Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background Infant health is profoundly influenced by socioeconomic factors, parental lifestyle, and prenatal care. Understanding the critical role of all these factors can guide targeted public health interventions to reduce infant morbidity and mortality. Aims To investigate the impact or association of various maternal and paternal factors, including periconceptional care, pregnancy-related health conditions, antenatal care, smoking, radiation, nutrition, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and COVID-19 vaccination, on infant health in Egypt, Palestine, Yemen, and Jordan. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 445 mothers from August 2024 to October 2024 using a pretested and well-structured questionnaire. A well-trained physician conducted a face-to-face interview to collect data. Statistical analysis was performed to identify significant associations. Results The mean ±SD maternal age was 27.72 ± 6.4 years, and the paternal age was 32.35 ± 7.25 years. Most mothers were Palestinian (34.8%) and Egyptian (26.7%), with 62.7% residing in urban areas. Key findings revealed that smoking ( P  = 0.042), inadequate intake of folic acid during pregnancy ( P  = 0.003), and non-prescription drug use ( P  = 0.008) were significantly associated with infant diseases. High income levels ( P  < 0.05) and routine prenatal visits ( P  = 0.03) showed significant associations with healthy infants. Chronic parental illnesses, being unaware of pregnancy for a longer time, hyperemesis gravidarum, and maternal COVID-19 during pregnancy were all important factors that were linked to a higher incidence of infant diseases (P  = 0.05). Conclusion This study highlights the importance of socioeconomic factors, healthy parental lifestyle, and prenatal care in improving infant health outcomes. Public health initiatives should focus on promoting awareness of maternal health, early medical intervention, and socioeconomic support to enhance maternal and infant well-being. To explore the long-term impacts of these factors and develop targeted strategies for vulnerable populations, further research is necessary.

IntroductionNeurophobia, defined as a fear or aversion toward neuroscience and clinical neurology study, was first introduced by Dr. Ralph Jozefowicz in 1994. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and contributing factors of neurophobia among clinical-year medical students at Badr University in Cairo (BUC) and Helwan University. Given the high incidence of neurological disorders in Egypt, addressing neurophobia is crucial to encourage medical students to pursue neurology and help meet the country’s growing healthcare needs.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,235 clinical-year medical students from BUC and Helwan University. Quantitative data were collected using the Schon questionnaire and NeuroQ scale. Additionally, focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 62 students provided qualitative insights.ResultsNeurophobia was more prevalent among BUC students (47.7%) compared to Helwan students (26%). Male students reported higher levels of neurophobia, yet expressed greater confidence in neurology than female students. The perceived complexity of neuroanatomy (43.4%), lack of clinical exposure (52.5%), and excessive theoretical content (40.3%) were the main contributing factors. Early clinical exposure and more interactive teaching methods were strongly preferred by the students.ConclusionNeurophobia represents a major educational barrier and contributes to the global shortage of neurologists. A little is known regarding neurophobia among Egyptian medical students. Proposed solutions include adopting active learning strategies and reducing the time gap between neuroscience and neurology to enhance students’ confidence to reduce neurophobia among undergraduates. Yet, more studies are needed to reveal more about neurophobia prevalence, factors, and suggested plans to overcome.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the causes of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and related hospitalizations in neonates and infants. Clinical trials have shown that a single dose of nirsevimab can prevent this infection and its related complications. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and Cochrane Central on 25 November 2024 and updated on 18 April 2025, without automated filters or language restrictions. Studies reported the outcomes after nirsevimab in infants were retrieved. A random effects model was applied for analysis. A total of 425,362 infants were pooled from 26 studies (6 randomized controlled trials and 20 observational cohorts studies). The immunization with nirsevimab reduced the incidence of RSV-LRTIs by 63% (risk ratio [RR]: 0.37; 95% CI [0.29; 0.47], p-value < 0.001, I  = 91.77%), hospitalization by 73% (RR: 0.27; 95% CI [0.20; 0.37], p-value < 0.001, I  = 97.46%). Nirsevimab also reduced the incidence of all-cause LRTIs and hospitalization, bronchiolitis, ICU admission, emergency unit visits, and all-cause mortality. The high heterogeneity was raised from pooling the real-world data across different clinical settings such as different geographical locations. There was no statistical significance regarding safety outcomes; serious, GIT adverse events, adverse events of special interest, and adverse events > grade 3 between the two groups. The time to event analysis showed that nirsevimab significantly reduced the RSV-LRTIs (Hazard Ratio (HR): 0.25; 95% CI [0.16; 0.37]) and hospitalization (HR: 0.14; 95% CI [0.08; 0.25]). The immunization with a single dose of nirsevimab significantly reduced the RSV-LRTIs and hospitalization in infants who were at risk for RSV infection without any identified safety concerns. The long-term safety concerns are still unclear across the current studies.