Associated Biochemical and Hematological Markers in COVID-19 Severity Prediction.

Background: The global threat of COVID-19 has created the need for researchers to investigate the disease's progression, especially through the use of biomarkers to inform interventions. This study aims to assess the correlations of laboratory parameters to determine the severity of COVID-19 infection. Methods: This study was conducted among 191 COVID-19 patients in Sumeru Hospital, Lalitpur, Nepal. According to their clinical outcomes, these patients were divided into severe and nonsevere groups. Inflammatory markers such as LDH, D-dimer, CRP, ferritin, complete blood cell count, liver function tests, and renal function tests were performed. Binary logistic regression analysis determined relative risk factors associated with severe COVID-19. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated with ROC curves to assess the potential predictive value of risk factors. Results: Out of 191 patients, 38 (19.8%) subjects died due to COVID-19 complications, while 156 (81.7%) survived and were discharged from hospital. The COVID-19 severity was found in patients with older age and comorbidities such as CKD, HTN, DM, COPD, and pneumonia. Parameters such as d-dimer, CRP, LDH, SGPT, neutrophil, lymphocyte count, and LMR were significant independent risk factors for the severity of the disease. The AUC was highest for d-dimer (AUC = 0.874) with a sensitivity of 82.2% and specificity of 81.2%. Similarly, the cut-off values for other factors were age >54.5 years, D-dimer >0.91 ng/ml, CRP >82.4 mg/dl, neutrophil >78.5%, LDH >600 U/L, and SGPT >35.5 U/L, respectively. Conclusion: Endorsement of biochemical and hematological parameters with their cut-off values also aids in predicting COVID-19 severity. The biomarkers such as D-dimer, CRP levels, LDH, ALT, and neutrophil count could be used to predict disease severity. So, timely analysis of these markers might allow early prediction of disease progression.

Gender Difference in Food Choice and Eating Practice and Their Association with Health among Students of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Background: Our eating practice is generally based on the food we choose to eat. The selection of unhealthy food, high cost of healthy food items, and easy availability of fast food may have negative impact on our health and eating behaviour. This study aims to access the gender difference in food choice and eating practice and their association with health among students in Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 385 randomly selected undergraduate BBA (Bachelor in Business Administration) students of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu by using semistructured self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characters, health status, behaviour factors, eating practice, and food choice which were measured using Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). The data was analysed in SPSS. Frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were calculated, and chi-square test and logistic regression were used to measure the association between two variables. Results: The study is comprised of 50.4% female and 49.6% male with mean ages of 20.04 and 20.75, respectively. A gender difference was observed in food choice but no gender difference was observed in eating practice. There was no significant association of food choice and eating practice with health. However, food choice and eating practice showed an association with the current living status of the respondents. Sensory appeal and health were the most important food choice motives among males and females, respectively. Conclusion: The study concluded that no gender difference was observed in food choice. However, gender difference was observed in eating practice. There was no association of food choice and eating practice with health.

Linkages between stress and stress coping strategies among Nepalese during COVID-19 lockdown: A nationwide cross- sectional study.

Aim: With the increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19, the universities and colleges have been shut down posing uncertainty and unpredictability contributing to stress and increased morbidity of mental problems. Students are restricted from regular academic involvement, social interaction and are confined at home to reduce the transmission of the virus which in turn tends to provoke stressors and coping strategies. We aimed to assess the linkage between stress and coping strategies among youth students during COVID-19 lockdown. Subject and methods: Web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 2520 university-level students of Nepal. Standard tools like Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Stress Coping Resources Inventory (SCRI) were used for collecting information. The final data was analyzed with the help of R-studio (version 1.2.5033). Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics (polytomous logistic regression) were computed to find out the linkages between stress and stress coping strategies. Results: The results show that students less than 23 years old, females, and living without parents were found to be more likely to have moderate to high levels of stress. The higher the stress level, the lesser was the possibility of practicing stress coping strategies. Active coping was the most preferred coping strategy while social ease was the least preferred. Conclusions: To conclude, Active coping was the most preferred coping strategy involving active information seeking, readiness to take charge of the disease-related situation along with the realization that such event is a result of chance while social ease was the least preferred strategy which suggests that the students prefer to seek help from their friends or relatives.

Sleep Quality and Its Correlates among Adolescents of Western Nepal: A Population-Based Study.

Sleep quality has a long-term impact on health leading to depression among adolescent students. We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of sleep quality and its associated factors among adolescents of western, Nepal. 514 adolescents from different schools were selected by the probability proportionate to size (PPS) method. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess the sleep quality among adolescents. The collected data were entered in EpiData 3.2 version, then extracted to excel 2019 and was analyzed with the help of RStudio (version 1.2.5033). Frequency distribution and percentage were identified as descriptive analysis whereas chi-square test was done. Variables that were found statistically significant (P < 0.05) were further analyzed using the logistic regression model. The prevalence of sleep quality in this study was 39.1%. In a bivariate analysis, ethnicity, religion, place of residence, drinking status of father, reason for selecting the currently studying faculty, satisfaction with academic performance, use of tobacco, relationship with friends or classmates, more use of internet per day, and use of internet before falling asleep were found to be statistically significant with sleep quality. Those students who left their home without informing their parents were more than three times at the risk of sleep quality than those students who never ran away from their home without informing their parents (AOR = 3.435, CI: 1.237-9.540). The overall prevalence of sleep quality among school going adolescent students was 39.1 percent which was comparatively high.

Linkage of Depression with Elder Abuse among Institutionalized Older Persons in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: To identify the association between elderly abuse and depression among elderly living in old age homes of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 5 old age homes of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The Geriatric Mistreatment Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale were used to collect information from 220 elderly aged 65 or above, and face-to-face interviews were conducted. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the association between elderly abuse and geriatric depression. RESULTS: Among the different types of abuse analyzed, the multivariate analysis showed that neglect (AOR = 2.995; CI: 1.249-7.181) and economical abuse (AOR = 4.728, CI: 1.836-12.173) were significantly associated with increased risk of geriatric depression. Furthermore, the study identified that future saving and absence of chronic disease significantly reduced the risk of psychological abuse, neglect, and geriatric depression. CONCLUSIONS: Neglect and economical abuse are a predictor of geriatric depression. Efforts should be directed to increase awareness about the different forms of abuse among the primary caregivers of the elderly. Counseling services and support programs should be introduced in old age homes to address the high burden of geriatric depression.

Depression among Adolescents of Rural Nepal: A Community-Based Study.

This community-based study is aimed at finding out the prevalence of depression, and its correlates among adolescents of rural Nepal. Data were collected among adolescents after multistage stratified proportionate random sampling by using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess the depression among adolescent. Chi-square test and logistic regression model were applied. The prevalence of depression was found to be 27%. Adolescents who were not satisfied with their academic performance were 2.4 times more likely to have the risk of depression (AOR = 2.417, CI: 1.097-5.326). Likewise, tobacco users were almost fourteen times (AOR = 13.858, CI: 2.090-91.90), who intended to harm themselves were two times (AOR = 2.323, CI: 1.078-5.005), sleep deprivation were fifteen folds (AOR = 14.911, CI: 7.376-30.145), often scolded by their parents was almost three times (AOR = 2.931, CI: 1.195-7.436), and having poor relationship with friends were 2.4 times more likely (AOR = 2.371, CI: 1.078-5.215) of having depression. Sleep deprivation has a long-term negative impact on health leading depression.

Knowledge and Understanding of Personal Protective Equipment Use among Laborer Population of the Nepalese Workforce.

The constructing laborers are mainly unskilled, untrained, migrant, socially backward, and uneducated with low bargaining power. Thus, we assessed the knowledge and prevalence on occupational safety and health (OSH) of laborers working at private constructing sites. A descriptive cross-sectional study of 229 laborers working at private constructing sites selected by 30 cluster sampling methods from the Lalitpur metropolitan city and Mahalaxmi municipality was conducted using a structured questionnaire and observation checklist. EpiData and SPSS were used for data analysis. Most of the laborers (62%) had inadequate knowledge on OSH. The level of knowledge was significantly associated with sex, education, and family type at 95% CI (p value < 0.05). The prevalence of occupational accidents within a year was 19.7% and was significantly associated with the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at 95% CI (p value < 0.05). About one-fifth of the participants had occupational accidents within a year because of the inadequate knowledge of OSH.