Health Risks of Obesity

Obesity is becoming of interest as a non-communicable disease. There is however a dearth of information on obesity in this environment, as literature in developing countries is limited. Review of health risks of obesity is useful in order to increase the pool of available information in Nigeria and to draw attention to obesity and its attendant health risks.Keywords: Health, risks, obesity

Sexual Violence Against Female Undergraduates in a nigerian Tertiary Institution

Background: Worldwide, violence against women is becoming an  increasingly recognized pandemic issue necessitating eradication and elimination. It occurs in various forms with resultant physical, sexual orpsychological consequences. However, there is still denial and paucity of literature about the magnitude and pattern of this problem in Nigeria.Objective: This study was designed to determine the patterns of sexual violence among female undergraduates including their perceptions and attitude.Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire based study involving 388 female undergraduates of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique using their halls of residence was used to select participants. The results were analyzed using statistical package for SPSS software version 16.0. The p-value was set at 0.05.Results: The mean age of respondents was 20 years and 382 (98.5%) of them were single. Only 31.2% were sexually exposed and the average age of sexual debut was 18 years. Most (78, 64.1%) cases of the first sexual intercourse occurred voluntarily. Two hundred and sixty two (67.6%) respondents had experienced at least one form of sexual abuse in the past. The commonest coercive sexual behaviour experienced was unwanted touching (53.4%). The perpetrators were mostly casual friends (63.7%) and most reported these incidences to friends. The respondents  demonstrated good knowledge but poor attitude about sexual abuse.Eighteen (10.7%) admitted to prior rape which was mainly perpetrated by strangers with half admitting it adversely affected their relationship with the opposite sex.Conclusion: Sexual violence occurs in this environment but mainly goes unreported. There is good knowledge about the issues of sexual violence but there is need for improved attitude and reporting by victims

Physical Functionality and Self-Rated Health Status of Adult Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis Presenting in a Primary Care Clinic

Background: Knee osteoarthritis is a chronic medical condition of public health importance in Nigeria which causes disability and impacts daily activities in the sufferers. This study aimed to describe the physical functionality and self-rated health status of adult patients with clinical knee osteoarthritis presenting at the Family Medicine Department, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.Method: This was a cross-sectional study of 400 respondents. Knee osteoarthritis was diagnosed clinically using the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. Morbidities, self-rated health status and physical functionality of the respondents were also assessed.Results: Knee osteoarthritis was diagnosed in 46(11.5%) respondents. Respondents with knee osteoarthritis significantly rated their health worse than those without knee osteoarthritis (p <0.0001). Experience of pain, stiffness and performance of daily activities were significantly worse among respondents with knee osteoarthritis. Those who had knee osteoarthritis had significantly higher waist (p <0.0001), hip (p <0.0001) and knee circumferences (p <0.0001) respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed increasing age (OR=1.103; 95% CI=1.022 – 1.191), self-rated health worse than six months ago (OR=12.562; 95% CI=1.178–125.243), experience of stiffness after waking up in the morning (OR=12.758; 95% CI=3.572–45.569), stiffness after sitting/lying down/resting (OR=21.517; 95% CI=2.213–209.220) and waist circumference (OR=1.225;95% CI=1.017–1.477) to be the most significantly associated with knee osteoarthritis.Conclusion: Knee osteoarthritis significantly impairs the health and daily activities of adult patients in Ibadan, Nigeria. Healthcare workers need to screen adult patients routinely at first-contact to detect knee osteoarthritis clinically early and manage appropriately.Keywords: Family practice clinic, functionality, health status, knee osteoarthritis, Nigeri

Obesity: An emerging disease

Obesity is rapidly becoming an emerging disease in developing countries due to the increasing westernization of societies and change in the lifestyle. The etiology of obesity is said to be multifactorial, with a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Literature has been extensively reviewed to provide a broad overview of obesity. Data for this review were obtained from original articles, review articles and textbooks. Internet search engines were also employed. The years searched were from 1993 to 2008. Obesity, classified in terms of the body mass index and the waist–hip ratio, has several associated co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, degenerative osteoarthritis and infertility. In Nigeria, there is limited information on obesity. A literature review on obesity is necessary to improve the knowledge about obesity in developing countries, its prevention and its management

COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy. © 2022, The Author(s).U.S. Department of Education, ED: P031S190304; Texas A and M International University, TAMIU; National Research University Higher School of Economics, ВШЭThe COVIDiSTRESS Consortium would like to acknowledge the contributions of friends and collaborators in translating and sharing the COVIDiSTRESS survey, as well as the study participants. Data analysis was supported by Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Research Grant, TAMIU Act on Ideas, and the TAMIU Advancing Research and Curriculum Initiative (TAMIU ARC) awarded by the US Department of Education Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (Award # P031S190304). Data collection by Dmitrii Dubrov was supported within the framework of the Basic Research Program at HSE University, RF

The influence of workplace stress on family functioning of resident doctors at university college hospital Ibadan

Background: Work and family are very important aspects of life, and for medical doctors, workplace stress may be inevitable during residency training. Resident doctors should have a balanced work-family life because it contributes to their overall family functioning.Objectives: The specific objectives were to determine the prevalence of workplace stress, evaluate the family functioning, and assess the influence of workplace stress on the family functioning of the resident doctors working in the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria.Setting: The study was conducted at the University College Hospital, Ibadan located at the south-western part of Nigeria.Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study, conducted among resident doctors across all the specialties at UCH, Ibadan over a period of 3 months. Two hundred and thirty-two eligible and consenting resident doctors were selected by stratified random sampling and data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.Results: The prevalence of workplace stress among the resident doctors was 62.1%, and 27.6% had problematic family functioning. There was a significant association between workplace stress and the family functioning of the resident doctors. Workplace stress could independently predict problematic family functioning of the resident doctors.Conclusion: Workplace stress should not be underestimated, as it has significant influence on the family functioning of the residentdoctors working at the UCH, Ibadan, Nigeria. Keywords: workplace; stress; family; functioning; influence; work-family