One Health Journal of Nepal

Oral Health-Related Quality of Life among Elderly People in Mohnyin, Myanmar

2022-08-11T15:49:18+00:00

Introduction: Issues with oral and dental health rank high on the list of concerns and complaints expressed by the elderly. The purpose of this study was to determine oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among elderly people from Mohnyin, Myanmar.

Methods: We conducted a community based cross-sectional study among 312 elderly people of Mohnyin, Myanmar. Ethical approval was obtained. We conveniently recruited the participants in the study. General characteristics, dental status and denture status were obtained from all the participants. We used Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) to assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Data was entered in EpiData and transported to SPSS version 18 for further analysis.

Results: Of the total, 46.1% had a high GOHAI score, whereas 53.8% had a low GOHAI score. The mean score of GOHAI was 41.18±5.7 (mean±SD). About 56.1% of the elderly had at least 20 remaining natural teeth and the prevalence of wearing dentures was only 19.9%.

Conclusions: This study's results support the implementation of preventative and restorative public health policies aimed at enhancing oral health care and education for the elderly.

Sleep Quality among Nursing students in Kathmandu Valley: A Cross-sectional Study

2022-08-11T15:55:13+00:00

Introduction: Sleep Quality is an essential component of the learning and memory processes. Nevertheless, sleep issues are common among college students and may negatively impact their academic performance. This study aimed to explore sleep quality among undergraduate nursing students in Nepal.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study among 267 nursing students from seven colleges located in Kathmandu Valley. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed among students to assess sleep quality. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to determine sleep quality. Collected data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 18.

Results: Of total, 97 students (36.3%) were found to have good sleep quality, whereas 170 students (63.7%) were found to have poor sleep quality.

Conclusions: Poor sleep quality was common among nursing students and may have negative effects on both health and academic performance. Nursing students should be actively intervened upon to enhance their sleep hygiene.

Clinical Severity of Patients with COVID-19 Presenting to Nepal Armed Police Force Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

2022-08-12T09:01:05+00:00

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), since its emergence, has spread rapidly as a pandemic causing massive loss of human life. This study aims to describe clinical severity of the disease in relation to age, mode of oxygen delivery and clinical outcome of patients admitted to a tertiary care center in Nepal.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of data records of 130 COVID-19 patients 18 years and above admitted in Nepal Armed Police Force Hospital from April 2021 to June 2021 with Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction positive status. Ethical approval was obtained from Nepal Health research Council. Data were collected using structured proforma and analyzed using SPSS version 23.

Results: Patients with severe illness (52/130) constituted 40% of the bulk of COVID-19 patients, 48 of them requiring intensive care. Among them, 38.5% required non-invasive ventilation and 32.7% were intubated during treatment. Severity of illness was variable among different age groups but mortality was high among severely ill patients, 19/52 (36.5%) and with increasing age. The overall mortality was 19/130 (14%) over the study period, all of which were among severely ill patients.

Conclusions: Most of the clinically severe cases required Intensive Care Unit admission, the majority receiving oxygen therapy via non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, with a high mortality rate. The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients was variable in different age groups. Mortality, however, was observed in severely ill patients only and proportionately increased in COVID-19 patients with advancing age.

Prevalence of Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases among Government Employees of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City

2022-08-12T09:11:10+00:00

Introduction: The epidemiological transition in Nepal has increased the burden of non-communicable diseases which have resulted in lower production and longer disability. Thus, the aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of risk factors of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) among government employees of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 393 government employees of Hetauda sub metropolitan city. The ethical approval was taken from Nepal Health Research Council and informed consent was taken from each respondent before conducting the study. Cluster sampling was done where a modified WHO STEPS survey questionnaire was self-administered among the respondents. The collected data was entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 20.

Results: Out of 393 respondents, the prevalence of current smokers was 16.3%, more than two-third (72.9%) consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, and a vast majority did not consume both fruit and vegetables in adequate amounts. Similarly, more than two-third respondents (67.2%) never practiced any physical activity. The self-reported diabetes was found among 11.7% of participants whereas 19.4% had hypertension. Majority (70%) had normal BMI however; both male and female were found to be at risk for waist/hip ratio.

Conclusions: Almost every government employee was found to have one or more established risk factors of CVDs. This emphasizes the importance of taking quick action to avert the epidemic of cardiovascular disease.

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among College Students in Kathmandu, Nepal

2022-08-12T09:19:44+00:00

Introduction: Anxiety and depression are among the most common mental health problems, and they are highly comorbid with each other. Many college students experience several mental health issues because of academic pressure, family expectations, difficult environment, and controlling people. Hence, the objective of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression in college students of Kathmandu, Nepal, as very limited studies have been conducted in this area.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 504 students (317 male & 187 female, age range = 15 to 21 years, mean age = 17.12±0.90 years) of grade 11 and 12 studying in nine randomly selected colleges of Kathmandu valley, Nepal. Participants with chronic medical illness and severe mental disorders were excluded from the study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain the information related to socio-demography, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess the status of anxiety and depression in college students. Data were entered and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Results were presented in frequency and percentage.

Results: The prevalence of anxiety in college students was 53.97%. Where, 28.57% students had mild anxiety, 18.85% had moderate anxiety, and 6.55% had severe anxiety. Similarly, the prevalence of depression in college students was found to be 39.88%. Where, 22.42% students had mild depression, 13.69% had moderate depression, and 3.77% had severe depression.

Conclusion: The prevalence of both anxiety and depression among college students in Kathmandu valley, Nepal, was found to be very high. The Government of Nepal and other concerned bodies should pay attention to this area.

Prevalence of Domestic Violence among Pregnant Women in Gulmi District, Nepal

2022-08-12T09:37:06+00:00

Introduction: Domestic violence (DV) is a substantial danger to pregnant women's physical and emotional health due to their heightened susceptibility during pregnancy, making it an important problem in public health campaigns. The main aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of domestic violence among pregnant women in Gulmi district.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 192 womens attending ANC visit in the district hospital of Gulmi District. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information related to socio-demographic characteristics and violence related characteristics. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results were presented in frequency and percentage.

Results: The prevalence of domestic violence was found to be 24.5%. Among the 47 cases of domestic violence, responses of emotional violence (21.9%) were highest followed by physical violence (18.2%) and sexual violence (10.9%). The majority of the perpetrators of violence were husbands (68.08%) followed by mothers-in-law (10.64%).

Conclusions: The prevalence of domestic violence among the pregnant women in Gulmi district indicates an urgent need for specific protective measures, such as public awareness campaigns, social policy, and stronger legal reforms.

Effectiveness of Yoga-based Interventions on Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) – A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

2022-08-11T14:33:17+00:00

Low back pain (LBP) is defined as the pain and stiffness above the inferior gluteal folds and below the costal margin. The LBP lasting for the duration of 12 weeks or more is considered chronic low back pain (CLBP). The age-standardized incidence rate of LBP observed in South Asia was 2,362.13 per 100,000 population. The global incidence of LBP increased by 50%, from 149,294,134.47 to 223,455,640.82 cases from 1990 to 2019 respectively. Studies reported that the yoga-based interventions reduces disability, pain, pain medicine, stress, anxiety, depression and negative emotions, and improves spinal flexibility, quality of life and positive emotions in patients with CLBP more effectively than usual care and physical exercise. Yoga appeared to be more effective than physical exercise in patients with CLBP which may be because of various aspects of yoga, such as maintaining the yoga postures, breath regulation, mindfulness, meditation, relaxation etc. which separated yoga from physical exercises. It is suggested that the government and public hospitals should take actions to employ the ancient science of yoga to cure the patients with CLBP to avoid side effects and complications.

Role of Yoga on Glycaemic Control and Other Health Parameters in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) – A Review of Controlled Studies

2022-08-11T14:53:58+00:00

It is reported that about 1 in 11 adults have diabetes mellitus (DM) globally. A total of 415 million people have DM and an estimated 193 million people have undiagnosed DM worldwide. Where, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for around 90% of patients with DM. Yoga interventions appeared to be more effective in T2DM as compared to physical exercise interventions which may be because of various aspects of yoga other than the physical one. The yoga intervention involves subtle components such as mindfulness, relaxation, breath regulation, and notional corrections. The mechanism through which yoga works may be the down-regulation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis which may lead to the improvement in psychological health, quality of sleep, autonomic balance, and reduction in insulin resistance. Lifestyle modification programs such as yoga interventions on a regular basis for long duration have potential to manage and cure T2DM. The government and the concerned bodies should pay attention to this area.

What Nepalese can Learn about Antimicrobial Resistance?

2022-08-12T09:47:41+00:00

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a worldwide public health problem. The sub-therapeutic use of antimicrobials diminishes the significant threat where and how poultry are raised caused by AMR. AMR in critically important drugs may reduce options on antimicrobial use and bring us back to the post-antimicrobial era. Antimicrobial stewardship should be perceived uniformly by every stakeholder for targeted and appropriate antimicrobial use. Out of six criteria prepared by WHO to combat AMR, Nepal has implemented only three of them. Hence, this study aimed to analyze the AMR situation and the scope of antimicrobial use in poultry in Nepal to improve understanding on how to develop actions that address AMR in poultry.