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To determine the normative value of stretched penile length (SPL) for Ethiopian newborns and to set a cut-off point for micropenis.A total of 221 term newborns were included in the study. Stretched penile length was measured in the first 72 h of postnatal age in neonates with a gestational age of 37-42 completed weeks. SPL -2 SD was taken as micropenis in this study.The minimum and maximum penile length were 2.5 cm and 5 cm, respectively, with a mean ± SD of 3.28 ± 0.42. SPL at -2 SD and +2 SD were 2.43 and 4.12 cm respectively. A significant correlation was observed between penile length and body length (p = 0.005). Neonates born via instrumental delivery had larger SPL compared to those who were delivered by caesarean section (p = 0.01) or by vaginal delivery (p = 0.006).The mean stretched penile length in our study mirrors findings from other African studies. SPL 2.43 cm can be considered as micropenis in our setting. Therefore, routine genital examination and interpretation at birth is crucial to identify micropenis which might herald a serious underlying condition that needs further investigation.

Objectives Glycemic control is an important parameter that can predict long-term complications of diabetes mellitus. It can be affected by many factors. Hence, identifying those factors for improving disease outcomes is essential. The purpose of this study was to assess glycemic control in children who were treated with a conventional insulin regimen and to identify its associated factors. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted among children with type one diabetes mellitus (T1DM) who had follow-up from November 2015 to November 2020 at the pediatric endocrinology clinic of St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Glycemic control was assessed by measuring glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) and children who had HbA1C within three to six months of the data collection were recruited. Results A total of 106 children with TIDM who were on conventional insulin therapy were included in this study. Their median age at diagnosis was nine years, 47.2% were females, and 57.5% were from urban areas. The average HbA1c of the children was 9.7%. The majority (85.2%) of the children had poor glycemic control (>7.5%). Younger age, longer disease duration, and urban residence were found to be significant predictors of good glycemic control. Conclusions A significant majority of children with T1DM had poor glycemic control. This calls for the need to create access to intensive diabetes care by health authorities and stakeholders to prevent the long-term complications of T1DM.

Background: Proper genital examination including stretched penile size in neonates is important. Stretched penile size is different from one nation to another nation, it needs a standard for a particular population.Objectives: is to establish the standard penile size for term newborns in Ethiopia.Methods: Hospital based cross sectional study was conducted on 221 term neonates delivered from March 1, 2020 to July 30, 2020 in St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC) Results: The minimum and maximum measured penile length was 2.5, and 5 cm respectively with mean (± SD) of 3.28 ± 0.42. There was a weak positive correlation between stretched penile length and head circumference and body length. Neonates born via instrumental delivery had larger penile length.Conclusion: Mean stretched penile length in our study was 3.28 ± 0.42 cm. Based on our findings, penile length at ±2SD were 2.43 cm and 4.12 cm respectively.

Background. Hypoglycemia is one of the most common acute complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The knowledge of the factors associated with hypoglycemia will help in the prevention and management of the problem. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess hypoglycemia and its associated factors among T1DM patients who attended the diabetes outpatient clinic of St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC). Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the diabetes clinic of SPHMMC. Data on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics including duration of diabetes, type of insulin they have been taking, the factors associated with hypoglycemia, and the severity stage of hypoglycemia was obtained. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and chart review. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with hypoglycemia. Result. Out of the 247 participants who were recruited into the study, 233 (94.3%) of them experienced hypoglycemia. A total of 6.9 events of hypoglycemia per patient per year happened. Particularly, the events were categorized as 3.1 mild events, 2.3 moderate events, and 0.93 severe events of hypoglycemia. Shorter duration of diabetes history (AOR=0.09, 95% CI: 0.01-0.90). However, blood glucose monitoring at home was found to be significantly associated with more report of hypoglycemia (AOR=5.77, 95% CI: 1.16-28.66). Conclusion. The prevalence of hypoglycemia among T1DM patients was found as substantially high. Self/family blood glucose monitoring at home could not guarantee to minimize the occurrence of hypoglycemia events. Finger stick home blood glucose monitoring should be given a special attention. Therefore, the involvement of health care providers in diabetes care should be encouraged to address the occurrence of hypoglycemia in T1DM patients.

Humans and other living organisms require small quantities of trace elements throughout life. Both insufficient and excessive intakes of trace elements can have negative consequences. However, there is little information on serum level of trace elements in different populations. This study examines serum levels of trace elements in Ethiopian, Japanese, and Vietnamese women.Random samples of healthy women who were referred for routine hospital laboratory examinations in the cities of Hanoi, Sapporo, and Gondar were invited to participate in the study. Serum levels of magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and calcium were determined using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Furthermore, body mass index of each study participant was determined.The mean ± SD serum concentrations of zinc (μg/dL), copper (μg/dL), iron (μg/dL), selenium (μg/dL) and calcium (mg/dL), respectively, were 76.51 ± 39.16, 152.20 ± 55.37, 385.68 ± 217.95, 9.15 ± 4.21, and 14.18 ± 3.91 in Ethiopian women; 111.49 ± 52.92, 105.86 ± 26.02, 155.09 ± 94.83, 14.11 ± 3.41, and 11.66 ± 2.51 in Vietnamese women; and 60.69 ± 9.76, 107 ± 156, 268 ± 128, 8.33 ± 3.65, and 11.18 ± 0.68 in Japanese participants. Ethiopian women had significantly higher level of serum calcium than Vietnamese and Japanese women (both P0.05). Although the mean calcium concentration in Vietnamese women was higher than in women from Japan, the difference was not statistically significant (P0.05). Furthermore, compared with Japanese women, Ethiopian women had significantly high iron and copper concentrations (P0.05). Serum selenium and zinc levels were higher in Vietnamese than Ethiopian women.The study revealed a remarkable difference in serum concentrations of trace elements in women from different countries, implying differences in trace elements in the food or soil.

Background Diabetic retinopathy is one of the micro vascular complications of diabetes mellitus. To date there are no studies that show the magnitude of diabetic retinopathy in the pediatric population of Ethiopia with only very few in Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in children and adolescents at a tertiary center in Ethiopia. Methods This cross-sectional hospital based descriptive study included children aged between 9 and 17 years attending the endocrine follow-up clinic of Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital. A structured questionnaire was used for evaluating sociodemographic data and information pertinent to diabetes. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was determined by fundus photography of each eye. Results A total of 86 patients were examined with a mean age of 13.7 (SD = 1.8) years. At onset of diabetes, 95.6 % of children presented with diabetic ketoacidosis(DKA); 22 children (25.6 %) had at least two episodes of DKA, and 45 children (52.3 %) had poor glycemic control. Background retinopathy was present in four children (4.7 %) with a mean age of 14.25 (SD = 1.89) years and two of them also had maculopathy. Conclusion Although there are some methodological limitations, this study highlights the difficulties of achieving good glycemic control and the early occurrence of diabetic retinopathy in Ethiopian diabetic children.

Background: Overweight and obesity are components of a defined cluster of risk factors for non-communicable diseases, once problems for only the high-income countries, in recent days became rampant in developing countries. Despite the lack of extensive data on metabolic and cardio vascular disorders in Ethiopia, the prevalence of obesity among young adults (15–24 years), in a cross sectional study conducted in 1997, was 0.7% for men and 6% for women. The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) was found to be 7.1% of the population. The objective of this study was to see the prevalence and association of overweight, obesity and HTN and to check if there was any agreement among the various anthropometric measurements in detecting overweight and obesity. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia. A total of 68 participants with age >18 year were randomly selected and included. Data were collected using questionnaires and through physical measurements of weight, height and blood pressure, using the WHO recommendations. Result: The prevalence of hypertension was 13.3% (9/68). The prevalence of overweight based on calculated body mass index (BMI) was 32.4% (22/68) while the prevalence of obesity was 16.2% (11/68). Body fat percentage (BFP) effectively classified all of the ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ values according to the BMI as ‘overweight/obese’ (P= 0.016). Risk level classification with waist circumference enabled to correctly classify most (90.9%) and all of the ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ BMI values as ‘increased risk/substantially increased risk’ (P

Background Several micronutrients are essential for adequate growth of children. However, little information is available on multiple micronutrient status of school children in Ethiopia. The present study was designed to evaluate the relationship between multiple micronutrient levels and nutritional status among school children. Method In this cross-sectional study, anthropometric data, blood and stool samples were collected from 100 children at Meseret Elementary School in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. Serum concentration of magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, selenium and molybdenum were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Anthropometric indices of weight-for-age, height-for-age and BMI-for-age were used to estimate the children's nutritional status. Stool samples were examined by standard microscopic methods for intestinal parasites. Results The prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting and intestinal parasitoses among school children was 23%, 21%, 11% and18%, respectively. The mean serum levels of magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, selenium and molybdenum were 2.42±0.32 (mg/dl), 15.31±2.14 (mg/dl), 328.19±148.91 (μg/dl), 191.30±50.17 (μg/dl), 86.40±42.40 (μg/dl), 6.32±2.59 (μg/dl), and 0.23±0.15 (μg/dl), respectively. Selenium deficiency, zinc deficiency and magnesium deficiency occurred in 62%, 47%, and 2% of the school children, respectively. Height-for-age showed significant positive correlation with the levels of copper and molybdenum (p = 0.01) and with the levels of magnesium (p = 0.05). Conclusion Deficiencies of selenium and zinc were high among the school children although the deficiencies were not significantly related with their nutritional status. The prevalence of both malnutrition and intestinal parasitism was not negligible. These calls for the need to undertake multicentre studies in various parts of the country to substantiate the data obtained in the present study so that appropriate and beneficial strategies for micronutrient supplementation and interventions on nutritional deficiencies can be planned.

Background There is paucity of data on the dietary intake and nutritional status of urban Ethiopians which necessitates comprehensive nutritional assessments. Therefore, the present study was aimed at evaluating the dietary intake and nutritional status of urban residents in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods This cross-sectional community based nutrition survey was conducted by involving 356 participants (71.3% female and 28.7% male with mean age of 37.3 years). Subjects were selected by random sampling. Socio demographic data was collected by questionnaire. Height, weight, hip circumference and waist circumference were measured following standard procedures. Dietary intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire and 24-h dietary recall. The recommended dietary allowance was taken as the cut-off point for the assessment of the adequacy of individual nutrient intake. Results Undernourished, overweight and obese subjects composed 12.9%, 21.3% and 5.9% of the participants, respectively. Men were taller, heavier and had higher waist to hip ratio compared to women (P Conclusions The overall risk of nutritional inadequacy among the study participants was high along with their poor dietary intake. Hence, more stress should be made on planning and implementing nutritional programmes in urban settings aimed at preventing or correcting micronutrient and some macronutrient deficiencies which may be useful in preventing nutrition related diseases in life.

Background Parasitic infections have been shown to have deleterious effects on host nutritional status. In addition, although helmintic infection can modulate the host inflammatory response directed against the parasite, a causal association between helminths and allergy remains uncertain. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate the relationship between nutritional status, parasite infection and prevalence of allergy among school children. Methods A cross sectional study was performed involving school children in two elementary schools in Gondar, Ethiopia. Nutritional status of these children was determined using anthropometric parameters (weight-for-age, height-for-age and BMI-for-age). Epi-Info software was used to calculate z-scores. Stool samples were examined using standard parasitological procedures. The serum IgE levels were quantified by total IgE ELISA kit following the manufacturer’s instruction. Result A total of 405 children (with mean age of 12.09.1 ± 2.54 years) completed a self-administered allergy questionnaire and provided stool samples for analysis. Overall prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness/wasting was 15.1%, 25.2%, 8.9%, respectively. Of the total, 22.7% were found to be positive for intestinal parasites. The most prevalent intestinal parasite detected was Ascaris lumbricoides (31/405, 7.6%). There was no statistically significant association between prevalence of malnutrition and the prevalence of parasitic infections. Median total serum IgE level was 344 IU/ml (IQR 117–2076, n = 80) and 610 IU/ml (143–1833, n = 20), respectively, in children without and with intestinal parasite infection (Z = −0.198, P > 0.8). The prevalence of self reported allergy among the subset was 8%. IgE concentration was not associated either with the presence of parasitic infection or history of allergy. Conclusion The prevalence of malnutrition, intestinal parasitism and allergy was not negligible in this population. In addition, there was no significant association between the prevalence of allergy and their nutritional status, and parasite infection. Further research prospective observational and intervention studies are required to address the question of causality between nutritional factors, parasites, and allergy.