ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrinopathy warranting lifelong individualized management by lifestyle and pharmacological agents mainly oral contraceptive pills (OCPs). This study was aimed to report the impact of six-month OCP use on plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and factor VIII (FVIII) in women with PCOS. Methods: PCOS women diagnosed on the basis of Rotterdam 2003 criteria, either treated with OCPs (ethinyl estradiol-0.03 mg, levonorgestrel-0.15 mg) for a period of six months (n=40) or drug-naïve (n=42), were enrolled in this study. Blood was drawn to estimate glucose, insulin levels and lipid profile. Chemiluminescence immunoassays were used to measure hormones (LH, FSH, PRL, T4). Plasma levels of PAI-I and FVIII were measured by commercially available kits. Results: Menstrual regularity, Ferriman-Gallwey score and serum total testosterone significantly improved in the OCP group compared to drug-naïve group (P<0.01). No significant difference was observed in PAI-1 levels of the two groups; however, significant decrease in FVIII levels was observed in OCP group as compared to drug-naïve group. PAI-1 levels of OCP group correlated positively with blood glucose two hours, triglycerides and insulin two hours, while FVIII levels of OCP group correlated negatively with fasting insulin and homoeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance. Interpretation & conclusions: OCPs use has differential effect on pro-coagulant markers among women with PCOS. Well-designed, long-term, prospective, large-scale studies are prerequisite to elucidate the efficacy and safety of OCP in the treatment of PCOS.
ABSTRACT
This cross-sectional study aimed to serve as a pilot investigation to identify the level of discomfort and awkward posture among the workers of a garments manufacturing industry. The study was conducted for both male (54) and female (26) workers working in two different departments - stitching and finishing. Data were collected using both questionnaire and direct observation. As discomfort cannot be measured directly, a questionnaire was used to measure it based on subjective ratings by the workers. For analyzing posture, two objective assessment tools were used – rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) to analyze sitting posture and rapid entire body assessment (REBA) for standing posture. The cumulative scores of discomfort for different body parts were measured. The lower back was found to be at the highest risk as compared to other body parts. Female workers had higher score of discomfort (mean = 2.9615, S.D. = 1.3931) as compared to their male counterparts (mean = 1.2693, S.D. = 0.6538). Similarly, standing workers suffered more discomfort (mean = 2.7272, S.D. = 1.3090) as compared to sitting workers (mean = 1.0909, S.D. = 0.3784). No worker received ergonomically acceptable score for both of postural assessment tools. The mean RULA score was 5.25 and mean REBA score was 5. The results of this study necessitate a company-wide ergonomic assessment immediately.