Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates for Mental Illness Among Inmates at Lusaka Central Prison, Zambia

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates for mental illness among inmates at Lusaka Central Prison, Zambia.Design: Cross sectional study.Main outcome measure: Mental illness.Results: Of the 206 inmates in Lusaka, 63.1% had current mental illness. Among the factors considered in the study, only marital status was significantly associated with mental illness. Married participants were 40% (OR=0.60; 95% CI [0.36, 0.98]) less likely to have mental illness compared with participants who were who were separated/divorced.Conclusions: A high prevalence of mental health problems was observed among inmates at Lusaka Central prison. Marital status should be considered in designing interventions to reduce the high prevalence of mental illness among inmates in Lusaka, Zambia

Prevalence and correlates for hypertension among full-time UNZA academic staff

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among full-time UNZA academic staff.Design: Cross-sectional study.Main outcome measure: Raised blood pressure.Results: A total of 100 full time employed University of Zambia staff was enrolled into the study of which 25% were females. Altogether 22% of the participants smoked cigarettes, and 63% of them consumed alcohol. Overall, 40% of the participants were hypertensive. Age wassignificantly associated with hypertension. On each birthday, participants were 16% (OR=1.16, 95% CI [1.09, 1.23]) more likely to be hypertensive.Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension was high and interventions must be put in place to curtail this high rate of hypertension among academic staff of the University of Zambia

Suicidal ideation and associated factors among school going adolescents in Swaziland.

Background and objective: Suicide among children has been a major issue and the statistics are considerably alarming. However, no studies have been conducted in Swaziland on suicidal ideation which is a starting point for committing suicide. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation and its correlates.Methods: A secondary analysis of data was conducted using data collected in a Swaziland 2013 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). The survey assessed among other factors, mental health of the students using a self-administered questionnaire. We considered factors that have been reported to be associated with suicidal ideation in the literature. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) together with their 95 confidence intervals (CI) are reported.Results: The overall proportions of students who considered suicide were 18.3% of 1866 females and 15.6% of 1672 males. In bivariate models the risk factors for suicidal ideation were feeling lonely, anxiety, using drugs and smoking marijuana. In multivariate model to include age, gender, food security, close friends, truancy, bullied, attacked, physical fight, drugs, marijuana, parental understanding anxiety and loneliness, all the considered factors were significantly associated with suicide except close friends.Conclusion: The rate of suicidal ideation was high among adolescents in Swaziland and intervention considering violence, social support from friends and parents, and drug abuse should be designed to prevent suicidal thoughts.Keywords: Suicidal ideation, school going adolescents, Swaziland

Current cigarette smoking among in-school American youth: results from the 2004 National Youth Tobacco Survey

Abstract Background Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. In the developed nations where the burden from infectious diseases is lower, the burden of disease from tobacco use is especially magnified. Understanding the factors that may be associated with adolescent cigarette smoking may aid in the design of prevention programs. Methods A secondary analysis of the 2004 United States National Youth Tobacco Survey was carried out to estimate the association between current cigarette smoking and selected smoking-related variables. Study participants were recruited from middle and high schools in the United States. Logistic regression analysis using SUDAAN software was conducted to estimate the association between smoking and the following explanatory variables: age, sex, race-ethnicity, peer smoking, living in the same household as a smoker, amount of pocket money at the disposal of the adolescents, and perception that smoking is not harmful to health. Results Of the 27727 respondents whose data were analysed, 15.9% males and 15.3% females reported being current cigarette smokers. In multivariate analysis, compared to Whites, respondents from almost all ethnic groups were less likely to report current cigarette smoking: Blacks (OR = 0.52; 95% CI [0.44, 0.60]), Asians (OR = 0.45; 95% CI [0.35, 0.58]), Hispanic (OR = 0.81; 95% CI [0.71, 0.92]), and Hawaii/Pacific Islanders (OR = 0.69; 95% CI [0.52, 0.93]). American Indians were equally likely to be current smokers as whites, OR = 0.98 [95% CI; 0.79, 1.22]. Participants who reported living with a smoker were more than twice as likely to smoke as those who did not live with a cigarette smoker (OR = 2.73; 95% CI [2.21, 3.04]). Having friends who smoked was positively associated with smoking (OR = 2.27; 95% CI [1.91, 2.71] for one friend who smoked, and OR = 2.71; 95% CI [2.21, 3.33] for two or more friends who smoked). Subjects who perceived that it was safe to smoke for one or two years were more likely to smoke than those who thought it was definitely not safe to do so. There was a dose-response relationship between age and the amount of money available to the respondents on one hand, and current smoking status on the other (p-value < 0.001). Conclusion We found that White non-Hispanic adolescents were as likely to be current smokers as American Indians but more likely to be smokers than all other racial/ethnic groups. Older adolescents, increase amounts of pocket money, and perception that smoking was not harmful to health. The racial/ethnic differences in prevalence of smoking among America youth deserve particular exploration

Tobacco smoking prevalence among in-school adolescents aged 13-15 years: baseline for evaluation of the implementation of the FCTC in Lusaka district, Zambia

Background: Tobacco use is a major public health concern worldwide. Zambia has been controlling tobacco use in terms of legislative interventions, and acceding to the World Health organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The study was aimed to determine the baseline prevalence of current smoking to be used in the evaluation of the implementation of the WHO FCTC. Methods: Survey data from the 2002 and 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Surveys (GYTS) were used to estimate the prevalence of tobacco use. The standard protocol for GYTS was used in the surveys, and only data for students aged 13 to 15 years was used in the analysis. Data were analyzed using SUDAAN (Research Triangle institute), and SPSS (version 11.5) software packages. Weighted analysis was used to produce estimates together with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The current cigarette smokers were 9.2% in 2002 and 6.8% in 2007 (p>0.05), with an overall rate of 7.4% (95%CI [7.1, 7.7]). No significant difference in current cigarette smoking rates was observed between sexes. However, compared to students of age 15 years, those of ages 13 and 14 years were less likely to be current smokers (AOR=0.82, 95%CI [0.77, 0.88]) for 13 years, and AOR=0.90, 95%CI [0.85, 0.96] for 14 years). Conclusion: The results of this study show that Lusaka district is in the first stage of the tobacco epidemic. There is urgent need, guided by the WHO FCTC, for effective interventions to be put in place before the epidemic becomes unmanageable

Socio-demographic characteristics and sexual health related attitudes and practices of men having sex with men in central and southern Malawi

An exploratory study of men having sex with men (MSM) was conducted in central and southern Malawi in order to understand their socio-demographic characteristics, sexual behaviours, and perceptions about confidentiality and stigma. A total of 97 men participated in the study of whom 84 (86.6%) were in the age group 17-32 years. The majority, 73 (75.3%) of MSM had never married, 26 (32.5%) reported not always using condoms during sexual intercourse, and 23 (23.7%) had ever received money or gifts in exchange of sex. Only 17 (17.5%) of the participants reported being exposed to HIV prevention messages targeted at MSM. Fear of sexual orientation disclosure and discrimination were reported by 27 (30.7%) of MSM. Many of the study participants reported that HIV intervention programmes are not accessible to them. In conclusion, HIV intervention programmes may not be reaching out to the majority of MSM. We suggest an exploration of the feasibility of HIV prevention interventions targeting MSM in this country where the practice is illegal. Keywords: sexual orientation, men, attitudes, practices, HIV, prevention, MalawiTanzania Journal of Health Research Vol. 10 (3) 2008: pp. 124-13

Self-reported poor oral hygiene among in-school adolescents in Zambia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dental health is a neglected aspect of adolescent health globally but more so in low-income countries. Secondary analysis using the 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey (GSHS) was conducted in which we estimated frequencies of relevant socio-demographic variables and explored associations between selected explanatory variables and self-reported poor oral hygiene (not cleaning or brushing teeth) within the last 30 days of the completion of questionnaire.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Most of the 2257 respondents were males (53.9%) and went hungry (82.5%). More than 4 in 10 respondents drank alcohol (42.2%) while 37.2% smoked cannabis. Overall 10.0% of the respondents reported to have poor oral hygiene. Male respondents were 7% less likely to report to have poor oral hygiene compared to females. Compared to respondents who never drank alcohol, those who drank alcohol were 27% more likely to report to have poor oral hygiene. Respondents who smoked cannabis were 4% more likely to report to have poor oral hygiene compared to those who did not smoke cannabis. Finally, respondents who went hungry were 35% more likely to report to have poor oral hygiene compared to those who did not go hungry.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Results from this study indicate that female gender, alcohol drinking, cannabis smoking, and going hungry were associated with self-reported poor oral hygiene. The identification of these factors should guide the design and implementation of programs aimed to improve oral health among adolescents.</p

Shading effects of intercropping roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) genotypes on plant development, assimilate partitioning and leaf nutrient content

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of shade on plant development, macronutrient and secondary metabolites in roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa). Three roselle accessions (ZM 5729, ZM 5738 and ZM ZM5748) acquired from the Zambia National Plant Genetic Resource Centre were used and shade was imposed by intercropping roselle with maize (Zea mays). A Split plot design with shade as main plot and genotype as split- plot was used. Nutritional and development parameters were monitored. At 14 weeks shaded plants had about a three-fold decrease in branches numbers compared to unshaded ones. Plant height was higher in unshaded treatments (120 cm) compared to shaded (83 cm). Plant height of ZM 5738 was significantly higher than the other two accessions. Shading reduced dry matter accumulation by almost 75 % across genotypes with about 20 g per plant in shaded treatments and 73 g in unshaded treatments. Nutrient reductions were highest in fat (60.6 %), fibre (48.4 %), protein (37.8 %), and lowest in ash (27.3 %). In terms of strength of partitioning the pattern was: branches ˃ leaves ˃ roots ˃ squares ˃ flowers. The carbohydrate content increased with shading (10.6 %). Vitamin C content was higher in unshaded treatments in comparison with shaded conditions. ZM 5738 had the highest content followed by ZM 5748 and ZM 5729 had the least content. Oxalates which are an anti- nutrition factor increased with shade. The findings showed that there is significant variation among genotypes and in future selections can be made to choose the most productive genotypes.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. &amp; Tech. 8 (1): 7-13, June, 201

Cigarette smoking and associated factors among in-school adolescents in Jamaica: comparison of the Global Youth Tobacco Surveys 2000 and 2006

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We conducted this study to estimate the correlates of current cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in Jamaica 2006 and compare prevalence of smoking and associated factors between 2000 and 2006.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 2006, 1854 participated of whom 49.5 were males and 50.5% females. 1752 adolescents, 48.8% male and 51.2% females participated in the 2000 survey. Between 2000 and 2006, the prevalence of smoking among Jamaican school-going adolescents went up slightly from 15.2% to 16.7% but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.22). The perception that smoking is not harmful increased from 10.9% to 15.9% while parental smoking decreased from 39.4% to 35.5%. There was a decrease in the rates of adolescents exposed to tobacco adverts on billboards (p-value = 0.037) and in newspapers/magazine (p-value < 0.001). The percentage of adolescents who reported having an item with a tobacco brand logo on it increased from 13.9% to 16.4%. The perception that boys and girls who smoked had more friends increased between 2000 and 2006 (p-values = 0.016 and 0.004 respectively). Current smoking was associated with male gender (OR = 1.55; 95% CI [1.09–2.19]), having smoking parents (OR = 1.75; 95% CI [1.23–2.50]), and smoking friends (OR = 14.94; 95% CI [8.61–25.92] for most or all friends smokers and OR = 4.38; 95% CI [2.93–6.56] for some friends smokers)).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results from this study indicate smoking was positively associated with male gender, having smoking friends or parents. We observed a slightly non significant increase in the prevalence of smoking between 2000 and 2006 among adolescents in Jamaica. Although there was a decrease in the rates of adolescents exposed to advertisement, the percentage of those who had an item with a tobacco brand logo had increased. The possible impact of the Jamaica's ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco control remains to be observed.</p