A proposed methodology of health education for inherited genetic disorders: Bag and Ball technique.

The life-threatening genetic blood disorder, thalassaemia, which causes decreased haemoglobin production, is preventable. Sociocultural determinants and the level of public health awareness must be used to adopt control measures of prevention. Identifying information gaps and educating the community about screening should be a priority, especially in areas with high disease burdens. A relevant health education technique, with which the audience can identify, can effectively bring understanding necessary effectively to sensitise the community. We propose the 'Bag and Ball' method, which includes role-play for health education specifically concerning inherited genetic disorders.

Prevalence of risk factors and estimation of 10-year risk for cardiovascular diseases among male adult population of Tamil Nadu India-an insight from the National Family Health Survey-5.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the most addressed preventable diseases of public health importance. However, the risk estimates and use of these risk scores for CVD prevention are the least explored areas. So, in this study, we explored the different categories of Framingham heart study (FHS) 10-year-CVD risk score and their associated factors among the adult male population in Tamil Nadu, India. METHODS: We used the risk factor level data for male adults aged 18 years and above from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) of Tamil Nadu state, India. Sociodemographic variables, behavioral factors, and physiological/biochemical factors were considered as the risk factor and were estimated using the world health organization (WHO) STEPS categories. FHS 10-year-CVD risk score was calculated using a body-mass index-based published Cox regression equation. RESULTS: Out of 2289 adult males, only 1.12% of the participants had a 10-year CVD risk score greater than 30% and ∼4% of the total participants require statin treatment (FRS-CVD risk score ≥20). Educational status (aOR:14.21, 95 CI: 4.36-46.22- no formal schooling when compared to 10th and above standard), weekly fruit intake (aOR:0.51, 95 CI: 0.27-0.97 when compared to daily fruit intake) and abdominal obesity (aOR:2.43, 95 CI: 1.58-3.74) were found to be associated with higher FRS scores when adjusted for all other factors not involved in FRS calculation. CONCLUSION: Widespread use of this score needs to be encouraged in clinical practices and patients with a higher risk of CVD events should be counselled for lifestyle modifications and compliance with treatment for decreasing the burden due to CVDs.

Recalibration of the Framingham risk score for predicting 10-year risk of cardiovascular events: A non-concurrent rural cohort study from Tamil Nadu.

OBJECTIVE: To recalibrate the Framingham Risk Score-cardiovascular diseases (FRS-CVD) using 10-year mortality data and baseline risk factor data for a rural cohort and assess the effect of recalibration on proportion categorised as high risk. METHODS: Participants of a cardiovascular risk factor survey aged 30-64 years in 2011-12, from 9 villages of a rural block in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, were followed up for mortality till 2021, as part of an established demographic surveillance system. We calculated both lipid-based and Body Mass Index-based FRS-CVD risk scores, as well as recalibrated scores using risk factor data from the baseline survey and CVD mortality observed over 10 years. RESULTS: Based on original lipid-based FRS-CVD scores, 8.48% (109) of 1285 males had a 10-year CVD risk ≥30%, compared to 11.60% (149) with recalibrated scores. Among 1737 females, 1.50% (26) had a 10-year CVD risk of ≥30%, using original FRS-CVD scores, and 3.22% (56) using recalibrated scores. Similarly, for BMI based FRS-CVD scores, overall, 3.63% (110/3028) had a 10-year risk of ≥30%, compared to 6.64% (201) using recalibrated scores. The median 10-year FRS-CVD original score in males was 7.57 (IQR: 3.67-15.83), and 2.53 (IQR: 1.28-5.32) in females, compared to 8.95 (IQR: 4.35-18.52) and 3.79 (IQR: 1.92-7.93) respectively, for the recalibrated FRS-CVD risk scores. CONCLUSION: The recalibrated Framingham models showed a greater proportion of the population at risk of CVDs compared to the original FRS scores, with males having 2-3 times greater CVD risk scores compared to females.