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Background Health hazards faced by bus drivers and conductors due to their stressful working conditions can vary greatly depending on the country and specific circumstances. In some regions, stringent regulations mitigate the risks, while in others, lack of enforcement exacerbates the situation. The common mental health issues faced by bus drivers and conductors are anxiety and depression. Therefore, this study was planned to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among bus drivers and conductors and identify the risk factors associated with depression and anxiety. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted among the bus drivers and conductors working in government and private transport in Karaikal, Puducherry, South India. After institutional ethics committee clearance, 450 male transport workers with a mean age of 42.6 ± 8.56 (SD) years were interviewed to assess their mental status according to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed using SPSS software version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) to ascertain the association between dependent (anxiety/depression) and independent variables. Results About 16% and 13% of bus drivers and conductors were suffering from anxiety and depression, respectively. Age, education, marital status, bus route type, years of experience, and depression were significantly associated with anxiety. Whereas type of employment, years of experience, and anxiety were significantly associated with depression (p < 0.05). Conclusions Anxiety and depression in drivers and conductors constitute a major public health problem. Proper job rotation, enabling good ergonomics, and social support are some recommendations to promote mental health among transport workers.
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BackgroundThis study aimed to examine the differences in epidemiologic and disease aspects among patients with COVID-19 MethodsWe reviewed the hospital records between April 2020 and September 2021 and followed up on the patients for post-COVID complications. FindingsOlder adult patients were predominantly affected during the first and second waves, followed by middle-aged patients. Men were predominantly admitted, considering the three waves; although more women were admitted in the second wave. Cough was more common in the second and third waves than in the first wave 522 (59.7%). Respiratory distress was the most common in the third wave, 251(67.1%), and least common in the first wave 403 (46.1%). Anosmia was more common in the third wave 116 (31.2%). In the third wave, patients presenting in a critical state 23 (6.2%) and severe disease 152 (40.8%) were more common. The hospital admission median (IQR) was longer in the first wave, 12 (8-20), than in other waves. More patients were admitted in the first wave (52%) than in the other waves, and patients received more oxygen in the third wave (75%) than in the other waves. Death occurred more commonly in the first wave (51%) than in the other waves. Patients were investigated more commonly in the first and third waves than in the second wave. The positivity rate was high in the third wave (22.8%) than in other waves. In the third wave, the positivity rate was higher in women (24.3%) than in men. Post-covid cough increased in the second wave and fatigue was higher in the third wave than in other waves. Tiredness and memory loss was greater during the second wave than in other waves. ConclusionThis study revealed that the presenting symptoms, outcomes, and epidemiologic trends differed during the COVID-19 waves.
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ImportanceWhile much of the attention on the COVID-19 pandemic was directed at the daily counts of cases and those with serious disease overwhelming health services, increasingly, reports have appeared of people who experience debilitating symptoms after the initial infection. This is popularly known as long COVID. ObjectiveTo estimate by country and territory of the number of patients affected by long COVID in 2020 and 2021, the severity of their symptoms and expected pattern of recovery DesignWe jointly analyzed ten ongoing cohort studies in ten countries for the occurrence of three major symptom clusters of long COVID among representative COVID cases. The defining symptoms of the three clusters (fatigue, cognitive problems, and shortness of breath) are explicitly mentioned in the WHO clinical case definition. For incidence of long COVID, we adopted the minimum duration after infection of three months from the WHO case definition. We pooled data from the contributing studies, two large medical record databases in the United States, and findings from 44 published studies using a Bayesian meta-regression tool. We separately estimated occurrence and pattern of recovery in patients with milder acute infections and those hospitalized. We estimated the incidence and prevalence of long COVID globally and by country in 2020 and 2021 as well as the severity-weighted prevalence using disability weights from the Global Burden of Disease study. ResultsAnalyses are based on detailed information for 1906 community infections and 10526 hospitalized patients from the ten collaborating cohorts, three of which included children. We added published data on 37262 community infections and 9540 hospitalized patients as well as ICD-coded medical record data concerning 1.3 million infections. Globally, in 2020 and 2021, 144.7 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 54.8-312.9) people suffered from any of the three symptom clusters of long COVID. This corresponds to 3.69% (1.38-7.96) of all infections. The fatigue, respiratory, and cognitive clusters occurred in 51.0% (16.9-92.4), 60.4% (18.9-89.1), and 35.4% (9.4-75.1) of long COVID cases, respectively. Those with milder acute COVID-19 cases had a quicker estimated recovery (median duration 3.99 months [IQR 3.84-4.20]) than those admitted for the acute infection (median duration 8.84 months [IQR 8.10-9.78]). At twelve months, 15.1% (10.3-21.1) continued to experience long COVID symptoms. Conclusions and relevanceThe occurrence of debilitating ongoing symptoms of COVID-19 is common. Knowing how many people are affected, and for how long, is important to plan for rehabilitative services and support to return to social activities, places of learning, and the workplace when symptoms start to wane. Key PointsO_ST_ABSQuestionC_ST_ABSWhat are the extent and nature of the most common long COVID symptoms by country in 2020 and 2021? FindingsGlobally, 144.7 million people experienced one or more of three symptom clusters (fatigue; cognitive problems; and ongoing respiratory problems) of long COVID three months after infection, in 2020 and 2021. Most cases arose from milder infections. At 12 months after infection, 15.1% of these cases had not yet recovered. MeaningThe substantial number of people with long COVID are in need of rehabilitative care and support to transition back into the workplace or education when symptoms start to wane.
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BackgroundThe doctors and the other health care workers are the first-line fighters against COVID-19. This study aims to identify the prevalence, risk factors, clinical severity of COVID-19 infection among the doctors working in the COVID unit. We also analyzed the hospital data for admission and RT-PCR positivity among the physicians. MethodsIt was a cross-sectional survey and review of the hospital database. We surveyed from September 2021 to October 2021 and explored the hospital data from march 2020 to September 2021.We included 342 physicians for analysis in the survey. We reviewed hospital data of 1578 total admitted patients and 336 RT-PCR test positive physicians for analyzing the hospital admission rate, the positivity rate for COVID-19 among the physicians and the other patients in the different COVID-19 surges. FindingsIn this study, we demonstrated the physicians sufferings during the pandemic era. We have observed four surges in the hospital admission and RT-PCR for COVID-19 positivity rate among the physicians and the general population. The physicians experienced a similar surge in the hospital admission and positivity rate to the general population. The hospital admission was lower in the fourth surge among the physicians than the general population. The positivity rate was higher in the first, second and third surge among the physicians. In the survey, a total of 146(42%) respondents had COVID-19 infection, and among them, 50(34.2%) had re-detectable positive SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most of them experienced mild (77[52.7%]) to moderate (41[28.1%]) symptoms. Increasing age (OR, 95%CI, p-value; 1.15, 1.05-1.25, 0.002), male sex (OR, 95%CI, p-value; 5.8, 3.2-9.8, <0.001), and diabetes (OR, 95%CI, p-value; 25.6, 2-327.2, 0.01) were the risk factor of having COVID-19. Female sex and diabetes were the risk factors for re-detectable positive SARS-CoV-2 infection. (OR, 95%CI, p-value; 0.24, 0.09-0.67, 0.006; 44, 8.9-218.7, <0.001 respectively). Most respondents suffered for 7-14 days. Total 98(67%) suffered from post-COVID fatigue. ConclusionsThe physicians observed four surges in hospital admission and COVID-19 positivity rate. A significant number of the COVID-warrior became positive for SARS-CoV-2, had re-detectable positive SARS-CoV-2 infection, and suffered in the post-COVID-19 state.
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The exponential growth of nanotechnology and the industrial production have raised concerns over its impact on human and environmental health and safety (EHS). Although there has been substantial progress in the assessment of pristine nanoparticle toxicities, their EHS impacts require greater clarification. In this review, we discuss studies that have assessed nanoparticle eco-genotoxicity in different test systems and their fate in the environment as well as the considerable confounding factors that may complicate the results. We highlight key mechanisms of nanoparticle-mediated genotoxicity. Then we discuss the reliability of endpoint assays, such as the comet assay, the most favored assessment technique because of its versatility to measure low levels of DNA strand breakage, and the micronucleus assay, which is complementary to the former because of its greater ability to detect chromosomal DNA fragmentation. We also address the current recommendations on experimental design, including environmentally relevant concentrations and suitable exposure duration to avoid false-positive or -negative results. The genotoxicity of nanoparticles depends on their physicochemical features and the presence of co-pollutants. Thus, the effect of environmental processes (e.g., aggregation and agglomeration, adsorption, and transformation of nanoparticles) would account for when determining the actual genotoxicity relevant to environmental systems, and assay procedures must be standardized. Indeed, the engineered nanoparticles offer potential applications in different fields including biomedicine, environment, agriculture, and industry. Toxicological pathways and the potential risk factors related to genotoxic responses in biological organisms and environments need to be clarified before appropriate and sustainable applications of nanoparticles can be established.
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The exponential growth of nanotechnology and the industrial production have raised concerns over its impact on human and environmental health and safety (EHS). Although there has been substantial progress in the assessment of pristine nanoparticle toxicities, their EHS impacts require greater clarification. In this review, we discuss studies that have assessed nanoparticle eco-genotoxicity in different test systems and their fate in the environment as well as the considerable confounding factors that may complicate the results. We highlight key mechanisms of nanoparticle-mediated genotoxicity. Then we discuss the reliability of endpoint assays, such as the comet assay, the most favored assessment technique because of its versatility to measure low levels of DNA strand breakage, and the micronucleus assay, which is complementary to the former because of its greater ability to detect chromosomal DNA fragmentation. We also address the current recommendations on experimental design, including environmentally relevant concentrations and suitable exposure duration to avoid false-positive or -negative results. The genotoxicity of nanoparticles depends on their physicochemical features and the presence of co-pollutants. Thus, the effect of environmental processes (e.g., aggregation and agglomeration, adsorption, and transformation of nanoparticles) would account for when determining the actual genotoxicity relevant to environmental systems, and assay procedures must be standardized. Indeed, the engineered nanoparticles offer potential applications in different fields including biomedicine, environment, agriculture, and industry. Toxicological pathways and the potential risk factors related to genotoxic responses in biological organisms and environments need to be clarified before appropriate and sustainable applications of nanoparticles can be established.
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AbstractBackground Alcohol use is a risk factor for the development of noncommunicable diseases. National dataare needed to assess the prevalence of alcohol use in the Bangladeshi population. The objective of this studywas to describe the prevalence and patterns of alcohol use among men and women of rural and urban areasof Bangladesh. Additionally, predictors of ever alcohol use were also identified.Methods A nationally representative cross-sectional survey (STEPS 2010) was conducted on 9275 adultsbetween November 2009 and April 2010. Participants were selected using multi-stage random clustersampling. Data on several risk factors for noncommunicable diseases, including alcohol use, were collectedby an interviewer-administered questionnaire.Results Among the total population, 5.6% (n = 519) reported to have ever drunk alcohol and 94.4% (8756)were lifetime abstainers; 2.0% (n = 190) of participants reported to have drunk alcohol within the last12 months. Of these, 94.7% (n = 180) were men. Only 0.9% (n = 87) of the total population had drunk alcoholwithin the last 30 days and were categorized as current drinkers. Among current drinkers, 77.0% (n = 67)were defined as binge drinkers, having had at least one episode of heavy drinking in this time period; 92.0%(n = 80) were current smokers and 59.8% (n = 52) had either no formal education or less than primary schooleducation. Ever alcohol use was more common among men, those who live in urban areas and smokers.Conclusion Alcohol use is low in Bangladesh; however, those who do use alcohol frequently binge drink,which is a public health concern. Targeted efforts should be made on these specific groups, to control andprevent the continued use of alcohol in Bangladesh.
