Respiratory symptoms amongst females in a fishing settlement in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Background: Approximately half of the earth's population in the rural areas of developing countries uses energy obtained from biomass burning, which is harmful to people. Objectives: This study is aimed at determining which respiratory symptoms can be associated with biomass burning amongst fish smokers in the Oyorokoto fishing settlement. Method: A community-based, cross-sectional questionnaire, which employed a modified cluster sampling technique, was used. Results: A total of 300 subjects were recruited for the study, of which 210 (70%) were fish smokers. The mean age was 31.46 ± 13.03 years, with the majority (42.0%) having only primary school education. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms amongst the subjects was 86.7%, the most frequent of which were catarrh (30.48%) and a cough (28.57%). The respiratory symptom occurring least frequently was breathlessness (2.38%). The symptoms most often experienced during fish smoking were those of catarrh (75.5%) and sneezing (73.0%), whereas breathlessness occurred the least, in only 7 (3.3%) of the participants. Sneezing stopped in 64.2% of the subjects after fish smoking had ceased. Most of the fish smoking took place indoors. Conclusion: Health promotion featuring preventive interventions, such as the wearing of face-masks and the use of modern fish smoking methods, which is associated with fewer health risks, is essential to improving the quality of life of fish smokers. The government's provision of certain social services, including better education opportunities for the young, is advocated, and should be especially targeted at improving the lot of the girl child

Contraception as a risk factor for urinary tract infection in Port Harcourt, Nigeria: a case control study

Background: The concerted effort of government and donor agencies to limit fertility by the use of contraceptives has been reported in some studies to predispose to urinary tract infection(UTI). Similar studies have not been conducted in the General Outpatient Department (GOPD) of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). Objectives: This study was aimed at assessing the role of contraceptives in the development of UTI amongst adult females attending the GOPD of UPTH. Method: A case control study in which contraceptive users who attended the GOPD of the UPTH in four months, and an equal number of age-matched controls, were screened for UTI. The information obtained from them was entered into a specially designed pre-tested questionnaire for analysis. The results were analysed using SPSS version 14. Results: A total of 150 contraceptive users and controls were evaluated. Their age range was 18­50 years, with a mean of 27.8 ± 5.3 years. Most of the participants belonged to the lower socioeconomic classes. The combined prevalence of UTI amongst the contraceptive users and the controls was 23.7%, with the contraceptive users at 35.3% and the controls at 12.0%. The association of UTI with contraceptive use was statistically significant, with McNemar's χ 2 = 16.28, p = 0.000, odds ratio (OR) = 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.7 ­ 5.3, attributable risk (AR) = 23.3, population attributable risk (PAR) = 11.7. The users of barrier contraceptives were more predisposed to UTI (OR = 17.30, 95% CI = 7.49 -39.96). Conclusion: Contraceptive use is a significant risk factor for acquiring urinary tract infection, with the barrier methods being more predisposing. Health education for the hygienic and safe use of family planning methods will prevent long-term complications