Knowledge about NCD in medical students and screening for their nutritional status

Background: Creating awareness about NCD prevention and screening medical students’ nutritional status will help them to follow a healthy lifestyle. Thus, ensuring that as future doctors, they will be effective in community education of NCD prevention through their own health. Methods: A two-hour awareness session was taken for 150 medical students to explain importance of assessing their risk factors for NCD. The age range was 18-21 years. They were offered a free health check-up and 89.33% (136) signed up. For screening of obesity - anthropometric measurements were taken 1) weight by electronic weighing scale 2) height- using analog measuring tape 3) waist hip measurement 4) body fat composition measured by Omron (Karada scan- body composition monitor HBF-375). BMI was calculated using both WHO and Asian cut-offs and waist circumference using WHO and ICMR cut-offs. Results: In 132 (M=55, F=79) participants, significant incidence was seen of overweight (21.21%), obesity (43.18%) by Asia Pacific BMI standards and 36.36% overweight, 36.36% obesity by total body fat measurement. Abdominal obesity measured by waist circumference was seen in 3.22% of males and 21.52% of females by WHO; 15.09% of males and 41.77% of females by ICMR standards. Females showed a higher incidence of obesity and overweight than males according to Asia Pacific BMI, total fat percent and ICMR waist circumference. Conclusions: These students will benefit from interventions to inculcate a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight. Healthy medical students tracking into healthy doctors will act as ambassadors for NCD prevention.

A comparative assessment of emotional intelligences and happiness index among normal sighted and visually impaired students.

Background: Emotional development is also strongly affected by infantile and childhood visual impairment. Visually impaired infants may not respond and smile to human faces and may be misjudged as indifferent to social contact. Emotional development is also strongly affected by infantile and childhood visual impairment. Happiness, or “subjective wellbeing”, a term that is used synonymously, refers to the subjective assessment of quality of life. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in a residential school for visually impaired and another residential school for normal sighted students in 1:2 proportions. Emotional intelligence of participants was calculated using Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Children Short form. The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) has been derived from the Oxford Happiness Inventory. OHQ comprises 29 items. The data was analysed using statistical tool available in SPSS version 20. Results: Mean ages of visually impaired student were 12.37 where as in normal students it was 11.71. Mean emotional intelligence score for normal sighted students was 135.98with SD=8.49. In case of visually impaired students it was 107.93 with SD=10.25. Mean happiness index among normal sighted students was3.98 with SD=0.675. Among visually impaired students it was 3.03 with SD=0.471. There was moderate, positive correlation between social quotient and emotional intelligence which is statistically significant. Conclusions: Mean Trait-EI score was significantly lower among visually impaired student compared with normal sighted students. Happiness quotient was calculated using Oxford happiness questionnaire. Mean happiness quotient was significantly lower among visually impaired students as compared with normal sighted controls. Emotional intelligence was found to be positively correlated with the happiness quotient.

Profile of management of animal bite cases among rural population in district Pune, Maharashtra.

The study was carried out in three randomly selected Primary Health Centres (PHCs) of district Pune. During three months of study period all the patients with animal bite attending PHCs were enrolled for the study. All the animal bite cases (451) were due to dog bite and 61.4% were reported to be bitten by pet dogs. In spite of having the knowledge about seriousness of illness, immediate care like washing of wound with soap and water was practiced by only 23.5%. Majority of them did not report immediately to PHC for treatment after dog bite.

Sociomedical correlates of missed opportunities for immunisation.

Missed opportunity for immunisation is one of the hurdles in the achievement of 85 percent or more immunisation coverage. It is essential to screen every child for immunisation status and advise necessary immunisation at every opportunity otherwise full immunisation coverage may not be possible. Present survey was carried out at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur to study the sociomedical correlates of missed opportunities for immunisation in children below 2 years of age attending the hospital. Missed opportunities for immunisation in these children was found to be 39.9%. It is mostly for B. C. G. (21.8%) and measles (9.8%) and maximum for booster doses of DPT and polio (43%).

A study of some etiological factors and morbid conditions in mentally handicapped children.

In the present study most of the subjects belonged to mild and moderate degree of mental handicap i.e. 30.8% and 44.9% respectively while severe degree of mental handicap was present in 22.7% subject. The factors responsible for mental handicap include prenatal factors (34.6%), perinatal factors (15.1%) and post natal factors (37.9%). In 12.4% cases etiology was not known. The associated behaviour problems were observed in 33% of the study subjects while other morbid conditions were present in 47% of the study subjects.