Centres of Excellence for Adolescent Health and Development: A Case Study from Uttar Pradesh, India.

Adolescents and young adult comprise a significant proportion of India's population. Although, this group of the population faces serious challenges to their health and well-being. To promote their health and well-being, Centre of Excellence (CoE) at King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India, serves as an advanced care facility for 10-24-year-old adolescents and young adult women. This paper reports the socio-demographic characteristics of, and health services availed to adolescents and young adults who are visiting the CoE in Lucknow, India. A total of 6038 beneficiaries received clinical services during June 2018-March 2022. Out of total clinical services, 38.37% counselling and 37.53% referral services were utilised. Menstruation (46.29%), sexual and reproductive (28.19%), nutrition (5.91%), and mental health (1.67%) related problems were highly reported. The age of beneficiaries is classified into three categories, i.e., 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24 years. Prevalence of overweight was highest among adolescents aged 20-24 years compared to other age groups. Other than nutrition, late-adolescent girls (15-19) faced more health problems than their counterparts. The percentage of beneficiaries decreased significantly during and post the COVID-19 period (<0.001). Therefore, age-specific programs are currently needed, and interventions need to be designed accordingly.

Association of minimum dietary diversity with anaemia among 6-59 months' children from rural India: An evidence from a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Anaemia is one of the micronutrient deficiency disorders that have global public health implications. The present study aims to determine the association of minimum dietary diversity (MDD) with anaemia among children aged 6-59 months in rural North India. Methods: In Rohtak (a north Indian city), a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2018-19 (n = 266). Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed. The Chi-square test was used for assessing the significance level during bivariate analysis. Further, multivariable regression analysis was used for determining the factors for anaemia prevalence among children aged 6-59 months. Results: About 62.4% (n = 166) of the children aged 6-59 months were found to have anaemia in the study area. The prevalence of MDD was 35.3% (n = 94). It was found that children with no MDD have a higher prevalence of moderate (42% vs. 25.5%; P < 0.001) and severe (12.8% vs. 8.5%; P < 0.001) anaemia. It was revealed that the children with no MDD had a significantly higher likelihood of being anaemic than children with MDD in model-1 [aOR: 2.09; CI: 1.23, 3.55] and model-3 [aOR: 1.70; CI: 1.01, 3.01]. Children with mothers who never attended school had significantly higher odds for anaemia in reference to those children whose mothers ever attended school in model-2 [aOR: 3.62; CI: 2.07,6.34] and model-3 [aOR: 3.00; CI: 1.62,5.56]. Conclusion: Measures to alleviate under-five anaemia should include empowering and educating women, expanding access to supplementation, fortification programmes, and promoting and raising awareness about feeding diverse foods, while also considering the socioeconomic status.

Adiposity markers and its association with age at menarche: A comparative study among rural and urban Meitei females of Manipur, North-East India.

BACKGROUND: Menarche is a critical biomarker in the reproductive life of females. Early age at menarche may represent an indicator of adult adiposity. The study examines the association of various adiposity markers with age at menarche in rural and urban Meitei females of Manipur, India. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among rural and urban Meitei females of Manipur of age 18-45 years. Detailed information of the participants was taken with the help of proforma. Various anthropometric and physiological measurements were also recorded. RESULTS: Mean age at menarche was 12.5 years for urban females and 13.1 years for rural females. Females of urban and rural areas under overweight category of BMI had higher odds of attaining early menarche. Odds of having early menarche were found to be highest among those with risk category of waist hip ratio, waist height ratio and waist circumference in both rural and urban females. CONCLUSION: Females with higher body mass index, high waist-to-hip ratio and waist height ratio were found to be at risk of early menarche.

Hypertension and its correlate with general and central adiposity: A study among urban population of Delhi.

AIM: Study aims to assess the association of various adiposity markers with blood pressure levels. STUDY DESIGN: The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted in Delhi. A total of 568 (males- 250, females- 318) participants aged 20-55 years were enrolled for the study. RESULT: Mean height (167.35 ±â€¯7.59) and weight (73.76 ±â€¯15.08) was found to be significantly higher in males. Mean values of minimum waist circumference (183.80 ±â€¯12.24), maximum hip circumference (100.90 ±â€¯12.811), body mass index (27.93 ±â€¯5.76), and conicity index (1.25 ±â€¯0.12) were found to be significantly higher in females. Correlation showed significant positive associations of body mass index (p < 0.01) and waist circumference (p < 0.01) with blood pressure in both males and females. Odds ratios showed strong association of hypertension (both SBP and DBP) with adiposity indices as measured by body mass index, waist circumference and conicity index. CONCLUSION: Adiposity markers such as BMI, WC and CI could be effective predictors of hypertension.