The impact of comorbidity on the quality of life of people who recovered from COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Objectives: COVID-19 affects the quality of life (QoL) in a reverse way after recovery, which might be multiplied by the comorbid non-communicable diseases. This study explored the relationship between comorbidities and the QoL of people who recovered from COVID-19 in Bangladesh. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among 3244 participants between June 2020 and November 2020 using a pre-tested questionnaire through over-the-phone interviews. The WHOQOL-BREF was used to explore the QoL among the study participants. A multivariable linear regression model was conducted to identify the effects of the number of comorbidities on QoL scores of all four domains. Results: Of 3244 patients who recovered from COVID-19, over one-third (39.4%) had one or more chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, bronchial asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, and cancer. Around 46.85% of the participants aged above 40 years presented with one to two chronic diseases, and 16.33% had three or more chronic diseases. Among all comorbidities, the participants with cancer and chronic kidney disease were found to have relatively lower scores in all four domains than other comorbidities. The lowest QoL scores were observed in the psychological domain. Those with three or more simultaneous chronic comorbidities had the lowest QoL score in all four domains: physical, psychological, social relationship, and environmental. Conclusions: Persons who recovered from COVID-19 with comorbidities undergo a lower QoL. Therefore, special attention is required to these vulnerable groups to ensure their smooth recuperation.

Quality of life of COVID-19 recovered patients: a 1-year follow-up study from Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic posed a danger to global public health because of the unprecedented physical, mental, social, and environmental impact affecting quality of life (QoL). The study aimed to find the changes in QoL among COVID-19 recovered individuals and explore the determinants of change more than 1 year after recovery in low-resource settings. METHODS: COVID-19 patients from all eight divisions of Bangladesh who were confirmed positive by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction from June 2020 to November 2020 and who subsequently recovered were followed up twice, once immediately after recovery and again 1 year after the first follow-up. The follow-up study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 among 2438 individuals using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). After excluding 48 deaths, 95 were rejected to participate, 618 were inaccessible, and there were 45 cases of incomplete data. Descriptive statistics, paired-sample analyses, generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to test the mean difference in participants' QoL scores between the two interviews. RESULTS: Most participants (n = 1710, 70.1%) were male, and one-fourth (24.4%) were older than 46. The average physical domain score decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up, and the average scores in psychological, social, and environmental domains increased significantly at follow-up (P < 0.05). By the GEE equation approach, after adjusting for other factors, we found that older age groups (P < 0.001), being female (P < 0.001), having hospital admission during COVID-19 illness (P < 0.001), and having three or more chronic diseases (P < 0.001), were significantly associated with lower physical and psychological QoL scores. Higher age and female sex [adjusted odd ratio (aOR) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-1.6] were associated with reduced social domain scores on multivariable logistic regression analysis. Urban or semi-urban people were 49% less likely (aOR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.4-0.7) and 32% less likely (aOR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9) to have a reduced QoL score in the psychological domain and the social domain respectively, than rural people. Higher-income people were more likely to experience a decrease in QoL scores in physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains. Married people were 1.8 times more likely (aOR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.4) to have a decreased social QoL score. In the second interview, people admitted to hospitals during their COVID-19 infection showed a 1.3 times higher chance (aOR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.6) of a decreased environmental QoL score. Almost 13% of participants developed one or more chronic diseases between the first and second interviews. Moreover, 7.9% suffered from reinfection by COVID-19 during this 1-year time. CONCLUSIONS: The present study found that the QoL of COVID-19 recovered people improved 1 year after recovery, particularly in psychological, social, and environmental domains. However, age, sex, the severity of COVID-19, smoking habits, and comorbidities were significantly negatively associated with QoL. Events of reinfection and the emergence of chronic disease were independent determinants of the decline in QoL scores in psychological, social, and physical domains, respectively. Strong policies to prevent and minimize smoking must be implemented in Bangladesh, and we must monitor and manage chronic diseases in people who have recovered from COVID-19.

Occupational Health Hazards Among Traffic Police in South Asian Countries: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Occupational health hazards and injuries are an alarming concern among traffic police. Occupational injuries affect the physical, social, and mental well-being of police personnel, which has various public health implications. The evaluation of occupational health and safety policies and regulations for the traffic police relies on their occupational exposure and health hazard statistics and assessments. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this scoping review is to systematically explore, analyze, and describe relevant findings from all studies conducted on occupational exposure and associated health hazards among traffic police in South Asia. METHODS: The scoping review will include studies that assessed occupational exposure prevalence, types, knowledge, predisposing factors, and prevention strategies. Databases like PubMed, Springer Link, EBSCOhost, the Cochrane library, and Google Scholar will be used to obtain both published and unpublished works in the English language. Relevant gray literature, including governmental and international organization reports, will be examined. After removing duplicates and screening titles and abstracts, the full-text analysis will begin. Arksey and O'Malley's methodology framework for scoping reviews will be followed. According to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews, the scoping review will be reported. Two qualified reviewers will independently conduct article screening and data extraction. The extracted data will then be tabulated and accompanied by an explanation to facilitate comprehension. We will extract relevant article results using NVivo (version 10; QSR International) and thematic content analysis. The included articles will be evaluated using the mixed methods appraisal tool (version 2018). RESULTS: The scoping review will provide insight into how occupational health hazards affect traffic police physically and psychologically in South Asia. The theoretical conceptualization of different aspects of the occupational health of traffic police will emphasize future studies in this region, which will inform policy makers to revise their occupational health and safety policies and principles. It will have implications for taking necessary preventive measures in the future to reduce occupational injuries and fatalities resulting from different types of occupational hazards. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review will describe the overview of occupational hazards among South Asian traffic police and will provide insights for policy makers to implement changes and to adapt new strategies. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/42239.

Human monkeypox and preparedness of Bangladesh: A knowledge and attitude assessment study among medical doctors.

OBJECTIVE: The recent increasing incidence of human monkeypox cases highlights the necessity of early detection, prompt response and preventive management to stop it in its tracks, and healthcare workers play the most crucial role here. This study aims at assessing the preparedness of Bangladeshi medical doctors by assessing their knowledge and attitude regarding monkeypox. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the practicing medical doctors all over Bangladesh. The data was collected from 26th May to 4th June of 2022 using a semi-structured and self-administered questionnaire which was distributed through the internet, and a total of 389 data was collected. The cut-off points for defining good knowledge and positive attitude towards human monkeypox were considered as 70% and 80% of total values, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the factors associated with good knowledge and a positive attitude. Statistical software R version 4.2.0 was used for data analysis. RESULT: Of all, 330 (84.83%) doctors displayed a positive attitude towards preventive practices, but only 119 (30.59%) participants had good knowledge regarding monkeypox. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, getting any information about monkeypox in the medical curriculum and learning about monkeypox within the last one month had a significant association with good knowledge. Apart from the participant's age, no other variables revealed any significant association with a positive attitude toward preventive practices. Good knowledge showed a significant association with positive attitude (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Knowledge regarding human monkeypox among medical doctors in Bangladesh was comparatively lower than the attitude towards its preventive measures. Developing and implementing practical sessions regarding the virus to enhance the knowledge and capacity of the medical doctors could be an effective strategy to get prepared for the monkeypox outbreak in Bangladesh.

Quality of life (QoL) among COVID-19 recovered healthcare workers in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has taken the lives of more than 100,000 healthcare workers (HCWs) so far. Those who survived continuously work under immense physical and psychological pressure, and their quality of life (QoL) is impacted. The study aimed to assess the QoL among HCWs in Bangladesh who recovered from COVID-19. METHODS: This cross-sectional, telephonic interview-based study was conducted among 322 randomly selected HCWs from Bangladesh who were positive for COVID-19 and recovered from the infection before the interview. Data were collected from June to November 2020. We examined the impact of COVID on the QoL of the participants using the validated Bangladesh version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of life questionnaire brief (WHOQOL-BREF). All analyses were done by STATA (Version 16.1). RESULTS: More than half of the health care professionals were male (56.0%), aged between 26-35 years (51%), and completed graduation (49%). The majority of the study participants in the four domains were married (n = 263, 81%) and living in Dhaka. The average score of the participants was 70.91 ± 13.07, 62.68 ± 14.99, 66.93 ± 15.14, and 63.56 ± 12.11 in physical, psychological, social relationship and environmental domains, respectively. HCWs in urban areas enjoyed 2.4 times better socially stable lives (OR: 2.42, 95% CI: 1.18-4.96) but 72% less psychologically satisfactory lives. CONCLUSION: HCWs' post-COVID quality of life depended on variable interaction of demographic socioeconomic, including old age, female sex, graduation, and higher monthly income. The findings indicate the issues which should be addressed to improve the quality of life of frontline workers who fight against the pandemic.

Perceptions about Telemedicine among Populations with Chronic Diseases amid COVID-19: Data from a Cross-Sectional Survey.

Chronic diseases, including non-communicable diseases (NCDs), have arisen as a severe threat to health and socio-economic growth. Telemedicine can provide both the highest level of patient satisfaction and the lowest risk of infection during a pandemic. The factors associated with its usage and patient adherence are not visible in Bangladesh's resource-constrained settings. Therefore, this study aimed to identify perceptions about telemedicine among populations with chronic diseases amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A closed-ended self-reported questionnaire was created, and the questionnaire was written, reviewed, and finalized by a public health investigator, a psychiatrist, and an epidemiologist. The data for this study were collected from individuals using simple random sampling and snowball sampling techniques. Ethics approval was granted, and written/verbal consent was taken before interviews. Most of the participants showed a positive attitude towards telemedicine. People aged 35-54 years old and a higher level of education were less frequently associated with willingness to receive telemedicine services for current chronic disease (WRTCCD) than their counterparts. People living in urban areas and lower-income participants were more strongly associated with WRTCCD. Additionally, people who did not lose their earnings due to the pandemic were less strongly associated with WRTCCD. However, the main strength of this research is that it is a broad exploration of patient interest in several general forms of telehealth. In Bangladesh, there are many opportunities for telemedicine to be integrated into the existing healthcare system, if appropriate training and education are provided for healthcare professionals.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in South Asia: a multi-country study.

OBJECTIVES: With COVID-19 vaccination underway, this study aimed to understand belief, attitude and intention of the people in the South Asia region towards the vaccine. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using semi-structured questionnaires among 18201 individuals in four South Asian countries; Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Nepal between January 17 and February 2, 2021. We used the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify the predictors related to vaccine acceptance. STATA (v16.1) was used for all analyses. RESULTS: The percentage of respondents willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 was 65%, 66%, 72% and 74% for Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal, respectively. Perceived destructive impact of COVID-19, positive perception of vaccines and concern about possible side effects were significant in modifying respondents' intentions.. In multivariable logistic regression, age, sex, marital status, education, comorbidities, worry about getting infected, perceived COVID-19 impact, belief regarding vaccine efficacy, positive attitude towards mandatory measures, and vaccine availability were found to be associated with vaccine acceptance across countries. CONCLUSION: Nearabout two-third of the respondants were willing to take COVID-19 vaccine in the four South Asia countries.

Quality of life of COVID-19 recovered patients in Bangladesh.

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) quickly surged the whole world and affected people's physical, mental, and social health thereby upsetting their quality of life. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the quality of life (QoL) of COVID-19 positive patients after recovery in Bangladesh. This was a study of adult (aged ≥18 years) COVID-19 individuals from eight divisions of Bangladesh diagnosed and confirmed by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) from June 2020 to November 2020. Given a response rate of 60% in a pilot study, a random list of 6400 COVID-19 patients was generated to recruit approximately 3200 patients from eight divisions of Bangladesh and finally a total of 3244 participants could be recruited for the current study. The validated Bangla version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was used to assess the QoL. Data were analyzed by STATA (Version 16.1) and R (Version 4.0.0). All the procedures were conducted following ethical approval and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The mean scores of QoL were highest for the physical domain (68.25±14.45) followed by social (65.10±15.78), psychological (63.28±15.48), and environmental domain (62.77±13.07). Psychological and physical domain scores among females were significantly lower than the males (p<0.001). The overall quality of life was lower in persons having a chronic disease. Participants over 45 years of age were 52% less likely to enjoy good physical health than the participants aged below 26 years (AOR: 0.48, CI: 0.28-0.82). The quality of life of employed participants was found 1.8 times higher than the unemployed (AOR: 1.80, CI: 1.11-2.91). Those who were admitted to hospitals during infection had a low QoL score in physical, psychological, and socials domains. However, QoL improved in all aspect except the psychological domain for each day passed after the diagnosis. These findings call for a focus on the quality of life of the COVID-19 affected population, with special emphasis given to females, older adults, unemployed, and people with comorbidities.

ABO Blood Group and Outcomes in Patients with COVID-19 Admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU): A Retrospective Study in a Tertiary-Level Hospital in Bangladesh.

PURPOSE: The world is heavily suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a year, with over 191 million confirmed cases and more than 4.1 million deaths to date. Previous studies have explored several risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but there is still a lack of association with ABO blood type. This study aimed to find out the relationship between the ABO blood group and COVID-19 outcomes in Bangladesh. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary-level COVID-dedicated hospital in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, between April 2020 and November 2020. Records from 771 critically ill patients were extracted who were confirmed for COVID-19 by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, and blood grouping records were available in the health records. RESULTS: The blood groups were 37.35%, 17.38%, 26.46%, and 18.81% for A, B, AB, and O type, respectively. Clinical symptoms were significantly more common in patients with blood type A (p < 0.05). Patients with blood type A had higher WBC counts and peak serum ferritin levels and both were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Patients with blood type A had a greater need for supplemental oxygen, and they were more likely to die in comparison to the patients with other blood types (p < 0.05). In multivariable analysis, our primary outcome death was significantly associated with blood type A (AOR: 3.49, 95% CI: 1.57-7.73) while adjusting for age, male gender, and non-communicable diseases. CONCLUSION: Based on this study results, it can be concluded that the COVID-19 patients with blood type A have a higher chance of death and other complications. The authors recommend blood grouping before treating the COVID-19 patients, and healthcare workers should prioritize treating the patients based on that result.