Prevalence of Tobacco Consumption and Its Contributing Factors among Students of a Private Medical College in Belgaum: A Cross Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Tobacco consumption epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats that the world is facing and attracts the attention of researchers to identify the cause for the same in specific groups. Medical students act as mentors to fight against tobacco use, but several reports suggest that a good number of medical undergraduates are themselves addicted to tobacco use. Thus, the objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of tobacco consumption and its association with various factors among undergraduate medical students.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 372 undergraduate medical students from first to fourth year during November 2013 to January 2015. A pre-designed, pre-tested, structured and self-administered questionnaire was used. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 16. Data was analyzed for percentage, Chi-square test and regression analysis to find association between tobacco use and various independent variables.RESULT: The mean age of the participants was 21.2 (SD=2.28) years with a male-female ratio of 1.92:1. The prevalence of tobacco use was 27.1% (n=101). The overall prevalence of smoking and smokeless tobacco use was 22.6% (n=84) and 7.8% (n=29) respectively. The prevalence of current tobacco use was 24.2% (n=90). Among the ever tobacco users, about 3% (n=11) had quit using tobacco. Tobacco consumption was observed to be significantly associated with male gender (p<.001), increasing age (p<0.01), residing in hostels (p<.001) and with a parental history of using tobacco (p<.001).CONCLUSION: The prevalence of tobacco use in smoking and smokeless form among undergraduate medical students was high.This has important implications in the strict implementation and monitoring of smoking-related rules in hostels of medical colleges, especially those related to peer-support.KEYWORDS: Tobacco, Smoking, Medical student

The oral microbiome and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Significant evidence supports an association between periodontal pathogenic bacteria and preterm birth and preeclampsia. The virulence properties assigned to specific oral pathogenic bacteria, for example, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Filifactor alocis, Campylobacter rectus, and others, render them as potential collaborators in adverse outcomes of pregnancy. Several pathways have been suggested for this association: 1) hematogenous spread (bacteremia) of periodontal pathogens; 2) hematogenous spread of multiple mediators of inflammation that are generated by the host and/or fetal immune response to pathogenic bacteria; and 3) the possibility of oral microbial pathogen transmission, with subsequent colonization, in the vaginal microbiome resulting from sexual practices. As periodontal disease is, for the most part, preventable, the medical and dental public health communities can address intervention strategies to control oral inflammatory disease, lessen the systemic inflammatory burden, and ultimately reduce the potential for adverse pregnancy outcomes. This article reviews the oral, vaginal, and placental microbiomes, considers their potential impact on preterm labor, and the future research needed to confirm or refute this relationship

First-line uterotonics for treating postpartum haemorrhage: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: Primary To assess the relative effectiveness and produce a clinically meaningful hierarchy of first‐line uterotonic drugs for the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Secondary To assess the relative risks and produce side effect hierarchies of first‐line uterotonic drugs for the treatment of PPH

Hazardous traditional practices during postnatal care in low resource setting: A cross sectional study

Introduction Postnatal care has a positive impact on maternal as well as child health. This period is culturally as well as traditionally sensitive; which is clearly reflected in WHO 1998 theme "Pregnancy is special, let’s keep it safe". Objective To determine the existing postnatal care practices in rural community of Vantamuri primary health centre (PHC). Materials and Methods A total of 390 women who delivered in the three sub centres of Vantamuri PHC, Belagavi district between 1st November 2009 to 31st October 2010 were interviewed at home. Predesigned and pretested questionnaire was used to collect the information. Results It was found that 29% women discarded colostrums. Only 26% women initiated breastfeeding within 1 hour and 47% women applied some traditional mixture on the umbilical cord. Conclusion Postnatal care is not free from hazardous traditional practices in the study area

QUESTIONNAIRE – Supplemental material for Prevalence of ADHD in Primary School Children in Belagavi City, India

<p>Supplemental material, QUESTIONNAIRE for Prevalence of ADHD in Primary School Children in Belagavi City, India by Himani Mahesh Joshi and Mubashir Angolkar in Journal of Attention Disorders</p

13._ANNEXURE_II__CONSENT_FORM – Supplemental material for Prevalence of ADHD in Primary School Children in Belagavi City, India

<p>Supplemental material, 13._ANNEXURE_II__CONSENT_FORM for Prevalence of ADHD in Primary School Children in Belagavi City, India by Himani Mahesh Joshi and Mubashir Angolkar in Journal of Attention Disorders</p

Rating_scale_interpretation – Supplemental material for Prevalence of ADHD in Primary School Children in Belagavi City, India

<p>Supplemental material, Rating_scale_interpretation for Prevalence of ADHD in Primary School Children in Belagavi City, India by Himani Mahesh Joshi and Mubashir Angolkar in Journal of Attention Disorders</p

Assessment of knowledge regarding hazards of tobacco use among police personnel in Belagavi city: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Tobacco is a serious threat to health and ranks second as a cause of death globally, and it also ranks fourth in its input to years of life lost. The worldwide tobacco related mortality rate reached up to 4 million per year in 1998 and is expected to become 10 million per year in 2030. This is more than the total deaths from tuberculosis, malaria, maternal, and major childhood conditions combined. Objective: The aim is to assess the level of knowledge regarding hazards of tobacco use among police personnel in Belagavi city. Methodology: This study design was a cross-sectional study conducted in Belagavi city. Data collected from Civil Police Department of all 22 police stations, involving 120 police officers from different ranks from different police stations, the pilot study was done in one police station with 10% of total sample size. The duration of the study was August 2015 to February 2017. The study data were collected through pretested structured questionnaire from February 2016 to January 2017. Before collecting the data, the written informed consent was obtained from the police personnel. Based on the objective, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The 16.7% of police personnel had the average knowledge and 80.8% were had good knowledge about hazards of tobacco use. Conclusion: The majority police personnel had average and good knowledge about hazards of tobacco use

Waning of antibody response among vaccinees who received two doses of covishield vaccine

Introduction: There are limited data available on the long-term presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific binding antibodies and neutralizing antibodies in circulation among the elderly population. This study aims to examine levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in vaccines who have completed at least 6 months since the second vaccine dose. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 among 199 vaccines aged 60 years and above residing in Belagavi city, who received two doses of the Covishield vaccine. Methods: Antibody response to SARS-COV-2 virus whole cell antigen was measured by a kit COVID KAWACH IgG Micro LISA (J Mitra and Company, India) in 199 participants who had completed at least 6 months after receiving the second dose of Covishield vaccine. The antibody response was measured as a ratio of optical density (OD) in the participant's sample to the mean OD in negative control test by normal (T/N). Independent Kruskal–Wallis test was applied to test the difference between the T/N ratio by months of vaccination since the second dose and by the age group strata. Results: The median T/N values among participants who completed 6, 7, 8, and 9 months since the second vaccine dose were 14.17, 10.46, 7.93, and 5.11, respectively, and this decline in T/N values was statistically significant. Antibody response values showed a decline with increasing age for participants in the age strata 60–69, 70–79, and 80 and above, respectively. Conclusions: A significant decline was observed in antibody response over 9 months supporting the administration of booster dose of vaccine