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Background Modern workplace requirements in the banking sector require bankers to work on screens for more than 6 h a day, putting much stress and strain on their eyes, which leads to computer vision syndrome. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of computer vision syndrome and associated factors among urban and rural bankers in Trinidad and Tobago. Methods and materials A cross-sectional design was applied to collect data from 399 bankers between April and June 2023. The collected data was entered into Excel worksheets and later uploaded to SPSS for further analysis. A variable with a P-value of 0.25 in binary logistic regression is a candidate for multi-variable logistic regression analysis. Finally, a variable with a P-value of 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. Results A total of 371 participants were enrolled in this study, leading to a response rate of 92.9%. Of the total participants, 277 (74.7%) had computer vision syndrome. Working in rural areas (AOR = 2.69; 95% CI [1.41–5.13]) and using eyesight glasses (AOR = 0.57; 95% CI [0.33–0.97]) was associated with computer vision syndrome. Conclusion Despite being easily preventable, computer vision syndrome is substantially prevalent among bankers in Trinidad. The use of eye-sight glasses and the working area are significantly associated with computer vision syndrome. Therefore, it is necessary to improve workplace practices by encouraging the use of anti-glare screens and glasses for employees who work long hours on the computer.

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has raised health concerns worldwide. Medical and allied health professional schools are seeking ways to alleviate stress and improve the quality of life among students. The effects of yoga have proven to be successful against stress. The review aimed to examine the psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress management among medical and allied health professional students during COVID-19 pandemic. The authors reviewed existing literature and official documents, which mostly focussed on the effect of yoga among medical and health professional students. Mental stress among these students is known to be higher than that of the general population. Sudden changes due to the pandemic are likely to have a significant impact on these students. Uncertainties concerning teaching, learning and assessment generate stress and anxiety, and social distancing further contributes to loneliness. Yoga has gained recognition not only in improving mental health and quality of life, but it also helps in improving respiratory and immune health. Although many published studies examined the psychophysiological effects of yoga among health professional students; only a few medical and allied health professional schools have incorporated yoga into an integrated curriculum for a holistic approach. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the use of yoga for stress reduction and immune modulation should be considered as a complement to other treatments. There is a need to integrate yoga into medical and health science curricula to prepare physically fit and mentally sound prospective healthcare professionals.

Objectives: Information on how COVID-19 affects people living with HIV (PLHIV) remains scarce. Methods: An observational study was conducted in four public hospitals in Madrid. All HIV patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were included and compared with COVID-19 patients without HIV infection. Results: Sixty-three patients with HIV infection and confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were analyzed. The median age was 46 years (IQR: 37–56 years), and 88.9% were men. The median duration of HIV infection was 10.8 years (IQR: 6.5–16.8 years), and 96.8% were on antiretroviral therapy. 84.1% had previous comorbidities. The most common symptoms were fever (66.1%), cough (66.1%) and dyspnea (46.8%). Pneumonia was found in 47.5%, 28.6% of patients had severe disease, and 32.3% were admitted to hospital. The ICU admission rate and the mortality rate were both 3.17%. A significant association was observed between age, arterial hypertension, overweight, and diabetes mellitus and the severity of COVID-19. No association was observed between HIV-related factors and the severity of COVID-19. The rate of COVID-19 in HIV-patients was 1.68%. Similar hospitalization (31.74% vs 32.57%) and ICU admission (3.17% vs 2%) rates were observed with non-HIV infected patients. A lower mortality rate during hospitalization (10% vs 21.37%) and a lower global mortality rate (3.17% vs 6.96%) were also observed. Conclusions: Established poor prognostic factors for COVID-19 patients, such as age and comorbidities, remain the main determinants for PLHIV. Neither the HIV severity nor the type of ARV treatment seem to influence the outcome of COVID-19. Large prospective cohorts are needed in order to establish the differences between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients.

Introduction: Low vision has a significant global health problem that impacts the personal, economical, psychological, and social life of an individual. Each year around 684 000 individuals die from falls, 80% of these deaths occur are in low- and middle-income countries. The risk of falling significantly increases with visual impairment. This review aimed to determine the global pooled prevalence of fall and associated factors among individuals with low vision. Methods and materials: Systematic search of published studies done on PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science CINAHL and, Google Scholar. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to report the findings. Quality of studies was assessed using the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects method using the STATA™ Version 14 software. Result: Thirty-five (35) studies from different regions involving 175,297 participants included in this meta-analysis. The overall pooled global prevalence fall among individual with low vision was17.7% (95% CI: 16.4–18.9) whereas the highest prevalence was 35.5%; (95% CI: 28.4–42.5) in Australia and the lowest was 19.7%; (95% CI: 7.6–31.8) seen in South America. Fear of falling (OR: 0.16(95%CI 0.09–0.30), and severity of visual impairment (OR: 0.27(95%CI (0.18–0.39) increases the odds of falling. Conclusion: As one cause of accidental death, the prevalence of falls among individuals with low vision is high. Fear of falling and severity of falling increases the odds of falling. Different stakeholders should give due attention and plan effective strategies to reduce the fall among this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]