ABSTRACT
An 84-year-old man visited a local doctor, complaining of general fatigue for the last 2 months and dyspnea at rest since the last few days. His echocardiogram revealed a defect hole measuring 1.5 cm at the base of the ventricular septum and left-to-right shunt blood flow. The diagnosis of ventricular septal perforation due to subacute myocardial infarction was confirmed, and an emergency surgery was performed. A right atrial oblique incision revealed a perforation just below the tricuspid valve septal apex. The perforation site was closed using the sandwich patch technique with two bovine pericardial membrane patches. The patient was transferred to the hospital for rehabilitation on day 18 postoperatively.
ABSTRACT
The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is lower in Madagascar than in continental African countries, but recently it has steadily risen. To identify factors that facilitate or deter condom use among married couples in Madagascar, a cross-sectional study was conducted by means of a questionnaire survey of 977 women attending 10 health facilities for antenatal care and child care. Information on reproductive and socioeconomic factors was obtained, and logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors contributing to condom use. Child death and women’s earnings were statistically significant factors for condom use, with an odds ratio of 2.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-3.5) for the former and 1.6 (95% CI: 1.1-2.3) for the latter in the logistic regression analysis. The promotion of economic independence among women and the reduction of child mortality deserve greater attention in the planning of HIV prevention policy in Madagascar.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify characteristic lifestyles in children with obese parents. Methods: 8,030 children (4,072 males and 3,958 females) aged 6 to 7 years were investigated. A questionnaire relating to the lifestyles of children was distributed through elementary schools for completion by parents. The heights and weights of parents were self-reported. A parent with a body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) greater than the 90th percentile for gender (26.7 kg/m2 for fathers and 24.3 kg/m2 for mothers) was defined as an obese parent. A chi-square test for each trend was applied to evaluate an increasing trend in the frequency or level of each lifestyle in children with obese parents. Results: Children with obese parents were significantly associated with increasing trends in the proportions categorized by irregular intake of breakfast, faster eating, longer TV watching, and shorter sleeping hours. Conclusions: These lifestyles are considered to be possible risk factors for the development of obesity. These characteristic lifestyles observed in children with obese parents could strengthen the relationship between child and parental body compositions, in addition to the genetic predisposition to obesity in children with obese parents. These findings indicate that education with lifestyle modification for obese parents will be required to prevent further weight gain in children with obese parents.