ABSTRACT
Background: Since the beginning of the pandemic, everyone has become aware of their health status. The internet has provided access to feed their curiosity. It has made many individuals hypochondriac and anxious. The hypochondria, due to internet search, is known as cyberchondria. Aim and Objective: This study aimed to determine the degree of cyberchondria among medical students using the cyberchondria severity scale (CSS). Materials and Methods: We recruited 763 undergraduate and postgraduate medical students of SCBMCH, Cuttack, for this observational study. We provided them with the printed CSS-15 questionnaire and asked them to fill it out with suitable responses. It had five domains: Excessiveness, distress, compulsion, reassurance, and mistrust. Each of the 15 questions had five options, that is, no way, rarely, sometimes, frequently, and consistently. The responses were ordered from 0 to 4, except for the last domain, where the order was 4–0. We analyzed the collected data using R software (version 4.1.1). Results: Seven hundred and thirty-two (95.94%) participants with a mean age of 22.73 ± 4.84 years completed the survey. Of them, 548 (74.86%) participants were undergraduate students, and 493 (67.35%) were male. Six hundred and ninety-eight (95.36%) participants were affected by excessiveness, 633 (86.48%) by compulsion, 429 (58.61%) by distress, 307 (41.94%) by reassurance, and 186 (25.41%) by mistrust of a medical professional. The excessiveness domain severely affected 54.23% of participants, followed by distress 32.24%, compulsion 27.05%, reassurance 22.27%, and mistrust 15.57%. Conclusion: All the study participants were affected by at least one domain of cyberchondria. It has increased their anxiety.
ABSTRACT
Background: Although pathogenesis and pattern of disease are still not completely understood, tactical management of overcrowding of hospitals and rational usage of resources is the need of the hour. Aims and Objectives: The study objectives were as follows: Finding of correlation between various attributes of COVID; evaluation of the association of common characteristics with hospital stay; prediction of cooccurrence of different symptoms; calculation of odds ratio of prolonged hospitalization due to various symptoms; and estimation of the rate of prolonged hospitalization due to different symptoms and comorbidities. Materials and Methods: Retrospective data of 6918 COVID-19-positive cases from SCB Medical College and Hospital, India, were obtained from the hospital records from March 2020 to January 2021. The patients’ age, gender, symptoms, and comorbidities were analyzed against their hospital stay using R software (version 4.0.2). Results: Elderly patients (>65 years) had a higher rate (91.22%) of prolonged hospital stay as compared to others (47.61%). Frequently observed symptoms (in decreasing order) were fever (73.93%), cough (67.52%), myalgia (62.11%), dyspnea (49.59%), dizziness (47.38%), and anosmia (44.10%). The risk of prolonged hospitalization was highest with dyspnea [odds ratio: 2.29 (95% confidence interval: 2.07–2.52)], followed by diarrhea [odds ratio [OR] 1.98 (confidence interval [CI] 1.77–2.21)], fever [OR 1.89 (CI 1.69–2.10)], anosmia [OR 1.86 (CI 1.69–2.05)], and dizziness [OR 1.46 (CI 1.32–1.60)]. The rate of hospitalization for more than 7 days was highest with diabetes (86.80%) followed by respiratory illnesses (71.85%) and hypertension (71.28%). Conclusion: These findings can help manage patients based on their symptoms and comorbidities before admission.
ABSTRACT
Background: Evidences indicate altered circulating adipokine levels in obesity could increase the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Hence, it is crucial to determine cardiovascular health by assessing heart rate variability (HRV) and its association with circulating adipokines. Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the adipokines level and its association with HRV in obese population. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on 45 obese (body mass index [BMI] > 25–29.9 kg/m2) and 45 non-obese (BMI: 18.5–22.9 kg/m2) age-gender-matched participants. Lead-II electrocardiogram was recorded and HRV parameters were obtained. Biochemical parameters, that is, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, lipid profile, leptin, and adiponectin levels were estimated. Group comparisons were done by independent student’s t-test, whereas the association between the parameters was done by Pearson’s correlation using SPSS 20v. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was a significant increase in low frequency: high frequency (LF: HF) ratio (<0.001), fasting insulin (<0.001), HOMA-IR (<0.001), leptin (<0.001), Leptin-Adiponectin ratio (L/A ratio) (<0.001), total cholesterol (<0.001), triglycerides (<0.001), and low-density lipoproteins (<0.001), whereas significant decrease in total power (TP) of HRV (TP) (<0.001), adiponectin (<0.001), and high-density lipoproteins. A significant positive correlation between leptin, L/A ratio with LF: HF ratio (r = 0.793, P < 0.001) and a negative correlation with TP (–0.463, P < 0.001) was observed. Conclusion: Altered adipokines and its association with HRV in obese individuals could be an indicator of CVD. Hence, the current study suggests that the L/A ratio might be considered as a biomarker for cardiovascular health in obese individuals.