Behavioral Interventions in Hypertension: A Lifestyle Medicine Approach.

SUMMARY: Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is a major global health concern. Lifestyle interventions have emerged as effective nonpharmacological approaches for managing hypertension. The role of lifestyle interventions in hypertension, including dietary modifications, physical activity, weight management, stress reduction, and alcohol and tobacco cessation, is enormous and is pivotal in the reduction of the burden of noncommunicable diseases including hypertension.

An epidemiological study on factors influencing gaming disorder: An online cross-sectional design.

Background: Gaming disorders have increased over time due to easy availability of online gaming. The aim of this study is to determine the factors influencing the gaming disorders. Methods: An online questionnaire was circulated on gaming platforms for the assessment as per IGD-20 and DSM-5 criteria. Results: A significant correlation was found between duration of play and gaming disorders (r = 0.131, P < 0.05). The scores were concurrent as per IGD-20 and DSM-5 criteria. Conclusion: Undiagnosed gaming disorder among gamers needs to be addressed. Duration of playing of games also needs to be checked to reduce the prevalence of gaming disorders.

Global Awareness of Myocardial Infarction Symptoms in General Population: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Knowledge about myocardial Infarction (MI) symptoms is crucial because inadequate awareness ensures direct association with patient delay and adverse health events subsequently. METHODS: PRISMA guidelines were followed while conducting the systematic review with PROSPERO number CRD42020219802. An electronic search was conducted comprehensively through 5 databases to find those relevant articles systematically. Prevalence was calculated for each typical symptom of MI separately and subgroup analysis according to continent, country, gender and ethnicity was done. Meta-Analysis was conducted by using statistical software R version 3.4.3. A random-effects model was used. RESULTS: Studies from 35 different countries with 120,988,548 individuals were included in the final analysis. The prevalence of chest pain awareness was highest, while it was lowest for jaw, back, and neck pain. There was no difference in terms of awareness in males and females. Prevalence of awareness of typical MI symptoms was higher in the Caucasian white, white, and non-Hispanic white groups than in other groups. The prevalence varies from less than 5% in African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Asian countries such as Nepal to as high as 90% in Germany. CONCLUSIONS: People are well aware of chest pain as a symptom of MI. However, there is limited knowledge regarding other typical symptoms of MI.

Factors influencing delay in initiating post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies prevention among animal bite victims: A cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The aim of this study was to identify the delay and the factors associated with delay in initiating post exposure prophylaxis. METHODS: A consecutive sampling method was proceeded, and 199 patients attending the anti-rabies clinic with a history of animal bite reported at SMHS Hospital were the subjects of the study. RESULTS: Majority of the patients (72.36%) reported a delay within 6 h after exposure, 18.59% within (6-48) h and 9.04% after 48 h of exposure. CONCLUSION: Increasing the number of accessible anti-rabies clinics as well as increasing the awareness among general public about timely post exposure prophylaxis in the community are some of the factors that need to be implemented.

Reliability and Validity of a Culturally Adaptive Version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in Indian Subcontinent: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) is one of the prime public health problems occurring globally. Regular PA is associated with a decrease in all-causes of mortality irrespective of gender. The study was conducted to investigate the validity and an aspect of reliability of a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in the Indian subcontinent (InS). METHODS: Cross-sectional study, to evaluate the validity and reliability of the InS IPAQ-LF compared with a range of biological variables. In total, 198 participants (50% women) with a mean age of 35.6 (SD = 10.3) years selected from neighborhoods with variable socioeconomic status and PA. RESULTS: The InS IPAQ-LF demonstrated good test-retest reliability for total PA (Intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] =0.79, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.82), occupational PA (ICC = 0.77, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.82), active transportation (ICC = 0.82, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.87), and vigorous-intensity activities (ICC = 0.82, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.87). Reliability was substantially higher for total PA (ICC = 0.80), occupational PA (ICC = 0.78), leisure-time PA (ICC = 0.75), and active transportation (ICC = 0.80) in men than in women, but domestic PA (ICC = 0.38) and sitting time (ICC = 0.71) demonstrated more substantial reliability coefficients in women than in men. CONCLUSIONS: The InS IPAQ-LF demonstrated considerate evidence of test-retest reliability and may be valid for evaluating context specific PA mannerisms of adults in InS.

Lessons from the field on COVID-19: a public health point of view.

The COVID-19 pandemic in world affected all strata of population. It started on 28 January 2020 in Wuhan province of China and since then it has been spreading all over the globe rapidly. Today there are nearly 6 million cases of COVID-19 all over the globe. India with its second largest population in the world, with approximately 1.2 billion, has 22% of its population below poverty line and illiteracy at large. Kashmir, a Union Territory of India with a population of 7 million, has been equally hit by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-(SARS-CoV) pandemic. In such a limited-resource setting, working under constraints leads to generation of innovations which are the support system of community medicine/public health management.

Socioeconomic status scales-modified Kuppuswamy and Udai Pareekh's scale updated for 2019.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the prime factors influencing the health status of a nation. It is the measure of the social standing of the individual or a family and has a wide impact on an individual/family's health, educational attainment, diet, lifestyle, etc., The per capita income of citizens is a major factor that decides the SES of the population. The affordability and utilization of the health facilities depend on the socioeconomic profile of the population. The periodic changes in the consumer price of goods globally as well as nationally due to inflation warrants that it is mandatory to constantly update the income-based socioeconomic scales so as the assessment is made correctly in practice. We are making an attempt to provide an updated Kuppuswamy and Udai Pareekh's socioeconomic scales for 2019.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of family planning services among healthcare workers in Kashmir - A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Researches have shown highest awareness but low utilization of contraceptives making the situation a serious challenge. Most of women in reproductive age group know little or have incorrect information about family planning methods. Even when they know the name of some of the contraceptives, they do not know where to get them or how to use it. These women have negative attitude about family planning, whereas some have heard false and misleading information, the current study aimed in assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of family planning among female healthcare workers in Kashmir valley. METHOD: A self-administered questionnaire was served to the female multipurpose health workers of District Anantnag and Baramulla at a training conducted in Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Kashmir. RESULT: All the participants had heard about family planning methods. The major sources of information were trainers (78.8%). About 90.4% of the study participants gave correct response regarding the types of family planning. About 80.1% of the respondents had a favorable attitude toward family planning. Around three-fourths of the study participants practiced one or other method of family planning. CONCLUSION: Our study lead to the conclusion that the level of knowledge and attitude toward family planning was relatively low and FP utilization was quite low among the healthcare workers. In order to imbibe positive attitude among general public, the health workers need to be trained so as to inculcate the positive attitude in them leading to increased awareness among general public with regard to family planning.