Search

One of the important aspects of today's research in the area of public health is the nutritional health of children populations which has been suffering from decades and now became a burning issue in public health. Scholars worldwide appointed themselves to understand the role of multiple factors working behind it such as demographic imbalance, socio-economic factors, food impurity, parental unconsciousness etc. Likewise, the present study is a small attempt to understand the nutritional health of the children of a particular population, residing in a peri-urban region of North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India, in light of maternal knowledge and practices regarding child's health and nutrition. A total of 96 under-five children have been accounted for in this study through random sampling from the ICDS centers of Madhyamgram town. Data on children's HAZ, BAZ, birth weight and maternal knowledge and practices has been collected through anthropometric measurements of children and interviews of mothers. Study reveals that according to HAZ they are in a satisfying condition as their prevalence percentage in low HAZ shows 3.12% but in case of low BAZ, the prevalence percentage shows unsatisfactory result (36.46%) as found in case of low-birth-weight (39.58%). The study also found insignificant association between children's socio-economic background and their nutritional failure but found some disparity among maternal knowledge and its practices. The study concludes that the studied children population is in unsatisfying nutritional condition only in terms of their BAZ which might be the result of inconsistency in the knowledge and it's practices of mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine adiposity and body composition in relation with physical activity among Muslim adolescents of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. One thousand and sixty eight school boys (n=522, PE=282 and NPE=240) and girls (n=546, PE=304 and NPE=242) aged 10 to 17 years participated in this study. The subjects were classified into eight age groups: 10-10.9 years (n = 56, 62), 11-11.9 (n = 63, 73), 12-12.9 (n = 65, 82), 13-13.9 (n = 77, 79), 14-14.9 (n = 84, 78), 15- 15.9 (n = 71, 70), 16-16.9 (n = 60, 55), 17-17.9 (46, 47). All anthropometric variables were measured by following standard anthropometric procedure. Body mass index (BMI), skinfold equations were utilized to estimate percent body fat (PBF). Boys, who did not undertake regular physical exercise (NPE), had significantly greater subcutaneous adiposity, PBF, fat mass index (FMI) and sum of 5 skinfolds (S5S) than those who undertook regular physical exercise (PE). However, BMI was similar among PE and NPE boys. Girls who did not undertake regular physical exercise (NPE) had a significantly greater mean body mass index (BMI), PBF, fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM), fat mass index (FMI) and sum of 5 skinfolds (S5S) compared with those who undertook regular physical exercise (PE). The mean differences between NPE and PE children (boys and girls separately) of all the measurements in each age group were statistically significant (p < 0.05). We conclude that there was a decrease in adiposity, subcutaneous fat content and body composition at almost all ages of PE boys and girls compared with the children who did not undertake regular physical exercise resulting from non sedentary lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author looks at technologies that can be helpful in mapping cholera cases. He references the study "Global Positioning System (GPS) & Google Earth in the Investigation of an Outbreak of Cholera in a Village of Bengaluru, Urban District, Karnataka" by N. R. Ramesh Masthi et al., published within the issue. He notes that GPS technology and the geographical information program Google Earth could potentially act as an early warning system for cholera, particularly in developing countries.

Objective: Despite the literature on dydrogesterone, studies on dydrogesterone utilization patterns are largely lacking in Indian patients., Methods: This was a multi-center, retrospective, observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive study across 817 centers in India. Data of patients who received dydrogesterone in past and provided consent for future use of their medical record for research purpose was were retrieved and analyzed., Results: Data of 7287 subjects (aged 29.55±4.84 years) was analyzed. Threatened abortion was the most common indication for which the subjects received dydrogesterone (46.9%) followed by recurrent pregnancy loss. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), thyroid disorders and anemia were the most common comorbid conditions and prior pregnancy loss, advanced maternal age and obesity were the most common risk factors seen in subjects who received dydrogesterone. Total 27.5% of subjects received a loading dose of dydrogesterone, and majority (64%) received 40 mg as loading dose. 10 mg dose was used as maintenance or regular dose in 81.4% of the subjects. Twice daily (BID) was the most common dosing frequency (66.6%). The most common concomitant medications being taken by the subjects on dydrogesterone included folic acid (45.1%), iron supplements (30.3%) and calcium and vitamin D3 supplements (25.5%). Another progesterone preparation (oral, injection, vaginal, tubal) other than dydrogesterone was used concurrently in 7.8% of subjects., Conclusion: The study helped to identify the patient population that is benefitted by dydrogesterone and the preferred indications, risk factors, comorbid conditions and concomitant medication used in this patient population at real-life scenario., Competing Interests: Conflicts to interest: none to declare., (© 2024. Federação Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. All rights reserved.)