A study of the prevalence of post-partum depression in a secondary care hospital in Dimapur, Nagaland, Northeast-India

Background: Post Partum Depression (PPD) is a very common mental health issue emerging in pregnant woman worldwide. This research tries to find out prevalence of post-partum depression and factors leading to its development. Methods: A structured interview was conducted involving 178 pregnant women of age >18 years. During their intra-natal period they were given an EPDS questionnaire and then after 2 weeks they were reassessed through telephonic interview. The results of two EPDS scores and variables was obtained on paper and analysed on Microsoft Excel. Results: This study shows a prevalence of PPD to be 54.49%. It was also found in this study that Post-Partum Depression is very closely associated with history of miscarriage in previous pregnancies (p=0.042). Conclusions: Prevalence of PPD is very high in Northeast India specially in urban areas. This study included in-patients and found 54.49% prevalence of PPD. Miscarriage being strongly associated

IN SILICO SCREENING OF POTENT PPARGAMMA AGONISTS AMONG NATURAL ANTICANCER COMPOUNDS OF INDIAN ORIGIN

ABSTRACTObjective: Naturally occurring anticancer compounds of Indian origin are well-known for potential therapeutic values. A better understanding ofthe intermolecular interactions of these compounds with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is essential, as its activity isreported in many of the cancers involving colon, breast, gastric, and lung. By this study, it is attempted to perform an in silico screening of naturalanticancer compounds of Indian origin with PPARγ ligand binding domain (LBD). The potential anticancer leads ranked in this study will also exertan additional advantage of PPARγ activity modulation. As PPARγ is also an important nuclear hormone receptor that modulates transcriptionalregulation of lipid and glucose homeostasis and also a key target for many of the anti-diabetic medications, the compounds ranked by this study willalso be utilized for other related therapeutic effects.Methods: This study features in silico screening of compounds from Indian Plant Anticancer compounds database against PPARγ LBD main performedSchrodinger glide virtual screening and docking module to delineate potential PPARγ agonists. Finally, the most potential lead was also subjected tomolecular dynamics simulation to infer the stability of complex formation.Results: The results reveal that majority of the top ranking compounds that interact with LBD was found to be flavonoids, and all these compoundswere found to interact with key residues involved in PPARγ agonist interactions.Conclusion: The leads from this study would be helpful in better understanding of the potential of naturally occurring anticancer compounds ofIndian origin toward targeting PPARγ.Keywords: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, Agonists, Docking, Natural compounds, Anticancer.Â

Interventions in sports settings to reduce risky alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm: a systematic review

Background: Elevated levels of risky alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm have been reported for sportspeople and supporters compared to non-sporting populations. Limited systematic reviews have been conducted to assess the effect of interventions targeting such behaviours. Methods: A review was undertaken to determine if interventions implemented in sports settings decreased alcohol consumption and related harms. Studies were included that implemented interventions within sports settings; measured alcohol consumption or alcohol-related injury or violence and were either randomised controlled trials, staggered enrolment trials, stepped-wedged trials, quasi-randomised trials, quasi-experimental trials or natural experiments. Studies without a parallel comparison group were excluded. Studies from both published and grey literature were included. Two authors independently screened potential studies against the eligibility criteria, and two authors independently extracted data from included studies and assessed risk of bias. The results of included studies were synthesised narratively. Results: The title and abstract of 6382 papers and the full text of 45 of these papers were screened for eligibility. Three studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. One of the included studies was a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a cognitive-behavioural intervention with athletes within an Olympic training facility in the USA. The study reported a significant change in alcohol use between pre-test and follow-up between intervention and control groups. The other two studies were RCTs in community sports clubs in Ireland and Australia. The Australian study found a significant intervention effect for both risky alcohol consumption at sports clubs and overall risk of alcohol-related harm. The Irish study found no significant intervention effect. Conclusions: A limited number of studies have been conducted to assess the effect of interventions implemented in sports settings on alcohol consumption and related harms. While two of the three studies found significant intervention effects, it is difficult to determine the extent to which such effects are generalisable. Further controlled trials are required in this setting. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD4201400173

Is dietary zinc protective for type 2 diabetes? Results from the Australian longitudinal study on women's health

Background: Animal studies have shown that zinc intake has protective effects against type 2 diabetes, but few studies have been conducted to examine this relationship in humans. The aim of this study is to investigate if dietary zinc is associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in a longitudinal study of mid-age Australian women. Methods: Data were collected from a cohort of women aged 45-50 years at baseline, participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake and other nutrients. Predictors of 6-year incidence of type 2 diabetes were examined using multivariable logistic regression. Results: From 8921 participants, 333 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were identified over 6 years of follow-up. After adjustment for dietary and non-dietary factors, the highest quintile dietary zinc intake had almost half the odds of developing type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.50, 95% C.I. 0.32-0.77) compared with the lowest quintile. Similar findings were observed for the zinc/iron ratio; the highest quintile had half the odds of developing type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.50, 95% C.I 0.30-0.83) after multivariable adjustment of covariates. Conclusions: Higher total dietary zinc intake and high zinc/iron ratio are associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes in women. This finding is a positive step towards further research to determine if zinc supplementation may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. © 2013 Vashum et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Antioxidant and oxidative stress: a mutual interplay in age-related diseases

Aging is the progressive loss of organ and tissue function over time. Growing older is positively linked to cognitive and biological degeneration such as physical frailty, psychological impairment, and cognitive decline. Oxidative stress is considered as an imbalance between pro- and antioxidant species, which results in molecular and cellular damage. Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the development of age-related diseases. Emerging research evidence has suggested that antioxidant can control the autoxidation by interrupting the propagation of free radicals or by inhibiting the formation of free radicals and subsequently reduce oxidative stress, improve immune function, and increase healthy longevity. Indeed, oxidation damage is highly dependent on the inherited or acquired defects in enzymes involved in the redox-mediated signaling pathways. Therefore, the role of molecules with antioxidant activity that promote healthy aging and counteract oxidative stress is worth to discuss further. Of particular interest in this article, we highlighted the molecular mechanisms of antioxidants involved in the prevention of age-related diseases. Taken together, a better understanding of the role of antioxidants involved in redox modulation of inflammation would provide a useful approach for potential interventions, and subsequently promoting healthy longevity

Conflict, reconciliation and peace building in the North-East region of India

No Abstract.African Safety Promotion Vol. 3(1) 2005: pp. 52-6

The role of zinc in chronic disease

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)This thesis by publication is composed of a background, rationale & aims, brief literature review, four papers, and a final chapter providing conclusions. All but one of the papers relates to prospectively investigating the role of dietary zinc in chronic disease, which has been examined inadequately in the literature. At this stage of the thesis, three of the four papers have been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. The final paper has been currently submitted to a peer-reviewed journal that is internationally recognised. Chapter 1 outlines the background, structure of the thesis and describes the rationale and aims of the research. Chapter 2 provides a summary of the general literature on the current understanding of the role of zinc in normal human physiology and chronic disease in particular. This chapter does not review literature specific to each health outcome investigated, which is presented and discussed in each of the chapters dealing with these health outcomes. Chapter 3 (Paper 1), "Is Serum Zinc Associated with Pancreatic Beta Cell Function and Insulin Sensitivity in Pre-Diabetic and Normal Individuals? Findings from the Hunter Community Study" reports the association between serum zinc concentration and Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) parameters cross-sectionally in a random sample of 452 older community-dwelling men and women in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. HOMA parameters were found to be significantly different between normoglycaemic and prediabetes groups (p<0.001). In adjusted linear regression, higher serum zinc concentration was associated with increased insulin sensitivity (p = 0.01) in the prediabetic group and a significant association between smoking and worse insulin activity was also observed. This paper has been published in PLOS ONE. Chapter 4 (Paper 2), "Is dietary zinc protective for type 2 diabetes? Results from the Australian longitudinal study on women's health," reports the longitudinal association of dietary zinc with incident type 2 diabetes in 8921 women, aged 50-55 years at baseline over 6-years of follow-up. 333 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were identified at the end of follow-up and after adjustment for dietary and non-dietary factors, the highest quintile of dietary zinc intake had almost half the odds of developing type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.50, 95% C.I. 0.32-0.77) compared with the lowest quintile. Similar findings were observed for the zinc/iron ratio; the highest quintile had half the odds of developing type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.50, 95% C.I. 0.30-0.83) after adjustment of covariates, This paper has been published in BMC Endocrine Disorders. Chapter 5 (Paper 3), "Dietary zinc is associated with a lower incidence of depression: Findings from two Australian cohorts" reports the longitudinal association of dietary zinc with incident depression in two large Australian cohort aged 50 and above over 6-years of follow-up. Both studies showed that low dietary zinc intake is associated with a greater incidence of depression in both men and women, after adjusting for potential cofounders. Compared to those with the lowest zinc intake, those with the highest zinc intake had significantly lower odds of developing depression with a reduction of about 30-50%. This paper has been published in Journal of Affective Disorders. Chapter 6 (Paper 4), "Prospective Study of Dietary Zinc Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Women," reports the longitudinal association of dietary zinc and cardiovascular disease (CVD) over 6-years of follow-up in a cohort of women aged 50-55 years at baseline. The study showed that risk of CVD increases with increased intake of dietary zinc. Compared to those in the lowest quintile of zinc intake those with in the highest quintile of zinc intake had significantly higher odds of developing CVD (OR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.08, 2.62) at the end of the follow-up. The same finding was also observed between energy-adjusted zinc to iron ration and risk of developing CVD. This has been submitted to the 'Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases' Journal in July 2014. Conclusions (Chapter 7). This program of research provided formative assessment of the potential role of dietary zinc in the following chronic diseases: Type 2 diabetes, depression and cardiovascular diseases. Given that this thesis studies were carried out in an Australian population, additional prospective cohort studies in other populations are needed to support the causal relationship between dietary zinc and these health outcomes. Hence, research that employs a longitudinal design, and rigorous randomized controlled trials aimed at determining the efficacy of zinc in the prevention of chronic disease are needed. Furthermore, studies looking into the precise role and mechanisms for the effects of zinc compared to other essential nutrients from diet are needed to establish and reinforce the importance of dietary zinc in this chronic disease and other diseased state

Menstrual hygiene among the undergraduate medical college students in Churachandpur Medical College, Manipur, North Eastern state of India

Background: Menstruation is very important monthly event in the life of adolescent. Educating girls and women about menstrual hygiene is vital to break taboos, promote health, and empower them to manage their periods hygienically and confidently. For this knowing the awareness and practices and prevalence menstruation related health issue are also important. Methods: The study is a cross-sectional observational study done on all undergraduate’s female medical graduates of Churachandpur medical college (Imphal Campus) Manipur. from May 15th, 2024 to June 15th, 2024. Results: In the current study, it is noted that 100% of participants have menstrual related health issues and dysmenorrhea was the commonest among the menstrual related health issues. And a huge number of students did not receive treatment for the menstrual related health issues. Less than 50% of students have accessibility to separate toilet. And 55% have restriction during menstrual cycle. Conclusions: It is noted from the current study that there are numerous problems regarding menstrual hygiene that need to be address. So, providing more accessible menstrual clinics is crucial.