Hasanain Faisal Ghazi

Carbonated drinks, chips intake and their relation to Intelligence Quotient (IQ) among primary school children in Baghdad city, Iraq.

Background The revolution in children’s lifestyle and dietary habits which has occurred over the last thirty years can be largely attributed to changes in the family environment and in the social environment in general. Fast food is a diet high in processed foods and soft drinks. Children consuming more junk food are likely to have a lower intake of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between carbonated drinks, chips intake and intelligence quotient of primary school children.

Anxiety and depression among breast cancer patients in an urban setting in Malaysia

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases among women and it could induce the development of psychological disorders like anxiety and depression. An assessment was here performed of the status and to determine contributory factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among breast cancer patients at University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center (UKMMC), Kuala Lumpur. A total of 205 patients who were diagnosed between 2007 until 2010 were interviewed using the questionnaires of Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HADS). The associated factors investigated concerned socio-demographics, socio economic background and the cancer status. Descriptive analysis, chi-squared tests and logistic regression were used for the statistical test analysis. RESULTS The prevalence of anxiety was 31.7% (n=65 ) and of depression was 22.0% (n=45) among the breast cancer patients. Age group (p= 0.032), monthly income (p=0.015) and number of visits per month (p=0.007) were significantly associated with anxiety. For depression, marital status (p=0.012), accompanying person (p=0.041), financial support (p-0.007) and felt burden (p=0.038) were significantly associated. In binary logistic regression, those in the younger age group were low monthly income were 2 times more likely to be associated with anxiety. Having less financial support and being single were 3 and 4 times more likely to be associated with depression. CONCLUSIONS In management of breast cancer patients, more care or support should be given to the young and low socio economic status as they are at high risk of anxiety and depression.

Asthma treatment adherence among asthmatic patients in Yazd

Background Asthma affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide. Poor compliance with prescribed medication leads to increased morbidity and mortality. The number of asthma cases has more than doubled since 1980 and, nearly 3 million workdays are lost annually due to asthma exacerbations. Non-compliance with therapy is a major impediment to effective asthma management and can lead to failure of treatment. The purpose of the study was to identify the better predictor for adherence behaviors between knowledge of asthma, health beliefs, attitude toward the illness of asthma, and behavioral intention to adhere.

Abdominal Obesity Indicators: Waist Circumference or Waist‑to‑hip Ratio in Malaysian Adults Population

Background: Waist circumference (WC) is an accurate and simple measure of abdominal obesity as compared to waist–hip ratio (WHR). The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between body mass index (BMI) with WC and WHR and suggest cutoff points for WC among Rural Malaysian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 669 respondents from three villages in Tanjung Karang, located in the district of Kuala Selangor. Data collection was carried out by guided questionnaires and anthropometric measures. Results: The prevalence of abdominal obesity for BMI was almost similar for both gender across Caucasian and Asian BMI cutoff points. Based on Caucasian cutoff points, the prevalence of abdominal obesity for WC was 23.8% (male) and 66.4% (female) while for WHR was 6.2% (male) and 54.2% (female). Asian cutoff points gave higher prevalence of abdominal obesity compared to that of WC among male respondents and WHR for both genders. WC showed strong and positive correlation with BMI compared to WHR (in male WC r = 0.78, WHR r = 0.24 and in female WC r = 0.72, WHR r = 0.19; P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggested WC cutoff points of 92.5 cm in men and 85.5 cm in women is the optimal number for detection of abdominal obesity. Conclusions: WC is the best indicator as compared with WHR for abdominal obesity for Malaysian adults.

Influence of antenatal care on birth weight: a cross sectional study in Baghdad City, Iraq

Background Antenatal care is defined as the care given to mothers and their fetus during pregnancy. There are many aspects of antenatal care that need to be emphasized to ensure good delivery outcome. One important outcome is low birth weight which has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as weight at birth of less than 2.500 grams (up to and including 2,499 g) irrespective of gestational age. This paper aims to show the association between antenatal care and birth weight.

The negative impact of living environment on intelligence quotient of primary school children in Baghdad City, Iraq: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundEnvironmental factors play a very important role in the child development process, especially in a situation like that of Iraq. Thirteen years of economic sanctions followed by the 2003 war and 8 years of unstable security have affected the daily life of Iraqi families and children. The objective of this study was to assess the associations between living environment domains and child intelligence quotient (IQ) score.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 529 children aged 7–8 years from five primary schools in Baghdad during September–October, 2011. The five schools represent people living a range of conditions, and include of both high and low socio-economic groups. Living environment was assessed by 13 questionnaire items, consists of three domains: physical safety , mental stress and public services. While IQ was assessed by Raven Colored progressive matrices.ResultsAmong the participants, 22% were of low intelligence versus 77% of high intelligence and 19% lived in a poor environment. There were significant associations between the mental stress and service living environment domains and child IQ (p = 0.009 and p = 0.001, respectively).ConclusionIn Iraq, child IQ was found to be associated with the mental stress and service domains of the living environment. This study findings will help authorities in their efforts to improve living environment.

Potential of mobile technology in meeting the public health needs in developing countries

Background Disease epidemics and shortage of healthcare professionals present major challenges for developing countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically the health related goals (4, 5 and 6). In these countries, the explosive growth of mobile communications offers a new opportunity for the promotion of quality healthcare. There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrate the potential of mobile communication to further improve awareness and healthcare services, even in some remote and poor-resources environment.

Poor Knowledge and Practice Towards Breast Cancer among Women in Baghdad City, Iraq.

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among females worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice about breast cancer and its related factors among women in Baghdad city, Iraq. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 508 women aged 18 to 55 years from four non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Baghdad city, Iraq. A self-administered questionnaire on breast cancer knowledge and practice was distributed to participants during weekly activity of the NGO. RESULTS A total of 61.2% of the respondents had poor knowledge, only 30.3% performed breast self-examination (BSE) and 41.8% said that they did not know the technique to perform BSE. Associations between knowledge and marital status and age were significant. For practice, working status, education, age and family income were significant. After controlling for cofounders, the most important contributing factors for poor knowledge among respondents were marital status and not performing BSE, with adjusted odds ratio of 1.6 and 1.8 respectively. CONCLUSIONS Breast cancer knowledge and practice of BSE are poor among women in Baghdad city, Iraq. More promotion regarding breast cancer signs and symptoms and also how to perform BSE should be conducted using media such as television and internet as these constituted the main sources of information for most women in our study.

Incidence of bacterial meningitis in South East Asia region.

Background Acute bacterial meningitis (BM) constitutes a significant global public health problem. Worldwide, it has been estimated that 1—2 million cases of BM occur annually. The problem is more significant in resource-poor countries including those in some regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Aim of study was to measure Incidence of BM in Southeast Asia countries based on published data.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Parents Regarding Antibiotic Usage in Treating Children’s Upper Respiratory Tract Infection at Primary Health Clinic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Pilot Study

Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of parents regarding antibiotic usage for treating upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) among children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 randomly selected parents attending a primary health clinic using self-administered questionnaires. Results: About two-thirds (69.1%) of the parents had poor knowledge level. Only 25.2% and 21.6% of the parents could correctly identify amoxicillin and penicillin as the treatment of children’s URTI. However, about two-thirds (67.5%) of the parents were aware of the antibiotic resistance caused by overuse of antibiotics. A significant association was noted between the father’s and mother’s educational level and family income with the knowledge level. Only mother’s educational level depicted a significant association with the attitude. Conclusion: The knowledge of parents regarding antibiotic usage for URTI was poor. More numbers of health promotions and educational campaigns are required to help parents understand about antibiotic usage.