Diabetic retinopathy incidence, predictors and its association with longitudinal fasting blood sugar level changes among diabetes mellitus patients in Ethiopia: joint model.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global public health problem characterized by an elevated blood glucose level. Monitoring blood sugar levels is vital for effective diabetes management and preventing complications. However, the association between longitudinal biomarkers and the incidence of diabetic complications is often overlooked. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence of diabetic retinopathy, predictors, and association with longitudinal fasting blood sugar level changes among diabetes mellitus patients in Ethiopia. Methods: A multicenter retrospective follow-up study was carried out in referral hospitals in Amhara region, Ethiopia. A random sample of 462 newly diagnosed DM patients was selected. The proportional hazard assumption was checked for the survival sub-model, and for the longitudinal sub-model, the normality assumption was checked. Then the joint modeling with time-dependent lagged parameterizations was fitted. Model assumptions and comparisons were checked. Finally, the hazard ratio with a 95% confidence interval (CI) with a corresponding P-value<0.05 was used to identify predictors. Results: In this study, Overall, 54 patients developed DR, and the incidence rate was 2.33 per 1000 person-months over the follow-up period, with a 95% CI of [1.78, 3.05]. Rural residence (AHR = 2.21, 95% CI: [1.21, 4.05]), hypertension co-morbidity (AHR = 3.01, 95% CI: [1.85, 6.53]), and longer duration of DM (>5 years) (AHR = 2.28, 95% CI: [1.91, 5.15]) were important predictors for the incidence of DR. In addition, the incidence of DR was substantially correlated with the time-dependent lagged value of FBS change (AHR = 4.20, 95% CI [1.62, 10.85]). Conclusions: In this study, the incidence of diabetic retinopathy was somewhat high when compared to prior similar studies in Ethiopia. A joint model of longitudinal fasting blood sugar level changes was significantly associated with an increased risk of DR. Besides, being rural residence, hypertension co-morbidity, and a longer duration of DM were significant predictors for the incidence of DR. Therefore, public awareness, an integrated care approach, and prioritizing glycemic control are highly recommended.

An Oxygen Supply Is Not Enough: A Qualitative Analysis of a Pressure Swing Adsorption Oxygen Plant Program in Ethiopian Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: In response to critical gaps in medical oxygen access, 2 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen production centers were established using an ecosystem-strengthening strategy in Amhara, Ethiopia, in 2019. A qualitative study was conducted to assess enablers and bottlenecks to oxygen access at the hospital level after installation. METHODS: A variety of hospital staff (clinicians, biomedical professionals, hospital administrators, and procurement teams) across 13 hospitals procuring oxygen from the plants participated in comprehensive, semistructured focus group discussions. A thematic framework analysis approach was used to identify key themes. FINDINGS: A total of 101 individuals participated in 26 focus groups in 2021, 2 years after plants were installed. Primary themes were accessibility of supply, affordability, and hospital readiness. Respondents indicated a substantial increase in their hospital's ability to access lower-cost oxygen, with many attributing this to the locality of plants and reduced transportation barriers. However, other challenges persisted, and the emergence of COVID-19 1 year after plant installation and a civil conflict exacerbated supply shortages. Investments in equipment, supplies, and training optimized clinical utilization of oxygen and were highlighted as a need for ongoing investment. CONCLUSION: To achieve maximum impact, investments in large-scale oxygen systems must be accompanied by strategic plans to transport oxygen, reduce costs to hospitals, and provide support to clinical teams through equipment, supply procurement, and clinical training. These findings support comprehensive ecosystem approaches to strengthening oxygen access for sustainable impact.

Factors associated with problematic internet use among University of Gondar undergraduate students, Northwest Ethiopia: Structural equation modeling.

BACKGROUND: For young adults and adolescents, excessive internet use has become a serious public health concern due to its negative impact on their health. It has been associated with detrimental effects on both physical and mental health. Negative academic outcomes were observed in the students, including missing classes, lower grades, and academic dismissal. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to identify factors associated with PIU among undergraduate students at the University of Gondar. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar among 1514 undergraduate students from June 1-20, 2022. The study participants were selected using a stratified simple random selection procedure. Using structural equation modeling, the degree of relationship was ascertained. A p-value of less than 0.05 and an adjusted regression coefficient with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to interpret the data. RESULTS: In our study, being from non-health departments [ß = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.037, 0.181], current alcohol use [ß = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.061, 0.187], depressive symptoms [ß = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.175, 0.291], insomnia symptoms [ß = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.060, 0.196], and ADHD symptoms [ß = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.049, 0.166] had a significant positive effect on PIU, while having a history of head injury had a significant negative effect [ß = -0.12, 95% CI: -0.226, -0.021] on PIU. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Factors such as current alcohol use, non-health department type, depressive symptoms, insomnia, and ADHD symptoms were positively associated with PIU. However, a history of head injuries was negatively associated with PIU. Therefore, strategies aimed at the early identification of PIU may lead to an improvement in the psychosocial health of university students.

Quality of childbirth care and its determinants along the continuum of care among pregnant women who gave birth vaginally in Gondar town public health facility, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022: generalised structural equation modelling.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of childbirth care and its determinants along the continuum of care in Gondar town public health facility in Ethiopia. DESIGN: An institution-based, cross-sectional study was employed. Completed data were imported to Stata V.16 for cleaning and analysis. A generalised structural equation model was employed to examine the relationships along the continuum of childbirth care and to determine the factors affecting the quality of childbirth care. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This study was conducted among a total of 865 women who delivered in the public health facility of Gondar, Ethiopia, from 19 May to 30 June 2022. RESULTS: The study revealed the proportion of good-quality childbirth care during admission, intrapartum and immediate postpartum period was 59% (95% CI 55.7, 62.4), 76.8% (95% CI 73.8, 79.5) and 45% (95% CI 41.7, 48.5), respectively. Postsecondary educational status of mothers (ß=0.60, 95% CI 0.16, 1.04) and maternal age of 25-35 (ß=0.68, 95% CI 0.33, 1.02) were predictors of quality of care at admission. Referral hospital (ß=0.43, 95% CI 0.10, 0.76), presence of guidelines (ß=1.36, 95% CI 0.72, 1.99) and provider age of 25-35 (ß=0.61, 95% CI 0.12, 1.10) affected the quality of care during the intrapartum period. Urban residence (ß=0.52, 95% CI 0.12, 0.93), skilled birth attendant experience (ß=0.19, 95% CI 0.11, 0.28) and number of delivery couches (ß=-0.29, 95% CI -0.44, -0.13) had significant associations with the quality of childbirth care during the immediate postpartum period. CONCLUSIONS: Although our study found improvements in the quality of childbirth care along the continuum compared with previous studies, more workers are needed to alleviate the problem of poor-quality service. Different maternal, provider and facility factors were found to be predictors of the quality of childbirth care.

Impacts of armed conflicts on tuberculosis burden and treatment outcomes: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aimed to summarise existing literature on the impacts of armed conflicts on tuberculosis burden and treatment outcomes. DESIGN: A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Embase and medRxiv. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Three reviewers independently screened, selected eligible studies and extracted data. A narrative review was undertaken to summarise the findings qualitatively. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included in this review, reporting on tuberculosis incidence rates, prevalence and treatment outcomes, including mortality. Overall, the impact of armed conflicts on case notifications was variable. Six studies reported overall increases in tuberculosis case notifications following the onset of conflicts, while three studies reported overall decreases in tuberculosis case notifications. Factors, including limited access to healthcare services, challenges in surveillance and laboratory confirmation, the destruction of health systems and incapacitating the healthcare workforce, contributed to a decrease in the number of notified cases. The higher tuberculosis notification in some of the studies could be attributed to the disruption of tuberculosis prevention and control programmes as well as increased socioeconomic deprivation, including malnutrition, mass migration, poor living conditions and overcrowding that are worsened during conflicts. Armed conflicts without effective interventions were associated with worse tuberculosis treatment outcomes, including lower proportions of people with treatment success and higher proportions of people with loss to follow-up, mortality and treatment failure. However, implementing various interventions in conflict settings (such as establishing a National Tuberculosis Control Programme) led to higher tuberculosis notification rates and treatment success. CONCLUSION: The impact of armed conflicts on tuberculosis notification is complex and is influenced by multiple factors. The findings of this review underscore the importance of concerted efforts to control tuberculosis in conflict settings using available resources.

Burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis among contacts of index cases: a protocol for a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: People having close contact with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients are at increased risk of contracting and developing the disease. However, no comprehensive review has been undertaken to estimate the burden of DR-TB among contacts of DR-TB patients. Therefore, the current systematic review will quantify the prevalence and incidence of DR-TB among contacts of DR-TB patients. METHOD AND ANALYSIS: Systematic searches will be conducted in Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials (CENTRAL) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINHAL) databases. The search will be conducted without restrictions on time, language and geography. A random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted for effect estimates. The pooled prevalence and incidence of DR-TB will be compared between people with and without contact with DR-TB patients. The presence of heterogeneity between studies will be assessed by Higgins I2 statistics. Subgroup analysis will be conducted to determine the source of heterogeneity. The risk of bias will be assessed using a visual inspection of the funnel plot and Egger's regression test statistics. Trim and fill analysis will be done in the presence of publication bias. A sensitivity analysis will be conducted by trimming low-quality studies. The systematic review will be reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol guidelines. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval will not be required for this study as it will be a systematic review and meta-analysis based on previously published evidence. The findings of the systematic review will be presented at scientific conferences and published in scientific journals. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: The protocol is published in PROSPERO with registration number CRD42023390339.

Economic burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis on patients and households: a global systematic review and meta-analysis.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major health threat worldwide, causing a significant economic burden to patients and their families. Due to the longer duration of treatment and expensive second-line medicine, the economic burden of MDR-TB is assumed to be higher than drug-susceptible TB. However, the costs associated with MDR-TB are yet to be comprehensively quantified. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the global burden of catastrophic costs associated with MDR-TB on patients and their households. We systematically searched five databases (CINHAL, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science) from inception to 2 September 2022 for studies reporting catastrophic costs on patients and affected families of MDR-TB. The primary outcome of our study was the proportion of patients and households with catastrophic costs. Costs were considered catastrophic when a patient spends 20% or more of their annual household income on their MDR-TB diagnosis and care. The pooled proportion of catastrophic cost was determined using a random-effects meta-analysis. Publication bias was assessed using visualization of the funnel plots and the Egger regression test. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2, and sub-group analysis was conducted using study covariates as stratification variables. Finally, we used the Preferred Reporting Items for Reporting Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis-20 (PRISMA-20). The research protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021250909). Our search identified 6635 studies, of which 11 were included after the screening. MDR-TB patients incurred total costs ranging from $USD 650 to $USD 8266 during treatment. The mean direct cost and indirect cost incurred by MDR-TB patients were $USD 1936.25 (SD ± $USD 1897.03) and $USD 1200.35 (SD ± $USD 489.76), respectively. The overall burden of catastrophic cost among MDR-TB patients and households was 81.58% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 74.13-89.04%). The catastrophic costs incurred by MDR-TB patients were significantly higher than previously reported for DS-TB patients. MDR-TB patients incurred more expenditure for direct costs than indirect costs. Social protection and financial support for patients and affected families are needed to mitigate the catastrophic economic consequences of MDR-TB.

Development and validation of a risk prediction model for pulmonary tuberculosis among presumptive tuberculosis cases in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) is one of the key strategies to achieve the WHO End TB targets. This study aimed to develop and validate a simple, convenient risk score to diagnose pulmonary TB among presumptive TB cases. METHODS: This prediction model used Ethiopian national TB prevalence survey data and included 5459 presumptive TB cases from all regions of Ethiopia. Logistic regression was used to determine which variables are predictive of pulmonary TB. A risk prediction model was developed, incorporating significant variables (p<0.05). The Youden Index method was used to choose the optimal cut-off point to separate the risk score of the patients as high and low. Model performance was assessed using discrimination power and calibration. Internal validation of the model was assessed using Efron's enhanced bootstrap method, and the clinical utility of the risk score was assessed using decision curve analysis. RESULTS: Of total participants, 94 (1.7%) were confirmed to have TB. The final prediction model included three factors with different scores: (1) TB contact history, (2) chest X-ray (CXR) abnormality and (3) two or more symptoms of TB. The optimal cut-off point for the risk score was 6 and was found to have a good discrimination accuracy (c-statistic=0.70, 95% CI: 0.65 to 0.75). The risk score has sensitivity of 51.1%, specificity of 79.9%, positive predictive value of 4.3% and negative predictive value of 98.9%. After internal validation, the optimism coefficient was 0.003, which indicates the model is internally valid. CONCLUSION: We developed a risk score that combines TB contact, number of TB symptoms and CXR abnormality to estimate individual risk of pulmonary TB among presumptive TB cases. Though the score is easy to calculate and internally validated, it needs external validation before widespread implementation in a new setting.

Magnitude, relationship and determinants of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression among University of Gondar undergraduate students, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022: Non-recursive structural equation modeling.

BACKGROUND: Up to 80% of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have a concomitant psychiatric disorder. ADHD and depression, combined with the demands of University life, can pose serious challenges for students. However, there are limited studies conducted on this topic in our country. Therefore, the current study assessed the magnitude, relationship, and determinants of ADHD and depressive symptoms among students at the University of Gondar. METHOD: An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed among 1514 undergraduate students at the University of Gondar from June 1-20, 2022. A stratified, simple random sampling technique was applied. Structural equation modeling was employed. The degree of relationship was interpreted based on the adjusted regression coefficient with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value (<0.05). RESULT: In our study, 37.6% [CI: 35.2-40.1%] and 20.01% [CI: 18.1-22.1%] of the participants had depressive and ADHD symptoms, respectively. Chronic illness [ß = 0.19, CI; 0.09, 0.30], alcohol use [ß = 0.10, CI; 0.03, 0.17], social support [ß = -0.23, CI; -0.29, -0.17], problematic internet use (PIU) [ß = 0.23, CI; 0.18, 0.27], and insomnia [ß = 0.24, CI; 0.17, 0.30] had a direct relationship with depressive symptoms. Mother education level [ß = -0.09, CI; -0.13, -0.06], birth order [ß = -0.09, CI; -0.11, -0.07], chat chewing [ß = 0.18, CI; 0.06, 0.30], and depressive symptoms [ß = 0.73, CI; 0.62, 0.86] had a direct relationship with ADHD. Chronic illness [ß = 0.14, CI; 0.06, 0.22], PIU [ß = 0.16, CI; 0.13, 0.21], social support [ß = -0.16, CI; -0.22, -0.12], and insomnia [ß = 0.17, CI; 0.13, 0.23] had an indirect effect on ADHD. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The prevalence of ADHD and depressive symptoms was high. Chronic disease, alcohol use, social support, PIU, and insomnia had a direct effect on depressive symptoms and an indirect effect on ADHD. Mother education, birth order, chat chewing, and depressive symptoms had a direct effect on ADHD. Our study provided useful clues for clinical treatment and school-based interventions that aim to improve college students' mental well-being. It is better to design school-based intervention and prevention programs to achieve timely diagnosis and treatment of these disorders among university students.

High burden of diabetes and prediabetes among cancer patients at University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

Cancer and diabetes mellitus (DM) are diagnosed within the same individual more frequently and share common risk factors. Although diabetes among cancer patients may result in more aggressive clinical courses of cancer, there is limited evidence about its burden and associated factors. Hence, this study aimed to assess the burden of diabetes and prediabetes among cancer patients and its associated factors. Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital from 10 January to 10 March 2021. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 423 cancer patients. The data was collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Prediabetes and diabetes diagnosis was made based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with the outcome. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval was estimated to show the direction and strength of associations. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 in the multivariable model were considered significantly associated with the outcome. The final analysis was based on 384 patients with cancer. The proportion of prediabetes and diabetes was 56.8% (95% CI 51.7, 61.7) and 16.7% (95% CI 13.3, 20.8), respectively. Alcohol consumption was found to increase the odds of elevated blood sugar among cancer patients (AOR: 1.96; 95%CI: 1.11, 3.46). The burden of prediabetes and diabetes is alarmingly high among cancer patients. Besides, alcohol consumption was found to increase the odds of having elevated blood sugar among cancer patients. Hence, it is essential to recognize cancer patients are at high risk of having elevated blood sugar and design strategies to integrate diabetes and cancer care.

Central obesity and its associated factors among cancer patients at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

Purpose: Obesity, especially the hidden type of obesity (central obesity), has been believed to be the major risk factor for developing and progressing non-communicable diseases, including cancers. However, there are limited studies regarding the issue in Ethiopia and the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the magnitude of central obesity and its associated factors among cancer patients visited the oncology unit of the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 10 to March 10, 2021. A total of 384 study participants were enrolled using a systematic sampling technique. The data were collected using a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and were pretested to address the quality of assurance. The weight of the participants was assessed using body mass index (BMI) and central obesity. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to identify the factors associated with central obesity, and p-values less than 0.05 with multivariate were considered statistically significant associations. Result: Most respondents (60.16%) were stage I cancer patients. The study found that about 19.27% of the participants were prevalent central obesity, and none of them were obese by body mass index (BMI) categorization criteria. However, about 12.24% and 7.03% of the participants were found to be underweight and overweight, respectively. The variables associated with central obesity were sex (AOR=14.40; 95% CI: 5.26 - 39.50), occupation (AOR=4.32; 95%CI: 1.10 - 17.01), and residency (AOR=0.30; 95% CI: 0.13 - 0.70). Conclusion: A significant number of the respondents (19.27%) were centrally obese. Being female, urban residency and having an occupation other than a farmer, merchant, and governmental were the factors associated with central obesity. Hence, cancer patients may be centrally obese with average body weight.

Prevalence of long-term physical sequelae among patients treated with multi-drug and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Physical sequelae related to multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) are emerging and under-recognised global challenges. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the prevalence and the types of long-term physical sequelae associated with patients treated for MDR- and XDR-TB. Methods: We systematically searched CINAHL (EBSCO), MEDLINE (via Ovid), Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception through to July 1, 2022, and the last search was updated to January 23, 2023. We included studies reporting physical sequelae associated with all forms of drug-resistant TB, including rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB), MDR-TB, Pre-XDR-TB, and XDR-TB. The primary outcome of interest was long-term physical sequelae. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effect model to estimate the pooled proportion of physical sequelae. The sources of heterogeneity were explored through meta-regression using study characteristics as covariates. The research protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021250909). Findings: From 3047 unique publications identified, 66 studies consisting of 37,380 patients conducted in 30 different countries were included in the meta-analysis. The overall pooled estimate was 44.4% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 36.7-52.1) for respiratory sequelae, 26.7% (95% CI: 23.85-29.7) for hearing sequelae, 10.1% (95% CI: 7.0-13.2) for musculoskeletal sequelae, 8.4% (95% CI: 6.5-10.3) for neurological sequelae, 8.1% (95% CI: 6.3-10.0) for renal sequelae, 7.3% (95% CI: 5.1-9.4) for hepatic sequelae, and 4.5% (95% CI: 2.7-6.3) for visual sequelae. There was substantial heterogeneity in the estimates. The stratified analysis showed that the pooled prevalence of hearing sequelae was 26.6% (95% CI: 12.3-40.9), neurological sequelae was 31.5% (95% CI: 5.5-57.5), and musculoskeletal sequelae were 21.5% (95% CI: 9.9-33.1) for patients with XDR-TB, which were higher than the pooled prevalence of sequelae among patients with MDR-TB. Respiratory sequelae were the highest in low-income countries (59.3%) and after completion of MDR-TB treatment (57.7%). Interpretation: This systematic review found that long-term physical sequelae such as respiratory, hearing, musculoskeletal, neurological, renal, hepatic, and visual sequelae were common among survivors of MDR- and XDR-TB. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of sequelae between patients with MDR- and XDR-TB. Post-MDR- and XDR-TB treatment surveillance for adverse outcomes needs to be incorporated into the current programmatic management of MDR-TB to enable early detection and prevention of post-treatment sequelae. Funding: Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, through an Emerging Leadership Investigator grant, and the Curtin University Higher Degree Research scholarship.

Incidence and predictor of diabetic foot ulcer and its association with change in fasting blood sugar among diabetes mellitus patients at referral hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia, 2021.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is one of the global public health problems and fasting blood sugar is an important indicator of diabetes management. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to diabetic foot ulcers, which is a common and disabling complication. The association between fasting blood glucose level and the incidence of diabetic foot ulcers is rarely considered, and knowing its predictors is good for clinical decision-making. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the incidence and predictors of diabetic foot ulcers and its association with changes in fasting blood sugar among diabetes mellitus patients at referral hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective follow-up study was conducted at a referral hospital in Northwest Ethiopia. A total of 539 newly diagnosed DM patients who had follow-up from 2010 to 2020 were selected using a computer-generated simple random sampling technique. Data was entered using Epi-Data 4.6 and analyzed in R software version 4.1. A Cox proportional hazard with a linear mixed effect model was jointly modeled and 95% Cl was used to select significant variables. AIC and BIC were used for model comparison. RESULT: A total of 539 diabetes patients were followed for a total of 28727.53 person-month observations. Overall, 65 (12.1%) patients developed diabetic foot ulcers with incidence rate of 2.26/1000-person month observation with a 95% CI of [1.77, 2.88]. Being rural (AHR = 2.30, 95%CI: [1.23, 4.29]), being a DM patient with Diabetic Neuropathy (AHR = 2.61, 95%CI: [1.12, 6.06]), and having peripheral arterial disease(PAD) (AHR = 2.96, 95%CI: [1.37, 6.40]) were significant predictors of DFU. The time-dependent lagged value of fasting blood sugar change was significantly associated to the incident of DFU (α = 1.85, AHR = 6.35, 95%CI [2.40, 16.79]). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: In this study, the incidence of DFU was higher than in previous studies and was influenced by multiple factors like rural residence, having neuropathy, and PAD were significant predictors of the incidence of DFU. In addition, longitudinal changes in fasting blood sugar were associated with an increased risk of DFU. Health professionals and DM patients should give greater attention to the identified risk factors for DFU were recommended.

Factors associated with adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management among adult patients evaluated at oncology unit, in the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.

Introduction: Cancer pain is one of the most important deleterious and distressing symptoms suffered by patients with cancer which disturb their quality of life, especially in the last part of their life. Alleviating pain is a primary goal of prognosis of cancer pain management and pain symptoms must be prevented, treated as a priority, and considered an independent part of cancer management. Despite the presence of guidelines for cancer pain management, many patients with cancer are still undertreated. Therefore, this study aimed to assess factors associated with adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management among adult patients evaluated at the oncology unit, in the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UoGCSH), Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2021. All patients who were in cancer treatment were our population of interest. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select a total of 384 participants. The dependent variable of the study was adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management. It was determined using the pain management index (PMI) which was calculated by subtracting the pain level from the analgesics level. A negative range was considered an indicator of poor adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% CI was used as a measure of association. Variables having P < 0.05 from the multivariable analysis were considered to have a significant association with the outcome. Results: The prevalence of poor adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management among 384 adult patients in this study was 21.35% (95%CI: 17.53, 25.76). Patients who were not married [AOR = 2.2; 95%CI: 1.15, 4.19], who know their diagnosis before 4 months ago [AOR = 0.53; 95%CI: 0.26, 0.96], who have metastasis cancer [AOR = 3.76; 95%CI: 1.83, 7.72], and being stage III patients [AOR = 3.21; 95%CI: 1.64, 7.93] and stage IV patients [AOR = 1.63; 95%CI: 1.09, 5.81], respectively, had a significant association with poor adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management. Conclusion: The prevalence of poor adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management among adult patients with cancer in UoGCSH Northwest Ethiopia is relatively low as compared with other studies. Factors such as patients who were not married and who have metastasis cancer, and being patients with stage III and stage IV cancer had a significant positive association with poor adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management, on the other hand, patients who know their diagnosis 4 months ago had a positive association with having adherence to guidelines in cancer pain management. Patients with high stage and metastasis need care from pain specialists early on in the diagnosis of pain. The hospital should reassure the diagnosis of cancer for the patient before they started the treatment.

Incidence and predictors of Tuberculosis among patients enrolled in Anti-Retroviral Therapy after universal test and treat program, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A retrospective follow -up study.

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading killer of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and almost one-third of deaths in the world are attributed to it and many of these deaths occur in developing countries. Despite these evidences, after the implementation of universal test and treat (UTT) strategy, information regarding the incidence and predictors of tuberculosis among PLHIV is limited in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence and predictors of tuberculosis among patients enrolled in Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) after universal test and treat program at St. Peter hospital and Zewditu Memorial Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: Institutional-based retrospective cohort study was conducted from November 1 to 30, 2020. Simple random sampling was used to select a total of 539 adults records which was enrolled on ART. Data was collected and entered into EPI DATA 3.1 and analyzed using STATA version 14.1. Time-to-event distributions were estimated using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Hazards across different categories were compared using log-rank tests. Predictors were identified using the Cox proportional hazards model. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed. Variables having P-value < 0.05 from the multivariable analysis were considered as a statistically significant. RESULT: Among 539 records reviewed, 529 (98%) were included in the final analysis. The total follow-up period was 1529 Person-Year (PY). The incidence rate in this cohort was found to be 4.84 per 100-person year (95%CI,3.83-6.11). CD4 count<200 (AHR: 3.14,95% CI:1.64-7.10), poor adherence (AHR:2.16, 95% CI:1.21-3.85), underweight (AHR:2.42, 95% CI: 1.30-4.51), not taking isoniazid prophylaxis therapy (AHR: 2.78,95% CI: 1.06-7.30), being bedridden 3.06; (AHR: 3.06, 95% CI: 1.50-6.24), and baseline WHO stage three or four (AHR:2.33, 95% CI:1.08-5.02) were independent predictors for the incidence of TB among HIV positive patients. CONCLUSION: In this study, the incidence of tuberculosis is relatively low as compared to studies done before the initiation of test and treat program in Ethiopia. low CD4count, poor level of adherence, low BMI, not taking IPT prophylaxis, bedridden functional status, and being on baseline WHO stage III or IV were found to increase the hazard of tuberculosis. Hence, close follow up, reminders, surveillance, and tracing mechanisms targeting this higher risk group would decrease Tuberculosis among PLHIV.

Hypertension and Its Associated Factors Among Cancer Patients at University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Hypertension is the most common comorbidities in adult cancer patients. Although hypertension is a leading cause of cancer-related death and disability, there is no evidence about its prevalence and associated factors among cancer patients in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of hypertension among cancer patients. Methods: Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among cancer patients from January to March 2021. A systematic random sampling technique was performed to select 403 study participants. To collect the data, structured interviewer-administered questionnaires were used. Both bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with hypertension. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and P-value of less than 0.05 were used to determine significant factors. Results: The final result was based on 384 cancer patients. In this study, the prevalence of hypertension among adult cancer patients was 36.2% [95% CI: (31.5, 41.2)]. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, age greater than 57 years [AOR = 5.0; 95% CI (1.7, 14.9)] and having a family history of hypertension [AOR 10.9; 95% CI (5.5, 21.6)] were found to be significantly associated with hypertension. Conclusion: The prevalence of hypertension among cancer patients was considerably high. Age >57 years and family history of hypertension were found to increase the odds of having hypertension among cancer patients. Therefore, it is important to emphasize cancer patients that are at high risk of hypertension and develop preventive strategies to decrease the burden of this disease. There is a need for routine screening for hypertension for those having a positive family history of hypertension and older age, as they have an increased likelihood of developing high blood pressure among cancer patients.

Effect of perinatal depression on birth and infant health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies from Africa.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal depression is associated with intrauterine growth retardation, preterm birth, and low birth weight. Infants born to mothers with postnatal depression also may suffer from malnutrition and other health problems. Even though there are few single studies conducted so far, a systematic review of these studies is highly important to highlight the effect of antenatal and perinatal depression on adverse birth and infant health outcomes in Africa. METHODS: We used the Preferred Report Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) when conducting this study. Databases like CINAHL (EBSCO), MEDLINE (via Ovid and PubMed), PsycINFO, Emcare, Psychiatry Online, and Scopus were searched. In addition, Google Scholar and references from a list of eligible studies were explored. We included good quality observational studies based on Newcastle Ottawa Scale which are published in the English language between 2007 and 2018.  Heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed. Meta-analysis with a random effect model was employed to determine the pooled effect sizes with a 95% confidence interval. The review protocol is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42018106714). RESULT: We found three studies (1511 participants) and 11 studies (22,254 participants) conducted on the effect of antenatal depression on birth outcomes and perinatal depression on adverse infant health outcomes, respectively. The overall risk of having adverse birth outcomes was 2.26 (95% CI: 1.43, 3.58) times higher among pregnant mothers with depression. The risk of preterm birth and low birth weight was 1.77 (95% CI: 1.03, 3.04) and 2.98 (95% CI: 1.60, 5.55) respectively. Similarly, the risk of having adverse infant health outcomes namely malnutrition and febrile illness was 1.61 (95% CI: 1.34, 1.95) times higher among mothers who had perinatal depression. CONCLUSIONS: We have found a significant association between antenatal depression and adverse birth outcomes, low birth weight and preterm birth. Similarly, a significant effect of perinatal depression on adverse infant health outcomes namely, malnutrition, and febrile illnesses was observed. The findings highlight that it is time to integrate mental health services with routine maternal health care services to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant morbidity.

Prevalence and associated factors of cancer pain among adult cancer patients evaluated at an oncology unit in the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, northwest Ethiopia.

Introduction: Globally, cancer is the second leading cause of death and was responsible for 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Worldwide, 2 million people experience pain every day, and cancer pain is one of the major neglected public health problems, especially in Ethiopia. Despite reporting the burden and risk factors of cancer pain as a principal importance, there are limited studies. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of cancer pain and its associated factors among adult patients evaluated at the oncology ward in the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 January to 31 March 2021. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select the total sample size of 384 patients. Data were collected using pretested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to identify the factors associated with cancer pain among patients with cancer. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% CI was computed to determine the level of significance. Results: A total of 384 study participants were involved, with a response rate of 97.5%. The proportion of cancer pain was found to be 59.9% (95% CI 54.8-64.8). The odds of cancer pain were escalated by anxiety (AOR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.02-6.19), patients with hematological cancer (AOR = 4.68, 95% CI 1.30-16.74), gastrointestinal cancer (AOR = 5.15, 95% CI 1.45-18.2), and stages III and IV (AOR = 14.3, 95% CI 3.20-63.7). Conclusion: The prevalence of cancer pain among adult patients with cancer in northwest Ethiopia is relatively high. Variables such as anxiety, types of cancer, and stage of cancer had a statistically significant association with cancer pain. Hence, to advance the management of pain, it is better to create more awareness regarding cancer-related pain and provide palliative care early on in the diagnosis of the disease.

Incidence and Predictors of Chronic Kidney Disease among Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Retrospective Follow-Up Study at a Tertiary Health-Care Setting of Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) and it is a major health burden worldwide. Despite the increasing trend of microvascular complications in developing countries, there is limited evidence on predictors of CKD among diabetic patients in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the incidence and predictors of CKD among DM patients. METHODS: A retrospective follow-up study was conducted among type 1 and type 2 DM patients in Southwest Ethiopia. A total of 437 newly-diagnosed diabetes patients were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data were extracted from patients' medical records. Cox proportional hazard model was fitted and a 95% confidence interval was used to select significant variables. RESULTS: Overall, 15.56% of patients developed CKD, with an incidence rate of 2.29 per 1,000 person-month (PM) (95% CI=1.79-2.93). Female sex (AHR=0.51, 95% CI=0.27-0.94) was found to be a protective factor of CKD, while positive proteinuria (AHR=2.85, 95% CI=1.48-5.55), having hypertension (HTN) (AHR=2.31, 95% CI=1.03-5.56), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) <40 mg/dL (AHR=3.19, 95% CI=1.73-5.98) were significant predictors of CKD. CONCLUSION: CKD among DM patients continues to be a significant public health problem in health-care settings of Ethiopia. The current study found being female was protective, while positive proteinuria, HTN, and HDL-C <40 mg/dL were risk factors for CKD. We recommend health professionals to give more attention to DM patients with the identified risk factors.

Incidence and Predictors of Cardiovascular Disease among Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in a Tertiary Health Care Setting of Ethiopia: 8-Year Retrospective Follow-Up Study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death and disability among people with diabetes in the world and it is proving to be a major barrier to sustainable human development. Despite CVD continuing to devastate human survival, few studies in Ethiopia have focused on its prevalence which alone are insufficient to assess the risk of incident cardiovascular events. Therefore, we determined the incidence and predictors of cardiovascular disease among diabetic patients in a selected tertiary healthcare setting of Ethiopia. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study using secondary data was conducted on 399 randomly selected diabetes patients. Data were entered using Epi-Data and analyzed using Stata version 14. Multivariable Weibull proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of CVDs (namely, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD)) at 5% level of significance. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 5.9 years, the overall incidence rate of CVD per 100 person-years (PY) was 2.71 (95% CI=16.9-17.6). The multivariable Weibull proportional hazard regression analysis showed a significant association of chronic kidney disease (CKD); (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) [95% CI]=2.53 [1.36-4.72]), systolic blood pressure (SBP)≥140; (AHR [95% CI]=4.30 [2.12-8.73]) and triglyceride (TG)≥200 mg/dL; (AHR [95% CI[=5.10 [2.02-12.89]) with risk of incident CVD. CONCLUSION: CVD is a public health problem among diabetic patients in Ethiopia. SBP≥140, chronic kidney disease, and high triglyceride were independent predictors of new CVD among diabetic patients. These findings emphasize the need of attention for CVD patients with CKD and hypertension (HTN) comorbidities and a longer follow-up period using a prospective study design to determine the long-term effects of predictors of CVD among diabetic patients.