ABSTRACT
Background: Hypothyroidism is known to be the commonest form of endocrine disorders and has been linked with disturbances in various minerals metabolism. Calcium, phosphorus and magnesium and trace element zinc are required for many enzymes in various metabolic pathways which are directly or indirectly regulated by thyroid hormones. Aim and objectives of the study was to estimate serum zinc, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in hypothyroid patients, with the objectives to evaluate any relationship with TSH and to compare them with euthyroid controls.Methods: The analytical cross-sectional study included 50 hypothyroid subjects with TSH levels >4.5 mcg IU/mL and 50 euthyroid subjects of 20-50 years in RMCH, Bareilly. TSH was estimated by ECLIA, serum calcium and phosphorus were estimated by autoanalyzer and serum zinc & magnesium by the kit method using semi autoanalyzer. All the biochemical parameters were expressed as median with Interquartile Range (IQR). Mann-Whitney test was applied to compare the parameters of cases and control. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient 2-tailed was used to correlate the parameters among the cases.Results: A significantly decreased level of serum calcium and increased level of serum magnesium and phosphorus were observed in hypothyroid cases. A significant negative correlation between TSH and serum calcium while a significant positive correlation of serum magnesium and phosphorus with TSH was observed.Conclusions: The indexed study indicates the significant effect of overt or subclinical hypothyroidism over the mineral status of the body which may have inconsistent effect over the various metabolism and enzymes and thereby clinical manifestations.
ABSTRACT
Background: Adolescence in girls has been recognized as a special period. Adolescents are a large and growing segment of the world’s population. Adolescence in girls is a turbulent period of development, which includes stressful events like menarche. Some of the special problems of adolescents are nutritional problems, menstrual disorders, leucorrhoea, and psychological problems. Though menstruation is a natural process, it is linked with several misconceptions and practices in India due to different rituals in the communities, which sometimes result in adverse health outcomes. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge about menstrual hygiene among urban adolescent girls in Bareilly.Methods: The study was conducted in the urban area of Bareilly taking a sample size of 450 girls with multistage sampling technique.Results: About 40% of participants had complete knowledge regarding menstruation, 64.9% of participants regarded menstruation as a curse of God, and 35.6% of the participants perceived urethra as the main source organ for blood during menstruation.Conclusions: This research addressed the issues in managing their menstruation and maintaining a good standard of menstrual hygiene in adolescent girls.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Communicative skills in medical education are inadequately met. Research has shown that poor communication can contribute to improper diagnosis and lack of understanding of patient's problems, investigations, and treatment options. Poor communication can lead to poor compliance to treatment and dissatisfaction among patients Objective: Assessment of the improvement in the communication skills after the training programme workshop Method: The interns posted in the department of community medicine were pre-tested using Kalamazoo Essential Elements Communication Checklist (Adapted) [KEECCA] who then underwent focused training by the trained faculty members. Two weeks following completion of training, all participants were subjected to a post-test and comparison between the pre-test and post-test scores was done using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. The test was two sided and a p value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. In order to know the effect of sensitization programme, feedback of the students and the faculty members as the assessors was taken after the completion of the posting Results: On the application of wilcoxon signed rank test, it was found that the difference between the pre and post test scores of assessment on kalamazoo scale after the training of interns on communication skills was found to be statistically significant as the t-value was 4.072 with the pvalue less than 0.001 that is also highly statistically significant Conclusions: The incorporation of communication skills in the medical curriculum will not only improve the doctor patient relationship but also help in arriving at the proper diagnosis through improved skills
ABSTRACT
Background: Alcohol consumption is the world’s third largest risk factor for disease and disability; in middle-income countries, it is the greatest risk. Approximately 4.5% of the global burden of disease and injury is attributable to alcohol. Alcohol is a causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries and a component cause in 200 others. Alcohol is attributed to nearly 3.2% of all deaths and results in a loss of 4% of total DALYs (58 million). Aims & Objective: To assess the pattern of alcohol use among the males aged >15 years in the urban slum, Multan Nagar in Meerut. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the catchment area of UHTC (Urban Health and training Centre) among 324 males aged > 15 years. Data was collected by home visit using WHO questionnaire (AUDIT: Alcohol use disorder identification test) along with other questions related to the type, initiation and reason behind alcohol use. Chi square test followed by logistic regression was applied to know the association of alcohol use with the socio-demographic determinants. Results: According to the AUDIT score, Hazardous, Dependent and harmful drinkers were 7.7%, 9.2% and 2.4% respectively. Most common age of onset was 20-30 years (46.9%) among the drinkers with most common reason being peer pressure (13.6%). Logistic regression was applied and marital status, family history of alcohol use and caste retained their statistical significance (p-value< 0.05, 95% confidence interval). Conclusion: It can be concluded that early age of onset and peer pressure are the alarming challenges for the eradication of this social evil.