Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among auto rickshaw drivers of East Delhi: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Recent industrialisation and urbanisation and introduction of vehicles running on fossil fuels have led to an increase in pollution especially in major cities. This has given rise to various diseases like acute and chronic diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Cardiovascular Diseases, Cerebrovascular Diseases and so on leading to significant mortality and morbidity. Auto rickshaw drivers are subjected to the environmental pollutants and their ill effects. Objectives: Current study was done with the objective of finding the prevalence of COPD among them. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in 2019 in Kalyanpuri circle of East Delhi in 409 auto rickshaw drivers in a total of ten Three-Seater Rickshaw (TSR) stands which were chosen by simple random sampling. Consecutive auto rickshaw drivers were chosen from each stand. Data was collected using a questionnaire, and spirometry was conducted using a handheld portable spirometer with adjusted values as per S K Chhabra's formula for Indian Males. Data analysis was done on SPSS by applying chi-square tests. Results: Mean age of study subjects was 39±7.54 years (Age group 22 to 59 years). The prevalence of COPD was found to be 13.7% based on spirometry as per GOLD criteria. Statistically significant association was found with the age of the study subjects and hour years of driving. No significant association found with the smoking status. Conclusion: The prevalence of COPD was found to be higher among the study subjects. Since they belong to unorganized sector, relevant policies are required for promoting the health status among them.

Diet and Dialogue Skills: An Innovative Approach to Diet Demonstration by Medical Students of Lady Hardinge Medical College.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition' is a very essential component of undergraduate teaching in MBBS curriculum. In this age of growing diet-consciousness and fitness, skill development of medical graduates in designing healthy and culturally appropriate diet is imperative. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the effectiveness of Diet Demonstration Training technique in improving the knowledge about basic principles of nutrition in medical undergraduates. METHODOLOGY: A pilot pretest-posttest study was conducted among 16 undergraduate medical students participated in a pre-conference workshop. Steps of diet demonstration for Under-graduate students were performed and a pretest - posttest was conducted using a self designed self administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean marks received by the students were 8.69 & 10.31 out of 15 in the pretest & post-test respectively (p value <0.017). Overall 56.3% & 93.6% students performed well in pre-test and post-test respectively. CONCLUSION: There was significant improvement in nutrition education of participated undergraduates.

Prevalence and risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth infections in school age children (6-14 years) - A cross-sectional study in an urban resettlement colony of Delhi.

BACKGROUND: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections have adverse physical and mental effect, especially in preschool (3-6 years) and school-age children (6-14 years). They are associated with socio-behavioral factors of poverty and poor personal and community hygiene. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence, intensity, and the type of helminths infection harbored by the school age children (6-14 years) and to examine the relationship between STH infection and their potential risk factors and associated variables. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2016 among 250 school age children residing in an urban resettlement colony of East Delhi. Data were collected using a semistructured interview schedule. Stool sample was tested using the Kato Katz technique. Data were analyzed in SPSS software version 16, and multivariable regression analysis was done to calculate the odds of various risk factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of STH was found to be 54.8%, and majority (85.3%) of Ascaris and all Trichuris infections were of light intensity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis confirmed that children having poor handwashing behavior in school, irregular handwashing before eating, having pica, and lack of de-worming had higher odds of having STH infection. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of STH in the study area is substantially high, and the findings suggest that besides mass de-worming strategy, behavior change, and improvement in hygiene are required to control STH.

Wealth index and maternal health care: Revisiting NFHS-3.

The third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) is a large dataset on indicators of family welfare, maternal and child health, and nutrition in India. This article using NFHS-3 data is an attempt to bring out the impact of economic status, i.e., the wealth index on maternal health. The study was based on an analysis of the NFHS-3 data. Independent variables taken were the wealth index, literacy, and age at first child birth. Effects of these variables on the maternal health care services were investigated. Out of the total 124,385 women aged 15-49 years included in the NFHS-3 dataset, 36,850 (29.6%) had one or more childbirth during the past 5 years. The number of antenatal care (ANC) visits increased as the wealth index increased and there was a pattern for choice of place of delivery (for all deliveries during the last 5 years) according to the wealth index. Logistic regression analysis of the abovementioned variables were sought to find out the independent role of key determinants of the different aspects of maternal health care. It showed that the wealth index is the leading key independent determinant for three or more ANC received: Tetanus toxoid (TT) received before delivery, iron tablet/syrup taken for more than 100 days, and institutional delivery. Mother's literacy was the leading independent key determinant for early antenatal registration. The study suggested that along with the mother's literacy, the wealth index that is an important predictor of maternal health care can be added for categorization of the districts for providing differential approach for maternal health care services.

Designing new growth charts for low-birth weight babies: need of the hour in India.

Literature reveals theories explaining low birth weight (LBW) babies' unplanned catch-up growth is related to several non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adult-life. Is the current growth chart as per World Health Organization child growth standards of healthy breast feed infants and young child is applicable for even LBW or small for gestational age babies? There are high chances that these LBW babies who are growing "in their centiles" will be diagnosed as mild or moderate protein energy malnutrition (PEM) in clinical settings as the current diagnostic criteria for PEM do not include birth weight as an indicator. Besides they are encouraged for home based extra caloric food to gain weight and thereby encouraging them to "crossing the percentile" in the growth curve. Do these managements really benefit the baby or are we inadvertently exposing them to increased future risk of adult diseases must be considered seriously. Thus, we may require revision to make a separate standardized growth chart for LBW babies indicating how they should grow.