Assessment of freshwater springs, associated diseases and indigenous perception in Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Objective: To assess the quality of freshwater aquifers [springs] associated diseases, and indigenous perception in Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the department of environmental science, Karakoram International University Gilgit after approval from departmental research committee. In order to get the most accurate results, 18 water samples in triplicates were collected according to our lab own set of sampling standard operating procedures [SOPs] using pre-sterilized bottles of 100 ml from June 2016 to August 2016 along with associated diseases record and structured interviews from indigenous population. For physicochemical and microbial assessment, samples were tested before five hours after collection and associated diseases and indigenous perception was analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques

Results: Findings revealed that levels of pH, EC, phosphates, TDS, and nitrite, fall within WHO standards except nitrate, temperature and turbidity. The highest concentration [mgL-1 +/- SE] of Hg in Barkolti and Barsat springs were [0.01 +/- 0.005] and [0.02 +/- 0.001] while Zn was [0.04 +/- 0.02] respectively. The concentration of Cu in Barkolti spring was [0.2 +/- 0.03] while in Barsat spring below the detection level. The concentration of Cd, Pb, Cr, and Fe in both springs fall within WHO permissible limits. The mean value of E. coli recorded in both Barkolti and Barsat aquifers were [1.08cfu +/- 0.45] and [2.11cfu +/- 0.56] respectively. The prevalence of water-associated diseases recorded in the order diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and their incidence increases at high peak in summer. Irrespective of physicochemical and microbial components, indigenous population believed that the spring water has curative properties

Conclusions: Physiochemical and microbial parameters of spring's water fall within WHO standards except nitrate, turbidity, temperature, and E. coli, and incidence of certain associated diseases. However, indigenous population is unaware about the fact and believed that spring water very safe

Community screening for psychiatric morbidity in four remote valleys of Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions of Pakistan

Objective: To find out the frequency of psychiatric morbidity in patients reporting to general medical camps in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram ranges of Pakistan. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Four different valleys of the region, with the Psychiatry Department, Combined Military Hospital, Gilgit as the base, from August 2015 to December 2016

Methodology: Consenting adults of either gender, reporting to medical camps for various health related issues were administered Bradford Somatic Inventory 21 [BSI 21] and Self Report Questionnaire [SRQ]. Non-parametric statistical techniques including Mann-Whitney test, Kruskall-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation, along with median and inter quartile range, were used to analyse data

Results: Out of a total of 478 [52.1% females] respondents, half [n=234 [48.9%] on BSI and n=243 [50.8%] on SRQ] reported positive psychiatric morbidity. Inter-valley differences were significant [BSI, chi 2=49.1, p<.001; SRQ, chi 2=66.5, p<.001]. Females reported higher levels of psychiatric morbidity measured by BSI [p<.001] and SRQ [p<.001], as compared to males. Participants' occupation was significantly associated [BSI; chi 2=23.1, SRQ; chi 2=35.3, p<.001] while their age was not significantly associated [BSI, r=-.06, p>.05; SRQ, r=-.09, p>.05] with their psychiatric morbidity

Conclusion: Psychiatric morbidity was prevalent in the population studied, which may go unrecognized, overlooked, or mistreated by the locally available medical resources. There is a huge need for mental health services in these areas

Community screening for psychiatric morbidity in four remote valleys of hindu kush and karakoram regions of pakistan

Objective: To find out the frequency of psychiatric morbidity in patients reporting to general medical camps in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram ranges of Pakistan

Study Design: A cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: Four different valleys of the region, with the Psychiatry Department, Combined Military Hospital, Gilgit as the base, from August 2015 to December 2016

Methodology: Consenting adults of either gender, reporting to medical camps for various health related issues were administered Bradford Somatic Inventory 21 [BSI 21] and Self Report Questionnaire [SRQ]. Non-parametric statistical techniques including Mann-Whitney test, Kruskall-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation, along with median and inter quartile range, were used to analyse data

Results: Out of a total of 478 [52.1% females] respondents, half [n=234 [48.9%] on BSI and n=243 [50.8%] on SRQ] reported positive psychiatric morbidity. Inter-valley differences were significant [BSI, Chi[2]=49.1, p <.001; SRQ, Chi[2]=66.5, p <.001]. Females reported higher levels of psychiatric morbidity measured by BSI [p <.001] and SRQ [p <.001], as compared to males. Participants' occupation was significantly associated [BSI; Chi[2]=23.1, SRQ; Chi[2]=35.3, p <.001] while their age was not significantly associated [BSI, r=-.06, p >.05; SRQ, r=-.09, p >.05] with their psychiatric morbidity

Conclusion: Psychiatric morbidity was prevalent in the population studied, which may go unrecognized, overlooked, or mistreated by the locally available medical resources. There is a huge need for mental health services in these areas

Assessment of Mental health in a community sample from Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan: a cross sectional study

Objective: This study was conducted to explore and compare the level of mental health in all the districts of Gilgit Baltistan [GB]

Study Design: Cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: Based at CMH Gilgit, all districts of GB were visited between Mar and Dec 2016

Material and Methods: Data were collected from consenting adults in community setting by administering mental health inventory [MHI]. Data were compared with the population mean and inter-district comparisons were performed

Results: A total of 370 [186 males] participants, age ranging from 17 to 80 years [M = 28.54 +/- 11.27]. Out of these, 240 [64.8 percent] were married and their education levels ranged from 5 to 16 years of schooling. Males [t=4.5, p<0.001] and married participants [t=2-07, p<0.05] reported better mental health. Participants' living district [F=1.8, p=09], education level [F=1.1, p=0.3], and their age [r=0.04, p=3] did not influence their reported level of mental health

Conclusion: Community members in GB had good level of mental health irrespective of their living area, education, and age. However, their gender and marital status influenced their mental health

Mood changes at very high altitudes in Pakistan

Objective: To screen out psychiatric 'cases' and find the frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms in military volunteers performing duties at very high altitudes in the Karakoram ranges of Pakistan

Methods: This was a descriptive study lasting from Jan 2015 to June 2015, on volunteers serving at very high altitude, using General Health Questionnaire-12 [GHQ-12] and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS], Urdu versions. Analysis involved descriptive, inferential techniques and Bonferroni test. Demographic variables were compared to the scores

Results: A high percentage of the military volunteers screened positive for psychiatric 'caseness' and symptoms of anxiety and depression; mostly in the mild to moderate range, while very few of them reported severe symptoms. Demographic variables such as marital status, number of children, positive family psychiatric history, past medical history, duration at high altitude and educational levels were found to be significant risk factors for developing symptoms of anxiety and depression

Conclusions: Individuals performing duties at very high altitude, experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, their demographics are important in understanding their emotional problems

Symptoms of depression and anxiety among women attending primary health care in Gilgit-Baltistan [GB], Pakistan

Objective: To assess symptoms of anxiety and depression among women reporting to primary health care [PHC women] in Gilgit Baltistan [GB], Pakistan

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on PHC women belonging GB including other three provinces of Pakistan. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were used to assess anxiety and depression. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were applied to analyze the collected data

Results: PHC women from GB reported higher level of depressive symptoms [t=7.58, p=0.00] and lower level of anxiety symptoms [t=8.3, p=0.00] when compared with cut-off score. Insignificant differences were found in depressive [t=1.5, p>0.05] and anxiety [t=1.2, p>0.05] scores between GB women and women from rest of Pakistan. However, inter-province differences in depressive [F=5.78, p= 00] and anxiety [F=4.5, p=0.00] symptoms were significant. Increasing age and lack of education were found significant risk factors for GB PHC women's depressive and anxiety symptoms

Conclusions: PHC women from GB have higher level of depressive and lower level of anxiety symptoms like women from other provinces of Pakistan. Their demographics should be considered while addressing their emotional problems

Attempted suicide and seriousness of intent

This descriptive research was conducted to estimate the method of suicide and suicidal intent among hospitalised suicide attempters at Pakistan Ordinance Factory [POF] Hospital, Wah Cantt, from December 2012 to June 2013. Data were collected from 49 hospitalised suicide attempters through purposive sampling technique by using Suicidal Intent Scale. Majority of suicide attempters [92%] used self-poisoning as the method of suicide regardless of their gender, age, occupation, past medical history, past psychiatric history, and history of suicide and psychiatric illness in their families. Additionally, most of them [43%] reported high level of suicidal intent, while 16 [33%] reported medium suicidal intent and 12 [24%] reported mild suicidal intent. Keeping in view the fact that majority of suicide attempters used self-poisoning as a method and most of them reported high level of suicidal intent, it is important to plan preventive measures

Risk factors of retinopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus at a tertiary care hospital, Bahawalpur Pakistan

Objectives: To find out the risk factors of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study involving 300 patients of type 2 diabetes. Clinical history, relevant examination including fundoscopy and lab investigations were done. Data was analysed with SPSS 17.0. T-test and chi square/Fischer exact were applied to determine significance

Results: Mean age of the patients was 49.04 +/- 0.69 years with slight female predominance with male to female ratio of 3:4. Average duration of disease was 7.17 +/- 0.38 years. Diabetic retinopathy was diagnosed in [74, 23.9%]. Mean HbA1c was 8.15% in patients with retinopathy and 8.884% in those who had no retinopathy [p=0.08]. However, duration of DM, age of patients, male gender, high total cholesterol, high LDL and microalbuminuria were significantly associated with the development of retinopathy

Conclusions: Diabetic retinopathy was found in 23.9% of type 2 diabetics. It was associated with duration of disease, age at presentation, male gender, high total cholesterol, high LDL and microalbuminuria. A single high level of HbA1c was not associated with retinopathy

Frequency of hyponatremia in children with acute diarrhea taking low smolar oral rehydration solution

Acute diarrhea is defined as passage of three or more stools in a day, of consistency softer than usual for the child, or one watery stool. Acute diarrhea is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. It accounts for approximately 25% of total admissions in children ward and causes mortality of 5-10% in community. As dehydration is the main complication of diarrhea, treatment focuses upon rehydration through fluid replacement. Oral Rehydration solution [ORS] is the recommended treatment in children with acute diarrhea and some dehydration. Now WHO has recommended Low Osmolarity ORS which contains less sodium and glucose than standard ORS. One of the side effect of use of ORS solution with reduced sodium level is the development of hyponatremia [i.e. serum sodium level less than 130 meq/L] in some of children with acute diarrhea and results in adverse clinical events. To determine the frequency of hyponatremia in children taking low osmolarity ORS for management of acute diarrhea with some dehydration. Descriptive case series. Study was conducted in Department of Pediatrics, Children ward-2 Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawal Pur and Department of Pathology Quaid-e-Azam medical college Bahawal Pur from 7th August 2010 to 22nd September 2010. Total 32 children with age between 3 months to 60 months with acute diarrhoea and some dehydration with normal initial serum sodium were included. An informed consent was taken from the parents to include their children in the study. Proforma was filled at the time of admission and after 4 hours. Blood sample was taken to measure serum sodium level. Criteria of hyponatreima was serum sodium level below 130 meq/l after giving low osmolarity ORS at a dose of 75 ml/kg to drink. A total of 32 children with acute diarrhea were included in study with age ranging from 3 months to 60 months. Male to female ratio was 1.1:1. Hyponatremia was seen in 2 [6.3%] of patients. The risk of hyponatremia in patients treated with the low osmolarity ORS was minimal

Father behavior in childhood: the predictor of psychological adjustment in adulthood

This research attempts to determine the relationships of psychological adjustment of university students with their perceived father acceptance and rejection. It was hypothesized that [Perceived childhood father acceptance-rejection would predict the psychological adjustment in adulthood]'. 206 university students including male and female equal in number participated in this study. To assess perceived father's acceptance-rejection during childhood the Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire/Control: Father-Short Form was administered and their current psychological adjustment was measured through Adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire Urdu Version translated by Munaf, Hussain and Kamrani, 2009. Simple Linear Regression Model was applied to analyze the data. The results are statistically significant which implies that the perceived childhood father acceptance-rejection is a significant predictor of current psychological adjustment of university students. It can be interpreted that through experience of childhood father's rejection we can predict poor psychological adjustment in adulthood

Personality type, gender and age difference: a study of customers' brand loyalty

The purpose of the research is to study the role of Personality Types, Gender and Age difference in Customers' Brand Loyalty. It was hypothesized that 1] There would be difference in brand loyalty of customers with Type "A", "B" and "AB" Personalities, 2] There would be gender difference in customers brand loyalty and, 3] There would be difference in brand loyalty of customers with age groups 19-21 years and 22-24 years. Sample of the present research consisted of 54 male and 54 female customers. Their Age range was from 19-24 years.Their minimum educational qualification was graduation and all belonged to middle and upper middle socio economic class. All the respondents were individually approached and they were requested to fill the demographic data sheet, which was followed by Anjum -Khalique Type A Scale [AKTAS, Anjum and Khalique, 1991], along with the Illustrative Measures of Brand Loyalty [Sheth, Mittal, and Newman, 1999a]. Analysis of Variance was applied to determine difference in brand loyalty among customers with Type "A", "B" and "AB" Personalities, t-test was applied in order to find out difference in brand loyalty between Type "A" and "B", Type "A" and "AB" and between Type "B" and "AB" Personalities. Further difference was also calculated with reference to gender and age range. Results indicated that there is a significant difference in consumer's brand loyalty with reference to Personality Types [N=108, df=2 and 105, F=3.561, p<.05].Although insignificant difference of brand loyalty was found between Personality Type A and B [N=36, t=1 .88, df =34, p>.05] and between Personality Type A and AB [N=91, t=0.132, df=89, p>.05]. However significant difference was noted between Personality Type B and AB [N=89, t=-2.725, df=87, p<.01]. Likewise there was significant difference between consumers with age group from 19-21 years and 22 - 24 years [N=108, t=2.83, df =106, p<.01]. Consumers of age group 19-21 years were found to be more brand loyal [X=19.02] than consumers of age group 22- 24 years[X= 17.02].Furthermore insignificant difference of brand loyalty was found between male and female customers [N=108, t=0.101, df=106, p>.05].Overall results indicate that personality and age are two important predictors of customer's brand loyalty where as gender is an insignificant factor. Nevertheless we can't negate the influence of other situational factors that are also responsible for it. Limitations of the study and avenues for future research have also been suggested

Toxic and non-toxic role of some metals in human body

The metals included in this study were copper, iron, zinc, cadmium and lead. The copper, iron and zinc were selected because of their important biological role in human body while cadmium and lead were selected due to their toxic nature. During the past few years, the assessment of pollution of food resources has become a major subject of investigation all over the world. Human health may be directly affected by ingesting fruits and vegetables, if enhanced amounts of macro-or micro-nutrients are present in such edibles. In addition, the presence of toxic trace elements such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in general foodstuff can lead to the malfunction of organs and chronic toxicity in humans