Premenstrual dysphoric disorder and associated factors among university graduating class female students in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a somatopsychic condition that develops about a week before the start of menstruation and is brought on by fluctuating sex steroid levels that follow an ovulatory menstrual cycle. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and associated factors among Haramaya University graduating class female students, in eastern Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 to 30 November 2022 among Haramaya University graduating class female students using a simple random sampling technique. The data were cleaned, coded, and entered into the Epi-data 3.01 before being exported and analyzed with Statistical Package of Social Science 20 versions. The premenstrual dysphoric disorder was assessed by the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision. To identify associated factors a bivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between each independent variable and the outcome variable. The multivariable logistic regression model includes all variables with a p-value of less than 0.25 in the bivariate logistic regression analysis. The adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was computed when the p-value was less than 0.05, which was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 282 samples, 274 study participants were involved providing a response rate of 97.2%. The prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorders was 64.6% (95% CI: 59.5-70.4). Participants with the irregular menstrual cycle (AOR = 2.24; 95% CI: 1.26-4.34), heavy menstrual flow (AOR = 2.53; 95% CI: 1.84-7.59), moderate menstrual flow (AOR = 2.29; 95% CI: 1.02-5.26), severe menstrual pain (AOR = 5.69; 95% CI: 1.86-7.42) and those who have depressive symptoms (AOR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.08-5.68) were variables associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorders. Conclusion: The prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder was relatively high. Severe menstrual pain, menstrual irregularity, heavy menstrual flow, and a history of depression had significant associations with premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It will be better if higher institution administrators design and implement methods to screen and intervene premenstrual dysphoric disorder among female students.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and its associated factors among war-affected residents in Woldia town, North East Ethiopia, 2022; community based cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic stress disorder is marked by increased stress and anxiety following exposure to a traumatic or stressful event. Events of conflict and war-related traumas were commonly reported situations and people who have undergone through have a higher tendency to develop PTSD Woldia town had been under a serious military surge and a five-month encroachment, so the expected destruction in property, impact on physical, social and mental health of civilians was potentially high. More importantly, there is no study that investigated the significance of association between war-related traumatic events and post-traumatic stress disorder in the area. so this study aims to assess prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and its associated factors among war-affected residents in Woldia town, North East Ethiopia, 2022. METHOD: A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed by using a multi-stage systematic random sampling technique from May-15 to June-15/2022. A total of 609 participants were enrolled. PTSD was measured by the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Data were entered by Epi data version 4.6.0.2 and analyzed using STATA version 14. Bivariable and Multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to identify associated factors to PTSD and P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of PTSD was 56.28%. Destruction/looting of property (AOR = 1.6,95%CI,1.11-2.47), murder/injury of family member (AOR = 2.1,95% CI,1.37-3.22), witness of murder of family member/others (AOR = 1.6,95% CI,1.01-2.71), unlawful imprisonment (AOR = 1.7, 95%CI, 1.06-2.74), depression (AOR = 2, 95%CI, 1.37-2.93), anxiety (AOR = 3.3, 95%CI,2.26-4.97), experience trauma on themselves (AOR = 2.0,95%CI,1.22-3.58), poor (AOR = 3.1,95%CI,1.60-6.04) and moderate (AOR = 3.0, 95%CI, 1.56-5.87) social support were statistically associated with PTSD at a p-value < 0.05. CONCLUSION: The study reveals that the prevalence of PTSD was high in Woldia town following an armed conflict between Federal Government and Tigray forces. Destruction/looting of property, murder/injury of family, witness murder of family/others, unlawful imprisonment, depression, anxiety, experience on themselves, poor and moderate social support were statistically associated with PTSD. Hence, encourage organization working on mental health, routine patient assessment with a history of trauma, facilitating means to support affected residents is recommended.

Khat chewing and associated factors among public secondary school students in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: Khat is a huge, evergreen tree that grows at high altitudes throughout the Arabian Peninsula and in the region stretching from eastern to southern Africa. Cathinone, cathine, and norephedrine are psychoactive ingredients contained in khat. Ethiopian teenagers, especially those in secondary school, frequently use khat. This use of khat may lead to students frequently missing class and experiencing subpar academic performance. However, the study area lacks information regarding the prevalence of khat use and the factors associated with it. Objective: This study's primary goal is to determine the prevalence of khat chewing and related factors among secondary school students in public schools in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia, in 2022. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study design was employed from June 01-June 30, 2022, in three public secondary schools in Harar town in a sample of 485 students. Systematic random sampling was used to choose the study sample. Data were gathered using self-administered questionnaires, and the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was used to assess khat chewing. Epidata version 4.6 was used to enter the data, while STATA version 14 was used to analyze them. To determine the factors related to khat chewing, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted, and statistical significance was determined at a 95% confidence level with a P-value under 0.05. Results: Out of 485 eligible participants, 455 responded to this survey, giving a response rate of 93.8%. Overall, 33.2% (95% CI: 29.2%-37.6%) of the sample's participants reported currently chewing khat. Age ranged from 20 to 25 years (AOR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.19-3.48), male students (AOR = 7.03; 95% CI: 4.35-12.57), current alcohol user (AOR 6.48; 95% CI: 2.30-18.28), presence of chewer friends (AOR 3.86; 95% CI: 2.38-6.24), and depression (AOR 1.84, 95%CI: 1.02-3.30), were strongly associated with khat chewing at a p-value of < 0.05. Conclusion: Khat chewing was very common among students in Eastern Ethiopia's public secondary schools. Ages between 20 and 25 years, being a male, being current alcohol users, having chewer buddies, and depression are all significantly linked to khat use. Thus, schools should create and implement audience-specific behavioral change communication to deter and stop students from chewing khat. Additionally, it is important to ban the sale of khat to young adults and adolescents, promote medical care for khat users, and foster peer advocacy for support services.

Prevalence of depressive symptoms and their associated factors among older adults in Yirgalem town, Southern Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Depression is a serious mental health issue and the largest contributor to disability worldwide. Elderly people with depression are significantly more likely to experience negative outcomes such as poor physical health, strained social relationships, and decreased quality of life. Studies on geriatric depression are limited in developing nations like Ethiopia. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among older adults in Yirgalem, Southern Ethiopia, in 2022. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 628 older adults in Yirgalem town from May 15 to June 15, 2022. The study subjects were selected using a multi-stage systematic sampling technique. Data were collected using the 15-item Geriatric depression scale through face-to-face interviews. The collected data were edited, cleaned, coded, and entered into Epi data version 4.6 software and analyzed using STATA version 14. Bivariable and multivariate logistic regression analysis was computed to identify factors associated with depression, and statistical significance was declared at a 95% confidence interval with a P-value less than 0.05. Results: A total of 620 older adults were included in the study, with a response rate of 97.8%. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among older adults was 51.77% (95% CI: 47.83-55.69). Being a woman (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.56-3141); being of more advanced age: 70-79 years old (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.20-3.07), 80-89 years old (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.27-3.65), 90 and older (AOR = 3.77, 95% CI: 1.95-7.79); living alone (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.17-3.41); having a chronic illness (AOR = 3.24, 95% CI: 1.06-4.46); having anxiety (AOR = 3.40; 95% CI: 2.25-5.14); and having poor social support (AOR = 3.56, 95% CI: 2.09-6.04) were statistically associated with depressive symptoms at a P-value of less than 0.05. Conclusion: This study found that depression affects more than half of the elderly residents in the study area. More advanced age, being a woman, living alone, having a chronic illness, having anxiety, and having poor social support were all strongly linked to depression. There is a need to integrate counseling and psychiatric services into the community healthcare system.

The Prevalence of Visual Acuity Impairment among School Children at Arada Subcity Primary Schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Visual impairment and blindness are major public health problems in developing countries where there is no enough health-care service. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of visual impairment among school children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted between 15 June 2015 and 30 November 2015 at Arada subcity primary schools, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Two schools were selected randomly, and 378 students were screened from grades 1 to 8 using systematic random sampling method. Snellen chart was used for visual acuity test. Students who had visual acuity of ≤6/12 were further examined by an ophthalmologist to diagnose the reason for low vision. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: A total of 378 students were screened, and 192 (50.8%) were females and the remaining 186 (49.2%) were males. The prevalence of visual impairment (VA) of ≤6/12 on either eye was 5.8%, VA < 6/18 on either eye was 1.1%, and VA < 6/18 on the better eye was 0.53%. In this study, color blindness [OR: 19.65, 95% CI (6.01-64.33)] was significantly associated with visual acuity impairment. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of visual impairment among school children in the study area was 5.8% and school screening is recommended.