Factors And Determinants Associated With Prevalence Of Anaemia In Adults In Karachi, Pakistan.

Objectives: To assess the demographic and dietary factors associated with the prevalence of anaemia in multi-ethnic urban settings. METHODS: The cross-sectional community-based survey study was conducted from August 2020 to May 2021 in Karachi East district, and comprised healthy adults of either gender aged 20-60 years. Data was collected using a pretested questionnaire. Besides, 4ml sample of whole blood was taken from each participant for haematological analysis. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. RESULTS: Of the 416 subjects, 269(64.7%) were males and 147(35.3%) were females, while 334(80.3%) were aged <30 years and 82(19.7%) were aged >30 years. Anaemia was found in 92(22.1%) subjects. Female gender, lower and middle socioeconomic class, nuclear family type, habit of meal-skipping, and infrequent consumption of sweets and milk were all linked to anaemia (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Less than a quarter of the sample was found to be anaemic. Steps should be taken to address the identified causes of anaemia.

Prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females: A cross sectional study from Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females. METHODS: The survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools of the Kotri Taulka of Jamshoro District in Sindh, Pakistan, from October to December 2019, and comprised healthy female adolescents aged 10-19 years. Data about demographic and anthropometric factors was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. RESULTS: There were 393 subjects with mean age 14.93±2.18 years, mean weight 45.9±8.85kg, and mean height 151.6±6.25cm. The prevalence of stunting and thinness was 127(32.31%) and 42(10.68%) respectively. Stunting was more frequent in participants with father's income ≤15000 Pak rupees (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The increased prevalence of stunting and thinness in adolescent females needs to be addressed by the policymakers.

Prevalence of malnutrition in children under five years' age in District Tharparkar Sindh, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of malnutrition in children aged <5 years, and find out the risk factors associated with malnutrition in a rural setting. METHODS: The survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2017 to March 2018 in four Tehsils of district Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan, and comprised children of either gender aged <5 years who were randomly selected and assessed for weight and height using the World Health Organisation Anthro-2007 tool to obtain Z-score. Data was analysed using SPPS Version 18. RESULTS: Of the 597 subjects, 299(50.1%) were girls and 298(49.9%) were boys. Overall, 219(36.7%) were aged 12-23 months and 63(10.5%) were aged 48-59 months. Stunting was found in 485(81.1%) subjects, wasting 112(18.2%) and 342(57.3%) were underweight. The causes of malnutrition included age 6-11 months, number of siblings, monthly income <6000 rupees and duration of breast feeding <12 months (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Higher prevalence of malnutrition was found in children aged <5 years in district Tharparkar.

Effects of dietary factors on iron status and body mass index in students.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the correlation of dietary factors with haemoglobin concentration and body mass index. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Shaheed Benazirabad district of the Sindh province in Pakistan from September 2015 to April 2016, and comprised students randomly selected from government schools. Data concerning dietary intake, such as meat, milk, egg and fruits, was noted. Baseline data was compared with haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: There were 1686 subjects aged 11-18 years; 946(56%) boys and 740(44%) girls. Dietary factors, such as meat, egg and fruits, showed significant association with haemoglobin, serum ferritin levels as well as with Body Mass Index and monthly household income (p<0.05). However, milk consumption had non-significant association with haemoglobin (9p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Iron status in blood was found to be significantly affected by dietary intake, such as meat, milk, fruits and eggs.

Effect of Body Mass Index on respiratory parameters: A cross-sectional analytical Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess association of Body mass index (BMI) on respiratory parameters by performing spirometry in apparently healthy adults living in the district Jamshoro and Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted at Department of Physiology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro, Pakistan from January to September 2015. A total of 180 underweight, normal, overweight and obese participants, aged between 18 to 40 years were included in the study. BMI was calculated by measuring weight and height by BMI scale (RGZ-160) in standing position. Pulmonary parameters were determined by spirometry on Power lab (AD instruments). Pulmonary parameters were compared between subjects in different categories of BMI. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 21.83±5.88 years and the mean BMI was 25.10±6.55 kg/m2. The study results revealed that except for FVC, which was not statistically significant (p=0.45) all other respiratory parameters were significantly different (p≤0.05) in all BMI categories. Mean FEV1/FVC ratio (93.1 vs. 90.3, 86.4 and 86.6 respectively) was highest among underweight as compared to overweight, obese and normal weight individuals. The mean VT was 1.22 vs. 0.90, 1.01 and 0.84 respectively, IRV was 1.04 vs. 1.18, 1.23 and 1.20 respectively, IC was 2.26 vs. 2.08, 2.25 and 2.05 respectively, VC was 2.63 vs. 2.42, 2.54 and 2.54 respectively, TLC was 2.98 vs. 3.03 vs. 3.18 and 3.17 respectively among underweight, overweight, obese and normal weight participants. CONCLUSION: We found a significant association between body mass index and pulmonary function parameters. Obesity causes detrimental effects on respiratory system.

SoxB1 transcription factors restrict organizer gene expression by repressing multiple events downstream of Wnt signalling.

Formation of the organizer is one of the most central patterning events in vertebrate development. Organizer-derived signals are responsible for establishing the CNS and patterning the dorsal ventral axis. The mechanisms promoting organizer formation are known to involve cooperation between Nodal and Wnt signalling. However, the organizer forms in a very restricted region, suggesting the presence of mechanisms that repress its formation. Here, we show in zebrafish that the transcription factor Sox3 represses multiple steps in the signalling events that lead to organizer formation. Although beta-catenin, Bozozok and Squint are known to play major roles in establishing the dorsal organizer in vertebrate embryos, overexpression of any of these is insufficient to induce robust expression of markers of the organizer in ectopic positions in the animal pole, where Sox3 is strongly expressed. We show that a dominant-negative nuclear localisation mutant of Sox3 can cause ectopic expression of organizer genes via a mechanism that activates all of these earlier factors, resulting in later axis duplication including major bifurcations of the CNS. We also find that the related SoxB1 factor, Sox19b, can act redundantly with Sox3 in these effects. It therefore seems that the broad expression of these SoxB1 genes throughout the early epiblast and their subsequent restriction to the ectoderm is a primary regulator of when and where the organizer forms.

Demographic factors associated with acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal of COVID-19 vaccine among residents of Sukkur during lockdown: A cross sectional study from Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization has identified vaccine hesitancy among one of the top 10 threats to global health. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has devastated global health with higher morbidities and mortality rates. Reducing vaccine hesitancy could achieve immunization. However, different sociodemographic conditions can also hamper these efforts in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of the present study was to assess the demographic factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal among the general Pakistani population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted during the months of February-March 2021 during the pandemic. Sample size was 479. Snowball sampling strategy was used for data collection. Study questionnaires were distributed online using e-mail, twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. RESULT: The overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was 40.5%, vaccine hesitancy was 29%, and vaccine refusal was 30% among the study participants. Compared to younger, the vaccine hesitancy and refusal was higher in older people age > 30 years (χ2 = 7.45, p = .02). Compared to males, vaccine refusal was high among females (χ2 = 7.45, p = .02). Vaccine refusal was higher in people with less educated <12 compared to more education (χ2 = 28.68, p < .0001). CONCLUSION: Older people, females, and less education groups are at more risk of COVID-19 infections due to vaccine hesitancy and refusal. We recommend these groups should be focused in COVID-19 vaccine education programs.

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Hepatitis B and C in Nawabshah, Sindh, Pakistan.

In Pakistan, viral hepatitis is a serious public health problem affecting millions of people. Both hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections are spreading rapidly in all provinces of Pakistan, including Sindh, because of lack of knowledge about routes of transmission, low literacy rate, reuse of syringes, piercing, and other factors. However, information about the prevalence and risk factors is inadequate. So, a general population-based study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate and risk factors of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in Nawabshah. Healthy individuals were screened for hepatitis B and hepatitis C using an immunochromatographic rapid test followed by confirmation through ELISA and PCR. Information about sociodemographic and risk factors was obtained through a pretested questionnaire. Descriptive frequencies, odds ratio, and CI were calculated using SPSS software version 23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). In total, 523 participants were screened for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, among whom 232 were females and 291 were males. The overall prevalence of hepatitis C and hepatitis B was 14.3% and 6.7%, respectively. In a bivariate analysis, hepatitis B infection was significantly associated with risk factors such as hospitalization, blood transfusion, needle injury, multiple sex partners, reused syringe, dental extraction, surgery, injectable drug abuse, and shaving at barbershops. Hepatitis C infection was associated with factors including surgery, needle injury, blood transfusion, reused syringes, dental extraction, and shaving at barbershops. The increasing prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C virus in Nawabshah is a public health concern. There is dire need to implement preventive measures.