Mugda Medical College & Hospital is a public medical school and a 500-bed healthcare facility in Dhaka. At first, the facility was built as a general hospital which was later turned into a full-fledged medical school. Its construction began in 2006. The hospital opened in July 2013, and started admitting patients in early 2014. The hospital includes a 13-story building on 9.5 acres (3.8 ha).It is the fourth government medical college inside Dhaka metropolitan city. From the first month of 2016, it has started classes of regular MBBS course.
Background: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into university learning, but excessive academic reliance on these tools may be linked with psychological distress. Objective: This cross-sectional study assessed patterns of generative AI use, academic dependence, and depression, anxiety, and stress among 480 students from four private universities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between July and December 2025. Methodology: Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire that included generative AI use characteristics, an academic dependence measure, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression were applied. Result: More than half of the participants used generative AI several times a week or daily (56.5%), and ChatGPT was the most commonly used platform (92.1%). Academic dependence was low in 35.0%, moderate in 50.0%, and high in 15.0% of students. Moderate-to-extremely-severe symptoms were observed in 43.2% for depression, 72.9% for anxiety, and 25.4% for stress. The prevalence of each form of distress increased significantly across low, moderate, and high dependence groups (all p < 0.001). Academic dependence was positively correlated with depression (r = 0.37), anxiety (r = 0.36), stress (r = 0.29), and total DASS-21 score (r = 0.38; all p < 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, academic year, family income, and residence, dependence remained independently associated with total psychological distress (B = 1.34, 95% CI 1.04-1.63, p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings indicate that greater academic dependence on generative AI is associated with a higher burden of psychological distress. Universities should promote responsible AI use while strengthening independent learning skills and accessible student mental-health support.
Background: Fatty liver disease is increasingly recognized as an important metabolic health problem, particularly in populations with a high burden of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and sedentary lifestyles. Objective: This study assessed the lifestyle and metabolic factors associated with ultrasonographic severity of fatty liver among adults attending tertiary care hospitals in Khulna, Bangladesh. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2025 among 280 adults with ultrasonographically confirmed fatty liver attending four medical college hospitals in Khulna City. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, anthropometric, metabolic, and available biochemical information was collected using a structured questionnaire and existing investigation reports. Associations with ultrasonographic fatty liver grade were assessed using appropriate statistical tests, with p<0.05 considered significant. Results: The mean age was 43.5 ± 11.2 years, and 55.0% of participants were male. Grade I fatty liver was present in 55.0%, Grade II in 32.9%, and Grade III in 12.1%. Frequent fried/fatty food intake, sedentary physical activity, prolonged sedentary behaviour, and positive family history were significantly associated with higher fatty liver grade. BMI, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased progressively with disease severity. Overweight/obesity, central obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia were also significantly more frequent among participants with higher-grade fatty liver. Available biochemical findings demonstrated higher fasting glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, ALT and AST, with lower HDL-cholesterol as fatty liver grade increased. Conclusion: Greater ultrasonographic severity of fatty liver was associated with unhealthy lifestyle practices and a higher cardiometabolic risk burden. Early lifestyle modification and appropriate management of metabolic risk factors may help reduce progression of fatty liver disease.
Background: Informal healthcare providers and community drug shops are major sources of treatment in rural Bangladesh, but their antibiotic practices and the public’s understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remain important stewardship concerns. Objective: To assess antibiotic-prescribing and dispensing practices among informal healthcare providers and to evaluate antibiotic-use behaviour and antimicrobial resistance awareness among community residents in rural Gazipur, Bangladesh. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2024 in six unions of Sreepur, Kapasia, and Kaliganj upazilas, Gazipur District. Using convenience sampling, 150 informal healthcare providers and 450 community residents were interviewed face-to-face with separate structured questionnaires. Provider prescribing and dispensing practices, AMR knowledge, community healthcare-seeking behaviour, antibiotic use, adherence, self-medication, and AMR awareness were assessed using descriptive statistics. Results: Among providers, 52.7% lacked legal authorization to sell or dispense medicines, 85.3% dispensed antibiotics without a qualified physician’s prescription, and 80.7% prescribed or dispensed without diagnostic or laboratory evidence. Antibiotics were commonly used for fever or common cold (78.7%), and pharmaceutical representatives were the principal information source for 56.0%. Only 17.3% had good AMR knowledge. Among community participants, 76.0% first sought care from an informal provider or drug shop and 70.0% had used antibiotics in the previous six months. Of antibiotic users, 56.5% obtained antibiotics without a qualified prescription, 49.5% completed the course, and 35.9% used leftovers. Only 36.0% had heard of antibiotic resistance, 39.1% knew antibiotics are ineffective against viral illness, and 58.0% believed stronger or broad-spectrum antibiotics work better or faster. Conclusion: Inappropriate antibiotic dispensing, poor adherence, and limited AMR awareness were widespread and mutually reinforcing. Rural stewardship should integrate provider training and accreditation, independent treatment guidance, regulatory oversight, community education, and improved access to affordable qualified care.
Introduction: Stress among medical students is a global concern that affects their well-being, learning, and future professional performance. Although Bangladeshi studies have quantified stress prevalence and stressors, evidence on students' lived experiences, coping responses, and recommendations for well-being is limited. This study aimed to assess stress and stressors among medical undergraduates; explore stress experiences, contextual stressors, coping, and recommendations; and integrate quantitative and qualitative findings for institutional stress-reduction strategies. Methods A convergent mixed-methods study was conducted on medical students from one private (PrMC) and one public (PbMC) college in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The quantitative survey included 201 participants using proportionate stratified random sampling. Perceived stress and stressors were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) and Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ-40). The qualitative component comprised six focus groups with 53 students from various academic phases. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, and multivariable regression, and qualitative data using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings were integrated using joint display and meta-inference. Results The mean PSS-10 score was 22.23 ± 6.19, with 70.6% and 24.4% of participants reporting moderate and high stress, respectively. Academic-related (mean = 2.252) and teaching- and learning-related stressors (mean = 2.024) were the highest-rated MSSQ-40 domains. Female sex and private medical college enrolment were independently associated with lower stress, whereas academic-related stressors were associated with higher stress (all p < 0.01). Qualitative analysis showed stress stemmed from interconnected academic, institutional, and social contexts, including workload, assessment pressure, unsupportive institutional practices, limited recreational and social infrastructure, and inadequate mental health services. Students described informal peer support as a lifeline. Although students employed both problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies, many perceived these responses as insufficient because organizational constraints limited their effectiveness. Students often see stress as inevitable in academia and endure it. Participants suggested refining curriculum, supportive faculty interactions, a better learning environment, and trustworthy mental health resources. Conclusion Medical students in Bangladesh experience moderate-to-high stress driven by academic, institutional and social contexts. Improving medical student well-being requires system-level reforms that address academic structures, institutional support, and learning environments rather than relying solely on individual resilience-focused approaches.
Background: Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), is a common endocrine-metabolic disorder affecting reproductive, metabolic, dermatological, and psychological health. Despite its importance in young women, evidence on awareness, symptom recognition, and healthcare-seeking among female university students in Bangladesh remains limited. Objective: To assess awareness of PMOS/PCOS, describe self-reported features suggestive of the condition, and evaluate related health-seeking behaviour among female university students in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods: This multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2025 among 450 female students from Daffodil International University, Central Women's University, and United International University, with 150 participants recruited from each institution using non-probability quota sampling. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Awareness was assessed among participants who had previously heard of PMOS/PCOS, while self-reported features were assessed in all participants and professional care-seeking among those reporting at least one core feature. Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were used, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age was 22.56 ± 2.78 years. Overall, 72.9% had previously heard of PMOS/PCOS; among these students, 30.5% had good, 43.6% moderate, and 25.9% poor detailed awareness. At least one core feature was reported by 71.6%, while 7.8% reported a previous professional diagnosis. Among 322 students with at least one core feature, only 31.7% had sought professional care and 45.1% of care-seekers waited more than six months. The leading barrier to consultation was considering the feature normal or temporary (60.0%). Previous reproductive-health education (AOR 2.33, 95% CI 1.41–3.86) and higher academic stage (AOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.10–3.08) were independently associated with good awareness. Good awareness was strongly associated with professional care-seeking (AOR 6.66, 95% CI 3.02–14.71). Conclusion: Awareness of the term PMOS/PCOS was relatively common, but detailed knowledge and professional care-seeking were inadequate. University-based evidence-informed reproductive-health education, reliable digital information, and clear referral pathways may support earlier recognition and appropriate professional assessment.
