Dietary Pattern of Schoolgoing Adolescents in Urban Baroda, India.

Diet plays a very important role in growth and development of adolescents, during which the development of healthy eating habits is of supreme importance. There is a dual burden of undernutrition and overnutrition in this age-group. The study assessed the food habits, food preferences, and dietary pattern of schoolgoing urban adolescents in Baroda, India. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this study. A quantitative survey was carried out using a pre-tested self-administered structured questionnaire among 1,440 students from class 6 to 12 in 7 English medium and 23 Gujarati medium schools. Focus group discussions, 5 each with adolescent boys and girls, were held, along with 5 focus group discussions with teachers of Gujarati and English medium schools. Nearly 80% of adolescents had consumed regular food, like dal, rice, chapati, and vegetables, including green leafy vegetables. Nearly 50% of them had consumed chocolates, and about one-third consumed fast foods. Nearly 60% of adolescents had their breakfast daily while the remaining missed taking breakfast daily. Nearly one-third of adolescents were missing a meal once or twice a week. A large majority had consumed regular foods. However, more than half of them had consumed chocolates, soft drinks, and over one-third had taken fast foods.

A Case-control Study of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and Its Association with Multiparity among Patients Attending SSG Hospital, Vadodara, Gujarat.

Objective: To know the association between pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and multiparity. Study design: Case control study. Setting: Shree Sayaji General (SSG) Hospital, Government Medical College, Vadodara. Participants: Women attending Gynec Clinics and Curative Practice and General Practice (CPGP) OPD. Sample size: One hundred fifty cases and 150 controls. Statistical analysis: Chi-square test. Results: The odds ratio (OR) for PID with multiparity as risk factor was 0.69 with 95% confidence interval (CI) being 0.42-1.09. Among 143 cases multiparity was present in 63 cases (44.05), while in 150 controls it was in 80 (53.33%). The difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.141). But, the OR with untrained person as a risk factor for PID was 2.41 with 95% CI being 1.78-3.27. This suggests etiological fraction of 58.5% (CI 43.9-69.4%) among untrained persons. The delivery by untrained person was significantly higher in cases than in controls (p 0.00001). Conclusions: Present study did not show multiparity as risk factor but delivery conducted by untrained persons emerged as a risk factor.

Body Mass Index (BMI) and Self-Perception of Weight and Height among school going adolescents in urban Vadodara, India.

Background: Weight comments are commonly received by adolescents, but the accuracy of the comments and their effects on weight misperception are unclear. Aims & Objective: To know the perceptions of adolescents about their health status, body image, height and weight and then to compare it with their actual (Body Mass Index) BMI status. Material and Methods: This was Cross sectional study and Qualitative survey carried out using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire among 1440 (748 girls and 692 boys) students from classes 6-12 in 7 English medium and 23 Gujarati medium schools. Five focus group discussions were held each with adolescent boys and girls from both Gujarati and English medium schools. Results: Regarding their perception about their health status, nearly 65% of the boys and girls felt that they were healthy. While their perception about the appropriateness of their height and weight, nearly half of the boys and girls felt that they had appropriate height and weight, One-fourth of them perceived themselves to be underweight, while another fourth thought that they were obese. When adolescents’ perception of the appropriateness of height and weight was compared with their actual BMI, it was found that, 10 to 15% of them were underweight or undernourished while 25 to 30% of them were overweight or obese. Among those, having normal BMI, 59% of boys and 62% of girls felt that their height and weight was normal. Conclusion: There has been a need for addressing physical growth, particularly; height and weight need to be explained more scientifically and in depth.

Prevalence of dental fluorosis & dental caries in association with high levels of drinking water fluoride content in a district of Gujarat, India.

Background & objectives: Endemic fluorosis resulting from high fluoride concentration in groundwater is a major public health problem in India. This study was carried out to measure and compare the prevalence of dental fluorosis and dental caries in the population residing in high and normal level of fluoride in their drinking water in Vadodara district, Gujarat, India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Vadodara district, six of the 261 villages with high fluoride level and five of 1490 with normal fluoride level in drinking water were selected. The data collection was made by house-to-house visits twice during the study period. Results: The dental fluorosis prevalence in high fluoride area was 59.31 per cent while in normal fluoride area it was 39.21 per cent. The prevalence of dental caries in high fluoride area was 39.53 per cent and in normal fluoride area was 48.21 per cent with CI 6.16 to 11.18. Dental fluorosis prevalence was more among males as compared to females. Highest prevalence of dental fluorosis was seen in 12-24 yr age group. Interpretation & conclusions: The risk of dental fluorosis was higher in the areas showing more fluoride content in drinking water and to a lesser degree of dental caries in the same area. High fluoride content is a risk factor for dental fluorosis and problem of dental fluorosis increased with passage of time suggesting that the fluoride content in the water has perhaps increased over time. Longitudinal studies should be conducted to confirm the findings.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with worm infestation in pre-school children (6-23 months) in selected blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, India.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal worm infestation is widely prevalent in developing countries and can result in impaired nutrition and development. AIMS: To estimate prevalence of and risk factors for intestinal geohelminths and other intestinal parasites in children aged 6 to 23 months. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross sectional study in rural India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Proportionate population size sampling method was used to randomly select 15 villages per block. Thereafter, house-to-house survey was done to recruit eligible children and obtain fecal sample for microbiological examination. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Univariate distribution of variables was assessed and comparison between categorical variables and continuous variables was done using a Chi-square test and student's t-test, respectively. Odds ratio was calculated to assess associations. RESULTS: Overall 926 children were recruited and 909 fecal samples examined. Combined prevalence of infestation with intestinal geohelminths treatable by albendazole and other intestinal parasites non-treatable by albendazole was 50.3% (457/909) and 51.6% (469/909), respectively. Exclusive use of hand pump water (OR = 1.79, CI = 1.36-2.35, P CONCLUSION: Since almost half the children are infected with intestinal geohelminths treatable by albendazole, targeted deworming of population in this age group should be considered.