[Evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors among workers in a food industry in Mali]. / Évaluation des facteurs de risque cardiovasculaire chez les travailleurs d'une industrie alimentaire au Mali.

OBJECTIVE: It consisted in evaluating the cardiovascular risk factors and the overall cardiovascular risk among the personnel of the company of the breweries of Mali. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study. It was conducted from November 2020 to May 2021 as part of routine consultations and periodic medical visits. The overall cardiovascular risk was estimated by the new Framingham model and the WHO/ISH predictive diagram. RESULTS: A total of 257 workers were included. The average age was 41.2 years. Cardiovascular risk factors listed were, smoking (18.7%), hypercholesterolemia (17.1%), obesity (15.6%), alcoholism (8.6%), age over 50 years (14%).Work-related cardiovascular risk factors were also collected. These were the practice of shift work (58.8%), exposure to noise (44%), sedentary behavior at the workstation (25%). The risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years was high in 3.11% and very high in 0.78% of respondents. CONCLUSION: This study highlights several cardiovascular risk factors, some of which are specific to the professional environment. The implementation of preventive measures is a necessity.

BUTS: Il consistait à évaluer les facteurs de risque cardiovasculaire et le risque cardiovasculaire global chez le personnel de la société des brasseries du Mali. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Il s'agissait d'une étude transversale, descriptive, à visée analytique. Elle a été menée de novembre 2020 à mai 2021 dans le cadre des consultations de routine et des visites médicales périodiques. Le risque cardiovasculaire global a été estimé par le nouveau modèle de Framingham et le diagramme prédictif de l'OMS/ISH. RÉSULTATS: Au total, 257 travailleurs étaient inclus. L'âge moyenétait de 41,2 ans. Les facteurs de risquecardiovasculaire répertoriés étaient, le tabagisme (18,7%), l'hypercholestérolémie (17,1%), l'obésité (15,6%), l'alcoolisme (8,6%), l'âge supérieur à 50 ans (14%). Des facteurs de risque cardiovasculaire liés au travail étaient également colligés. Il s'agissait, de la pratique du travail posté (58,8%), de l'exposition au bruit (44%), de la sédentarité au poste (25%). Le risque de développer une maladie cardiovasculaire dans les 10 ans à venir était élevé chez 3,11% et très élevé chez 0,78% des enquêtés. CONCLUSION: Cette étude met en évidence plusieurs facteurs de risque cardiovasculaire dont certains spécifiques au milieu professionnel.La mise en place de mesures de préventionest une nécessité.

[Teleworking and its repercussions in the Senegalese context during the covid-19 pandemic]. / Le Teletravail et ses repercussions en contexte Senegalais durant la pandemie a covid-19.

PURPOSE: To describe the repercussions of teleworking among the employees of an humanitarian agency based in Dakar, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We carried out a transversal, descriptive study, from june 10 to 13, 2021. An anonymous online questionnaire, created via Google Survey platform, was sent to the various employees of this agency. RESULTS: Married people were more numerous (76%). The average age was 45.7 yearsold. The employees lived in families of an average of six peoples. The most enumerated advantages of teleworking were the economic gains linked to the absence of travel (88%), the improvement of work / family balance (84%), the increase in efficiency (64%) and feeling of freedom felt (56%). On the other hand, the increase in working time (96%), low back pain (72%), the family environment often not very favorable to teleworking (52%) and the decrease in social ties between colleagues (60%) were the main limitations of teleworking. CONCLUSION: It has many advantages and also has limitations. These could be minimized by better organization and psychological support for the staff.

BUT: Décrire les répercussions du télétravail chez les employés d'une agence humanitaire basée à Dakar, dans le contexte de la pandémie à Covid-19. MATÉRIEL ET MÉTHODES: Nous avons procédé à une étude transversale, descriptive, réalisée du 10 au 13 juin 2021. Un questionnaire anonyme en ligne, créé via la plateforme Google Survey, avait été adressé aux différents employés de cette agence. RÉSULTATS: Les mariés étaient plus nombreux (76%). L'âge moyen était de 45,7 ans. Les employés vivaient dans des familles de six personnes en moyenne. Les avantages du télétravail les plus énumérés étaient les gains économiques liés à l'absence de déplacement (88%), l'amélioration de la conciliation travail/famille (84%), l'augmentation de l'efficacité (64%) et le sentiment de liberté ressenti (56%). Par contre, l'augmentation du temps de travail (96%), les lombalgies (72%), le cadre familial souvent peu favorable au télétravail (52%) et la diminution des liens sociaux entre collègues (60%) étaient les principales limites du télétravail. CONCLUSION: Il revêt de nombreux avantages et présente également des limites. Ces dernières pourraient être minimisées par une meilleure organisation et un accompagnement psychologique du personnel.

[Particularities of psycho-physiological aspects of sleeping disorders among women performing hospitals night work (Senegal)]. / Particularites des aspects psycho-physiologiques des troubles du sommeil chez les femmes effectuant des gardes de nuit en milieu hospitalier (Senegal).

OBJECTIVE: Todescribe the different psycho-physiological repercussions of night work among female health professionals subject to numerous socio-cultural constraints. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study including female professionals performing night work, conducted between July 1 and July 30, 2018 at the Kolda Regional Hospital Center.The study was carried out using anonymous questionnaires. The data collected was entered and analyzed with Microsoft Excel version 2013. RESULTS: A total of 41 women participated in the study. The average age was 30.9 years old. The average night work was 5.9 years. 51.2% of the workers felt comfortable with this type of schedule, compared to 48.8% feeling disrupted. 73.1% preferred daytime work. 36.5% wanted to stop this type of schedule. Several impacts of night work were identified.Physiologically, poor sleep quality (36.6%), insufficient sleep duration (36.6%), menstrual disorders (29.2%) were noted. On the psychological level, stress (48.8%), temperamental disorders (17.5%), anxiety and depression (10.7%) were found. CONCLUSION: A regular medical and psychological follow-up should be necessary for these professionals.

BUT: Il consistait à décrireles différentes répercussions psycho-physiologiques du travail de nuit, chez desprofessionnelles de santé sujettes à de nombreuses contraintes socioculturelles. MATÉRIEL ET MÉTHODES: Il s'agissait d'une étude transversale et descriptive incluant des professionnels de santé féminins, menée entre le 1er juillet et le 30 juillet 2018 au Centre Hospitalier Régional de Kolda. L'étude a été réalisée à l'aide de questionnaires anonymes.Les données recueillies ont été saisies et analysées avec Microsoft Excel version 2013. RÉSULTATS: Au total, 41 femmes avaient participé à l'étude. L'âge moyen était de 30,9 ans. La moyenne d'ancienneté dans le travail de nuit était de 5,9 ans. Les travailleuses se sentant à l'aiseavec ce type d'horaire représentaient 51,2% contre, 48,8% se sentant perturbées. La majorité (73,1%) préférait le travail de jour et 36,5% souhaitaient arrêter le travail de nuit. Plusieurs répercussions du travail de nuit étaient recensées. Sur le plan physiologique, une mauvaise qualité du sommeil (36,6%), une insuffisance de la durée du sommeil (36,6%), des troubles menstruels (29,2%) ont été notés. Sur le plan psychologique, le stress (48,8%), les troubles caractériels (17,5%), l'anxiété et la dépression (10,7%) étaient retrouvés. CONCLUSION: Un suivi médico-psychologique régulier serait nécessaire pour ces professionnelles.

[Medical certificates for intentional wounds and blows in medico-legal practice in Dakar]. / Certificats médicaux pour coups et blessures volontaires en pratique médico-judiciaire à Dakar.

Drawing up the medical certificate is a crucial step in the judicial process. This judicial document should be drafted during a medical legal consultation. This study aims to evaluate the quality of medical certificates in a medico-judicial consultation and to study interpretative criteria of medical certificate validity. We conducted a retrospective study of patient's victims of intentional wounds and blows receiving a medico-judicial consultation at the Grand Yoff General Hospital, from April 2012 to February 2015. The whole of medical certificates were recorded on a survey form analyzed by Epi Info Version 6.04. The whole of the 249 certificates studied was printed in legible and understandable "Arial police 12". All the studied medical certificates included complete identification of the physician and the victim. The date and the time of aggression were written in 248 certificates (99.6%). The type of abuse suffered was specified on the whole of the 249 certificates: 164 brawls (65.9%), 64 unilateral aggressions (25.7%). The precise description and nature of the lesions was written in 246 certificates. The site of the lesions was established based on fixed anatomical landmarks in the various body plans. Medico-judicial consultation, coordinated by the forensic physician, helped to significantly improve the quality of the documents issued. The dissemination of these drafting practices and of the practices concerning the issuing of certificates is essential in particular in the regional hospital as part of an ongoing training or postgraduate training.

[Causes of death in Dakar and health policy]. / Causes de décès à Dakar et politique de santé.

The study of mortality enables to identify the major public health problems in the countries under consideration. It can give an indication on the preventive and "medico-curative" measures as well as on the investments in research that could increase life expectancy of the population. This study aims to evaluate the causes of death in the general population based on the informations contained in the register of deaths in Dakar. Our specific aim was to determine the causes of death, to identify the socio-demographic factors influencing death and to identify the kinds of death and types of death. We conducted a retrospective study on the cases of death in the general population who underwent an autopsy in Dakar, from 2003 to 2012. Data were taken from the autopsy registers from the Aristide Le Dantec Hospital (HALD) and the General Hospital of Grand Yoff (HOGGY), which are the only hospitals in Dakar where autopsies are made. The informations contained in the different data sources were recorded on a survey form and analyzed using Epi-Info 6.04. During the study period, 985 patients died among whom 693 of violent death (70.3%), 261 of natural death (26.5%), and 14 of unspecified cause (1.4%). There was a predominance of traffic accidents (394; 40%). With respect to the kind of death, more than half of the cases were due to traffic accidents (violent deaths). Traffic-related deaths most often occurred during the pre-hospitalization period or on arrival to the hospital. The Ministry of Health should continue to promote measures for preventing and managing communicable diseases. The two priorities should be as follows: cardiovascular diseases and traumas.

[Characteristics of work-related injuries and the fate of the victims: about 133 cases reported to the Social Security Fund in Dakar, Senegal]. / Caractéristiques des accidents du travail et devenir des victimes: à propos de 133 cas déclarés auprès de la Caisse de Sécurité Sociale de Dakar (Sénégal).

INTRODUCTION: Work-related injuries have an impact on social security system of the country, on the victims as well as on their relatives. The objective is the aim of our study was to describe the different characteristics of work-related injuries reported to the Social Security Fund (CSS) in Dakar as well as the socioprofessional course of the victims. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study over a period of 5 years, from 2002 to 2006. Data were collected from 133 cases out of 9 308 reported to the CSS. Various parameters were studied: the socioprofessional characteristics of victims and the lesional features of the injuries. The victims were interviewed to gather informations about their socioprofessional history and their professional situation. RESULTS: The average age of patients was 37,55 years, with a male predominance (99,22 %). BPW (22.6%) and fishing (15%) sectors were most affected. Almost two thirds of injuries happened in the workplace (77.4%). These injuries resulted in fractures in 51.7% of cases and affected the hand in 30.1% of cases. Nearly two thirds of injured subjects (60.9%) had resumed their profession. Thirty one subjects were fired and 12 were redeployed. The average period of temporary total incapacity was 236.7 days. The median annual pension was 1 640 329 CFA Francs (2 504,31 Euros). CONCLUSION: In Senegal, work-related injuries don't have specific characteristics, as described elsewhere. The low resources allocated to the victims and the lack of supporting social-policy measures explain the different types of suffering of the victims and their families.

Autopsy following death by homicide in 644 cases.

The objectives of this study are to determine the cause of death and based on the wounds, to analyze the different epidemiological variables on homicide in Dakar. Included were all homicides cases where an autopsy was performed and these results recorded in the autopsy register. The data collected in our work included, identity, sex, age, place of crime (location), the cause of death (the causative agent and the anatomical region injured) and the mechanism of death (the pathophysiological phenomenon causing death). On average 56 cases of homicide a year are reported, ranging from 44 cases in 2005 to 80 cases in 1999. Extrapolated to the population of Dakar this corresponds to 1.9 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Victims aged over 55 years represented only 4.03% of all victims. 6.52% of cases were infanticide. The crimes mainly took place in the suburbs of Dakar (51.42% of cases). Hand held weapons were used in 578 cases (89.7%) followed by firearms in 44 cases (6.8%). The study of the age of the victims has some interesting points. The homicide of elderly people in Senegal was relatively low in contrast to what is found in a developed country. The youthfulness of our population also explains the large number of homicide victims between 21 and 25. Infanticide is a particular problem in Senegal. In our study, 50.6% of homicides were found in the suburbs of Dakar followed by the peripheral area which accounted for 29.3% of homicides. The incidence of homicide can be directly correlated with the level of economic development. This frequency is much higher where incomes are low and particularly affect young males. The study of this phenomenon should lead to better prevention. The victim-type in Dakar is a young man, aged 20-25 years, killed by an instrument with an injury to the skull, neck, heart or main arteries, causing bleeding and death.

Prevalence du tabagisme chez le personnel de l'Hopital General de Douala; Cameroun

Introduction: La prevalence du tabagisme parmi le personnel de sante hospitalier au Cameroun n'est pas connue alors que le tabagisme est en expansion dans ce pays avec 13;2de fumeurs selon l'OMS. Pour combler ce manque une enquete sur les consommations; les connaissances; opinions et attitudes vis-a-vis des fumeurs a ete conduite a l'Hopital General de Douala; l'un des hopitaux de reference du Cameroun. Methodes: Du 1er au 30 Avril 2010; des questionnaires anonymes ont ete distribues par des enqueteurs dans les services ou via les surveillants et recueillis et analyses de facon anonyme. Resultats: Sur 402 questionnaires distribues 277 ont ete recuperes. La prevalence de fumeurs est de 3;6 parmi les soignants et de 9;4 parmi les autres personnels soit en moyenne sur l'ensemble de l'hopital 5;4. Les produits fumes etaient toujours des cigarettes. L'initiation du tabagisme a souvent ete tardive (21;5 ans) et la dependance est absente ou faible chez 33 des fumeurs. Les personnes pensent que c'est leur devoir de questionner sur le tabac et de prendre en charge les fumeurs; mais ils sont presque un sur deux a ignorer la loi Camerounaise. Conclusion: Le tabagisme chez le personnel hospitalier est une realite au Cameroun ; le personnel soignant et les pouvoirs publics devraient s'impliquer davantage dans la lutte contre ce fleau qui est en expansion dans les pays du sud

Allergies and parasitoses in sub-Saharan Africa.

There has been nearly an epidemic rise in allergic disease throughout the world. However, this significant increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases has not been reported on the African continent. There are many factors which have been offered to explain these differences, including nutrition, environmental factors and genetic contributions. In addition, these differences in allergic disease incidents have often been discussed in terms of the hygiene hypothesis. In this manuscript, we have focused our attention on specific interactions between parasitoses and allergic diseases and illustrate their interactions with socioeconomic, cultural, and sanitary realities. The data is particularly applicable to Senegal but can be extrapolated to other regions throughout the world and the results have implications for the induction of allergic disease in both western and Third World countries.