Contributing factors and their association with blood pressure control amongst hypertensive patients

Objective: To assess contributing factors and their association with blood pressure control amongst hypertensive patients.Methodology: This cross sectional comparative study was conducted at OPD general medicine dept, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, from July to December 2018. Hypertensive patients of both genders, having age more than 18 years, and on antihypertensive medication form at least six months were included in the study. Optimally controlled BP was defined as an average systolic BP < 140 and diastolic BP < 90 mmHg if the patient is younger than 60 years, or an average systolic BP < 150 and diastolic BP < 90mmHg if patient was older than 60 years. Logistic regression was applied to assess the effect of different factors on blood pressure control of the hypertensive patients.Results: In the study sample majority 107 (55.4%) of the patients belonged to 41-60 years age group, and females 106 (54.9%) were predominant. Main bulk 155 (80.3%) of the patients was married and mostly 80 (41.5%) patients had monthly income in the range of 25000-50000. About half 89 (46.1%) of the patients enrolled for the study were doing adequate physical activity. Optimized blood pressure was found in 92 (47.67%) patients.Conclusion: The proportion of hypertensive patients whose blood pressure was optimally controlled was relatively low and less than half of patients had blood pressure in acceptable limits. Age group (41-60) years, routine use of vegetable on most days of week, physical activity, adherence to treatment and taking less than three drugs have a strong relationship with blood pressure to keep in optimized limits

Economic Effects of Climate Change-Induced Loss of Agricultural Production by 2050: A Case Study of Pakistan

This research combined global climate, crop and economic models to examine the economic impact of climate change-induced loss of agricultural productivity in Pakistan. Previous studies conducted systematic model inter-comparisons, but results varied widely due to differences in model approaches, research scenarios and input data. This paper extends that analysis in the case of Pakistan by taking yield decline output of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) for CERES-Wheat, CERES-Rice and Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) crop models as an input in the global economic model to evaluate the economic effects of climate change-induced loss of crop production by 2050. Results showed that climate change-induced loss of wheat and rice crop production by 2050 is 19.5 billion dollars on Pakistan's Real Gross Domestic Product coupled with an increase in commodity prices followed by a notable decrease in domestic private consumption. However, the decline in the crops' production not only affects the economic agents involved in the agriculture sector of the country, but it also has a multiplier effect on industrial and business sectors. A huge rise in commodity prices will create a great challenge for the livelihood of the whole country, especially for urban households. It is recommended that the government should have a sound agricultural policy that can play a role in influencing its ability to adapt successfully to climate change as adaption is necessary for high production and net returns of the farm output

Economic Effects of Climate Change-Induced Loss of Agricultural Production by 2050: A Case Study of Pakistan

This research combined global climate, crop and economic models to examine the economic impact of climate change-induced loss of agricultural productivity in Pakistan. Previous studies conducted systematic model inter-comparisons, but results varied widely due to differences in model approaches, research scenarios and input data. This paper extends that analysis in the case of Pakistan by taking yield decline output of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) for CERES-Wheat, CERES-Rice and Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) crop models as an input in the global economic model to evaluate the economic effects of climate change-induced loss of crop production by 2050. Results showed that climate change-induced loss of wheat and rice crop production by 2050 is 19.5 billion dollars on Pakistan’s Real Gross Domestic Product coupled with an increase in commodity prices followed by a notable decrease in domestic private consumption. However, the decline in the crops’ production not only affects the economic agents involved in the agriculture sector of the country, but it also has a multiplier effect on industrial and business sectors. A huge rise in commodity prices will create a great challenge for the livelihood of the whole country, especially for urban households. It is recommended that the government should have a sound agricultural policy that can play a role in influencing its ability to adapt successfully to climate change as adaption is necessary for high production and net returns of the farm output