ABSTRACT
Background Chronic liver disease (CLD) encompasses a series of single or multifactorial insults to the liver, most common of which are hepatitis, alcohol abuse, and non-alcoholic liver disease. CLD represents a major public health problem worldwide as well as in Pakistan. Unfortunately, studies evaluating the awareness of its risk factors among people are quite scarce. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge about risk factors of CLD in patients admitted to Dr. Ruth K M Pfau, Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). Methods This quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted at CHK, among 368 patients admitted to CHK, during the period from February 2018 to September 2018. Frequencies and percentages were evaluated for categorical variables using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Chi-square test was applied to determine if there was any significant association between the variables. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results A scoring scale was developed to assess the level of knowledge. We found that only 32% of our study population had good knowledge about the risk factors of CLD while majority of them (68%) had poor knowledge. Regarding individual risk factors, >60% patients were aware that obesity, high fat intake, prolonged use of drugs, use of alcohol and hepatitis B and C are risk factors of CLD, while most of them did not know diabetes to be a risk factor as well. 51.4% patients thought that hepatitis B and C could not be transmitted via sexual contact and from mother to her baby. There was a positive association between education level and awareness about the risk factors of CLD (p = 0.006). Conclusion Future interventions to increase public awareness about CLD should promptly be taken. The lack of knowledge about this disease is the main cause of its rapid increment and the reason why it is so prevalent in our part of the world especially Pakistan. More studies and nationwide awareness programs are needed to control its spread.
ABSTRACT
Background There is a lack of data about hypertension screening in low- to middle-income countries. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of blood pressure (BP) screening in Karachi, Pakistan. The secondary objective was to identify ways to improve effective BP screening practices among the population at risk. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to May 2017. The sample population consisted of 2039 residents of Karachi who were older than 18 years. A well-composed questionnaire was pilot tested and then used to assess their socio-demographic characteristics, personal attitude towards a healthy lifestyle, dietary habits, and BP screening practices. We used a chi-squared test as the primary statistical test. Results Of 2039 people, 1627 had their BP checked at least once in their lifetime. Approximately, half of the participants had their BP checked on a yearly basis. Women had a higher rate (83.6%, n = 989) of getting their BP checked than men (74.5%, n = 636). A significant relationship was observed between BP screening and lifestyle practices such as physical activity (p = 0.00), hours of sleep (p = 0.01), water intake (p = 0.01), and dining out (p = 0.03). Conclusion Current BP screening practices are inadequate amongst the urban population of Karachi. There is an urgent need for federal implementation of BP screening as well as awareness programs across the nation.
