A basic review of Sarcopenia Diagnosis

@#Associated with aging, sarcopenia is characterized by a decline in skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance, eventually resulting in reduced physical capability, disability, poor quality of life, mortality in older people and high health care expenditure. The prevalence varies significantly by population characteristics, disease status, diagnostic criteria and measurement tools. It is essential to achieve an accurate diagnosis of sarcopenia for the management plan to be effective. This review briefly discusses the essential steps in diagnosing sarcopenia: Find – Assess – Confirm - Severity.

Out Of Pocket (OOP) Health Expenditure and Utilization of Financial Risk Protection Measures Among COVID-19 Affected Individuals in Chennai- A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Pandemic has affected people physically, mentally and economically. India being a growing economic power house, spends only around 1.2% of GDP on health which thereby leads to high OOP spending. This study aims to estimate out of pocket health expenditure and proportion of financial risk protection. Methods: Cross sectional study conducted among Covid-19 affected individuals in Chennai. It was a questionnaire-based study with questions about covid-19 management status, cost and insurance utili-zation. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis was used for analysis. Results: Total of 47 were treated at hospital and 85% of them were treated at private hospital. The mean cost investigations for patients treated at hospital was of Rs. 50000+11547 and for medicines was Rs. 110000+57735. 53% of study participants had health insurance. 29 (54.72%) of them had Covid-19 treatment cost covered under insurance. The multiple regression analysis showed a statistically signifi-cant association between total OOPE incurred and age, religion and socio-economic status. Conclusion: Majority of participants spent for their treatment through savings and borrowing money. OOPE was compensated by reimbursement through health insurance. Provision of quality health care in government hospitals, increase public health spending and creating awareness about health insurance are ways to reduce OOP costs.

An outcomes-based evaluation of the mindfulness for safe schools program

Objectives@#The objective of this evaluation was to assess the effectiveness of Mindfulness for Safe Schools, a mindfulness-based intervention adapted for sexual abuse prevention during peer-to-peer dating among Filipino public school children in Grades 7 and 8. It was hoped that through the intervention, children would be able to regulate their emotions so that they do not react impulsively to emotionally stimulating events, especially during peer dating. The study consists of four levels of evaluation: reaction, learnings, and behaviors of teachers toward the program, as well as effect of the intervention on emotion regulation and peer conformity among students. @*Methods@#This study utilized a mixed methods design using a concurrent embedded method. For teachers, quantitative surveys and focused group discussions were conducted to determine their reactions to the training, their learnings, and behaviors after the program, as well as their observations of students’ responses to the intervention. Focused group discussions were analyzed through thematic analysis. Effect of the program on emotion regulation and peer conformity among students were determined mainly through a pre and post-test survey and analyzed through paired samples t-test. Video content analysis of the classroom delivery was also conducted to determine student engagement during the program. @*Results@#Teachers reacted favorably to the training workshops and were able to use what they learned from the workshops to increase their patience and understanding towards themselves, their job, and their students. Students also reacted favorably to the Mindfulness for Safe Schools modules and were observed to use the skills taught in the modules to regulate their emotions. Emotion regulation improved (t=3.47, significant with p=0.00) and susceptibility to peer pressure decreased (t=8.94, significant with p=0.00) for Grade 8 students (n=950) after the modules were delivered. However, teachers reported implementation issues, such as conflicting requirements of the program with their official workload, which may have affected program effects. @*Conclusion@#Our findings indicate that Mindfulness for Safe Schools was associated with improvements in emotional awareness, management of negative emotions, and showing care and respect for student peers. It also suggests that integrating mindfulness interventions in schools requires close coordination with all stakeholders: teachers, schools, and appropriate government divisions to ensure fidelity and reaching desired effects.

Attitude and knowledge of women between 45 and 65 years on menopause syndrome at the university college hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

This research was designed to find out the attitude and knowledge of women between 45 and 65 years on menopause syndrome and its management. The study was conducted in University College Hospital located in Ibadan North Local Government of Oyo state. A self-designed forced-choice questionnaire was distributed to 100 women using random sampling technique. Furthermore, our study showed that most women view the onset of menopause positively and that few seek treatment. They report relatively low prevalence of menopausal symptoms, with the most significant being irregular menstrual cycles and increased blood pressure and urinary tract infections. Furthermore, our study revealed that 41% of the participants had no idea why their menstrual period stopped, while why 60% of the women had no idea what could be done to reduce menopausal symptoms. This study reveals a low level of awareness about menopausal syndrome and more should be done. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[5]: 57-62).

COVID-19 Health Knowledge and Practices among Nigerian Residents during the Second Wave of the Pandemic: A quick online cross-sectional survey

The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined life as a whole. The lack of knowledge about the safe practices needed to manage the spread of the global pandemic could be detrimental to public health. This dearth of knowledge and inappropriate practices could increase the spread of the coronavirus and lead to high mortality rates in a country like Nigeria where access to healthcare services is limited. The study's objective was to assess the health knowledge and practices of Nigerian residents in the face of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study adopted a cross-sectional online survey which was conducted from January 2 to February 1, 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the socio-demographics characteristics of respondents, the knowledge of COVID-19 and health management practices related to the virus. The reliability of the instrument yielded 0.72 internal consistency and the data were analyzed using descriptive and logistic regression at p<0.05. RESULTS A total of 1,988 respondents participated in the study; 49.3% of this number were urban residents, 63.0% were males, 58.1% were married, and 67.4% had tertiary education. Overall, the mean score was 9.44±1.8 (72.6%) for knowledge and 6.72±3.1 (56%) for appropriate practices. Rural residence (OR = 0.552, 95% CI 0.351­0.868), female gender (OR = 4.494, 95% CI 3.264­6.187), aged 50 years and above (OR = 0.137, 95% CI 0.071-0.261), married status (OR = 5.004, 95% CI 3.242­7.724), tertiary education (OR = 7.049, 95% CI 4.362­ 11.391), Yoruba ethnicity (OR = 2.828, 95% CI 1.292­6.187), and good knowledge of COVID-19 (OR = 1.905, 95% CI 1.376­2.637) significantly predict appropriate practices. CONCLUSION A substantial number of our respondents had good knowledge but lacked appropriate practices towards COVID-19. The beliefs of the people influenced inappropriate practices just as adequate practice was associated with good African Journal of Health Sciences Volume 34, Issue No.4, July- August 2021 483 knowledge. There is a need for adequate sensitization programmes which might require the use of local languages/dialects and Nigerian Pidgin English to reduce the misinformation surrounding the virus.

COVID-19 health knowledge and practices among nigerian residents during the second wave of the pandemic: A quick online cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined life as a whole. The lack of :knowledge about the safe practices needed to manage the spread of the global pandemic could be detrimental to public health. This dearth of knowledge and inappropriate practices could increase the spread of the coronavirus and lead to high mortality rates in a country like Nigeria where access to healthcare services is limited. The study's objective was to assess the health knowledge and practices of Nigerian residents in the face of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study adopted a cross-sectional online survey which was conducted from January 2 to February 1, 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the socio-demographics characteristics of respondents, the knowledge of COVID-19 and health management practices related to the virus. The reliability of the instrument yielded 0.72 internal consistency and the data were analyzed using descriptive and logistic regression at p<0.05. RESULTS:A total of 1,988 respondents participated in the study; 49.3% of this number were urban residents, 63.0% were males, 58.1% were married, and 67.4% had tertiary education. Overall, the mean score was 9.44±1.8 (72.6%) for knowledge and 6.72±3.1 (56%) for appropriate practices. Rural residence (OR = 0.552, 95% CI 0.351­0.868), female gender (OR = 4.494, 95% CI 3.264­6.187), aged 50 years and above (OR = 0.137, 95% CI 0.071-0.261), married status (OR = 5.004, 95% CI 3.242­7.724), tertiary education (OR = 7.049, 95% CI 4.362­1.391), Yoruba ethnicity (OR = 2.828, 95% CI 1.292­6.187), and good knowledge of COVID-19 (OR = 1.905, 95% CI 1.376­2.637) significantly predict appropriate practices. CONCLUSION :A substantial number of our respondents had good knowledge but lacked appropriate practices towards COVID-19. The beliefs of the people influenced inappropriate practices just as adequate practice was associated with good knowledge. There is a need for adequate sensitization programmes which might require the use of local languages/dialects and Nigerian Pidgin English to reduce the misinformation surrounding the virus.

Risk Factors for Placental Malaria and Birth Weight Outcome among Pregnant Women Attending Mawenzi Regional Referral Hospital, Moshi North Eastern Tanzania

Objective:This study aimed to determine the Prevalence and Risk Factors for Placental Malaria and its associated effects on Pregnancy Outcome among Pregnant Women in Mawenzi Regional Referral Hospital in Kilimanjaro Region.Methodology:This was a hospital based cross-sectional study. We derived our study sample from previous survey of 700 pregnant women who attended labor ward at MRRH between 2018-2019 in which we obtained study subjects by random sampling. The study included 350 subjects. We extracted data from the dataset using data extraction sheet and was analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 24. Chi–square was performed and we accepted an error of 5% level P<0.05 was the cut off for statistical significance.Results:The prevalence of PM was 7.1% among the pregnant women in the study area. Primigravida had more cases of PM (11%) as compared to multigravida (2.7%). Pregnant women who had gestation age below 37 weeks attributed more cases of PM (9.6%) as compared to 6.7% of PM infections in pregnant women at gestation age of 37 weeks and above. Low birth-weight was estimated at 32% of all subjects who were identified with PM as compared to 6.2% of subjects without placental malaria and their difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Gestational age of less than 37 weeks was associated with LBW with proportion of 21% among women with PM and it has strong statistical significance of P (<0.001). The use of bed nets was associated with PM among the non-user at 28% P (<0.001).Conclusion:PM is still a major public health problem in low malaria endemic areas and the groups at risk are women who are Primigravida, women not using bed nets and women who gives birth at gestation age of <37 weeks. We recommend more studies on PM in low endemic

The Impact of the Episodic Rainstorm Event of 18th April and 5th May, 2018 in Taraba State, Nigeria

The study assessed the two days episodic rainstorm event that destroyed buildings and led to loss of life in April and May 2018 in Taraba State, northeast Nigeria. Data were from primary and secondary sources. A total of 60 copies of research questionnaires and interviews were used, complimented by data from the meteorological observatory of the Department of Geography, Taraba State University and expert eye witness accounts. The results of the study show that the 2-day rainstorm extreme event with high wind speed of over 600 knots (327 m/s) caused devastating damages to building infrastructures in the state and the roofs of buildings and damage to Globacom Telecommunication mast was profound and five people lost their lives with several others sustaining diverse injuries in 17 communities in Jalingo and Wukari. It led to about 62% of the affected to take refuge outside their homes for over three days while other spent more than 10 days. The schools were more affected with an estimated cost of ₦30,000,000 to fix the damaged infrastructures, followed by government buildings which needs about 24,000, 000 and residential building with estimated cost of ₦ 6,275,000. The cost for fixing the infrastructures damaged in Wukari in comparison to Jalingo was ₦ 9,000,000 for residential buildings, ₦ 6,000,000 for government buildings and ₦ 9,275,000 for schools respectively. Prices of roofing sheets increased with about $6 during the period. It was suggested that wind breakers should be encouraged and the cutting down of trees should be discouraged while creating awareness and encouraging afforestation.

Analytical Method Development For Simultaneous Determination Of Ubidecarenone And Vitamin E Acetate In Capsule Dosage Form By Hplc

Objective: To develop and validate a new simple, accurate, precise and sensitive high performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) method for simultaneous estimation of ubidecarenone and vitamin E acetate in capsule dosage form as per international conference on harmonization (ICH) guidelines. Methods: The chromatographic separation of drugs were achieved using hypersil C8 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5µ) in isocratic elution mode with a mobile phase of methanol: ethanol: n-hexane (80:10:10 v/v/v) at a flow rate of 1 ml/min with ultra-violet (UV) detection at 210 nm. Results: The optimized method produced sharp peaks with good resolution, minimum tailing factor and satisfactory retention time were found to be 5.745 min and 12.565 min for vitamin E acetate and ubidecarenone respectively. The method was linear in the range of 60-180 µg/ml for ubidecarenone and 20-60 µg/ml for vitamin E acetate with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 and 0.9993 respectively. Mean recoveries observed for ubidecarenone and vitamin E acetate were 99.85% and 99.73% respectively. The percentage relative standard deviation (% RSD) of peak area for system precision, method precision, and intermediate precision were found to be less than 0.37%. The lower degree of % RSD obtained has proved that the method was precise and robust. Conclusion: A new simple HPLC method was developed and validated as per ICH guidelines for the simultaneous estimation of ubidecarenone and vitamin E acetate and the method can be effectively applied for the routine analysis of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and formulations.

Perceptions of State Government stakeholders & researchers regarding public health research priorities in India: An exploratory survey.

Public health research has several stakeholders that should be involved in identifying public health research agenda. A survey was conducted prior to a national consultation organized by the Department of Health Research with the objective to identify the key public health research priorities as perceived by the State health officials and public health researchers. A cross-sectional survey was done for the State health officials involved in public health programmes and public health researchers in various States of India. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Overall, 35 State officials from 15 States and 17 public health researchers participated in the study. Five leading public health research priorities identified in the open ended query were maternal and child health (24%), non-communicable diseases (22%), vector borne diseases (6%), tuberculosis (6%) and HIV/AIDS/STI (5%). Maternal and child health research was the leading priority; however, researchers also gave emphasis on the need for research in the emerging public health challenges such as non-communicable diseases. Structured initiatives are needed to promote interactions between policymakers and researchers at all stages of research starting from defining problems to the use of research to achieve the health goals as envisaged in the 12th Plan over next five years.

Assessment of Scholarly Publications of Nigerian Health Sciences Researchers in MEDLINE/Pubmed (1996-2007)

Scholarly publications are outcome of research and are important channels for dissemination of research findings by researchers. The main objective of this study was to assess the scholarly publications of Nigerian health sciences' researchers and the journals in which they publish. Health science researchers are health care providers; faculty; medical scientists and other allied health professionals who conduct research in health related fields. Research articles written by Nigerian health sciences' researchers published during 1996-2007 were accessed through the MEDLINE/PubMed database. Both the author affiliation in Address field and Publication date field were used to obtain data on the number and characteristics of publications by the researchers. A total of 7030 articles were published during the period. The number of publications increased from 338 in 1996 to 952 in 2007. Of the 7;030 citations; 2;124 (31) were published in nine Nigerian journals with the African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences having the highest (660). However; 17 articles were published in four international multidisciplinary journals namely: British Medical Journal (BMJ); Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Approximately 80 of the publications were Original Research Articles. Nigerian health sciences' researchers are productive in terms of scholarly publications. However; their publications are concentrated more in national journals; some of which are not indexed in any bibliographic database; others are print only; not widely circulated thereby limiting the impact of their research. Development of a national bibliographc database to index articles published in Nigerian journals and publication of more journal in electronic format is recommended

Comparação entre idosos que sofreram quedas segundo desempenho físico e número de ocorrências / Physical performance and number of falls in older adult fallers

Objetivos: Analisar, entre idosos com ocorrência de quedas, a relação entre as variáveis sociodemográficas, clínicas, físicas e funcionais segundo as variáveis critério desempenho físico e número de quedas. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com 72 idosos (76,3±8,3 anos) que sofreram quedas no último ano, sendo 65,3 por cento mulheres, atendidos no ambulatório de geriatria de um hospital universitário de Campinas, SP. Os idosos foram divididos em grupo com pior (PDF) e grupo com melhor desempenho físico (MDF), e em grupo com uma queda (1Q) e grupo com duas quedas ou mais (2Q). As características sociodemográficas, clínicas, físicas e funcionais foram as variáveis independentes do estudo. Foi realizada análise de comparação entre os grupos. RESULTADOS: Os idosos do grupo PDF tiveram maior faixa etária, maior número de doenças e menor independência na maior parte das tarefas da dimensão motora em relação ao grupo MDF. Os idosos do grupo 2Q apresentaram maior número de doenças, menor força de preensão manual e menor independência na tarefa "controle das fezes" na dimensão motora da medida de independência funcional (MIF) em relação ao grupo 1Q. CONCLUSÕES: Entre idosos que já caíram, piores níveis de desempenho físico relacionam-se com maior faixa etária, mais doenças e menos independência funcional. Além disso, ter sofrido quedas recorrentes relaciona-se com mais doenças, menos força muscular e menos independência funcional na tarefa de controle de fezes.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between sociodemographic, clinical, physical and functional data according to physical performance and number of falls among older fallers. METHODS: Cross-sectional study carried out among 72 older adults (76.3 ±8.3 years) with a history of falls in the past year, 65.3 percent of which were women. The participants received care at the geriatric outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Campinas, SP. They were divided into the following groups: worst physical performance (WPP) and best physical performance (BPP), one-time fallers (1F) and frequent fallers (2F). Sociodemographic, clinical, physical and functional characteristics were considered as independent variables. Comparison analysis between the groups was conducted. RESULTS: The WPP group was older and had a higher number of illnesses and less independence in most motor dimension tasks compared to the BPP group. The 2F group had a higher number of illnesses, less handgrip strength and less independence in the bowel management task in the motor dimension of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) compared to the 1F group. CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults fallers, poor physical performance is associated with more advanced age, more illnesses and less functional independence. Moreover, recurrent falls are associated with more illnesses, less muscle strength and less functional independence in the bowel management task.

Personal efficacy, attitudes towards immigrants, and voting behavior among latino and white university students / Eficacia personal, actitudes hacia inmigrantes, y comportamiento de votación en angloamericanos y latinos

This study tests a model linking attitudes towards immigrants with personal efficacy and voting behavior on proposition 187 (an endorsement of an anti-immigrant ballot initiative in California). Using a sample of 218 White and Latino university student results indicated that whites endorsed greater negative attitudes towards immigrants (on the Attitudes Towards Immigrants Scale) as compared to Latinos. In addition, Latinos were more internal in their personal efficacy (on the Spheres of Control Scale) when compared to Whites. Consistent with research drawn from a subset of attribution theory, we also found that for Whites, greater internal personal efficacy was associated with more negative attitudes towards immigrants. Also supporting a subset of research in attribution theory, for Whites, greater internal personal efficacy was associated with support for proposition 187. For both Whites and Latinos, those who held more negative attitudes towards immigrants were more likely to report having voted for proposition 187. For Latinos, no relationships were found between personal efficacy and neither attitudes towards immigrants nor voting behavior. Study implications are discussed.

Esta investigación prueba un modelo conectando actitudes hacia inmigrantes con eficacia personal, y comportamiento de votación sobre la iniciativa 187 (una iniciativa de la balota con un tema contra-inmigrante que fue puesta a voto en el estado de California, en EEUU). Usando una muestra de 218 estudiantes universitarios que se identifican como angloamericanos y latinos, los resultados indican que los angloamericanos endorsaron mayores actitudes negativas hacia inmigrantes (en la Escala de Actitudes hacia los Inmigrantes) en comparación a los latinos. Además, los latinos fueron más internos en sus reportes de eficacia personal (usando la Escala Sobre Esferas de Control) en comparación a los angloamericanos. Consistente con algunas teorías de atribución, también encontramos que para los angloamericanos, mayor eficacia personal interna fue asociada con actitudes más negativas hacia inmigrantes. También dando apoyo a unas teorías de atribución, para los angloamericanos, mayor eficacia personal interna fue asociada con apoyo para la iniciativa 187. Entre todos los participantes, angloamericanos y latinos, los que llevaron a cabo actitudes más negativas hacia inmigrantes fueron más probables de apoyar el asunto 187. Para latinos, no se encontró ningunas relaciones entre la eficacia personal y las actitudes hacia inmigrantes ni comportamiento de votación. Implicaciones del estudio serán discutido.

Edad de presentaciòn de menarquia y su relaciòn con el estado nutricional en la poblaciòn rural de Tisaleo Tungurahua

La menarquia es el inicio de la menstruaciòn causado por un incremento gradual en la secreciòn de hormona gonadotròfica, se conoce la incidencia de factores ètnico-geogràficos, nutricionales y hàbitos de vida como determinantes de la apariciòn de la menarquia. En este estudio se analizò la edad de presentaciòn de menarquia en un grupo de adolescentes de 10 a 18 años (n=87) en el que se obtuvo positividad en 22 personas de acuerdo a la edad en que fue encuestado. La media fue de 13 años con un rango entre los 11 a los 15 años. El mayor porcentaje se encontrò a los 14 años (45.45 por ciento) y en orden de frecuencia 13,12,11 y 15. Tambièn se corroboran los datos de peso y talla encontràndose que los casos que presentan menarquia siempre se encuentran por encima de la media de estos datos obtenidos en la muestra total...