Assessing disparities in medical students’ knowledge and attitude about monkeypox: a cross-sectional study of 27 countries across three continents

Background and aimsThe recent monkeypox (Mpox) outbreak confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) underscores the importance of evaluating the knowledge and attitude of medical students toward emerging diseases, given their potential roles as healthcare professionals and sources of public information during outbreaks. This study aimed to assess medical students’ knowledge and attitude about Mpox and to identify factors affecting their level of knowledge and attitude in low-income and high-income countries.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 11,919 medical students from 27 countries. A newly-developed validated questionnaire was used to collect data on knowledge (14 items), attitude (12 items), and baseline criteria. The relationship between a range of factors with knowledge and attitude was studied using univariate and multivariate analyses.Results46% of the study participants were males; 10.7% were in their sixth year; 54.6% knew about smallpox; 84% received the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine; and 12.5% had training on Mpox. 55.3% had good knowledge of Mpox and 51.7% had a positive attitude towards it. Medical students in their third, fifth, or sixth year high- income countries who obtained information on Mpox from friends, research articles, social media and scientific websites were positive predictors for good knowledge. Conversely, being male or coming from high-income countries showed a negative relation with good knowledge about Mpox. Additionally, a positive attitude was directly influenced by residing in urban areas, being in the fifth year of medical education, having knowledge about smallpox and a history of receiving the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. Receiving information about Mpox from social media or scientific websites and possessing good knowledge about Mpox were also predictors of a positive attitude. On the other hand, being male, employed, or receiving a training program about Mpox were inversely predicting positive attitude about Mpox.ConclusionThere were differences in knowledge and attitude towards Mpox between medical students in low and high-income countries, emphasizing the need for incorporating epidemiology of re-emerging diseases like Mpox into the medical curriculum to improve disease prevention and control

A comprehensive review on nutraceutical potential of underutilized cereals and cereal-based products

Cereals provide nutrients such as lipids, carbs, proteins, minerals, and vitamins and make up the majority of human nutrition. Some cereals also contain a significant quantity of dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble). Cereals, when consumed as a whole or in coloured varieties, are the source of bioactive components with functional properties. Dietary fiber in whole grains has a unique blend of bioactive components such as resistant starch, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants that provide different health benefits. Traditionally, whole grains were consumed, but currently, most foods are derived from refined fractions of cereal and pulse crops. Minimal processing of cereals increases both nutrient bioavailability and health benefits. The bioactive compounds present in whole cereals ultimately fight against diseases and prevent or control some diseases in the body, such as cardiovascular risk, reducing the risk of cancer, type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and high blood pressure, improving gastrointestinal health, etc. The consumer demands minimally processed foods, which are essential for maintaining health and improving metabolism. Therefore, developing products using whole cereals or millet to improve the health and safety of humans is of great interest. The present review discusses the nutraceutical potential of cereals and their products, their impact on gut microbiota, and consumer acceptability. The potential for future research in the processing of such healthy cereals in combination with other pseudocereals is identified and discussed