RESUMO
Our study aimed to examine the practices and knowledge of food handling and safety among 1534 university students in Bangladesh (mean age 22.09 ± 1.78), as well as the relationship between these factors and their academic and demographic backgrounds. Participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate students from four public universities in Bangladesh from different religions, income levels, years and majors of study, residential areas, living alone or not, and whose mothers are working or non-working. The questionnaire included 14 questions on food handling practices and 16 on knowledge. Questions were related to food preparation, hygiene, cross-contamination, and storage. The overall mean score for food handling practices was 34.9% (SD = 13.7), while that of knowledge was 41.8% (SD = 16.5). Female students, those from food-related majors, and those engaged in cooking activities scored significantly higher in the knowledge and practice sections (p < 0.05). Students who lived with their families performed significantly better on the knowledge parts, while those who shared a home with roommates in mess performed significantly better on the practice part (p < 0.05). Students having housewife mothers, personal poisoning experience, and continuous involvement in food purchasing scored significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the practices section but not in the knowledge one. On the other hand, students living in urban areas scored significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the knowledge section but not in the practices one. Our results highlight the importance of educational interventions and initiatives to enhance food safety awareness among Bangladeshi university students.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Anemia is a significant wide spread public health threat especially among the adolescent girls who are more vulnerable towards low level of hemoglobin particularly of low and middle income countries (LMICs). We investigated the prevalence of anemia among the adolescent girls (10-19 years) in Bangladesh and its socio-demographics distribution. METHODS: We collected data digitally in ODK platform from a sub-sample of a nationwide cross-sectional survey of 1314 adolescent girls in 2015. Capillary blood hemoglobin level was estimated using HemoCue®; anthropometric measurements through standardized procedure and details socio-demographic information were captured and analyzed. Malnutrition was defined as BMI-for-age Z-score below -2SD (BAZ < -2SD), measured in WHO-AnthroPlus. Univariate analysis followed by multiple logistic regression were performed to examine the association between socio-demographic variables and anemia, while controlling the effect of potential confounding variables. RESULTS: Overall, 51.6% girls were suffering from any form of anemia (non-pregnant-Hb < 12 g/dl; pregnant-Hb < 11 g/dl) while 46% were mildly (non-pregnant-Hb: 10-11.9 g/dl; pregnant-Hb: 10-10.9 g/dl) and 5.4% were moderately (Hb: 7-9.9 g/dl) anemic while only 0.2% were severely anemic. After controlling for relevant covariates in multiple logistic regression model, malnutrition (AOR: 1.42, 95% CI = 1.0-2.10, p-value = 0.083), non-pregnancy (AOR: 6.10, 95% CI = 2.70-13.78, p-value < 0.001), and households with bottom wealth quintile (AOR: 1.54, 95% CI = 1.03-2.30, p-value = 0.037) were identified as significant risk factors of anemia among adolescent girls of Bangladesh. CONCLUSIONS: Higher number of adolescent girls are still suffering from anemia in Bangladesh and non-pregnant adolescent girls contributed the most. Immediate, long term and sustainable public health intervention would require to combat the situation.
