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Background: India has the second-largest population of elderly in the world. Serious mental illness (SMI) is a subset of the mental disorders that result in significant functional impairment and is usually long term. Persons with SMI face several challenges in their old age that are different from the issues faced by younger people with SMI. Understanding the problems faced by elderly individuals suffering from SMI is fundamental for planning programs to address them. The SENIOR (Support Systems Evaluation of Neuropsychiatric Illness in Old age) project is a study aimed at evaluating the problems faced in obtaining mental health care by elderly persons having SMI in the Kerala state of India. Aim: To describe the scientific methodology of the SENIOR project. Methods: This study employs mixed-methods cross-sectional design among a minimum sample of 768 SMI patients identified through cluster sampling from three districts, and Focus Group Discussion among mental health program officials. Discussion: This paper presents a methodological model to assist researchers in future field epidemiological studies on mental illness. Assessing service needs and barriers to access for the most vulnerable among the mentally ill will help the policymakers make evidence-based decisions to improve their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally Cancer is the second leading cause of death and approximately 9.6 million deaths due to cancer in 2018. Approximately about 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer globally. In low and middle-income countries approximately 70% of deaths are due to cancer. Some common cancers in Indian women are Breast, Cervix, Ovary, Mouth & Esophagus, Colorectal and other cancers. Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women across the World as well as in India. Although rapid advancement, mammography & screening has increased rate of survival but women who survive continue to face medical, physical, social and psychosocial challenges. Evaluation of quality of life is also important for understanding the effect of treatment and how much different factors affect quality of life of the breast cancer patients. This paper aims to predict Quality of Life (QoL) in breast cancer patients using various physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains. This descriptive and cross sectional study was undertaken to determine the factors affecting quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer patients. Patient's response and hospital records analyses the dimensions which affects quality of life among breast cancer patients in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Findings suggest strong relationship between clinical and socio-demographical factors and breast cancer patients' QoL. This study demonstrates the strength of the relationship between education and physical well-being, education with social well-being and education with spiritual well-being. A strong relationship was found between marital status and spiritual well being. A strong relationship was found between clinical stage and spiritual well being. A good relationship was found between tumor stage and social and spiritual well being. A strong relationship was also found between type of treatment and physical, psychological and social well being. This study fills a gap in the literature related to QoL in Indian women suffering from carcinoma breast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With millions of people being affected by COVID-19, people living with post COVID-19 clinical symptoms (PCS) are expected to rise further. The primary aim of the study was to comprehensively assess self-reported PCS and its associated risk factors among beneficiaries of Hospital Employee Scheme of a tertiary healthcare institution in Delhi. Patients and Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire developed by employing nominal group technique among individuals aged 18 years and above who were novel SARS-CoV-2 positive from January to April 2021. Participants were telephoned first, before sending the online survey link. Socio-demographic data, information on PCS along with potential risk factors, pre-existing morbidities, vaccination status, severity of acute illness and management were collected between June and July 2021. PCS was presented as relative frequency; Chi-Square test and odds ratio; adjusted values were used to rule out any association between PCS and predictors. Results: In total, 773 of 1801 eligible participants responded to the survey (completion rate 42.9%), with a median age of 34 years (IQR 27– 44). Males accounted for 56.4% and PCS was present in 33.2%. The most prevalent symptoms were fatigue (79.3%), arthralgia (33.4%), myalgia (29.9%), hair loss (28.0%), headache (27.2%), breathlessness (25.3%), and sleep disturbance (25.3%). The prevalence of PCS was reduced to 12.8% at 12 weeks. Female gender, older age, oxygen supplementation, severity of acute illness, and pre-existing co-morbidities were positively associated with PCS. Vaccination (second dose) reduced the odds of developing PCS by 39% compared to unvaccinated participants (aOR 0.61; 95% CI 0.40– 0.96). Conclusion: PCS affects almost all organ systems of the body, regardless of the severity of acute COVID-19 illness. Two doses of vaccine hel reduce the development of PCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prevention of premature deaths due to asthma requires continued disease control through efforts of both patients and healthcare providers. The expectations of patients have been shown to influence treatment adherence and disease control. Methodology: We conducted a hospital-based sequential exploratory mixed methods study and used definitions of the Global Initiative for Prevention of Asthma (GINA). We recruited 80 asthma patients in a tertiary public health facility of central India. We assessed treatment expectations, health literacy, awareness, behavioural risk factors, self-care, treatment adherence, and disease control. We conducted a thematic analysis of qualitative data through manual inductive coding and used statistical software R version-3.6.1 for quantitative analysis. Results: Sixty-seven (83.75%) patients expected that the current doctor would help them achieve 'cure', while 28 (35%) expected to obtain information about asthma. 81.2% and 77.5% of participants had inadequate health literacy and inadequate awareness, respectively. 73.8% were using inhalers and 21.2% were not using any treatment. Forced expiratory volume in 1 (FEV1) and Forced vital capacity (FVC) values were available for only 46.25%, while a meagre 6.25% were using peak-flow meter for self-monitoring. Though 21.2% reported optimal treatment adherence, 27.5% had good control. We found the expectation of cure and poor health literacy being significantly related to sub-optimal treatment adherence. We didn't find any association between the expectations of patients and their disease control. Conclusion: Asthma patients in our setting mostly expected to get cured. The unrealistic expectation of 'cure' is related to poor treatment adherence and possibly poor disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most potent antacids used in clinical practice with greater safety and efficacy. Limited data are available on the usage of PPIs in Indian health-care settings. Our aim was to understand the usage pattern and potential drug interactions with concurrently administered medications employing a single-day cross-sectional study design. Methods: A prospective observational cross-sectional study conducted on a single day, at two tertiary care teaching hospitals in South India. Inpatients of above 18 years of age were included. Case profiles were reviewed and data were collected in predesigned forms and analyzed. Drug interactions were identified using Micromedex and Medscape drug-interaction databases. Results: A total of 797 case profiles screened from both the centers; 714 were prescribed with PPIs. In intensive care units (ICUs), the use of PPIs was highest with 95% of cases getting these drugs. A PPI was seen in about 93% of patients, who had more than or equal to 4 drugs in their prescriptions. Pantoprazole was the mostly prescribed PPI in around 90% of the cases. Around 33% of the PPIs usage was through IV (intravenous) route, and 75% of that use was seen in wards. Around 134 drug interactions were identified, of which 10 were of major severity. Conclusions: Around 90% of inpatients were prescribed with PPIs. Pantoprazole is the most commonly prescribed PPI (90%). The IV administration was seen more in wards than ICUs, and 10 major drug interactions were observed in this single-day study. Careful monitoring is needed to avoid serious drug interactions involving PPIs, and training programs should sensitize the clinicians on the evidence-based use of PPIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India has the highest number of blind people globally, unoperated cataract being the most common cause of blindness and low vision. Although safe and effective cataract surgical techniques are available, the cataract burden continues to increase annually, due to the backlog of patients to be operated upon, and a growing number of cataract cases due to increased life expectancy. Aim: To assess cataract surgical coverage (CSC) in a rural area of north India. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study of CSC among adults (40 years and above) was carried out in two villages of a block in north India using a predesigned questionnaire, visual acuity assessment, and distant direct ophthalmoscopy. Based on the data obtained, CSC (VA <6/60) for both "persons" as well as "eyes" was calculated. Results: Overall, CSC (persons) of 43.20% was observed, 29.31% coverage among persons with unilateral cataract and 50.45% among persons with bilateral cataract while CSC (eyes) was found to be 37.14%, being significantly higher (43.56%) among females compared to males (28.21%) (P = 0.012). Around 50% of cataract surgeries were performed in private facilities, 41.35% in government facilities, and rest 8.65% in eye camps. Nearly 90.38% were implanted intraocular lens and 9.62% were non-intraocular lens surgeries. Conclusions: Surgical needs for cataract are currently not being met effectively. Reasons for inadequate cataract surgical services need to be sought and addressed to improve the uptake of existing services. Further, reasons for underutilization of government hospitals for cataract surgeries need to be examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the largest cause of mortality and morbidity in all regions of the country. Now, to reduce the burden of CVD in our country, we first need to assess cardiovascular health status of the adult population. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess cardiovascular health status among adults and to find the influence of sociodemographic factors on it. Methodology: In a cross-sectional study, cardiovascular health status of 100 sampled adult population of urban area of Teliamura Municipality area, Tripura, was assessed using a pre-designed and pre-tested semi-structured schedule from July 2017 to August 2017. Samples were taken from the adult population by simple random sampling. Collected data were compiled and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 16.0.). The Chi-square and Fisher's exact test were applied to find association. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 44.89 (±13.76) years, comprised 52.0% males and 48% females. Hypertension was seen among 58% of the study population and 77% had ideal (<100 mg/dl) level of fasting blood sugar (FBS). The present study showed obesity, hypertension, high level of total cholesterol, high level of FBS was mostly prevalent among 42–61 years age group. Married people were more obese, hypertensive compared to unmarried. Conclusion: Middle age group population were worst affected by high blood pressure, high blood sugar, poor body mass index, and poor level of cholesterol. Healthy lifestyle measures might reduce the burden of CVD which could be evaluated in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Even among households that have access to improved sanitation, children's faeces often do not end up in a latrine, the international criterion for safe disposal of child faeces. Methods We collected data on possible determinants of safe child faeces disposal in a cross-sectional study of 851 children <5 y of age from 694 households in 42 slums in two cities in Odisha, India. Caregivers were asked about defecation and faeces disposal practices for all the children <5 y of age in the household. Results Only a quarter (25.5%) of the 851 children's faeces were reported to be disposed of in a latrine. Even fewer (22.3%) of the 694 households reported that the faeces of all children <5 y of age in the home ended up in the latrine the last time the child defecated. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with being a safe disposal household were education and religion of the primary caregiver, number of children <5 y of age in the household, wealth, type and location of the latrine used by the household, household members >5 y of age using the latrine for defecation and mobility of children <5 y of age in the household. Conclusions Few households reported disposing of all of their children's faeces in a latrine. Improving latrine access and specific behaviour change interventions may improve this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Quid-chewing habit is a common and old tradition in India. It causes various potentially malignant disorders. Therefore, a study was undertaken to analyze the association of various quid-chewing habit patterns and different oromucosal lesions.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 cases, where all the individuals selected were having quid-chewing habit and oromucosal lesions. Detailed habit history was taken through preformed questionnaire, clinical examination was done, and the lesion was subjected to incisional biopsy and confirmed histopathologically.Results: The male to female ratio of various quid-chewing habit and oromucosal lesions was 9:1. The middle aged were more commonly involved. Of the various types of quids chewed, a combination of processed betel and processed tobacco which is commercially available was used by majority of the individuals. Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) was seen in majority of the cases.Interpretation and Conclusion: The present study confirms the association between betel, tobacco, and various lesions such as OSMF, leukoplakia, chewer's mucosa, lichenoid reaction, and chemical burn. It also confirms the strong association of betel to OSMF and tobacco to leukoplakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Management of childhood illness is different from that of adult diseases. Medications during infancy and early childhood should be very cautiously used. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the different patterns of medication use among the children up to 2 years of age in a rural community. Materials and Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in a rural area of Assam where we randomly selected 380 children below 2 years of age. Results: Among 380 children, 203 reported suffering from any disease in the last 2 months. Total 105 children (51.7%) were treated with allopathic medicines while 66 children (32.5%) were treated with AYUSH medication and 32 (15.8%) were treated with home remedies. Antipyretics were (24%) the most common drug used followed by oral rehydration salt (21.5%) (ORS) and antibiotics (15.5%). Parents of 44 children (21.7%) practiced self-medication. Only in 62.5% of the cases, full compliance to prescribed medicines was seen. Conclusion: High prevalence of traditional therapy, self-medication, and noncompliance among the children in a rural area indicated the role of health education to parents, especially the mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Hand screen-printing (HSP) plays a predominant role in textile industries in developing countries. Workers from HSP industry were mostly affected by musculoskeletal injury due to monotonous, and prolonged work nature and poor workplace environment. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms and risk factors associated among the HSP industry workers. METHODS: Cochran’s sample size for categorical data was used to select 385 HSP workers of 1000 samples from various provinces of Tamil Nadu, INDIA. Modified Nordic based questionnaire was used to assess the musculoskeletal injuries and risk factors among HSP workers. RESULTS: The statistical analysis revealed that 62.5% workers are prone to MSD symptoms with lower back (75.1%), shoulder (66.2%), knees (58.7%), and ankle/feet (55.6%). Age, experience, marital status, stress in the job were the risk factors which significantly (p < 0.05) associated with the reported MSDs. Further, this study result infers that the subjects with higher age and experience are exposed higher levels of MSD prevalence of 85.5% and 92.0% respectively in past 12 months than other groups. Among the different work categories in HSP task, the workers reported with the maximum discomfort during printing work (63.1%) with Odds ratio as 10.38 and 95% CI is 6.18–17.4. than the material handling and drying task. CONCLUSIONS: Study results infer that HSP workers are prone to lower back and shoulder pain followed by knees and ankle feet regions. Socio-demographic factors, awkward posture and repetitive movements contribute to cause MSD among hand screen-printing workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess the data regarding dental prosthetic status and prosthetic needs of institutionalized elderly living in geriatric homes of Mangalore, Karnataka, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among institutionalized elderly living in geriatric homes in Mangalore. The sample size was estimated to be 300. The information related to sociodemographic data, prosthetic status, and prosthetic need was obtained using the WHO Oral Health Assessment Form 1997. Chi-square test was used to analyze the data. Results: Out of 300 elderly people, 94 were males and 206 were females. The study results showed that 53.1% and 60.45% of the total subjects had no prostheses in upper and lower arch, respectively. The study also revealed that the need for full prostheses was more among females compared to males. Conclusion: The present study concludes that need for prosthesis was high among the institutionalized elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have provided evidence about chronic night noise exposure and sleep disturbance, which is indicator of more serious health conditions. Such studies have never been reported for the Indian population. This study aimed to further explore the association between nocturnal transportation noise exposure and self-reported sleep disturbances in an adult Indian population.Methods: The cross-sectional study used results from a pilot study, from a large scale social survey in the urban municipality of Asansol, an industrial city, situated in western India. The survey included responses from 221 adults (19-59 year old) residing within 100 meters buffer of the major and arterial roadways, with criteria of minimum 10 years stay in the study area. Association of self-reported sleep disturbance was studied by multiple logistic regression analysis with adjusting for age, gender and period of residence.Results: Sleep disturbance was more marked at levels of 61-65 dB(A) night noise exposure, OR (95% CI) 2.36 (1.13-4.94. For a 5dB(A) increase in night noise exposure, the OR (95% CI) was 1.30 (1.04-1.64). For every 10 years addition to age of the respondents, odds of sleep disturbance was estimated to increase by 1.17 over non-exposure individuals. Women reported higher sleep disturbance, OR (95% CI) 1.23 (0.65-1.92) in comparison to men A period of residence of 10 years in study area showed an OR (95% CI) of 1.33 (0.86-2.06) for sleep disturbance among exposed respondents. Further it was estimated with 95% confidence that the attributable fraction for sleep disturbance among those noise exposed within the population was 16% to 80%.Conclusions: The study results support an association between higher nocturnal road traffic noise and self-reported sleep disturbance in comparison to areas with quieter nights. Further sleep disturbance among women was significantly associated with higher night noise exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose was to identify the risky sexual behaviour, knowledge and attitude related to HIV transmission among migrant tribals living in the slums of a state headquarters city in India. From four Santal tribe-dominated slums in Bhubaneswar City, Orissa, India, a sample of 113 respondents 15–40 years of age was recruited. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. In this migrant tribal community, the majority of women are sexually active at an early age. The mean ages at first sexual intercourse among men and women are 19.5 years and 15.8 years, respectively. A considerable prevalence of pre- and extra-marital sex among married and unmarried respondents is reported, in addition to unsafe sexual practices including not using condoms. Knowledge of using condoms and of the prevention, cure and cause of HIV is very poor. A low risk perception and negative attitude towards AIDS are also reported. There are no significant differences in these parameters between respondents reporting pre-/extra-marital relations and those without such relations. There is a high prevalence of behavioural risk associated with ignorance and more vulnerability among these migrants. It results in a potential risk not only to these community members, but also to the counterparts living in their native places for rapid spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, forming a vicious cycle. The results of the study show the need to study these groups across the country in order to design culture-specific intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]