ABSTRACT
Background: Cancer is emerging as a major public health concern in many countries including India. Kerala state has the highest burden of cancer in the country. Objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of diagnosed cancers, warning signs and selected risk factors of cancer in Kadapra Panchayath of Pathanamthitta district, Kerala.Methods: A total of 16,391 population was covered by door to door survey using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire collected information on the sociodemographic variables of the residents, source of water supply, warning signs of cancer and details of diagnosed cancer cases.Results: The mean age of the population was 40.9+21 years. The prevalence of diagnosed cases of cancer in our study population was 776/100,000 population. Breast cancer was the most common cancer (43.5%) identified in the population. The prevalence of any warning sign among the study population was 220/100,000 population. Breast lump was the common warning sign identified. Increasing age and female gender were the factors found to be significantly associated with cancer.Conclusions: As prevalence of cancer was found to be high in this population, an active community based screening along with teaching self-breast examination to the women in the community are required. Improving community awareness could help in early diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Soil and water testing for carcinogens is recommended.
ABSTRACT
Background: Adolescent obesity is a serious public health challenge of this century. It is associated with many factors including sleep patterns among adolescents.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. Adolescents studying in high school and higher secondary classes were included using stratified random sampling. Study tools included a structured questionnaire and anthropometric measurements.Results: 657 students were enrolled from Government, Government-aided and Private schools. The mean age of the participants was 15.09'1.33 years. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity was 13.8% and 6.5% respectively. Students in private schools were found to have higher prevalence of overweight (17.8%) and obesity (9.8%) compared to Government-aided (15.3% and 5.4%) and Government schools (8% and 4.5%). Students with lesser sleep duration had higher BMI values. Factors such as higher age, family income, parental education, lack of regular physical activity were associated with obesity. Students with more siblings and family members had low BMI compared to others.Conclusions: High prevalence of overweight and obesity was observed among adolescents especially among private school students. Inadequate sleep duration was also found to be associated with obesity. Primary prevention approach aimed at spreading adequate awareness among students, parents and teachers should be practiced.