RESUMO
Background: The prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Assam is higher than the national average as per both NHFS‑4 and NHFS‑5. Four districts in Assam, falling under the NITI‑Aayog Aspiration Districts Transformation program of 2018, namely, Goalpara, Barpeta, Darrang, and Dhubri, have a prevalence of teenage pregnancy at levels higher than the state’s average (12% as per NHFS‑5). Teenage pregnancy affects several health and nutritional indicators. Objectives: The objective of the study was to identify the factors associated with teenage pregnancies in the Aspirational Districts of Assam in both social and public health contexts. Methods: A comparative cross‑sectional study was carried out across these four districts, with sample size of teenage pregnant women as 388 and an equal number of controls. Results: The study presents several factors to be statistically significant, viz., lower level of education of the teenage mothers or their spouses and lesser access to adequate health‑related information by teenage mothers. Furthermore, less number of teenage mothers are aware of contraceptive availability and face objection from spouses to use contraception. A unique factor presented by the study is the higher elopement rate among teenage mothers. Conclusion: Many of the factors upheld by the study are rooted in social and cultural fabric of the communities and could be addressed by mobilizing local institutions like panchayat and religious bodies to act as deterrence to teenage marriages in the communities. Men should also be brought into the fold of discussions on this sensitive subject through information and awareness generation.
RESUMO
Background: Gentamicin is widely used as an antibiotic for the treatment of gram negative infections.Evidences indicates that oxidative stress is involved in gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity. In Ayurvedicmedicine, Punica granatum Linn. is considered as 'a pharmacy unto itself”. It has been claimed intraditional literature, to treat various kidney ailments due to its antioxidant potential.Objective: To explore the possible mechanism of action of methanolic extract of P. granatum leaves(MPGL) in exerting a protective effect on gentamicin-induced nephropathy.Material and methods: Animals were administered with gentamicin (80 mg/kg/day i.m.) and simultaneously with MPGL (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg p.o.) or metformin (100 mg/kg p.o.) for 8 days. A satellitegroup was employed in order to check for reversibility of nephrotoxic effects post discontinuation ofgentamicin administration. At the end of the study, all the rats were sacrificed and serumeurine parameters were investigated. Antioxidant enzymes and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) levels weredetermined in the kidney tissues along with histopathological examination of kidneys.Results: Increase in serum creatinine, urea, TNF-a, lipid peroxidation along with fall in the antioxidantenzymes activity and degeneration of tubules, arterioles as revealed by histopathological examinationconfirmed the manifestation of nephrotoxicity caused due to gentamicin. Simultaneous administration ofMPGL and gentamicin protected kidneys against nephrotoxic effects of gentamicin as evidenced fromnormalization of renal function parameters and amelioration of histopathological changes.Conclusion: Data suggests that MPGL attenuated oxidative stress associated renal injury by preservingantioxidant enzymes, reducing lipid peroxidation and inhibiting inflammatory mediators such as TNF-a.© 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services byElsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).