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Context: Diabetes has emerged as a major chronic public health problem throughout the world. Self-management by diabetes patients is very important for controlling blood sugar levels and preventing complications of diabetes. Aims: The present study was conducted to study self-management practices among diabetes patients and to analyse socio-demographic factors associated with them. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 230 randomly selected diabetes patients in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The self-management practices were measured by the diabetes self-management questionnaire (DSMQ). Statistical Analysis Used: The association of the DSMQ score with socio-demographic factors and blood sugar level was analysed by statistical tests like the T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, Tukey's honestly significant difference, and Chi-square test. Results: The mean DSMQ score of the diabetes patients was 29.55 ± 5.98. There was a significant difference between the mean DSMQ score and the educational level (P value = 0.009), residential status (P value = 0.037), and duration of diabetes (P value = 0.006). The subcomponent analysis of the DSMQ score revealed that the glucose management score of rural people (9.38 ± 3.36) was significantly higher (P value = 0.006) than that of urban people (8.32 ± 2.46), and the diet control score was significantly higher (P value = 0.02) in patients with normal post-prandial blood sugar (PPBS) (7.64 ± 2.18) than in patients with raised PPBS (6.96 ± 2.12). Conclusions: Higher educational level, rural background, and long duration of diabetes were associated with better self-management practices. The patients with normal blood sugar levels showed higher diet control scores than the patients with raised blood sugar levels.
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Background and objective Globally, a large number of people have been impacted by the extremely contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, and several pieces of literature were published on hematological parameter changes in this infection, particularly focusing on leucocytes. In this study, we have analyzed the platelet parameters and platelet-leucocyte ratios in COVID-19 patients and correlated them with the disease severity. Methods The COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized during the second peak of the pandemic were assessed. The platelet count and indices, platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil to platelet ratio (NPR), and clinical severity of each patient were analyzed. The significance of parameters and clinical severity was evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Kruskal Wallis test. A bivariate analysis was performed to assess the strength of the association. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to detect the predictive value of parameters for disease severity. Results The data of 132 COVID-19 patients has been evaluated. The average mean age was 45.60 ± 15.76 years with slight female predominance. Thrombocytopenia was found in 33% of cases with the majority of them being mild. Age, platelet distribution width (PDW), and PLR and NPR parameters were significantly (p-value <0.05) associated with disease severity. ROC curves showed age, PDW, PLR, NPR, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) had significant prediction values for clinical severity. Conclusions Platelet parameters may not accurately reflect the severity of the disease, but when combined with leucocyte parameters and their ratios (PLR and NPR), they offer important information about disease severity.
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INTRODUCTION: The serosurveillance of COVID-19 antibody levels and their difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups can help in understanding the immune status of the community and the factors affecting it. Hence, the study was undertaken to find the differences between these two groups with respect to antibodies level and other socio-demographic variables in the South Andaman district. METHODS: A population-based serosurveillance study covering more than 4,000 samples was carried out in the South Andaman district. The participants were selected by multistage cluster sampling. The venous blood samples were tested for IgG COVID-19 antibodies by Erba Lisa Elisa kit. RESULTS: 5.3% of total individuals (217) were symptomatic whereas 94.7% (3,872) were asymptomatic. The symptomatic individuals had lower antibodies (33.6%) as compared to asymptomatic individuals (40.1%) (p-value=0.059). In the age group of 31-45 years, antibody positivity in the asymptomatic group was significantly higher than in the symptomatic group (p-value 0.031). The antibody positivity was higher in moderate to severe cases who needed hospital admission. The antibody positivity was found similar in both the groups in front-line workers as well as in non-front-line workers (p-value=0.104, 0.274, respectively). CONCLUSION: The antibody positivity was higher in asymptomatic individuals as compared to symptomatic individuals, particularly in the age group of 31-45 years. The higher level of antibody positivity in asymptomatic individuals reflected a stronger immune response which led to no clinical manifestations. The antibody positivity was also found higher in moderate to severe cases undergoing hospital admission whereas antibodies positivity was found similar in front-line and non-front-line workers.
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BACKGROUND: The seroepidemiological studies are essential to analyze spread of Covid 19 infection in the remote islands of Andaman and Nicobar. Hence, the present study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of Covid 19 antibodies in the South Andaman district. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in South Andaman District after 1st wave of the Covid 19 pandemic in the island. The participants of age 18 years and above were selected by multistage cluster sampling. The blood samples were tested for IgG Covid antibodies by Erba Lisa Elisa kit. The data was analyzed by descriptive analysis and Chi Square/Fisher Exact test. RESULT: The seroprevalence of Covid 19 in the S. Andaman district was found to be 39.3%. The COVID 19 antibody positivity was significantly higher in urban population (44.09%) as compared to rural population (34.27%) and in females of 41-60 years age group (45.5%) as compared to females of other age groups. The antibody positivity was similar among the population of containment and buffer zone (p-value 0.684). CONCLUSION: The seropositivity in the South Andaman district was higher due to the influx of tourists on the island. The rural people in South Andaman remained less affected by the pandemic as the rural areas were far flung and thinly populated. The antibody positivity was similar in residents of containment and buffer zone because there were more social contacts and movement of the people on the island due to their extensive family linkage.