date, been validated in dialect of Arabic in Moroccan contexts. Given t...

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global public health problem. There is strong indication that nutrition could be an important component of primary prevention. Dietary patterns are a powerful technique for understanding the relationship between diet and cancer varying across populations. Objective: We used an unsupervised machine learn...

Background: The recent expansion of genomic biobank research in the Arab region in the Middle East North Africa has raised complex ethical and regulatory issues. However, there is a lack of studies regarding the views of Arab researchers involved in such research. We aimed to assess the perceptions and attitudes of Arab researchers regarding these...

Smartphones have become essential components of daily life, and research into the harmful effects of problematic smartphone use (PSU) on mental health is expanding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This issue has yet to be synthesized and critically evaluated. To find quantitative observational studies on the relationship between P...

The aim of our study was to assess the overall survival rates for colorectal patients in Morocco and to identify strong prognostic factors using a novel approach combining survival random forest and the Cox model. Covariate selection was performed using the variable importance based on permutation and partial dependence plots were displayed to expl...

Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has emerged and spread rapidly worldwide and established a global public health crisis in early 2020. The first Moroccan case was reported on March 2, 2020. Since then, healthcare workers (HCWs) played a major role in saving human lives threatened by COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of CO...

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the consumption of foods and drinks from different food processing categories using the NOVA classification and CRC risk among Moroccan adults. Methods 1453 cases and 1453 matched controls aged at least 18 years and recruited from the 5 greater Moroccan regions were intervi...

In Morocco, the transformation of hides into leather uses many hazardous chemicals such as chromium and sulfide, which have many negative impacts on workers’ health and the environment as well. In this regard, this work has undertaken the evaluation of the occupational health hazards of tanneries′ workers in Fez-Morocco by analyzing different sympt...

Background: Physical activity has been associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer in studies mainly conducted in high-income countries, while sedentary behavior has been suggested to increase CRC risk. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of physical activity and sedentary behavior on CRC risk in the Moroccan population. Methods...

Background Smartphones have become essential components of daily life, and research into the harmful effects of problematic smartphone use (PSU) on mental health is expanding globally. Although several recent studies have addressed the relationship between PSU and mental health in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, this issue has yet t...

Introduction Women with breast cancer eligible for neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) present a disorder of biopsychosocial variables and alteration of their quality of life. They cope with this changing by adopting psychological adjustment strategies, either passive or active. This systematic review aims to investigate the psychological distress, coping st...

Epidemiologic data support an association between diet and mutations in the Kirsten�ras (KRAS) gene involved in colorectal cancer (CRC) development. This study aimed to explore the associations between fat intake and KRAS mutations in codons 12 and 13 in cases of CRC in the Moroccan population. A multicenter case-series study nested in a large-scal...

Epidemiologic data support an association between diet and mutations in the Kirstenras (KRAS) gene involved in colorectal cancer (CRC) development. This study aimed to explore the associations between fat intake and KRAS mutations in codons 12 and 13 in cases of CRC in the Moroccan population. A multicenter case-series study nested in a large-scale...

Objective: The protective effect of the Mediterranean diet (MD) is known for several diseases, but the evidence in low- and middle-income countries was still missing. This article assesses the impact of MD and its components on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) among Moroccan adults. Methods: in population-based cross-sectional study, A...

Purpose End-stage renal disease patients (ESRD) generally complain about a poor quality of life (QOL). The current study aims to describe and compare ESRD patients' QOL according to dialysis modalities (hemodialysis [HD] and peritoneal dialysis [PD]). Methods This is a cross-sectional study, conducted in dialysis facilities of a Moroccan universit...

النسخة العربية لمقياس التوافق النفسي مع مرض السرطان

The mean object of this work is to evaluate the pollution degree of the various operating units (capacity of 2.5 tons of cattle/day) of tanning hide treatment, and treat effluents of the unit unhairing-liming by precipitation. The physico-chemical and biological characterization of wastewater studied operating units and the final discharge shows th...

The objective of this work is to characterize and treat wastewater loaded with sulphide ions from two types of modern and artisanal tanneries. A preliminary diagnosis was made of both types of artisanal and modern tanneries and showed that modern tanneries consume more water and chemicals than traditional tanneries. The most sulphide-laden steps ar...

Background: Assessing the public perspectives regarding donation of biospecimens to biobanks would be helpful with the establishment of biobanks in the Arab region. Objective: To develop a biobanking questionnaire in Arabic and assess its psychometric properties. Design: Multicenter cross-sectional study. Methods: We used a two-step process for que...

Objective The Moroccan cross-sectional study aimed to investigate obesity in association to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Fez city. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Moroccan adults. Anthropometric and spirometry measurements were performed using standardized guidelines. Results Among the 744 participants, 53.9% of we...

PurposeLittle is known about the combined effect of different lifestyle factors on CRC incidence among populations living in developing countries. In this study, we sought to create an Extended Healthy Lifestyle Index (EHLI) and to investigate its association with CRC risk in the Moroccan population.MethodsA large case–control study including 1516...

Cancer is the second biggest cause of premature death after cardiovascular diseases. However, the majority of cancers are caused by risk factors that may be changed. Knowledge is frequently a component of the behavior modification process. Data on the target population’s level of knowledge is required. A cross-sectional survey about nine risk facto...

Colorectal cancer is one of the world's top five diseases and causes death from cancer. Survival is closely related to the stage at diagnosis and population-based screening reduces colorectal cancer incidence, and mortality. Machine learning algorithms have been used to develop risk prediction models in colorectal cancer. This study reported a syst...

Background: This review discusses the findings from epidemiological studies that have examined the possible role of meat and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. Methods: We conducted a literature search in the PubMed, Clinical Trials, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Cochrane databases for observ...

Background: The Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC) instrument is commonly used worldwide by professionals of oncology, but the scale has not, up to date, been validated in Arabic and Moroccan context, and there is absence of data in the Moroccan population. This study aims to validate the Mini-MAC, translated and adapted to the Arabi...

Prevalence and Population Attributable Risk for Chronic Airflow Obstruction in a Large Multinational Study - BOLD Study

Résumé Introduction Les cancers du sein touchent environ un quart des femmes en âge de procréer dans le monde. Les profils biomoléculaires observés dans les formes localisées nécessitent le plus souvent le recours à la chimiothérapie adjuvante, chose qui peut compromettre la fertilité de ces jeunes patientes. Le but de notre étude est de préciser...

Objectives The current study aimed to develop a modified Mediterranean diet (MMD) score adjusted to the southern Mediterranean countries’ cultural specificities and to evaluate associations between adherence to this modified score and overweight/obesity risk in Moroccan adults. Design Population-based cross-sectional study. Setting Rural and urba...

Background: Between 30 and 50% of colon tumors have mutations in the Kirsten-ras (KRAS) gene, which have a large nutritional attributable risk. Despite its high frequency in colorectal cancer (CRC), data to support specific associations between KRAS mutations in CRC and diet are sparse. Here, we conducted a systematic review to summarize the curre...

The 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), has led to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To date, no drugs have demonstrated safety and efficacy in randomized controlled trials for patients with COVID-19. Although the association between Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin efficacy lack of solid evidence-base, several g...

Background: There is convincing evidence demonstrating that body size characteristics such as adiposity and height are associated with breast cancer in westernized countries. However, little is known about this relationship in North African countries currently undergoing nutritional transition and industrialization. The aim of this study was to ex...

Background. Tumors with microsatellite instability (MSI tumors) have distinct clinicopathological features. However, the relation between these tumor subtypes and survival in colon cancer remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall survival (OS) in patients with MSI phenotype, in FES population. Methods. The expression...

Pathologic features depending on tumor response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy are important to determine the outcomes in patients with rectal cancer. Evaluating the potential predictive roles of biomarker expression and their prognostic impact is a promising challenge. We reported here the immunohistochemical staining of a panel marker of misma...

Objective The interest of our work is to identify the objective parameters that can improve the subjective parameters of the well-being of the patients and to share the experience of the care in our center. Kt / V urea and KDQOL SF 36 scale (Kidney Disease Quality of Life short form 36)were used. Material and methodsThis is a single-center cross-se...

Background: Tumors with microsatellite instability (MSI tumors) have distinct clinicopathological features. However, the relation between these tumor subtypes and survival in colon cancer remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall survival (OS) in patients with MSI phenotype, in FES population. Methods: The expressi...

The last food composition table (FCT) for Morocco was published in 1984 and has not been updated since. Our study aimed at bringing this FCT up to date, taking into account the current Moroccan population’s diet. To collate nutrient information, we used the indirect method based on existing data published in the scientific literature. The primary d...

The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between red and white meat subtypes, processed meat (divided into traditional “Khlii, Kaddid” and industrially processed meat) and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, considering CRC subsites, in Moroccan adults. A case–control study was conducted including 2,906 matched case–control pairs recruited...

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer among Moroccan women. Environmental and occupational factors may play a role in breast cancer etiology. This study aimed to investigate the association between occupation, industry, and breast cancer risk among Moroccan women. Methods: A total of 300 breast cancer cases and 300 controls (matc...

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been reported as the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and is currently considered as a major public health concern. In Morocco, the incidence of CRC increased significantly in the last years. At the same time data (e.g. food balance sheets) demonstrate a change of the typical traditional Moroccan...

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been reported as the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and is currently considered as a major public health concern. In Morocco, the incidence of CRC increased significantly in the last years. At the same time data (e.g. food balance sheets) demonstrate a change of the typical traditional Morocc...

Background: Some modifiable risk factors have been independently associated with breast cancer (BC) risk in Moroccan women, but no studies have investigated their joint association. This study aimed to investigate the association between a Healthy Lifestyle Index (HLI) score and BC risk among Moroccan women. Methods: In this case-control study,...

The objective of this work is to characterize and treat wastewater loaded with sulphide ions from two types of modern and artisanal tanneries. A preliminary diagnosis was made of both types of artisanal and modern tanneries and showed that modern tanneries consume more water and chemicals than traditional tanneries. The most sulphide-laden steps ar...

Background: The pathogenicity of cagA-positive H. pylori strains is associated with the number and type of repeated sequences named EPIYA located in the C-terminal region of the CagA protein. The aim of this study is to determine the polymorphism of the H. pylori cagA 3' region circulating in Morocco and its association with different gastric path...

Introduction Dans la ville de Fès (Maroc), l’augmentation de la demande en cuir et des produits issus de ce dernier ont conduit à la modernisation des tanneries par l’introduction du procédé de tannage au chrome qui contribue par 70 à 80 % des cuirs produits à l’échelle mondiale. Cependant, un traitement d’une tonne de peau brute nécessite 500 Kg d...

The nicotine dependence is a physiological and psychological process. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors of nicotine dependence among Moroccan smokers. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2006 on a representative sample of Moroccan smokers. The questionnaire used to collect data was adapted from an existing tobacc...

The main objectives of this study is to assess the quality of surface waters in Oued Fez and Sebou River downstream the city of Fez, to see the impact on health of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) subsequently to his launching . The results of the study show that the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of the different sites from where...

This survey aims at assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices towards standard precautions (SP) among caregivers at Hassan II University Teaching Hospital in Fes. This is a cross-sectional prospective and evaluative study that covers a two-month period. Data were collected using an anonymous and self-administered questionnaire. Sampling populati...

Background: Finding a simple, accurate, and noninvasive diagnosis method is a substantial challenge for the detection of Helicobacter pylori. The aim of the present study was to compare the presence of H. pylori urease antigen in saliva with the presence of this bacterium in gastric mucosa. Methods: Saliva samples and gastric biopsies were taken...

Background: Pesticides in Morocco are extensively used for pest control in agriculture. Their usage practices may potentially result in high farmer exposures and adverse health effects. The objective of this study is to evaluate the risks to human health phytosanitary practices of rural farmers in the region of Meknes. Methods: This study was based...

Background: The importance of studying associations between socio-economic position and health has often been highlighted. Previous studies have linked the prevalence and severity of lung disease with national wealth and with socio-economic position within some countries but there has been no systematic evaluation of the association between lung f...

Introduction Le tabagisme est devenu un fléau menaçant les jeunes adolescents au Maroc, surtout que les interventions individuelles restent insuffisantes et difficiles pour aider à l’arrêt du tabac. Cette étude visait la détermination de la prévalence du tabagisme et de ses déterminants auprès des lycéens de la région Centre Nord du Maroc. Méthode...

Introduction Le tabagisme est un phénomène qui s’installe à l’adolescence et perdure chez les adultes. L’usage du tabac est devenu de plus en plus fréquent chez les adolescents marocains. Méthode Une étude transversale a été menée entre avril 2012 et novembre 2013 dans les collèges et lycées publics des deux régions du Centre Nord du Maroc. Un que...

The Mediterranean diet (MD) has long been considered healthy. Although some of the earliest reports describing its key components date back to the seventeenth century, there is still no consensus on its definition. North African (NA) countries share many similar food traditions considered to fit the profile of a MD. However, large variation exists...