Prevalence and severity of low back pain among postmenopausal women: a community-based study in block Hazratbal of Srinagar district

Background: Menopause brings with it a cluster of symptoms and health problems. Low back ache (LBA) decreases the quality of life both socially and economically by increasing sickness absenteeism. Women are more likely to have backache and more so after menopause. Objective of the study was to find out the prevalence of LBA among postmenopausal women and also to assess the severity of the LBA.Methods: This was a cross-sectional community-based study conducted in block Hazratbal of district Srinagar, the field practice area of the department of community medicine, Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar. The data was collected over a period of 3 months in 2018 by consecutive sampling by going door to door in the area. A woman who had attained menopause as per the definition was included in the study.Results: A total of 198 women were included. Mean age at the time of contact was 53.56 years. The prevalence of LBA among these women was 77.8% (154 of 198 women) with almost 55% women having moderate LBA and 16% women grading their LBA as severe. Those in late menopause were 4 times more likely to have severe LBA than those in early menopause.Conclusions: The magnitude of LBA among postmenopausal women is huge. About one quarter of these women have severe LBA. Therefore, to maintain a good quality of life of these women, specific measures to tackle this problem must be taken

Generalised anxiety and depression during COVID-19 pandemic among post-metric science students at Baramulla

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the studies of students because of strict lockdown and closure of schools. As such students might have developed a lot of stress. Primary objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of generalized anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic among post-metric science students at Baramulla preparing for professional exams after senior secondary. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by distributing a pre-designed questionnaire among post-metric science students at Baramulla, Kashmir. Two tuition centres were randomly selected out of all the centres. All the students who returned filled questionnaires were included. Binary logistic regression was employed to find the association of anxiety and depression with independent variables. Results: Of the 173 participants, 91 were male (52.6%), the mean age was 16.9±1.4 years. For 81% of students, the pandemic had negatively affected their studies. About 16% (28) students had severe anxiety whereas 33% (57) had moderate anxiety and 14 students (8%) had severe depression whereas 23 (13%) had moderately severe depression. Those who did not perform routine exercise daily had higher odds of depression (AOR=2.86) and anxiety (AOR=2.3). Conclusions: Anxiety and depression levels among young students as high as found in this study cannot be ignored. A habit of routine exercise that may have been hampered during the current pandemic must be inculcated among youngsters for healthier mental health

Comparative study of ultrasonographic, hysteroscopic and histopathological findings in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding

Background: AUB (Abnormal uterine bleeding) is a considerable health care burden not only for women but their families and has a definite effect on their quality of life. Objective was to compare the ultrasonographic, hysteroscopic and histopathological findings in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at the department of obstetrics and gynecology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, from July 2018 to June 2019. The women who came to the OPD with the complaint of AUB in the one year period and met the eligibility criteria were taken for the study. TVS was performed in 126 patients presenting with complaints of abnormal uterine bleeding followed by hysteroscopic biopsy or curettage. The specimens were sent for histopathologic examination. Results: Mean age was 43.95±8.48 years. Most common presenting complaint was found to be menorrhagia (n=53; 42%) followed by post-menopausal bleeding (n=30, 24.0%). The mean endometrial thickness was 9.79±4.84 mm. The diagnostic specifications of TVS taking histopathological examination as gold standard were: sensitivity = 64/77= 83.1%, specificity 39%, positive predictive value 68%, negative predictive value 59% and accuracy 66%. Hysteroscopy has a sensitivity of 87%, specificity of 51%, positive predictive value of 74%, negative predictive value of 71.4% and diagnostic accuracy of 73% in diagnosing aetiology of abnormal uterine bleeding. Conclusions: Both TVS and hysteroscopy are good diagnostic modalities for investigation of AUB. However, hysteroscopy has an edge over TVS in diagnosing aetiology of AUB in terms of high sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value

Career choices, career related stress and need for career counselling and guidance among young secondary school students: a cross-sectional study

Background: Career is one of the factors that determine the future of an individual. Vocational dimension is an important one which may influence the health of a person. The objective of this study was to find out the career choices among secondary school students in district Baramulla of the Kashmir valley and to find out the career related self-reported stress among the students.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out in 2018 for a period of one month. A self-administered pre-designed questionnaire was distributed among students of class 9th and 10th availing tuitions from a private tuition centre. The information was collected regarding the socio-demographic characteristics, career choices, other information related to career, and self-reported career related stress. The data was entered in Microsoft excel 2010 and analysed using SPSS version 23.Results: A total of 100 students participated. Mean age of the students was 15.19±0.84 years with 57% females. Ninety seven percent of the students had been thinking about their career for quite some time. Most of the students wanted to pursue MBBS (52%) followed by engineering (14%). Seventy-four percent of the students were of the opinion that career counselling was necessary. Nineteen percent of students were stressed about their career.Conclusions: Most of the students had already decided on their career but many were stressed and unsure about what path to choose. About 74% of the students were of the opinion that there should be career counselling and guidance available for the students so that they are able to take the right decisions at the right time

Attitude of pregnant women towards institutional delivery: a study in Khaag block-a tribal area of the Kashmir valley

Background: Motherhood is often a positive and fulfilling experience but for many women it is associated with suffering, ill health, and even death. Improving maternal health is one of the thirteen targets for the sustainable development goal 3 (SDG-3) on health adopted by the international community in 2015. Objective of the study was to find out the attitude of pregnant women towards institutional delivery in Khaag block of district Budgam.Methods: A cross-sectional, community-based study was conducted, in February 2018 to March 2018, to assess attitude of pregnant women towards place of delivery in a tribal area of Khaag area of district Budgam. For this study, 99 pregnant women were approached. Informed consent was obtained from the participants and the registered pregnant women were interviewed by a pre-designed questionnaire.  Results: Mean age at the time of contact was 28 years with a standard deviation of 3.87 years. The maximum years of schooling were 10 years. It was found that the last delivery was conducted at hospital for about 76% of women but for the present pregnancy 88% of the women had decided to have it conducted at the hospital. Thus, the attitude of women towards institutional deliveries has changed positively (p=0.001).Conclusions: Percentage of institutional deliveries is still less in rural area of Khaag is Kashmir. For decreasing the maternal and infant mortality rates further, much is still to be done. Awareness needs to be generated among common masses for promoting institutional deliveries. Educating women folk will make them confident in decision making

Incidence of breakthrough infections after COVID-19 vaccination among the COVID-19 vaccine recipients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Srinagar

COVID-19 infections despite complete vaccination are called breakthrough infections. Breakthrough infections may decrease the vaccination confidence among people. This study was conducted soon after the Covishield vaccine was approved for use in J and K to find out the incidence of breakthrough infections among the recipients of the Covishield vaccine at SKIMS and to find out the associated factors. List of beneficiaries (between February 14, and May 15, 2021) was obtained from the records. Information was gathered telephonically. Incidence of breakthrough infections 6-month postvaccination was determined. Among 919 participants, the incidence of breakthrough infections was 2.7% (25 cases). The medical profession was associated with a higher frequency of breakthrough infections. Most infections were mild to moderate (96%). One (4%) person required hospitalization. Thus, COVID-19 infections can occur despite complete vaccination. Increased exposure places an individual at higher risk of breakthrough infections. Therefore, where exposure is high, COVID-appropriate behavior should be followed despite being vaccinated