Survey of the present health & nutritional status of Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar Island.

BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES: Shompens are one of the two mongoloid tribes of Nicobar district. There is little information about their recent health status since the last survey which was conducted in 1998. Hence, a comprehensive health and nutritional survey was conducted in March 2017 to assess the changes. The survey was carried out by a joint team of various organizations including the ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre and Tribal Welfare and Health Department both located in Port Blair. METHODS: A detailed health and nutrition survey of the Shompen community was planned by deputing a field research team. The survey included demographic data, anthropometric data, clinical examination, screening for the markers of infectious diseases, respiratory pathogens, tuberculosis and haemoglobinopathies. RESULTS: About half of the Shompen adults (both males and females) had a body mass index (BMI) of ≥23. However, Shompen children had a good nutritional status with no child suffering from undernutrition. As per BMI for age, none of the children <5 yr were under-nourished, while in the 5-17 yr group, 12 per cent of children were undernourished. Anaemia prevalence was about 48.3 per cent, with 54 per cent prevalence in females and 43.8 per cent in males. Fungal infection of the skin, acute respiratory infection and abdominal pain were the common morbidities observed. None had active pulmonary tuberculosis. Of 38 Shompens screened for IgG (immunoglobulin G) antibodies, 42.1 and 18.4 per cent were positive for measles and rubella, respectively. Seroprevalence of Leptospira was 35.5 per cent. The prevalence of hypertension was 13.2 per cent, whereas another 28.9 per cent were pre-hypertensive. INTERPRETATION CONCLUSIONS: The population structure of the Shompen is not skewed and under nutrition was not widely prevalent among the children of <5 yr. The other positive observations were the absence of malaria, filariasis and dengue. However, there was natural infection of measles and rubella. Fungal skin infection and intestinal parasitic infestations were widely prevalent. Although cardiovascular risk profile was low, there were signs of emerging risk of over-weight, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. These together with the high prevalence of smokeless tobacco use may have a serious effect on the cardiovascular disease susceptibility of the Shompen population in the future.

Age estimation by modified Demirjian's method (2004) and its applicability in Tibetan young adults: A digital panoramic study.

CONTEXT: Estimation of the age is a procedure adopted by anthropologists, archeologists and forensic scientists. Different methods have been undertaken. However none of them meet the standards as Demirjian's method since 1973. Various researchers have applied this method, in both original and modified form (Chaillet and Demirjian in 2004) in different ethnic groups and the results obtained were not satisfactory. AIMS: To determine the applicability and accuracy of modified Demirjian's method of dental age estimation (AE) in 8-18 year old Tibetan young adults to evaluate the interrelationship between dental and chronological age and the reliability between intra- and inter observer relationship. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Clinical setting and computerized design. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 300 Tibetan young adults with an age range from 8 to 18 years were recruited in the study. Digital panoramic radiographs (DPRs) were evaluated as per the modified Demirjian's method (2004). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Pearson correlation, paired t-test, linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Inter -and intraobserver reliability revealed a strong agreement. A positive and strong association was found between chronological age and estimated dental age (r = 0.839) with P < 0.01. Modified Demirjian method (2004) overestimated the age by 0.04 years (2.04 months)in Tibetan young adults. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that, the modified Demirjian method of AE is not suitable for Tibetan young adults. Further studies: With larger sample size and comparision with different methods of AE in a given population would be an interesting area for future research.

A novel approach for treatment of an unusual presentation of radicular cysts using autologous periosteum and platelet-rich fibrin in combination with demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft.

Radicular cysts are the most common cystic lesions affecting the jaws. They are most commonly found at the apices of the involved teeth. This condition is usually asymptomatic but can result in a slow-growth tumefaction in the affected region. The following case report presents the successful treatment of radicular cysts using autologous periosteum and platelet-rich fibrin with demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft.

Effect of periodontal therapy on hemoglobin and erythrocyte levels in chronic generalized periodontitis patients: An interventional study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Anemia of chronic disease (ACD) is one of the most common forms of anemia. It is defined as anemia occurring in chronic infections, inflammatory conditions or neoplastic disorders which are not due to marrow deficiencies or other diseases, and occurring despite the presence of adequate iron stores and vitamins. Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent chronic inflammatory diseases in humans. This study aimed at finding out if periodontitis, like other inflammatory conditions, could lead to anemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty chronic generalized periodontitis male patients with hemoglobin levels below 15 mg/dl and serum ferritin values above 30 ng/ml were selected. The various blood parameters recorded at baseline were hemoglobin levels(Hb), erythrocyte count (RBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), mean corpuscular volume(MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). PERIODONTAL PARAMETERS RECORDED AT BASELINE INCLUDED: plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level. Periodontal treatment including surgery if required was carried out in all the patients. Periodontal status of patients was monitored by repeating evaluation of periodontal indices at three months and at the end of one year. The hematological values were again measured at the end of one year. RESULTS: The results showed that correction of periodontal inflammation resulted in a significant increase in hemoglobin levels and erythrocyte counts. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate showed a reduction indicating resolution of periodontal inflammation. There was a significant, but much lesser, improvement in MCV, MCH and MCHC values. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that treatment of periodontitis leads to an improvement in hematocrit and other related blood parameters in chronic generalized periodontitis patients with anemia. This provides evidence that periodontitis like other chronic diseases may also cause anemia.

Omega-3 fatty acids have antidepressant activity in forced swimming test in Wistar rats.

Forced swimming test is used to induce a characteristic behavior of immobility in rats, which resembles depression in humans to some extent. We evaluated the effect of omega-3 fatty acids alone as well as compared it with the standard antidepressant therapy with fluoxetine in both acute and chronic studies. In both the studies, rats were divided into 4 groups and subjected to the following drug interventions - Group 1- control: Group 2- fluoxetine in dose of 10 mg/kg subcutaneously 23.5, 5 and 1 h before the test: Group 3- omega-3 fatty acids in dose of 500 mg/kg orally; Group 4- fluoxetine plus omega-3 fatty acids both. In acute study, omega-3 fatty acids were given in single dose 2 h prior to the test while in chronic study omega-3 fatty acids were given daily for a period of 28 days. All animals were subjected to a 15-min pretest followed 24 h later by a 5-min test. A time sampling method was used to score the behavioral activity in each group. The results revealed that in acute study, omega-3 fatty acids do not have any significant effect in forced swimming test. However, in chronic study, omega-3 fatty acids affect the immobility and swimming behavior significantly when compared with control (p < 0.01) without any significant effect on climbing behavior and the efficacy of combination of omega-3 fatty acids and fluoxetine is significantly more than that of fluoxetine alone in changing the behavioral activity of rats in forced swimming test. It leads to the conclusion that omega-3 fatty acids have antidepressant activity per se, and the combination of fluoxetine and omega-3 fatty acids has more antidepressant efficacy than fluoxetine alone in forced swimming test in Wistar rats.