Background: Awareness of obstetric danger signs reduces delays in seeking care and forms a crucial part of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR), an evidence-based strategy to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess awareness of obstetric danger signs and its determinants among rural women in South Karnataka. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study in 17 villages of South Karnataka was conducted, with simple random sample of 100 mothers who delivered in the past 1 year. Awareness of 18 obstetric danger signs by JHPIEGO-BPCR Tools and Indicators was assessed under four domains: Pregnancy, labor, postpartum, and newborn period. Each correct response given a score of 1. Mann–Whitney U-test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Spearman’s rank correlation test done. Results: Median awareness score was 4 (IQR = 1.6) with 24% of subjects unable to state even one danger sign across any domain. The most common danger sign mentioned was vaginal bleeding. Most were unaware of danger signs such as blurred vision and convulsions. Awareness was significantly higher among older ( P = 0.019) and educated mothers ( P = 0.044), of higher income ( P = 0.041), with more frequent antenatal care (ANC) visits ( P = 0.001), and higher parity ( P = 0.013). Conclusion: The abysmally low awareness of obstetric danger signs has far-reaching public health implications as it affects timely care seeking. Health-care providers should use opportunities during regular ANC visits to counsel women and families regarding danger signs, in addition to community engagement, utilizing existing platforms such as women’s groups, village-level workers, and Village Health and Nutrition Days, focusing more on younger women who are educationally and economically challenged to improve awareness regarding obstetric danger signs. Key words: Birth preparedness, complication readiness, danger signs, rural women
Introduction : Diabetics have a higher risk of having depression when compared to normal population. India has the one of the largest diabetic populations many of the treating physicians fail to recognize the underlying depression of patients with diabetes mellitus . The objective of the study was to find out the prevalence of depression in patients with established Type II diabetes mellitus patients. Materials and Methods : The present study is a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study. The study was undertaken in patients attending outpatient department of tertiary care hospital. A total of 150 patients with established T2DM were evaluated for depression by administering the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale. Results : In the present study, 54.4% of the participants were found to be having depression, which ranged from mild to severe, most of the them had only mild symptoms. Most of the study participants, that is, about 22% belonged to the age group of 51–60 years followed by 18% in 41–50 years. In the present study, depression was found more in females (30.66%) than in males (24.66%). In this study, majority of the patients (33.3%) on OHA were not depressed, whereas 15.2% of patients on insulin and OHAs were depressed. A total of 48% of the patients with comorbidities were depressed in the present study. Conclusion : The diabetic patients are more prone to have depression, therefore, it is necessary for the well-being of diabetic patients that the patients are assessed for the presence or development of depression. Key words: Becks Depression Inventory, depression, diabetes
Background: Junk foods seem to have engulfed every age and the newest entrants are adolescents. This is a time of rapid growth; good nutrition is a high priority. Junk food consumption has both direct and indirect relationship in the chain of natural history of most of the non-communicable diseases thereby giving us a window of opportunity to break these weak links to arrest the disease processes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in schools and colleges of urban field practice area of medical college. Stratified random sampling technique was adapted to select schools/colleges. From selected school/college, all students from one section of 7th–12th class were enrolled for the study after taking consent. Data were collected using pretested and validated, close- and open-ended, and self-administered questionnaire. Results: A total of 700 adolescent students were included in the study. About 60.14% adolescents consumed junk food more than 3 times/week. Cakes (males-32.5% and females-26.2%) and chocolates (males-27.4% and females-38.4%); and Chips (males-17.9% and females-18.8%) and street foods (males-17.5% and females-23.9%) were the most preferred sweet and salted junk food respectively. Influence of friends (odds ratio [OR]: 5.49; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.79–8.03), family members (OR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.12–2.23), advertisements (OR: 2.66; 95% CI: 1.87–3.81), and easy accessibility (OR: 17.35; CI: 11.2–27.3) had a statistically significant association with consumption of junk foods. Conclusions: To conclude nearly two-third adolescent students consumed junk food on regular basis. Factors such as friends, family members, and easy accessibility nearer to schools or colleges were associated with junk food consumption. Even having adequate knowledge did not prevent them from having junk foods. Key words: Adolescent students, Junk foods, patterns, prevalence
Background: Bacterial meningitis is one of the most feared infectious diseases, being an important cause of death and long-term neurological disability. Various studies have observed seasonality of occurrence of bacterial meningitis most commonly in dry and cold seasons. Studies of seasonal variation contribute to understanding the etiology of infections, health-care planning for prevention, and rational use of hospital resources. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to know the seasonal variations and trend in the admissions of community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis in Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hospital. Methods: A time series analysis by compiling monthly data of bacterial meningitis cases admitted in KIMS, Hubli, from the reports of medical records department for a period of 5 years from January 2014 to December 2018. Results: The peaks for hospitalizations were predominantly in March–May and even the seasonality for aggregate years occurs as peak effect in summer. Hospitalizations for bacterial meningitis showed a periodicity of 3–4 months in each year along with cyclical trend over the years studied. Conclusion: This study found evidence of seasonality for bacterial meningitis, thereby suggesting that hospitals should be prepared for providing clinical services round the year; however, more resources may be required during the peak months of March–May. Key words: Bacterial meningitis, seasonal variation, tertiary care hospital, time series analysis, wavelet transform
Background: Protein-energy malnutrition is an important public health problem which contributes to a significant number of under-five deaths. About 7.6 million under-five deaths occur globally among which 35% deaths are due to nutrition-related factors. Apart from the social and environmental factors, the clinical profile of the children with severe acute malnutrition also plays a role in morbidity and mortality of SAM. Thus, the following study was conducted in the nutritional rehabilitation center. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the nutritional rehabilitation center, Chigateri General Hospital, Davanagere, among the SAM (Severe Acute Malnutrition) cases who were admitted during the study period. Data were collected using a pre-designed, pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire, and analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Results: The study population comprised 75 (48.4%) males and 80 (51.6%) females. Mean age of the children was 22.32 ± 13.52 months and majority of the children 65 (41%) belonged to 13–24 months age group. Most of mothers 73 (43.09%) were illiterate and were unemployed (homemakers) 123 (79.3%). Majority of the children belonged to lower socio-economic class 72 (46.5%). Majority of 64 (41.3%) children were of second birth order—70 (45.16%) children presented with not gaining weight as the presenting complaint. The most common associated comorbidity in SAM children was an acute respiratory infection. Interpretation and Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors such as lower education of parents, Hindu by religion, lower socioeconomic status, and satisfactory living conditions were the profile of the majority of children. Majority of children presented with not gaining weight. The most common comorbidity associated was ARI. Key words: Clinical profile, comorbidities, NRC, SAM children
