Predictive factors for psychiatric morbidity among women with infertility attending a gynaecology clinic in Nigeria

Objective: To determine the psychosocial and clinical factors that are associated with psychiatric morbidity among women with infertility attending a Nigerian gynaecology clinic. Method: Over a four month period, 320 respondents (160 in the study group and 160 in the control group) were interviewed using a proforma (designed by the authors) and a screening instrument, General Health Questionnaire version 30 (GHQ-30). All probable cases with a score of 5 or more on GHQ-30 were interviewed using the Present State Examination (PSE). Psychiatric diagnosis was made in accordance with the diagnostic criteria of the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Results: The infertility rate among the study group was found to be 25.8% with primary and secondary infertility rates constituting 21.9% and 78.1% respectively. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among women with infertility (48.8%) was significantly more than that in the control group (11.2%) (Χ 2 = 51.80, p < 0.0001). Lack of support from husband (Χ2 = 15.31, p < 0.001), lack of support from husband’s relatives (c 2 = 39.60, p < 0.0001), discrimination (Χ2 = 69.91, p < 0.0001) and history of induced abortion (Χ2 = 30.40, p < 0.0001) were found to be significantly associated with psychiatric morbidity among patients with infertility when compared with the fertile control population. There was no significant difference in the rate of psychiatric morbidity between women with primary infertility and those with secondary infertility (Χ2 = 0.03; p = 0.87). Conclusion: Psychiatric morbidity is significantly more common among patients with infertility as compared with those without. There was a significant association between psychiatric morbidity and absence of support from husband and his relations, presence of discrimination, and a history of induced abortion. We suggest more public enlightenment on the need for moral/ psychosocial support to women with infertility. In addition, more efforts should be made towards early screening and identification of cases of psychiatric morbidity among patients with infertility.Key words: Predictive factors; Psychiatric morbidity; Infertility; Nigeri

Patient Education and Medication Adherence among Hypertensives in a Tertiary Hospital, South Western Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a global health issue among the adult population with high morbidity and mortality rates. Poor adherence to medication is associated with bad outcome of the disease and wastage of health resources. Therefore, this study aims to determine the role of patient education in medication adherence among hypertensives attending tertiary hospitals in Ekiti State, South Western, Nigeria.METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 420 participants attending Family Medicine Department Clinic of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ido-Ekiti. Relevant data were collected using semi-structured questionnaire.RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 60.97 ± 11.28 years, and a slight female preponderance (male: female = 1:1.7 over male). Three hundred and forty nine (83.1%) were married, 273(65.0%) were from a monogamous family and 375(89.2%) had family sizes of more than 4. Ninety four (22.4%) had good knowledge about hypertension, and 257(61.2%) were adherent to their medication. Increased medication adherence proportion was observed as knowledge about hypertension improves. The odds of adherence to treatment among subjects with good knowledge is 2 times (OR = 2.320, 95%CI = 1.164, 4.626) higher than among subjects with poor knowledge.CONCLUSION: The proportion of respondents with good knowledge about hypertension is low. However, the adherence among them to medication is higher and statistically significant. Patient education about the disease and its treatment by primary care physicians can help to improve adherence to medication

Cigarette Smoking Practices and Its Determinants Among University Students in Southwest, Nigeria

Background: Tobacco smoking is one of the largest causes of preventable morbidity and mortality globally, and is responsible for many causes of premature deaths. This study seeks to find out cigarette-smoking practices among University Students in Ekiti State, Nigeria and identify its determinants. Methodology: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study of young adults in tertiary institutions. The sample size was 300 while multi stage sampling technique was adopted to select the students that were interviewed. The pre-tested questionnaire was semi structured and it was self administered. Data analysis was done using Epi-Info version 3.4.1. Frequency tables and cross-tabulations were generated with a statistical significance p-value pre-determined at less than 0.05. Results: The prevalence of students that ever smoked was 66 (22.0%) while those that currently smoke are 41 (13.7%). Of the students that smoked, largest proportion (53.0%) smoked for pleasure. The mean age at onset of smoking was 15.14 + 4.34 while the mean number of sticks smoked per day was 4.46 + 4.59. Introduction to smoking was mainly by friends at home (48.6%), colleagues in school (33.3%) and siblings (18.1%) The factors that were positively associated with smoking habits were male sex, alcohol consumption, having a friend/relative that smokes, having no prior education on the dangers of smoking. They were all statistically significant. Conclusion: Peer influence is a very important source of cigarette smoking among the youths. Previous education on dangers of smoking and the perception that smoking is risky to health significantly reduced the prevalence of smoking. It is therefore recommended that health education on the risks associated with smoking be introduced to young adults early

Chest X-Ray in Family Practice

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