ABSTRACT
Background:Telomere, the biological chronometer, has been found to be influenced by different parameters which are reprogrammed during fetal life.This study was designed to find out influence of education on relative telomere length (RTL) of the maternal and new born and to detect improvement in the genetic remodeling during the fetal life between low and high educational levels of mother.Methods:Pregnant females(18-37 years) and their newborns (n=250) were recruited from Karachi hospitals. In this cross-sectional study RTL (maternal and cord) was calculated by Quantitative real-time PCR. Statistical analysis used were chi square tests and Mann Whitney U test for variables with two categories and then Kruskal Wallis for variables with more than two categories to examine mean difference between relative telomere length(RTL) and maternal education. The relationship between predictor variable(education) and RTL was done by linearregression.Results: A significant association of education and RTL revealed shorter mean maternal RTL(base pair(bp)) 6380±1128 among females with low education and longer 6553±945 in high education females respectively (p=0.071) (B= 0.009 p= >0.05). Similarly, cord RTL were shorter 6600±1218 in low and longer 7154±1585 in high educationgroup(p=0.007)(B= 0.184 p = <0.05) at 95% confidence level.It was also found that newborn among high education with upper middle Socioeconomic status (SES) have significantly longest RTL 7262±1804(p=<0.05).Conclusion: Overall longer newborn RTL than mothers were observed among different levels of education in targeted population of Karachi where higher education have a shielding effect on telomere remodeling during the fetal development
ABSTRACT
Each year in Nigeria; hundreds of thousands of women become pregnant without wanting to; and many women with unwanted pregnancies decide to end them by abortion. Because abortion is legal only to save a woman's life; most procedures are clandestine; and many are carried out in unsafe circumstances. Unsafe abortions can endanger women's reproductive health and lead to serious; often life-threatening complications. Furthermore; unsafe abortions impose a heavy burden on women and society by virtue of the serious health consequences that often ensue: Treating thesehealth problems is costly and consumes scarce resources at both public (government) and private health institutions. Because abortion is largely illegal; information on the procedure is difficult to obtain. However; a general picture emerges from new research findings that shed light on the causes; level and consequences of abortion in Nigeria