Insulin resistance in non-diabetic patients of chronic hepatitis C

To determine insulin resistance in non-diabetic chronic hepatitis C patients using Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance [HOMA-IR]. Patients having anti-HCV positive were included in this study. Patients with diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, hyperlipidemias, hypercortisolism and infective diseases other than hepatitis C were excluded. Age, weight, height and absence of diabetes were documented. Fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin levels were done. Body mass index and insulin resistance was calculated using the formulas. Patients having insulin resistance using formula HOMA-IR>2.5 were labeled as insulin resistant. Data was analyzed using SPSS-18. One hundred and fifty five patients according to sample size estimation were enrolled, in whom HOMA-IR was calculated, the mean value was found to be 2.47 +/- 1.30. A total of 79 [51%] of patients had HOMA-IR more than 2.5 showing insulin resistance. In a third world country like Pakistan, where there is a high prevalence of hepatitis C infection, the consequences of the disease are also very common. Insulin resistance was found in 51% of patients with chronic hepatitis C

Estimation of body mass index in students of a public sector medical college in Pakistan

To determine the BMI status of the students of Dow Medical College and to calculate frequency of different BMI categories. A cross-sectional questionnaire based study was carried out in Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi. Body weight and height were measured and body mass index [BMI] values were calculated by dividing weight with [height]2. Overweight and obesity were defined using WHO international standard BMI cut-offs. The overall prevalence of underweight students was 29.9% out of which 9.6% fell under the category of severely underweight [BMI of < 16.5]. In overweight category there were 8%. The frequency of students falling in Obese Class I, II and III was 2.7%, 0.6% and 0.0% respectively. It was found that more female students compared to male students were underweight. In the overweight and obese categories there was a preponderance of male students. A positive correlation was found between perception of obesity amongst parents and overweight obese students. According to this study, underweight, especially in girls, should be considered a serious health problem among adolescent students which needs to be addressed. Obesity on the other hand does not seem to be a major issue amongst them