Examination stress and its effect on ovulation of female undergraduate students

Background: Students are susceptible to academic stress which is higher during examination period. Academic stress has been found to activate the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis resulting in increased cortisol and progesterone levels in circulation. This study sets out to investigate the effects of examination stress on ovulation of 32 apparently healthy female students.Methods: Serum levels of cortisol (µg/dl), glucose (mmol/L) and progesterone (ng/ml) was determined using blood samples collected on day 21 of the menstrual cycle before and after examination.Results: The result showed significant elevation in pre-examination serum cortisol (15.3 ± 5.9µg/dl) but significant reduction in Progesterone (3.5± 1.5ng/ml) when compared with post-examination mean serum concentrations of cortisol (10.5 ± 5.1µg/dl) and progesterone (4.2 ± 2.6ng/ml) (P<0.001 and P<0.001) respectively. There was no significance difference in glucose level before examination (5.4 ± 0.8mmol/L) and after examination (5.3 ± 0.7mmol/L) P=0.282.Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that examination triggers stress, which altered progesterone level in female students.

Comparison of serum levels of calcium and magnesium among preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria

Background:Despite numerous studies, the exact aetiology of pre-eclampsia remains unknown. Some studies have shown that supplementation of calcium and magnesium could ameliorate the effects of pre-eclampsia. The objective of this study was to compare the calcium and magnesium levels in the serum of Nigerian women with or without pre-eclampsia.Methods:In this study, serum calcium and magnesium levels were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry in 54 patients and 48 healthy normotensive pregnant women. The mean, standard deviation, Student’s‘t’ test and Pearson correlation were employed.Results:Serum calcium was significantly lower in patients than controls (9.17 ± 0.6 vs. 7.22 ± 0.5 mg/dl. P <0.001) (t test). Plasma Magnesium was significantly lower in patients than controls 13.19 ± 1.1 vs. 9.81 ± 0.7 mg/dl. P <0.001). The systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed significant inverse correlation with both calcium and magnesium (P<0.01).Conclusion:There was significant reduction in the levels of calcium and magnesium in patients with pre-eclampsia. Dietary supplementation of these trace elements may help to prevent pre-eclampsia

Short-term aerobic exercise does not change kidney function in students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria

Background Exercise has been known to have beneficial effects on human health. The kidneys play an important role in regulating acid-base and water-electrolyte balance disturbances induced by exercise. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of short term aerobic exercise (volleyball training) on the kidney function of apparently healthy individuals. Methods An experimental study of pre-post test design was conducted involving 41 amateur volleyball players, comprising 22 males and 19 females. They were randomly divided into seven different teams. Each team trained for at least 45 minutes for four consecutive days for two weeks. Both pre-and post-exercise blood pressure (BP) was measured using an automatic blood pressure measuring device OMRON 907 (OMRON, Hoofddorp, Netherlands). Likewise, both pre- and post-exercise blood samples were collected into lithium heparin tubes and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes and the plasma separated into plain tubes. Electrolytes were analysed using ion selective electrode machine (SFRI 4000, Germany), urea using modified Berthelot method, creatinine using Jaffe-Slot method and uric acid using the uricase method and estimated glomerular filtration state (eGFR) was calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula. Results The mean levels of pre- and post-exercise systolic blood pressure, creatinine, urea, sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate and eGFR did not differ significantly (p>0.05). However, serum uric acid was significantly increased (p<0.05), while diastolic BP significantly decreased after exercise (p<0.05). Conclusion The study showed that short-term moderate intensity aerobic exercise does not have any significant effect on the renal functions