Attributes of metabolic syndrome in geriatric institutional residents in Secunderabad, India

Background: Asians including Indians have a high prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome which carries a host of cardiovascular risk factors. Since a  scarce information is available about the magnitude of Metabolic Syndrome amongst the geriatric population in India, present study was taken up to ascertain the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and its probable  attributes among the geriatric population residing in old age homes in Secunderabad City (India).Methods: All Geriatric individuals residing in two Old Age Homes in Secunderabad City were recruited and measurements were taken for their anthropometric parameters such as height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference as well as blood pressure. Blood samples were collected from them after overnight fasting for biochemical assessment of fasting blood sugar level. The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome was assessed by following the criteria adopted by in an Indian study. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 16 software package.Results: Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome was found 42.1% among the Geriatric affecting more females (62.3%) compared to males (p<0.05) and the condition was found significantly more (p<0.05) among overweight and obese Geriatric persons as compared to those had either normal BMI.Conclusions: The magnitude of Metabolic Syndrome was high among the geriatric population under study causing a significant risk of undesirable cardiovascular events

Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of painful knee joint: an experience form a rural medical college of West Bengal, India

Background: Painful knee is considered as one of the most common causes of morbidity and disability affecting all age group. It happens due to varied reasons ranged from injury to various disease processes. The present study documented the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in painful knee.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 painful knee patients referred to the Radiodiagnosis department of the Midnapore Medical College of West Bengal for evaluation. MRI scans performed using GE 1.5 Tesla  MRI scanner. Results were expressed in terms of numbers and proportions.Results: The commonest soft tissue lesion found was meniscal tears which mainly involved posterior horn of the medial meniscus and of grade 2 nature. In case of any injury, vertical meniscal tear was found the commonest type. Tear was found the commonest lesion involved the anterior-cruciate ligament (ACL), mostly acute in nature while partial tear commonly found in posterior-cruciate ligament (PCL). Nearly one-third (30%) had features of bone contusions; mostly tibia followed by lateral femoral condyle. Popliteal cyst was the commonest cystic lesion and was associated with effusions and meniscal tears while patello-femoral compartment mostly involved by the osteo-arthritic process.Conclusions: MRI is an ideal, non-invasive and more precised imaging technique for the radiological evaluate of the painful knee condition for better clinical management

Coverage and Compliance of Mass Drug Administration in Lymphatic Filariasis: A Comparative Analysis in a District of West Bengal, India

Background: Despite several rounds of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) as an elimination strategy of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) from India, still the coverage is far behind the required level of 85%.Objectives: The present study was carried out with the objectives to assess the coverage and compliance of MDA and their possible determinants. Methods: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in Paschim Midnapur district of West Bengal, India for consecutive two years following MDA. Study participants were chosen by 30-cluster sampling technique. Data was collected by using pre-tested semi-structured proforma to assess the coverage and compliance of MDA along with possible determinants for non-attaining the expected coverage. Results: In the year 2009, coverage, compliance, coverage compliance gap (CCG) and effective coverage was seen to be 84.1%, 70.5%, 29.5% and 59.3% respectively. In 2010, the results further deteriorated to 78.5%, 66.9%, 33.3% and 57% respectively. The poor coverage and compliance were attributed to improper training of service providers and lack of community awareness regarding MDA.Conclusion: The study emphasized supervised consumption, retraining of service providers before MDA activities, strengthening behaviour change communication strategy for community awareness. Advocacy by the program managers and policy makers towards prioritization of MDA program will make the story of filaria elimination a success

Reflectionless propagation of beams through a stratified medium

Reflectionless potentials following the prescription of Kay and Moses allow for total transmission of incoming waves of any kinetic energy. The optical analogue of such potentials occur as dielectric stratified media that can offer null reflectivity and near total transmission over a large range of incidence angles and wavelengths. In a previous work (S. Dutta Gupta and G. S. Agarwal, Opt. Express 15, 9614-9624, 2007), this was demonstrated for linearly polarized plane waves. We extend the earlier work valid for plane waves to structured beams to show near-total transmission of beams across the reflectionless dielectric profile. The analysis is based on the angular spectrum decomposition treating the beam as a collection of plane waves. Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian beams are shown to be transmitted through the film with <1% reflection in most scenarios. We also discuss the superlative performance of our proposed profile in preserving the beam shape during transmission comparing these results to a conventional lambda/2 antireflection coating

A Longitudinal growth study of weight among Lodha and Non-Lodha infants and young children of Lodhasuli, West Bengal, India

Abstract This is the first community based longitudinal study among the Lodha tribals and nonLodha children of Lodhasuli, West Bengal, India. The objective of the present longitudinal growth study was to compare the growth in weight of Lodha (tribal) children with the nonLodha children of two different nearby villages of Midnapore. The weight of 44 boys and 55 girls, from poor-class families in tribal and rural part of the Lodhasuli, Midnapore, were taken at one month interval over periods of up to 24 months. Independent sample ttest were used to compare the weight between sex and caste. Significant differences (p&lt;0.001) in weight among both boys and girls were observed. Significant deviations (p&lt;0.001) in weight were also observed from the NCHS data

Coverage and Compliance of Mass Drug Administration in Lymphatic Filariasis: A Comparative Analysis in a District of West Bengal, India

Background: Despite several rounds of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) as an elimination strategy of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) from India, still the coverage is far behind the required level of 85%. Objectives: The present study was carried out with the objectives to assess the coverage and compliance of MDA and their possible determinants. Methods: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in Paschim Midnapur district of West Bengal, India for consecutive two years following MDA. Study participants were chosen by 30-cluster sampling technique. Data was collected by using pre-tested semi-structured proforma to assess the coverage and compliance of MDA along with possible determinants for non-attaining the expected coverage. Results: In the year 2009, coverage, compliance, coverage compliance gap (CCG) and effective coverage was seen to be 84.1%, 70.5%, 29.5% and 59.3% respectively. In 2010, the results further deteriorated to 78.5%, 66.9%, 33.3% and 57% respectively. The poor coverage and compliance were attributed to improper training of service providers and lack of community awareness regarding MDA. Conclusion: The study emphasized supervised consumption, retraining of service providers before MDA activities, strengthening behaviour change communication strategy for community awareness. Advocacy by the program managers and policy makers towards prioritization of MDA program will make the story of filaria elimination a success

Poverty, undernutrition and morbidity: The untold story of tea-garden workers of Alipurduar district, West Bengal

Background: There is a paucity of information on health and nutritional status of tea-garden workers of West Bengal, which is crucial to meet their health needs by formulating appropriate public health interventions. Objectives/Aims: The objective of this study is to assess the morbidity pattern and nutritional status of tea-garden workers of West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted among 463 tea-garden workers of randomly selected three tea gardens of Alipurduar district of West Bengal, India, chosen by multi-stage sampling. Pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic and other variables by means of interview. Physical examination and anthropometric assessment were performed. The haemoglobin was estimated by the 'filter paper cyanmethemoglobin method'. Morbidities were assessed on the basis of history, clinical examination, evaluation of medical records if any and relevant laboratory investigations and classified and coded as per the 10th revision of the international classification of the diseases. Morbidity profile and nutritional status were assessed through history taking, clinical examination, review of medical records if any, anthropometric assessment and laboratory investigations. Statistical Analysis: Simple proportion was used for interpretation of point prevalence. Chi-square test was applied as the test of significance wherever applicable. Results: Out of total 463 tea-garden workers, majorities (76%) were female and from backward social class (81.2%). More than half (55.9%) were illiterate and three-fourth (67.2%) belonged to lower income quartile. Anaemia was found widespread (87.9%) and more than one-third (36.1%) of the tea-garden workers were found undernourished. Also 43.8% of the workers had airway obstruction as measured by peak expiratory flow rate. Majority (69.8%) of the garden workers had any form of morbidity. Non-communicable diseases (24.2%), musculoskeletal disorders (17.9%), skin disorders (17.7%), respiratory morbidities (16.2%), febrile illness (12.3%), gastro-intestinal disorders (8.6%), ocular problems (8.4%), vitamin and micronutrients deficiencies were found the common morbidities among tea-garden workers. Scheduled tribe caste, undernutrition and anaemia were found independent determinants of any morbidity among the tea-garden workers. Conclusions: Morbidities, anaemia and under-nutrition were found very much prevalent among tea-garden workers of West Bengal, which necessitates urgent public health interventions through multi-disciplinary approach in a focussed manner with an aim to improve the overall quality of life of the tea-garden workers

Determinants of Undernutrition among Under-Five Children: A Community-Based Study from Eastern India

Children are prone to undernutrition which adversely affects their health status. Nutritional status of under-five children is a sensitive indicator of nutrition and child health. Hence, the present study is undertaken to assess the prevalence and determinants of undernutrition among under-five children in a rural area of West Bengal, India. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1680 under-five children who were selected by 30 cluster sampling technique to assess the prevalence and determinants of undernutrition. Nutritional status was assessed by means of weight-for-age, height-for-age, weight-for-height and mid-upper arm circumference-for-age criteria based on World Health Organization’s child growth standards. Results: The prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting among under-five children was found to be 33.7%, 34.8%, and 21.6%, respectively. Moreover, 39.4% of the studied children had low mid-upper arm circumference-for-age.  After adjustment for possible confounders, maternal illiteracy, lower socio-economic status, presence of anemia and any childhood morbidity were found significant determinants of undernutrition. Conclusions: Widespread prevalence of undernutrition among under-five children with anemia and childhood morbidity as important determinants highlights a need for multi-disciplinary integrated approach towards improving the child health and nutrition. Long term measures like improvement of maternal education and poverty alleviation should also be considered in future plans

2011), “Anthropometric assessment of nutritional status among college women of Midnapore

ABSTRACT A woman&apos;s nutritional status has important implications for her health as well as the health of her children. The present cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the overall prevalence of undernutrition among young adult women of Raja N. L. Khan Women&apos;s College, Midnapore, West Bengal, India. Our study measured data on height and weight of adults aged 18-20 years. A total of 491 females were measured. One commonly used indicator i.e., body mass index (BMI; kg/m 2 ), was used to evaluate the nutritional status of the subjects. Based on BMI, chronic energy deficiency (CED) was used as a measure of undernutrition. The mean (SD) BMI of the subjects was 20.05 kg/m 2 (SD = 2.63). Results revealed that there was a significant (F = 4.085***, p &lt; 0.001) increasing age trend in mean BMI. The overall age combined prevalence of CED was 28.3 %. Overall, only 4.5 % belonged to the overweight category. A significant (chi-square = 31.439; p &lt; 0.001) age relationship existed in the prevalence of CED. According to the WHO classification of low BMI, it is clear that studied college girls of Midnapore, India are in serious situation for all ages and the youngest (18 years) among them are experiencing the most serious situation (32.7 %) with respect to their health and nutritional status. Overall prevalence of CED was (28.3 %). Conditions of the young women&apos;s were more severe and this severity decreases with increasing age of these women&apos;s. Results have been compared with recent reports from 18 states of India