Demographic Factors Associated with Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination: An Online Survey-Based Study from Hyderabad Sindh

Background: COVID19 is a major threat to global health. World health organization has proposed use of vaccines against COVID19 to end the pandemic. Due to low literacy rate in many developing countries and disinformation, the population is reluctant for COVID19 vaccination. To explore the demographic factors associated with acceptance of COVID19 vaccination, we set up an online cross-sectional study. Methods: The online survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted to understand the demographic factors of residents of Hyderabad city associated with vaccine acceptance. The questionnaire was divided into sections to get sociodemographic characters and other information related with willingness of vaccination. This questionnaire was sent to 300 people from which 205 people participated. Results: The result showed that 28.8% of the participants were not sure to get vaccination of COVID-19, while 41.5% participants were willing to get vaccine if available; rest of the people (29.8%) were not willing be vaccinated at all. The main reason behind this denial was due to belief on conspiracies against COVID-19 vaccine. Many participants either denied (42%) for any disinformation or were not sure (12%) on this account. Conclusion: The study was based on demographic factors of residents of Hyderabad associated with acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine. Among the studied population only 41.5% showed willingness to get vaccinated which indicate the necessity to effectively educate the population about COVID-19 vaccines

Effect of Arsenic on Early Chick Development

Exposure to arsenic through drinking water is associated with the number of diseases including cancer, Increasing concentrations of toxic metals and chemicals, and their intake by humans and animals have become a major global concern of public health. Presence of these substances in drinking water is the major source of ingestion. Recent studies on pregnant females show the detrimental effects of arsenic ingestion through water. Arsenic causes fetal loss, low birth weight and miscarriages. However, the effects of arsenic using model organism is still understudied. In order to study the effects of arsenic on embryo, we have used chick embryo as model organism. Chick eggs were incubated in incubator at 37 centigrade, after 36 hours of incubation these eggs were taken out to determine the stage of chick embryo by Hamburger-Hamilton stages (HH). The embryos were treated with sodium arsenate dissolved in Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS-invitrogen) solution. After incubating the treated eggs for 24 hours, the embryos were taken out to observe the effects. Images were taken with Digital camera. The treatment of chick embryos with arsenic caused reduction in the weight and size of embryos treated with sodium arsenate than control (BSS treated) embryos. In addition, the survival rate of chick embryos treated with sodium arsenate was significantly lower. Moreover, defects in angiogenesis were also observed in sodium arsenate treated embryos. This suggests that arsenic might cause the defects of chick embryos at early stages

Sox3 as a transcriptional repressor

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Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in urban and rural areas of Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

Background: CVDs are a major public health concern in Pakistan. The major CVD risk factors are age, gender, obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. However, prevalence and risk factors associated with population of urban and rural Hyderabad are unexplored. This study was set up to study CVD among population of Hyderabad.  Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 304 participants living in the urban and rural areas of Hyderabad, Pakistan. Out of 304, 161 were men and 143 were women with age range from 30 to 70 years. Data was collected through interview based questionnaire. Weight and height were measured for calculation of BMI. Systolic Blood pressure (SBP) and Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) was measured using sphygmomanometer. Biochemical analysis was carried out for the assessment of Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Triglycerides (TG), Total Cholesterol (TC) and Low density Lipoproteins (LDL) using standard kit methods. Ethical consent  obtained before collection of data. SPSS version 22 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Hyperlipidemia was highly prevalent CVD risk factor particularly increased LDL 61.2%, followed by hypertension 46.8%, Obesity 14.8% and hyperglycemia 8.8%. Except hyperlipidemia, which was higher in women 63.6%, men had higher prevalence of obesity 17.4%, hypertension 48.4% and hyperglycemia 9.3%. Participants from urban area had higher prevalence of hypertension 47.3%, hyperglycemia 9.7% and hyperlipidemia 62.4%. However, Obesity was slightly higher 16.6% in rural population. Conclusion: This study indicates Men had higher prevalence of CVD risk factors, and according to geographic location, urbanized population based higher prevalence of CVD risk factors

Demographic factors associated with acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal of COVID-19 vaccine among residents of Sukkur during lockdown: A cross sectional study from Pakistan

Background The World Health Organization has identified vaccine hesitancy among one of the top 10 threats to global health. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has devastated global health with higher morbidities and mortality rates. Reducing vaccine hesitancy could achieve immunization. However, different sociodemographic conditions can also hamper these efforts in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of the present study was to assess the demographic factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal among the general Pakistani population. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted during the months of February–March 2021 during the pandemic. Sample size was 479. Snowball sampling strategy was used for data collection. Study questionnaires were distributed online using e-mail, twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Result The overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was 40.5%, vaccine hesitancy was 29%, and vaccine refusal was 30% among the study participants. Compared to younger, the vaccine hesitancy and refusal was higher in older people age > 30 years (χ2 = 7.45, p = .02). Compared to males, vaccine refusal was high among females (χ2 = 7.45, p = .02). Vaccine refusal was higher in people with less educated <12 compared to more education (χ2 = 28.68, p < .0001). Conclusion Older people, females, and less education groups are at more risk of COVID-19 infections due to vaccine hesitancy and refusal. We recommend these groups should be focused in COVID-19 vaccine education programs

Prevalence of malnutrition in children under five years’ age in District Tharparkar Sindh, Pakistan

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of malnutrition in children aged <5 years, and find out the risk factors associated with malnutrition in a rural setting. Method: The survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2017 to March 2018in four Tehsils of district Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan, and comprised children of either gender aged <5 years who were randomly selected and assessed for weight and height using the World Health Organisation Anthro-2007 tool to obtain Z-score. Data was analysed using SPPS Version 18. Results: Of the 597 subjects, 299(50.1%) were girls and 298(49.9%) were boys. Overall, 219(36.7%) were aged 12-23 months and 63(10.5%) were aged 48-59 months. Stunting was found in 485(81.1%) subjects, wasting 112(18.2%) and 342(57.3%) were underweight.  The causes of malnutrition included age 6-11 months, number of siblings, monthly income <6000 rupees and duration of breast feeding <12 months (p<0.05). Conclusion: Higher prevalence of malnutrition was found in children aged <5 years in district Tharparkar. Key Words: Malnutrition, Stunting, Wasting, Underweight, Tharparkar, Pakistan. Continuous..

Prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females: a cross sectional study from Pakistan

Objective: To explore the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females. Method: The survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools of the Kotri Taulka of Jamshoro District in Sindh, Pakistan, from October to December 2019, and comprised healthy female adolescents aged 1019 years. Data about demographic and anthropometric factors was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: There were 393 subjects with mean age 14.93±2.18 years, mean weight 45.9±8.85kg, and mean height 151.6±6.25cm. The prevalence of stunting and thinness was 127(32.31%) and 42(10.68%) respectively. Stunting was more frequent in participants with father’s income ?15000 Pak rupees (p<0.05). Conclusion: The increased prevalence of stunting and thinness in adolescent females needs to be addressed by the policy-makers. Key Words: Stunting, Thinness, Adolescent, Females, Sindh, Pakistan. Continuous...

Effects of dietary factors on iron status and body mass index in students

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to analysing the correlation between dietary factors, including meat, milk, egg and fruit to Serum ferritin (S.f) and Haemoglobin (Hb) concentration in students. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 1686 normal volunteers were randomly selected from Government Schools during the period of September 2015 to April 2016. Data concerning dietary intake such as meat, milk, egg and fruits were taken. Baseline levels for volunteers were specified after collection of data like personal, anthropometery and dietary intake to determine Hb and S.f levels. Results: Observation of mean values such as 18.7kg/m2 for Body Mass Index (BMI), 12.2g/dl for Haemoglobin and 88.0µg/l for Serum ferritin were taken from all samples. The mean values for Hb 14.6g/dl, S.f 190.0µg/l, and BMI 21.50kg/m2 were higher for volunteers with high meat intake as compared to other dietary elements. However, dietary factors such as meat, egg and fruits showed significant association with Hb, S.f, BMI and monthly income, however milk consumption has non significant association with haemoglobin at P<0.01 level. Conclusion: Iron status in blood is significantly affected by dietary intake such as meat, milk, fruits and eggs. However, dietary habits in population are highly affected by other socioeconomic factors such as lifestyle and income. Although dietary intake on daily basis, enhanced the Hb and Serum ferritin levels, but meat takers showed higher values than other food components so it is recommended that meat should be taken more for the management of Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA). Continuous..

Association of COVID19-affected Mental Health with Menstrual Abnormalities among University Students: A cross sectional study from Pakistan

Introduction: Mental health is crucial for wellbeing. COVID-19 pandemic has caused mental health problems. In this study it was hypothesized that COVID19 related mental health disturbances may have impacted the menstrual health. Objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 affected mental health on the menstrual health of university students. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at University of Sindh, Jamshoro between July to August 2021 during fourth wave. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to collect the data. Healthy unmarried female students were included in the study. Mental health parameters were assessed using DAS Scale. Results:  For a total 400 study participants the mean age was 20.82±1.69. The prevalence of mild to severe depression, mild to severe anxiety, and mild to moderate stress was 46.3%, 62% and 29.3% respectively. In moderately depressed females there was an increased prevalence of oligomenorrhea [ꭓ2=34.5 p&lt;0.0001], heavy menstrual blood flow [ꭓ2=21.8 p&lt;0.001], increased duration of menstrual bleeding [ꭓ2=21.56 p&lt;0.001], and heavy menstrual dysmenorrhea [ꭓ2=18.78 p&lt;0.002]. In moderately anxious females there was an increased prevalence of oligomenorrhea [ꭓ2=15.5 p&lt;0.07], heavy menstrual blood flow [ꭓ2=12.4 p&lt;0.03], and increased duration of menstrual bleeding [ꭓ2=21.56 p&lt;0.001]. In moderately stressed females there was increased prevalence of polymenorrhagia [ꭓ2=22.3 p&lt;0.001], increased duration of menstrual bleeding [ꭓ2=24.23 p&lt;0.0001], heavy menstrual dysmenorrhea [ꭓ2=21.28 p&lt;0.01] and secondary amenorrhea [ꭓ2=4.28 p&lt;0.01]. Conclusion: COVID19-affected Mental Health affected menstrual health. Healthcare system of Pakistan should address this issue while planning to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on human health

Biochemical treatment of poultry manure and buffalo dung to enhance methane generation using lab-scale an-aerobic digester: effect of mesophillic condition on methane generation

Poultry industry is one of the important growing poultry Industry of Pakistan, the pollution produced due to this causing serious environmental threats such as aquatic life disturbance, air, water and land pollution, pathogen contamination, bad odor, soil contamination and ammonia evaporation. This research study deals with utilization of poultry manure (PM) and buffalo dung (BD) for methane generation and enhance the generation through optimization of substrate mixing ratio and observe the effect of mesophillic condition on methane generation. The PM and BD were biochemically treated by anaerobic digestion. The mixing of P.M and B.D were carried out in ratio 3/1, 1/3 and 1/1 in 500 ml glass bottles acting as bio-reactor. The PM and BD alone were also used in different bioreactor. All the digesters have retention time of 65 days and operated at temperature of 37oC. Each digester distilled water and substrates were used in 1:1 ratio. All the digesters were operated by batch wise process. The generation of biogas from experimental work was maximum from 1:3 of P.M and B.D yield 561 Nml/gm.vs. The methane generation was also maximum in digester containing one part of P.M and three part of buffalo dung the methane generation was also maximum 66 %containing 32 % carbon dioxide. From this study we conclude that biochemical treatment of substrates mixed together in different ratios produces large quantity, quality, higher biodegradability and effective volatile solid removal from substrate