Prevalence of Iron-deficiency Anaemia among University Students in Noakhali Region, Bangladesh

Iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a common health problem in rural women and young children of Bangladesh. The university students usually take food from residential halls, and the food value of their diets is not always balanced. This cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of irondeficiency anaemia among the university students of Noakhali region, Bangladesh. Haemoglobin level of 300 randomly-selected students was measured calorimetrically, using Sahli\u2019s haemoglobinometer during October to December 2011. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS software for Windows (version 16) (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). In the study, 55.3% students were found anaemic, of whom 36.7% were male, and 63.3% were female. Students aged 20-22 years were more anaemic (43.4%) than other age-groups. Majority (51.3%) of male students showed their haemoglobin level in the range of 13-15 g/dL, followed by 26.0% and 21.3% with 10-12 g/dL and 16-18 g/dL respectively. Although 50.5% anaemic and 51.1% non-anaemic female students showed normal BMI\u2014lower percentage than anaemic (60.7%) and nonanaemic (71.9%) male students, the underweight students were found more anaemic than the overweight and obese subjects. Regular breakfast-taking habit showed significant (p=0.035, 95% CI 0.5-1.0) influence on IDA compared to non-regular breakfast takers. Consumption of meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or peanut butter regularly; junk food; multivitamins; and iron/iron-rich food showed insignificant (p=0.097, 95% CI 0.5-1.1; p=0.053, 95% CI 1.1-2.3; p=0.148, 95% CI 0.6-1.2; and p=0.487, 95% CI 0.7-1.4 respectively) role in provoking IDA. In the case of non-anaemic subjects, all of the above parameters were significant, except the junk food consumption (p=0.342, 95% CI 0.5-1.2). Our study revealed that majority of university students, especially female, were anaemic that might be aggravated by food habit and lack of awareness. The results suggest that anaemia can be prevented by providing proper knowledge on the healthful diet, improved lifestyle, and harmful effect of anaemia to the students

Effect of Urate-Elevating Inosine on Early Parkinson Disease Progression: The SURE-PD3 Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance: Urate elevation, despite associations with crystallopathic, cardiovascular, and metabolic disorders, has been pursued as a potential disease-modifying strategy for Parkinson disease (PD) based on convergent biological, epidemiological, and clinical data. Objective: To determine whether sustained urate-elevating treatment with the urate precursor inosine slows early PD progression. Design, Participants, and Setting: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial of oral inosine treatment in early PD. A total of 587 individuals consented, and 298 with PD not yet requiring dopaminergic medication, striatal dopamine transporter deficiency, and serum urate below the population median concentration (\u3c5.8 mg/dL) were randomized between August 2016 and December 2017 at 58 US sites, and were followed up through June 2019. Interventions: Inosine, dosed by blinded titration to increase serum urate concentrations to 7.1-8.0 mg/dL (n = 149) or matching placebo (n = 149) for up to 2 years. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was rate of change in the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS; parts I-III) total score (range, 0-236; higher scores indicate greater disability; minimum clinically important difference of 6.3 points) prior to dopaminergic drug therapy initiation. Secondary outcomes included serum urate to measure target engagement, adverse events to measure safety, and 29 efficacy measures of disability, quality of life, cognition, mood, autonomic function, and striatal dopamine transporter binding as a biomarker of neuronal integrity. Results: Based on a prespecified interim futility analysis, the study closed early, with 273 (92%) of the randomized participants (49% women; mean age, 63 years) completing the study. Clinical progression rates were not significantly different between participants randomized to inosine (MDS-UPDRS score, 11.1 [95% CI, 9.7-12.6] points per year) and placebo (MDS-UPDRS score, 9.9 [95% CI, 8.4-11.3] points per year; difference, 1.26 [95% CI, -0.59 to 3.11] points per year; P = .18). Sustained elevation of serum urate by 2.03 mg/dL (from a baseline level of 4.6 mg/dL; 44% increase) occurred in the inosine group vs a 0.01-mg/dL change in serum urate in the placebo group (difference, 2.02 mg/dL [95% CI, 1.85-2.19 mg/dL]; P\u3c.001). There were no significant differences for secondary efficacy outcomes including dopamine transporter binding loss. Participants randomized to inosine, compared with placebo, experienced fewer serious adverse events (7.4 vs 13.1 per 100 patient-years) but more kidney stones (7.0 vs 1.4 stones per 100 patient-years). Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients recently diagnosed as having PD, treatment with inosine, compared with placebo, did not result in a significant difference in the rate of clinical disease progression. The findings do not support the use of inosine as a treatment for early PD