RISK FACTORS FOR NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AMONG RURAL ADOLESCENTS: A SCHOOL-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

 Objective: Non-communicable diseases (NCD) in recent times have attained a magnitude of epidemic proportion, with increasing number ofadolescence being reported as obese. The risk factors for NCD such as obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, dietary habits, etc. are inculcated duringadolescence and continue to exist in adult life there by increasing the risk for hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. To assess theprevalence of risk factors for NCD among adolescents of a high school in rural Karnataka.Methods: In a school-based cross-sectional study 297 adolescents belonging to classes 8, 9 and 10 were assessed for the presence of risk factorsfor NCD using pretested questionnaire modified from NCD Risk Factor Survey Questionnaire, WHO-STEPS Questionnaire and Integrated DiseaseSurveillance Project Questionnaire.Results: The participants were aged between 12 and 17 years; mean age of the participants being 14.3 years. More than half (n=158, 53.2%) of theparticipants were boys, and a higher proportion (n=119, 40%) belonged to low socio-economic status class 5 according to B.G Prasad Scale. Based onInternational Physical Activity Questionnaire scoring protocol, 30.3% (n=90) participants were minimally active. The family history of hypertensionand diabetes was seen among 55 (18.5%) and 28 (9.5%) of the participants respectively. Based on CDC 2000 standards 7 (2.4%) of the participantswere overweight. The proportion of participants who were classified as having prehypertension, Stage I and Stage II hypertension was 20 (6.7%),16 (5.4%) and 1 (0.3%) respectively. Inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables was seen in 235 (80.1%) and inappropriate dietary intake (fried foods,salted items more than 3 times/week) was seen in 166 (55.9%) of the participants.Conclusion: Several risk factors, both modifiable and non-modifiable are prevalent among the adolescents. Early detection of the risk factors andtimely interventions are essential to reduce the burden of NCDs in future. Simple measures such as health education, nutritional education, andlifestyle modifications could go a long way in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with NCD.Keywords: Adolescents, Non-communicable diseases, Risk factors, South India

Perceptions and practices regarding use of personal listening devices among medical students in coastal South India

Today′s generation enjoys having music at their fingertips. This has led to an increase in the usage of personal listening devices (PLDs) over the past decade. There are significant concerns regarding harmful effects of PLD use. To find out the perception and practice of medical students regarding use of PLDs. Cross-sectional study was carried out in Mangalore, Coastal south India. Data were collected using a 31 item semi structured questionnaire that was distributed among 570 medical students, of which 485 completed questionnaire were received giving an overall response rate of 86.14%. The study was approved by the departmental review board. Statistical analysis used: data were analyzed using SPSS Version 11.5, Chi-square test for association was used and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Of the total study participants, 83.1% of them used PLDs regularly, of whom 77.7% used it for more than 1 h a day. Overall, 18.0% of the study population was aware that prolonged use of PLDs could be harmful to their health. Majority of the study subjects (72.4%) felt that the safe duration of listening to PLDs is 3 to 5 h. Among the subjects using PLDs ≥ 1 h, 60.1% preferred ear phones and among those using PLDs <1 h, 44.1% preferred earphones. Overall, 12.4% experienced temporary hearing loss on usage of PLDs. The use of PLDs among the medical students is on the rise, and they should be made more aware of the harmful effects associated with its use