Anemia prevalence and associated factors among school age children in Accra and Kumasi metropolis in Ghana

Anemia remains a serious public health concern, globally, affecting learning ability and physical development of children. Anemic children are at a  higher risk of diminished economic productivity and low earning capacity in adulthood due to impaired school performance and reduced work  capacity. Anemia contributes to about a quarter of Africa’s nutrition-related Disability Adjusted Life Years. The objective of this study was to  determine the prevalence of anemia and its associated risk factors among school-aged children (SAC) between ages 9 and 15 years in urban Ghana.  The analysis included a randomly selected subsample of 1,634 children from a larger study on nutrition of SAC enrolled between 2009 and 2012 in  private and public basic schools in the Accra and Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana. Socio-demographic and household characteristics were collected with  questionnaires. Weight and height were taken to the nearest 0.1kg and 0.1cm, respectively. Dietary information was collected using a food  frequency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistic version 23. The relationship between hemoglobin levels and socio-  demographic variables, and predictors of hemoglobin levels were determined using Chi-square and binary logistic regression. The mean  hemoglobin concentration of the study participants was 12.9±1.3 g/dL. In Kumasi, SAC had higher mean hemoglobin concentration (13.1±1.2 g/dL)  compared to those from Accra (12.6±1.3 g/dL; p=0.001). Mean hemoglobin concentration was significantly higher among males than females  (13.0±1.4 g/dL vs 12.8±1.2 g/dL; p=0.002). Prevalence of anemia was 20.4%; mild anemia was most common (13.6% of total sample). Anemia cases  were higher in public schools (24.6%) compared to private (18.2%). Two-thirds of anemia cases (64.0%) were from schools in Accra. Males had significantly higher prevalence of anemia (26.5%) than females (15.9%; p <0.05). In the adjusted logistic regression model, only city of residence (OR+1.65, 95% CI: 1.44–1.83), thinness (OR=2.60, 95% CI: 1.11-5.75), stunting (OR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.99-3.10) and overweight (OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.36-0.94) were significantly associated with anemia. In this study, anemia was significantly associated with location and nutritional status

Anemia prevalence and associated factors among schoolage children in Accra and Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana

Anemia remains a serious public health concern, globally, affecting learning ability and physical development of children. Anemic children are at a higher risk of diminished economic productivity and low earning capacity in adulthood due to impaired school performance and reduced work capacity. Anemia contributes to about a quarter of Africa’s nutrition-related Disability Adjusted Life Years. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anemia and its associated risk factors among school-aged children (SAC) between ages 9 and 15 years in urban Ghana. The analysis included a randomly selected subsample of 1,634 children from a larger study on nutrition of SAC enrolled between 2009 and 2012 in private and public basic schools in the Accra and Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana. Socio-demographic and household characteristics were collected with questionnaires. Weight and height were taken to the nearest 0.1kg and 0.1cm, respectively. Dietary information was collected using a food frequency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistic version 23. The relationship between hemoglobin levels and socio-demographic variables, and predictors of hemoglobin levels were determined using Chi-square and binary logistic regression. The mean hemoglobin concentration of the study participants was 12.9±1.3 g/dL. In Kumasi, SAC had higher mean hemoglobin concentration (13.1±1.2 g/dL) compared to those from Accra (12.6±1.3 g/dL; p=0.001). Mean hemoglobin concentration was significantly higher among males than females (13.0±1.4 g/dL vs 12.8±1.2 g/dL; p=0.002). Prevalence of anemia was 20.4%; mild anemia was most common (13.6% of total sample). Anemia cases were higher in public schools (24.6%) compared to private (18.2%). Two-thirds of anemia cases (64.0%) were from schools in Accra. Males had significantly higher prevalence of anemia (26.5%) than females (15.9%; p <0.05). In the adjusted logistic regression model, only city of residence (OR+1.65, 95% CI: 1.44–1.83), thinness (OR=2.60, 95% CI: 1.11-5.75), stunting (OR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.99-3.10) and overweight (OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.36-0.94) were significantly associated with anemia. In this study, anemia was significantly associated with location and nutritional status

The Collective Action Problem: Within-Group Cooperation and Between-Group Competition in a Repeated Rent-Seeking Game

This paper analyzes the ability of group members to cooperate in rent-seeking activities in a context of between-group competition. For this purpose, we develop an infinitely repeated rent-seeking game between two groups of different size. We first investigate Nash reversion strategies to support cooperative behavior in a given group before analyzing double-edge trigger strategies which have the property that cheating on the cooperative agreement in a given group is followed by non-cooperation in this group and cooperation in the rival group. The main conclusion is that the set of parameters for which cooperation can be sustained within the larger group as a subgame perfect outcome is as large as that for which cooperation can be sustained in the smaller group. Hence, in contrast with Olson’s (1965) celebrated thesis but in accordance with many informal and formal observations, the larger group is as effective as the smaller group in furthering its interest

Population-Based Rates of Revision of Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review

Background: Most research on failure leading to revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) is reported from single centers. We searched PubMed between January 2000 and August 2010 to identify population- or community-based studies evaluating ten-year revision risks. We report ten-year revision risk using the Kaplan-Meier method, stratifying by age and fixation technique. Results: Thirteen papers met the inclusion criteria. Cemented prostheses had Kaplan-Meier estimates of revision-free implant survival of ten years ranging from 88 % to 95%; uncemented prostheses had Kaplan-Meier estimates from 80 % to 85%. Estimates ranged from 72 % to 86 % in patients less than 60 years old and from 90 to 96 % in older patients. Conclusion: Data reported from national registries suggest revision risks of 5 to 20 % ten years following primary THA. Revision risks are lower in older THA recipients. Uncemented implants may have higher ten-year rates of revision, regardless of age

Social circumstances and cultural beliefs influence maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and child feeding practices in South Africa:

Maternal and child undernutrition remain prevalent in developing countries with 45 and 11% of child deaths linked to poor nutrition and suboptimal breastfeeding, respectively. This also has adverse effects on child growth and development. The study determined maternal dietary diversity, breastfeeding and, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and identified reasons for such behavior in five rural communities in South Africa, in the context of cultural beliefs and social aspects