Perimenopausal symptoms in Sri Lankan women.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the types of perimenopausal symptoms (PMS) associated with the natural menopause and to make a preliminary assessment of the influence of PMS on household work, employment duties and social life, since no published data are available regarding these aspects in Sri Lankan women. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study of 403 women after natural menopause chosen randomly from four selected groups. METHOD: A pre-tested coded questionnaire administered by trained women medical students to consenting menopausal women. RESULTS: An overwhelming majority of menopausal women (87.1%) had one or more PMS. The principal PMS reported were insomnia (57.8%), joint pains (55.8%), night sweats (55.6%), hot flushes (40.2%), irritability (35.3%) and headaches (33.3%). Of the 171 women employed outside the home, 38% noted some interference with employment duties. PMS causes much morbidity in Sri Lankan perimenopausal women.

Iron absorption from a traditional Sri Lankan weaning food and the enhancing effect of ascorbic acid in adult male volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: To study absorption of iron from Centella gruel and the enhancing effect of ascorbic acid in young adult males. DESIGN: An in vivo absorption study. SETTING: Faculty of Medicine, Galle. METHODS: The percentage of iron absorbed from the Centella gruel was measured using a double isotope technique with 55Fe and 59Fe on 10 healthy male volunteers. OUTCOME MEASURE: Percentage of iron absorption from the gruel with and without ascorbic acid. RESULTS: The mean iron absorption from each meal of Centella gruel was 2.2% (SEM 0.8). This increased to 5% (SEM 1.6) by addition of 50 mg ascorbic acid. When ingested with ascorbic acid, the bioavailable nutrient density (BND) of the weaning food was increased from 0.23 to 0.53 mg iron/1,000 kcal. To satisfy the daily physiological requirements of iron in infants and toddlers, it was calculated that apart from ascorbic acid supplementation, the total iron content also needs to be increased from 2.05 mg to 4.0 mg/meal. CONCLUSION: Centella gruel cannot provide the amount of iron to meet the BND for iron required by infants and toddlers, unless supplemented with an enhancer of iron absorption such as ascorbic acid and its total iron content is increased.

Neonatal and post-neonatal mortality in the Galle district.

OBJECTIVE: To determine some factors associated with infant mortality. DESIGN: Descriptive study. SETTING: Galle district in Sri Lanka. SUBJECTS: 350 infant deaths of singleton births. MEASUREMENTS: Association between variables. RESULTS: Neonatal:post-neonatal death ratio was 3.2:1, and 62.3% (218) were early neonatal deaths. First day deaths comprised 28.6% (100); 67.8% (237) died at the Teaching Hospital. A high incidence (65.7%) of low birthweight (LBW) was noted. Mean birthweights of neonates and post-neonates were 1925 +/- 729 and 2520 +/- 620 gram respectively, and the difference between means was statistically significant (p < 0.001). LBW and related disorders were the major cause of death in 44% (154) of the total sample, and in 55.8% (149) of neonates. Infections were the commonest cause (55.8%) of death in post-neonates. Pediatric clinical assessment to differentiate small-for-dates (SFD) was not recorded in 90.3%. Statistically significant associations were found between the period of death (neonatal and post-neonatal) and the following variables: period of gestation (p < 0.001); birthweight (p < 0.001) and cause of death (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There was a high incidence of neonatal deaths and a high proportion of early neonatal deaths. About one-third of deaths occurred on the first day of life. Incidence of LBW was high. The major cause of death was LBW and related disorders in the total sample and in neonates. Assessment of SFD was not carried out in the vast majority of infants.

Does Aerua lanata have diuretic properties?

We have compared the diuretic activity of 200 ml of sucrose flavoured aqueous extract of the herb Aerua lanata with that of 200 ml sucrose flavoured weak infusion of tea leaves, and 200 ml of water, in 14 healthy volunteers under standardized conditions. Each volunteer acted as his or her own control in the three protocols, and chemical, physical and statistical analyses were performed "blind" by coding all urine and blood samples collected. A. lanata extract did not significantly increase urine flow, sodium excretion, potassium excretion, or urine and plasma osmolality as compared to an infusion of tea or plain water.