ABSTRACT
Objective: Nepal has been participating in the May Measurement Month (MMM) aiming to raise hypertension awareness and improve health seeking behavior to control high blood pressure in communities and present data for policymakers. This study compares the results from 2017 to 2021. Design and Methods: Opportunistic cross-sectional surveys to measure the proportion of hypertension, its awareness, treatment, control, and risk factors among> = 18 years of age annually from 2017 to 2021 in Nepal. Although MMM was not executed globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it was conducted in Nepal by following safety measures. We administered the structured questionnaire and took three BP readings while sitting at 1-minutes intervals. Measures of association were calculated using the logistic regression model adjusting for age and sex. The same definition of hypertension (a mean of 2nd and 3rd BP reading> = 140/90 mmHg, or participants were treated with medicines for known hypertension) was applied for all years. Results: The summary characteristics from 2017 to 2021 are presented in Table 1. Baseline characteristics were similar for all five studies except for low tobacco use in 2017. The proportion of hypertension ranges from 20.6% to 31.3% (24.4% in 2017, 27.8% in 2018, 27.5% in 2019, 31.3% in 2020, and 20.6% in 2021). Awareness, treatment, and control were also similar across five years, ranging from 39.5% to 49.9%, 29.5% to 39.1%, and 46.0% to 56.0% respectively. Smoking, alcohol use, body mass index> = 25, diabetes, and history of myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke were associated with hypertension after adjusting for age and sex across multiple studies. Conclusions: A five-year comparison of the MMM study in Nepal showed that hypertension awareness, treatment, and control have been suboptimal, suggesting an urgent need to implement a nationwide prevention and control program together with a national screening program. (Table Presented).
ABSTRACT
The novel coronavirus was renamed as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the world health organization, began its spread in December 2019, in the city of Wuhan, China. Global bodies and governments weren't prepared to handle the impact of the virus on society. Nepal's landlocked nation encountered its incident confirmed case of COVID-19 during the first week of January, with the primary host being a student with a travel history from its place of inception. The nation is deficient in its health resources. The country mainly focused on the stringent implementation of washing of hands, wearing masks, restricting general movement, and maintaining social distancing in public. The disease transmission reached to the third stage, which began within three months after the confirmation of the first case of COVID-19. The lack of tropical hospitals, laboratory and diagnostic facilities added to the challenges faced by the country. This paper is a comprehensive review of the overall preparation and steps taken by the federal system of Nepal to combat the virus's effects till the third stage of transmission. It concludes with the practical limitations faced by the governing authorities of the nation while implementing these measures.
ABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV2 virus, the causative agent for COVID-19 disease has to lead to more than 3.1 million deaths and crossed 146 million infections worldwide so far. Although vaccines development and emergency authorization has been approved by several governments, there has been great concern about its side effects for the long term and its effectiveness against new mutated strains. A resurgence of COVID-19 or related disease can be catastrophic. There is an urgent need to look for effective antiviral agents for many coronavirus strains with minimum side-effects, and maximum efficacy globally. Several, naturally-derived biomolecules have proved their excellent effect on several infectious diseases in a multi-mode fashion by targeting several pathways as well as increasing efficacy with high safety profile. Integrate computational prediction design was used in the study to examine the pharmacology of bioactive compounds of natural origin against SARS-CoV2 spike protein. Keeping these facts we have computationally examined 16 naturally occurring compounds using to evaluate their effectiveness against the SARS-CoV2 virus using the molecular docking technique. Hesperidin derivatives are known to ameliorate diabetes, co-morbidity for coronavirus, as well as help in preventing post coronavirus complications. We found the binding free energy of Hesperidin with spike protein to be -7.57 kcal/mol, the aglycone derivative to be 6.93 kcal/mol, hesperidin monoacetyl derivative to be -7.82 kcal/mol, and hesperidin pentaacetyl derivative to be -8.39 kcal/mol. Our findings revealed that acetylated derivatives of hesperidin showed significant improved remarked binding affinity while aglycone derivative hesperetin showed a decrease in binding affinity. Our studies give a new direction where natural bioactive compounds and their derivatives can be modulated and used after clinical trials to effectively inhibit coronavirus infection as well as diabetes simultaneously with a high safety profile.
ABSTRACT
Background: The novel coronavirus disease outbreak of 2019 was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. At present, the virus has spread throughout the world, leading to millions of cases and is further increasing. Objective: The main objective of this study is to review the impact of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the mental health of frontline workers, isolated and quarantined people and the general population. Methods: The relevant articles were extracted from PubMed, Web of Science and Science Direct database by using the keywords “Mental health”, “COVID-19”, “Impact of COVID-19”, “Frontline workers”, “Quarantine”, “Isolation”, “Immunity” and “Economy”. The retrieved articles were included in the study based on inclusion criteria to perform the review. All the selected scientific articles were critically reviewed and the information is summarized in this narrative review. Results: The majority of the studies stated that frontline health workers were at an increased risk of depression. The infected, suspects and quarantined people were reported with high stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts. The pandemic has devastated the world’s economy, which has severely impacted global mental health. Conclusion: Mental health should be taken into account, and necessary interventional initiatives need to be considered both by the health authorities and the government to minimize the adversity of the consequences. The pandemic may disappear with the discovery of new vaccines or medications, but its negative impact on mental health may persist, particularly among vulnerable populations. Thus, mental health must be a matter of concern in the present scenario. © 2020 Bentham Science Publishers.