Knowledge, attitude, and practices towards diabetes mellitus among non-diabetes community members of Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a diabetes mellitus (DM) epidemic whose originscan be traced to (a) the widespread adoption of the Western diet that is high in sugar, (b) an increase in sedentaryactivity, and (c) ignorance of the importance of DM. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to quantifyvarious aspects of (a) knowledge, (b) attitudes, and (c) practice relating to DM. Methods: The three researchquestions addressed in this study were: (1) Is there any significant relationship between attitudes to DM andpractices related to DM? (2) Is there any significant relationship between knowledge of DM and practices relatedto DM? (3) Is there any significant relationship between knowledge of DM and attitudes to DM? Separate surveysfor each question collected data from a representative sample of 1,067 adult both male and female Saudis fromRiyadh who have not been diagnosed with DM. Results: Data analysis of the data from the study indicated thatfor each of the three research questions, the null hypothesis could not be rejected, indicating that none of therelationships were statistically significant. Conclusion: The absence of significance for each of the findings hasimportant implications, including (a) the possibility that many Saudis incorrectly believe themselves to beunsusceptible to DM and (b) the high prevalence of DM-causing behaviors in the Saudi population. These twoimplications should be of particular concern to public health authorities and health educators in Saudi Arabia,who may need to work more diligently to educate non-DM-diagnosed Saudis on their vulnerability to DM

Dilated cardiomyopathy: a pharmacotherapeutic research

Background: AHA defines cardiomyopathies as a heterogeneous group of diseases of the myocardium associated with mechanical and/or electrical dysfunction that usually (but not invariably) exhibit inappropriate ventricular hypertrophy or dilatation and are due to a variety of causes that frequently are genetic.Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted in the year 2017 at an OPD of Cardiology of a private hospital located in Telangana state, India. Data has been collected after diagnosis is made and treatment regimen is given by an Interventional Cardiologist.Results: Data has been collected from 78 cardiac patients, out of which 17.9% patients had Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) among them 57.14% were male. In the present study DCM was reported more in the age group of 61-70 years (42.85%). Treatment pattern in most of the prescriptions include Diuretics, Beta blockers, Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEI), Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs), Cardiac Glycosides, Antiplatelet and Antihyperlipidaemics.Conclusions: To conclude, lack of awareness among people about this disease is leading it to progress to advanced stages and prognosis of which is poor. Conducting community awareness programs can play a key component in improving the prognosis of this disease.

Clinical profile of type 1 diabetes mellitus among children in eastern part of Nepal

Background: The objective of this study is to determine the clinical profile of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) among children.Methods: Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at B.P. Koirala institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan, Nepal, the eastern part of Nepal. A total of 42 diabetic children of less than 20 years old diagnosed with T1DM were included in the study. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and medical records of patients attending diabetic clinic at the time of follow up.Results: The mean age at diagnosis of disease was 11.1'4.9 years. Polyuria 33 (78.6%) was found to be the commonest symptom followed by polydipsia 27 (64.3%), weight loss 23 (54.8%) and polyphagia 13 (30.9%). The mean duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 14.3'9.7 days. DKA was present in 25 (59.5%) children at the time of diagnosis. Mean Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) value was 10.6'2.7. Obesity was observed in 9 (21.4%) children. Nine (21.4%) children had family history of diabetes. In most of the cases, primary caregiver was mother, among them only 24 (57.2%) had formal education. Almost half of the caregivers were using FRIO, an insulin cooling case, for insulin storage.Conclusions: Polyuria was the most common presenting symptom followed by polydipsia, weight loss and polyphagia. Moreover, most of the children had landed up in diabetic keto-acidosis (DKA) at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, community awareness programs should be emphasized among parents and primary health care workers especially in rural areas regarding T1DM for early recognition and prompt treatment.

Community awareness of intestinal parasites and the prevalence of infection among community members of rural Abaye Deneba area, Ethiopia

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the knowledge of Abaye Deneba community members regarding intestinal parasites and prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Knowledge about intestinal parasites was assessed by administering a questionnaire to 345 randomly selected household heads. Parasitological stool examination of 491 randomly selected individuals was done using the formol ether concentration technique.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Knowledge of the Abaye Deneba community about parasitic diseases such as schistosomiasis, amoebiasis, ascariasis and taeniasis was very low. However, 204 (59.3%) members correctly responded that the cause of giardiasis is related to contaminated water and 176 (51.2%) knew how to prevent it. In some cases, respondents did correctly identify causes, symptoms of intestinal parasite infection and ways to prevent it, but they did not accurately link it to the appropriate disease caused by the different intestinal parasite species. Among the 491 stool samples examined, 50.2% of study participants showed infection with at least one intestinal parasite. Schistosoma mansoni was the most prevalent (41.3%) followed by Trichuris trichiura(9.4%), Ascaris lumbricoides (8.4%), Taenia saginata (2.4%), Enterobius vermicularis (2.0%) and hookworm (0.4%). Prevalence of schistosomiasis was highest in men aged 15-24 years.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Intestinal parasitic infection is highly prevalent in communities of the Abaye Deneba area. Nevertheless, the knowledge of the community members about the parasite is less. Implementation of preventive chemotherapy, supplemented with health education, provision and use of sanitary facilities would be recommended to reduce morbidity and control transmission of intestinal parasites in this area.</p>

Community awareness of intestinal parasites and the prevalence of infection among community members of rural Abaye Deneba area, Ethiopia

Objective: To assess the knowledge of Abaye Deneba community members regarding intestinal parasites and prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections.Methods:Knowledge about intestinal parasites was assessed by administering a questionnaire to 345 randomly selected household heads. Parasitological stool examination of 491 randomly selected individuals was done using the formol ether concentration technique.Results:Knowledge of the Abaye Deneba community about parasitic diseases such as schistosomiasis, amoebiasis, ascariasis and taeniasis was very low. However, 204 (59.3%) members correctly responded that the cause of giardiasis is related to contaminated water and 176 (51.2%) knew how to prevent it. In some cases, respondents did correctly identify causes, symptoms of intestinal parasite infection and ways to prevent it, but they did not accurately link it to the appropriate disease caused by the different intestinal parasite species. Among the 491 stool samples examined, 50.2% of study participants showed infection with at least one intestinal parasite. Schistosoma mansoni was the most prevalent (41.3%) followed by Trichuris trichiura(9.4%), Ascaris lumbricoides (8.4%), Taenia saginata (2.4%), Enterobius vermicularis (2.0%) and hookworm (0.4%). Prevalence of schistosomiasis was highest in men aged 15-24 years.Conclusions:Intestinal parasitic infection is highly prevalent in communities of the Abaye Deneba area. Nevertheless, the knowledge of the community members about the parasite is less. Implementation of preventive chemotherapy, supplemented with health education, provision and use of sanitary facilities would be recommended to reduce morbidity and control transmission of intestinal parasites in this area.

Stroke Community Awareness among Public: A Cross Sectional Study

This study assessed the level of public awareness pertaining to risk factors,symptoms, treatment and source of information in relation to stroke and transient ischaemic attack. Stroke risk profile of the respondents was correlated with their level of knowledge. Using a validated pre-tested questionnaire, 112 respondents were recruited during two separate community events. Respondents completed the questionnaire and underwent health screening. The data were analysed using SPSS version 20. Overall knowledge was poor. Only 35% of the respondents had satisfactory knowledge of the warning signs (p= 0.94) and 29% had satisfactory knowledge on the risk factors (p=0.46). When analysed according to risk groups, 26%, 30% and 41% of respondents had satisfactory awareness in the low, intermediate and high risk group, respectively. None of the respondents knew about the availability of treatment of acute stroke in the emergency department or the importance of rehabilitation as part of stroke management. Public awareness on stroke risk factors, symptoms and management is poor.