Association Between Schoolbag Weight And Back Pain Among Primary Schoolchildren In Kajang, Selangor

@#These days, there is a growing concern that schoolchildren are carrying too heavy school back on their backs. The use of a back pack is the most important factor causing low back pain among students. Thus, a cross sectional study was conducted on 81 schoolchildren from two different types of primary school in Kajang, Selangor. The objective of this paper is to determine the association between schoolbag weight and back pain among primary schoolchildren in Kajang, Selangor. For the method, respondents’ body weight and their schoolbag weight were measured using the electronic body composition OMRON and KERN weighing scale respectively, while the height was measured using Body Meter Seca 208cm. Back pain in the past one week was assessed using questionnaire, adapted from previous studies. This studied involving 81 primary schoolchildren from two types of school which were government and private school. 74.1% of schoolchildren had the schoolbag weight more than 10% of their body weight. 32.1% of schoolchildren reported having back pain and 21.0% of them were female respondents. Back pain was detected in 24.7% government schoolchildren and 7.4% private schoolchildren. There was significant association between back pain and; relative weight (x2=9.720, p=0.002) and types of school (x2=4.949, p=0.026). As conclusion, schoolchildren that carry schoolbag heavier than that generally recommended which is not more than 10% of body weight will experienced the back pain

Toxoplasma gondii infection: seroprevalence and associated risk factors among primary schoolchildren in Lagos City, Southern Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Toxoplasma gondii infection has been described as the most widespread zoonotic infection of humans and other animals. Information concerning T. gondii infection among schoolchildren is unavailable in Lagos City, Nigeria. METHODS: This cross-sectional study investigated the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with T. gondii infection among primary schoolchildren (PSC) from a community located in the center of Lagos, southern Nigeria, from November 2013 to March 2014. A total of 382 PSC were screened for the presence of sera anti-T. gondii antibodies using a latex agglutination test (TOXO Test-MT, Tokyo, Japan). A cutoff titer of ≥ 1:32 was considered positive, while titers ≥ 1:1,024 indicated high responders. Questionnaires were also used to obtain data on possible risk factors from parents/guardians. RESULTS: The overall seroprevalence was 24% (91/382), and 83.5% (76/91) of seropositive PSC were classified as high responders. Among the risk factors tested, including contact with cats and soil, consumption of raw meat and vegetables, and drinking unboiled water, none showed statistical significance after multivariate adjustment. No associations were observed among age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and parents' occupation/educational level. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this study show evidence of active infection, and hence, there is need for urgent preventive measures in this city. Further investigation is required to clarify the transmission routes. Policy makers also need to initiate prevention and control programs to protect pregnant women and immunocompromised patients in particular because they are more severely affected by T. gondii infection. .

Obesity among urban primary schoolchildren

Three urban public primary schools in the district of Petaling, Selangor were surveyed for obesity amongst the schoolchildren and factors related to it. The prevalence of obesity amongst primary schoolchildren, with the mean age of 8.91 years was 9.5%. In addition, it was more prevalent among the boys (p<0.05) as compared to the girls. However, there was no difference with regards to ethnicity, being breastfed, physical activity, time spent watching television or fast food intake in relation to obesity among these primary schoolchildren. A larger community study is required to determine if other specific factors and dietary energy intake are associated with obesity amongst primary schoolchildren, especially in rural or less urbanised regions.