Oral health is a vital indicator of well-being that is influenced by various habits and lifestyles of individuals. Oral diseases are the bottleneck in the effective control of non-communicable ...diseases (NCDs) due to chronic in nature and reciprocal relationship as sharing the common risk factors and habits such as sugar, tobacco, and alcohol consumption that increase the risk of developing various inevitable diseases. However, there is a lack of literature highlighting the relationship between risk factors for oral diseases and general health among individuals. This cross-sectional study was carried out among 500 study participants aged 20 to 64 years who gave written informed consent and were recruited by Multistage Stratified Cluster Sampling technique among workers in five bone factories, working for at least one year since January 2001 to March 2022 in Sambhal city, Uttar Pradesh. WHO-Basic Oral Health Survey-1997 was used to record the data regarding sociodemographic and oral health status variables. We used the modified WHO-STEPWISE pre-structured questionnaire to record tobacco consumption habits and oral health-seeking behavior. We scheduled a clinical intra-oral examination to record the Decayed Missing Filled Teeth (DMFT) index and the interview on the premises of five bone factories. Among the 500 bone-factory workers, the total number of males was 342 (68.40%) and 158 (31.60%) were females. The mean age (Standard Deviation) was 33.18 (10), and the mean DMFT score of factory workers was 2.84 (3.12). Production workers had the highest mean DMFT score of 4.60 (3.25). More than half of the factory workers (53.2%) were tobacco users. Tobacco users were 3.52 times more likely to have a severe DMFT index. Most common pre-cancerous lesions were oral submucous fibrosis and leukoplakia. Compared to non-tobacco users, mild tobacco users have 6.80 folds higher odds of oral lesions. Tobacco consumption is not only harmful for oral health but also leads to several non-communicable and systemic diseases. NCDs and dental caries are chronic and preventable conditions with a bidirectional relationship implicated by modifiable major risk factors such as tobacco consumption. Decreasing the consumption of tobacco use may improve oral health and reduce the risk of the development of NCDs. Also, regular dental visits should be scheduled to monitor the oral health status of factory workers. Additionally, tailored intervention for tobacco cessation should be implicated to maintain the general and oral health of industrial workers.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Tobacco is one of the leading risk factors for many respiratory infections and is linked to the clinical severity of the disease. COVID-19 primarily infects the lungs and causes severe ...pneumonia-like illness. Tobacco consumption may thus, increase the risk for developing COVID-19. However, this study was planned to assess the tobacco consumption among COVID-19 patients and determine the relationship between SARS CoV-2 and tobacco use among COVID-19 patients. Methods: Lists of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 positive patients aged 18-70 years were obtained from District Government Hospital on November 2020 and were interviewed telephonically after taking informed consent. A total of 470 patients under home isolation for the past one month after getting diagnosed with SARS CoV-2 were recruited in this study. Data was entered in MS Excel 2019 (Microsoft Corp.) and analysis was done using SPSS 25 (IBM Inc.). Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test were used and significance level was set 0.05 with 95% confidence interval. Results: In the present study, the mean (standard deviation) age of participants was 37.8 (12.1) years. Among the COVID-19 patients, 21% of participants were tobacco users. Clinical symptoms such as fever, severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), acute respiratory illness (ARI), loss of taste/smell, and other symptoms such as body-ache, myalgia, nasal secretion and flue like symptoms were presented; of which most common symptoms were fever (26.8%) followed by SARI or ARI (11.5%) and significantly presented more among tobacco users (66.3%) than non-tobacco users (55.6%) (P=0.036). Nonetheless smokers, these symptoms also affected significantly SLT users (64.8%) (P=0.029) and dual tobacco users (100%) (P=0.010). Conclusion: Tobacco use may worsen COVID-19 disease symptoms among COVID-19 patients.
Background Diabetes and hypertension (HTN) are increasing threats to global public health. Despite evidence of effective management of diabetes and HTN by medications that help in the prevention and ...reducing mortality of the disease, a large proportion of people either remain undiagnosed or untreated, especially in low-resource countries. This study was conducted to explore the patient treatment pathway and their health-seeking behavior in a low-income urban area. Methodology We conducted 45 in-depth interviews of adult patients affected by type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and/or HTN on treatment for at least two years and attended the weekly clinic catering to an urban resettlement colony in the Northeast district of Delhi. Interviews were conducted and transcribed into Hindi and translated into English. Data analysis was done using Microsoft Excel. The patient treatment pathways were mapped, and their health-seeking behavior, treatment adherence, and experiences were described. Results Most patients reported taking treatment from the government primary health facilities due to optimal healthcare accessibility as the prescribed drugs for DM/HTN control were available free of cost at these healthcare facilities. Those who visited private facilities thought of shorter waiting times and the quality of drugs. Patients also had little knowledge of complications of diabetes and hypertensive disorders. Nearly 25% of patients had poor adherence to the medications, and lifestyle modification was rarely practiced by patients although they were aware of the same. Conclusions Expanding the role of community health workers or volunteers in providing information on noncommunicable diseases might help improve patient treatment pathways to care.
BACKGROUND: There are over 12,000 chemists registered in the capital city, Delhi to support patient health needs. A study was conducted to improve the tuberculosis (TB) notification rates as ...conceptualized by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP). As part of the end TB mission, the feasibility of capturing data of TB patients coming to buy anti-TB drugs at the licensee level (chemists and drug shop owners) in Central Delhi area was assessed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The prospective study was conducted from July 2017 to March 2018. TB notification through a paper-based system and self-notification through online mode were the operational modality used for engagement with chemists. A team of paramedical workers was deployed for data collection from those pharmacists who chose to notify through the paper mode. Self-notification through online mode was through the RNTCP's NIKSHAY web-based reporting platform.
RESULTS: From the 330 chemists sensitized, 871 TB notifications were received during the study. Younger age groups comprised a majority of these cases with 198 (37.5%) from 21 to 30 years and 122 (23.1%) from 11 to 20 years. By the end of six visits, 28 (46%) of the 61 pharmacies that were eventually successfully sensitized had started returning the Folio cards with filled patient details. A total of 581 (66.6%) prescriptions received by the pharmacists were from government hospitals. The annual TB case notification in Central Delhi showed a significant increase from 271 TB patients/100,000 population to 871 TB patients/100,000 population during the study period when compared with expected trends in the past year (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Self-notification of TB engenders successful TB notifications from chemists. This progenitor approach to TB notification in the capital emphasizes the need to categorize pharmacists as an independent private care provider for improving TB notification across high-burden settings.
Complete postexposure prophylaxis with 4 doses of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) in a previously vaccinated (nonnaïve) individual results in administration of two extra ARV doses resulting in wastages of ...precious resources comprising vaccine logistics, human resources, physician, and patient time. This cross-sectional study conducted in a secondary care hospital in Delhi among 175 incident animal bite cases observed 39 (22.3%) had an animal-bite history within the previous 5 years. A total of 19 (10.8%) cases reported a history of complete ARV vaccination during a previous animal-bite exposure. However, in the absence of supportive patient medical documentation, all the animal bite cases without exception were prescribed a full course of ARV irrespective of their previous exposure status. Rabies immunoglobulins (anti rabies serum) were also re-administered in 13 (81.2%) cases. National guidelines for rabies prophylaxis should, therefore, consider the inclusion of an explicit decision-making algorithmic mechanism when the health-care provider is confronted with this situation carrying the potential for hidden vaccine wastage.
The present study was aimed to evaluate the practices and attitudes of young Malaysian adults towards the use of antibiotics, and to determine the socioeconomic factors associated with the antibiotic ...use.
A survey was carried in Cheras community by approaching a conveniently selected sample of 480 participants. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection.
Of 480 participants approached, 400 agreed to participate in this study, giving a response rate of 83.3%. The study results showed that 42.75% of the participants exhibited poor attitudes towards antibiotic usage. Chinese race and high income were significantly associated with the positive attitudes towards antibiotic usage. It is shown that the practice of the participants towards antibiotics was relatively poor. The majority of participants agreed that they do not consult a doctor for minor illnesses (64%). The main reason for not consulting a doctor was the high fees of consultation (34.25%) and the inconvenience of visit (29.25%). However, a large proportion of respondents (77.5%) agreed that there is a need to enhance antibiotic education among public.
The study results identified some crucial gaps in the attitudes and practices of Cheras community about the use of antibiotics. Thus, improving the public knowledge and changing their attitude towards antibiotic use along with proper interventions to regulate the ease of their availability would play a significant role for the effective use of antibiotics in the community.
Background: This study was conducted to understand the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 virus among the household contacts of RT-PCR confirmed cases to have an insight on key epidemiological ...characteristics of the infection.
Methods: This was a prospective case-ascertained study conducted among the contacts of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases residing in the same household in the Central and North-East districts of Delhi between 28
th December 2020, and 28
th June 2021. Data and specimen for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and serology were collected from the primary case and their contacts on day one of the visit, and follow-up collection of data and specimen was done on day 7, 14 and 28. A daily symptom diary was also maintained for all the primary cases and their contacts till 28 days from enrolment in the study. A total of 109 houses were enrolled in the study.
Results: The secondary attack rate (SAR) estimated among the household contacts was 13.86% 95% C.I. 9.71%, 19.39% and the secondary infection rate was 33.16% 95% C.I. 26.97%, 40.00%. The serial interval and basic reproduction number (R0) within the household were estimated to be 3.6± 5.73 days and 1.26 95% C.I. 1.21-1.31, respectively. Significant predictors of the infection were location of household in central district (SAR = 20% 13.75, 28.16) versus North-East District (SAR = 4.87% 1.83-12.35) p= 0.002, sharing of utensils (SAR= 42.85% 14.26-77.11, p=0.02), and using the room to sleep where a specific case has been isolated (SAR= 25% 12.97-42.71, p=0.047). Transmission from the symptomatic primary case was observed to be five times higher.
Conclusion: Our analysis showed that the secondary infection rate was higher among household contacts. This study suggests a dose-response association between severity of the primary case of SARS CoV-2 and infection among contacts.
Background & aim: Most maternal mortalities are preventable; however, there are significant regional and global disparities in this regard. Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) launched in ...India is a continuous cycle of identification, notification, and review of maternal mortalities to improve the quality of care and prevent future deaths. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India conducted five national capacity-building workshops for MDSR during October 2017 and February 2018 with the objective of training medical doctors as future trainers and developing competency-based skills for each component of the program.
Methods: A training evaluation study was carried out on 144 workshop participants. Workshop outcomes in terms of trainees’ knowledge were assessed using a 20-item pre-post questionnaire and skill evaluations through group work. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 25). The difference in proportions was ascertained using the Chi-square test.
Results: The mean score of the participants (n=144) increased from 13.2±2.3 in the pretest to 17±1.9 in the posttest (maximum score: 20). Themes generated during community and facility review sessions indicated the need for the capacity building of peripheral health facilities, sensitization for mandatory birth preparedness, complication readiness of all pregnant mothers by the frontline health workers, and regional-level MDSR training of all stakeholders involved in maternal mortality reporting.
Conclusion: Training sessions were effective in the skill development of the participants in understanding the structure and function of the MDSR program.
Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) have a substantially higher risk of Covid-19 infection but there is a paucity of information on the risk factors of disease transmission in high-burden real-world ...settings. The study objective was to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers in a high-burden Covid-19 setting and to estimate the incidence and identify the risk factors of infection. Methods This was a prospective observational cohort study amongst doctors and nurses working at a dedicated Covid-19 tertiary care government hospital in Delhi, India. A baseline blood sample (2-3ml) was collected from all the participants to test for the presence of total SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The HCWs that were seronegative (non-reactive) at baseline were followed-up for ≥21≤28 days with the collection of a second blood sample to assess for the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results A total of 321 (51.3%, 95% C.I 47.4, 55.3) HCWs were detected with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies on baseline examination. The seroprevalence, when adjusted for assay characteristics, was 54.5% (95% C.I 50.3, 58.6). On bivariate analysis, SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity lacked statistically significant association with either age, sex, occupation, cumulative duty duration, and smoking status. The incidence of seroconversion in the baseline seronegative cohort on follow-up after 21-28 days was observed in 35 (14.9%) HCWs (n=245). Furthermore, the self-reported adherence to infection prevention and control measures did not show a statistically significant association with antibody positivity in the HCWs, neither at baseline nor on follow-up. Conclusions The high risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in HCWs may be substantially reduced by adherence to Infection Prevention Control (IPC) and protective measures.
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