Cardiovascular Disorder Risk Assessment Among Police Personnel in Bengaluru City, India, Using World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension Risk Prediction Chart.

Context Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are important causes of premature death and disability and elevated healthcare costs. A significant percentage of this morbidity and mortality could be prevented by population-based strategies and cost-effective interventions for those at risk and with established diseases. Aim This study aims to estimate the 10-year risk of cardiovascular events (fatal or non-fatal) among police personnel in Bengaluru City, India. Materials and methods Police personnel above 40 years of age in Bengaluru City, India, were screened for CVD risk using the WHO/International Society of Hypertension (ISH) chart from November 2019 to June 2021. Data was collected by the multistage random sampling method by direct interview at the police station using a semi-structured questionnaire. CVD risk and associated factors were assessed using the WHO/ISH risk prediction chart. Data was entered into Microsoft Office Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Washington, United States) and analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 20.0 (IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results Among 400 study participants, 9.3% (n=37) had a high risk, 2.3% (n=9) had a moderate risk, and 88.5% (n=354) had a low risk of developing fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events in the next 10 years. Cardiovascular risk was found to be associated with certain socio-demographic and behavioral risk factors. Furthermore, a significant association (p<0.05) was found between CVD risk and the presence of comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. Conclusion The study indicates that there is a high burden of predicted cardiovascular risks among the study participants. The WHO/ISH chart can be used as a simple tool for cardiovascular risk stratification.

Perception Towards Epidemiology of Human Immunodeficiency Virus or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Among Women of Reproductive Age: Analysis of Nationwide Surveys in India.

INTRODUCTION: The knowledge of HIV prevention, attitudes towards people living with HIV (PLHIV), and beliefs in myths related to HIV/AIDS among women of reproductive age group in India hold immense importance. As this group is particularly vulnerable to HIV infection, having accurate knowledge about prevention methods is crucial to protect themselves and their partners. Positive attitudes towards PLHIV foster support, reduce stigma and encourage early testing and treatment. Additionally, debunking myths and misconceptions surrounding HIV/AIDS can help dispel fear and promote informed decision-making. Empowering women with comprehensive knowledge, fostering positive attitudes, and debunking myths can contribute to effective HIV prevention strategies, reduce transmission rates, and improve women's overall well-being in India. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to create a regression model to show disparities in knowledge of the prevention of HIV/AIDS, attitude towards people living with HIV/AIDS, and belief in myths among women in India with adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for different socio-demographic factors, and to determine if there are any significant changes in the aOR during both surveys. STUDY DESIGN: A comparative study using secondary data analysis of two complex sample surveys. METHODS: Individual Recode files from datasets obtained from Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) Program were exported to STATA v17.0 MP by STATA Corp LLC. Dependent and independent variables were chosen based on a literature review and computed. The design-adjusted chi-square test was used to assess the association between variables. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to derive a model. The model assessment was performed using the Wald test after estimation. RESULTS: The age group of 15-19 years had the highest odds of having sufficient knowledge of the prevention of HIV/AIDS during both National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) (aOR: 1.98 during NFHS-4 and aOR: 1.80 during NFHS-5). No education group had the highest odds of negative attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS during both surveys (aOR: 4.85 during NFHS-4 and aOR: 2.69 during NFHS-5). Rural areas had higher odds of believing in myths related to HIV/AIDS during both surveys (aOR: 1.07 during NFHS-4 and aOR: 1.13 during NFHS-5). CONCLUSIONS: This research study sheds light on the significant relationship between demographic factors and knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs related to HIV/AIDS among women. Specifically, women in the lower age group, lacking education, and residing in rural areas exhibited substantial levels of inadequate knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS prevention. Furthermore, this group was also associated with higher proportions of negative attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS and a greater tendency to believe in myths associated with HIV/AIDS.

Poor quality of sleep and it's associated factors among urban slum-dwellers of Bengaluru- a cross-sectional study.

Background: Sleep can be defined as a state of reduced attention from where the person can be woken up by any kind of stimuli. Sleep difficulties are a major group of disorders affecting one third of the adult population. The present study was taken up to assess the sleep quality and prevalence of sleep disorders among the adult population in the urban slum area of H Siddaiah Road Urban Primary Health Center (UPHC), which is in the Urban Field Practice Area, BMCRI. Methods: Stratified random sampling was used to select 821 adults in the population of 18-60 years of age. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethical Committee. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview the adults after obtaining their consent. The data was entered in Microsoft Office Excel and analysed using SPSS ver20.0. Results: The study population was 52.81% females and 77.5% in the age group of 18-30 years. Most of the study population were Hindus (78.90%), and only 3.8% of the study population were illiterate. Most of them were employed (86.12%).Substance use was present in 82.9% of the study participants and overcrowding was present in 51.3% of the subjects. Female gender, being unemployed, living with relatives, overcrowding, and substance use such as alcohol and smokeless tobacco were the factors associated with poor sleep quality as measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Among the study participants having poor sleep quality, most of participants needed further clinical assessment for insomnia (86%) followed by assessment for sleep apnoea (50.5%). Conclusions: 200 (24.36%) study participants were determined to have poor sleep quality. Gender, marital status and overcrowding were the factors associated with poor sleep quality. A significant number of study participants need further assessment on insomnia, sleep apnoea and psychiatric disorders.

Postcode based participatory disease surveillance systems : a comparison with traditional risk-based surveillance and its application in the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Background: The SARS-Cov-2 infection has rapidly saturated health systems and traditional surveillance networks are finding hard to keep pace with its spread. We designed a participatory disease surveillance (PDS) system, to capture symptoms of Influenza-like illness (ILI) to estimate SARS-CoV-2 infection in the community. While data generated by these platforms can help public health organisations find community hotspots and effectively direct control measures, it has never been compared to traditional systems. OBJECTIVE: Methods and Objectives: A completely anonymised web based PDS system, www.trackcovid-19.org was developed. We evaluated the symptomatic responses received form the PDS system to the traditional risk based surveillance carried out by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike over a period of 45 days in the South Indian city of Bengaluru. METHODS: Methods and Objectives: A completely anonymised web based PDS system, www.trackcovid-19.org was developed. We evaluated the symptomatic responses received form the PDS system to the traditional risk based surveillance carried out by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike over a period of 45 days in the South Indian city of Bengaluru. RESULTS: Results: The PDS system recorded 11062 entries from 106 Postal codes. A healthy response was obtained from 10863 users while 199 (1.8%) reported symptomatic. Subgroup analysis of a 14 day symptomatic window recorded 33 (0.29%) responses. Risk based surveillance was carried out covering a population of 605,284 with 209 (0.03%) individuals identified symptomatic. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusion: Web PDS platforms provide better visualisation of community infection when compared to traditional risk based surveillance systems. They are extremely useful by providing real time information in the extended battle against this pandemic. When integrated into national disease surveillance systems, they can provide long term community surveillance adding an important cost-effective layer to already available data sources.