ABSTRACT
Background: Lifestyle or non-communicable diseasesare associated with long-term health consequences andtremendous socioeconomic implications. Early identification of risk factors with lifestyle modification is themost effective measure of prevention and control.Schools offer unique opportunity for comprehensiveassessment of risk factors and initiation of healthybehaviours. Aim and Objectives: This study was aimedto assess the risk factor profile for lifestyle diseasesamong adolescent school students in Ranipet, Velloredistrict, Tamil Nadu and to identify the sociodemographic factors associated with above risk factorsamong students. Material and Methods: A schoolbased, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conductedamong students aged 13 to 17 years, from 3 randomlyselected schools (2 Private; 1 Government) in Ranipet,Vellore district, between June and September 2018. Apretested, semi-structured, self-administeredquestionnaire and standardized instruments were usedto assess risk factors. Results: A total of 932 studentsparticipated. Fruit and vegetable consumption andphysical activity practices were sub-optimal comparedto recommended guidelines. Males reported betterdietary and physical activity practices compared tofemales (p<0.05). 20% of adolescents were overweightand 17.4% had elevated Blood Pressure (BP). A higherproportion of private school students had overweightand elevated BP(p<0.05). Conclusion: High prevalenceof overweight and elevated BP among adolescentssignifies need for intense health promotion measuresand reorienting school health services towardsprevention of lifestyle diseases. Parents, teachers andstudents should be sensitised to the impact ofbehavioural and physical risk factors on long-termmorbidity and be equipped with knowledge and trainingto prevent or modify these risk factors.
ABSTRACT
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) are those infections which the patients acquire during the course of receiving treatment and are not present or incubating at the time of admission. It also includes infections which appear after discharge and occupational infections among healthcare staff. These infections are mostly caused by viral, bacterial or fungal pathogens and the most common types of HAIs include: blood stream infections, pneumonias (e.g. ventilator-associated pneumonia), urinary tract infections and surgical site infections. According to World Health Organization, for every 100 hospitalized patients at any given time, 7 in developed and 10 in developing countries are getting at least one HAI. Many countries lack strong surveillance system on HAIs and it remains a serious problem, which no institution or country can claim to have solved, despite huge efforts.