Health Science Papers & Publications

Dietary intake of contaminated food with heavy metals may cause severe risk for the human health. Heavy metals affect adversely a human health. The current study assessed the concentrations of heavy metals including Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) of urban and rural areas in Bangladesh. The experimental samples of fresh eggplant fruits were collected from six local markets in Jashore, Bangladesh, and the tissues were extracted with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Trace elements in eggplant fruits were estimated with atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Obtained result show that Heavy metal concentrations were high in the urban areas compared to rural areas. Heavy metals in the eggplant fruits of rural and urban areas were: Pb (2.74-18.64), Cu (10.20-67.16), Ni (46.63-148.46), and Zn (86.65-148.73) mg.kg-1 respectively. The concentrations of Pb, Ni and Zn in eggplant were at an excess of safe limits according to the Food and Agriculture and World Health Organizations. While, Cu was lower than the maximum safe limit. The present study concluded that growing eggplants in Jashore areas are heavily contaminated with Pb, Ni and Zn that would be hazardous for consumer’s health. The result of this study will be beneficial for the agricultural policy makers in Bangladesh to take appropriate action and reduce the heavy metal toxicity among fresh food products.

Arafat Hassan Razon

Background: Old age is one of the vulnerable and prone stages in terms of health status. So this study aimed to assess the nutritional status and common health complications of older people. Methods: Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ), Anthropometric measurements, Diet History Method, and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tools were used to measure the nutritional status. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16. Results: Out of the total 320 elderly participants the mean SD value for the age of male and female was 67.25 6.5 and 67.32 7.7 years respectively. According to BMI classification, it was noticed that with advancing age the percentage of underweight was also increased such as for 60–75 years old age group the underweight percentage was 30.0% where for 76 to 85 and >85 years old age group the underweight percentage was 45.0% and 60.0% respectively. According to the MNA score, 97 elderly respondents were malnourished and a total of 172 respondents had SNAQ scores below 14. This study found a statistically significant (P < 0.05) correlations among various health complications with nutritional status according to MNA score. In addition 56.6% (OR ¼ 1.24, 95% CI ¼ .799–1.939), 63.8% (OR ¼ 1.18, 95% CI ¼ .745–1.857) and 64.7% (OR ¼ 1.14, 95% CI ¼ .720–1.804) respondents had diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease respectively. The risk of musculoskeletal pain (OR ¼ 1.073, 95% CI ¼ .684–1.681), bedsore (OR ¼ 1.884, 95% CI ¼ .903–3.934) and decreased sense of thirst (OR ¼ 1.278, 95% CI ¼ .821–1.991) were higher among females than males. A little number of the elderly used to take milk, meat, and fish daily. Conclusion: During this cross-sectional study, significant correlations among nutritional changes with health complications were determined. To prevent malnutrition among the elderly a proper health policy as well as periodical nutritional screening should be conducted

Arafat Hassan Razon

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common gastrointestinal dis-order worldwide, but research regarding this disease is rare in Bangladesh. This studyaimed to assess the prevalence of IBS and its associated risk factors among universitystudents in Bangladesh.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 300 randomly selected partici-pants were included in this study. By using a structured questionnaire and anthropo-metric methods, we collected all the required data for our study. The diagnosis of IBSwas based on Rome III criteria.Results: The overall prevalence of IBS was 39.3%, but the majority (77.3%) had nobasic awareness of IBS. In our study, anxiety and depression (χ2 = 6.817; odds ratio[OR] = 1.910; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.172, 3.113; P = 0.011) had a signif-icant relationship with IBS and IBS had a significant (P < 0.001) relationship withfood intolerance (χ2 = 8.737; OR = 2.130; 95% CI = 1.284, 3.531), chest pain(χ2 = 7.482; OR = 2.035; 95% CI = 1.218, 3.401), and insomnia (χ2 = 19.320;OR = 2.907; 95% CI = 1.794, 4.709). In our dietary data, the intake patterns of vege-tables (P = 0.000), fast food (P = 0.000), and tea–coffee (P = 0.003) showed astrong significant association with IBS. On the other hand, monthly household income(P = 0.154) and body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.138) showed no significant associa-tion with IBS. Among our study subjects, IBS-constipation (54.2%) was more com-mon than IBS-diarrhea (27.1%) and IBS-mixed (18.6%). Moreover, among the 118IBS respondents, 67.8% had a headache with increased flatulence (95.8%) as the mostcommon IBS-related complication.Conclusion: IBS is common in university students of Bangladesh and is associatedwith anxiety, depression, and particular dietary patterns.

Arafat Hassan Razon

Background: Hypertension (HTN) has emerged as a significant public health challenge and a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in developing countries like Bangladesh. Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among resi dents of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a multistage random sampling technique to select 305 individuals from Khilkhet Thana in Dhaka North City Corporation. Data were collected through direct surveys using a modified version of the WHO STEPS questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 22 software. Findings: The study identified a 34.4 % prevalence of HTN among the participants, with 46.2 % of hypertensive individuals being under 40 years of age. Of the 105 hypertensive individuals, 65 % were newly diagnosed during the study, and 11 previously diagnosed individuals were not on any medication. A significant association (P < 0.001) was observed between the prevalence of HTN and inadequate intake of fruits (OR = 3.129, 95 % CI = 1.912–5.122, χ2 = 21.328), insufficient vegetables consumption (OR = 2.199, 95 % CI = 1.356–3.565, χ2 = 10.373), high intake of fatty foods (OR = 2.387, 95 % CI = 1.465–3.890, χ2 = 12.454), and excessive salt consumption (OR = 2.771, 95 % CI = 1.677–4.579, χ2 = 16.310). Additionally, the prevalence of HTN was notably higher among overweight (46.70 %) and at-risk (22.90 %) individuals, based on Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), respectively. The study also found significant correlations (P < 0.001) between HTN and factors such as smoking (OR = 2.824, 95 % CI = 1.601–4.980, χ2 = 13.432), kidney disease (OR = 7.534, 95 % CI = 2.694–21.070, χ2 = 19.282), general stress (OR = 3.692, 95 % CI = 2.179–6.255, χ2 = 24.896), COVID-19 related stress (OR = 3.511, 95 % CI = 2.116–5.826, χ2 = 24.712) and sleeping pattern (OR = 5.798, 95 % CI = 3.404–9.875, χ2 = 45.724). Conclusions: The high prevalence of HTN, particularly among younger individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the urgent need for nationwide surveys, surveillance, and clinical research to accurately depict the true burden of HTN in Bangladesh.

Arafat Hassan Razon

Adverse drug reactions have increased significantly in people as many new drugs have come to the market in the last two decades. This has not only economic consequences but also causes morbidity and mortality. In Bangladesh, some incidents happened related to drug problems and it took several lives. Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions can primarily control this situation and healthcare professionals can play an immeasurable role. Therefore, this study was aimed to be conducted at seven different hospitals and diagnostic centers to find out the actual scenario of adverse drug reactions among the healthcare professionals in Bangladesh to make them aware of adverse drug reactions and the reporting system, and to know about their opinion towards adverse drug reactions. However, after evaluation of the questionnaires it was found that a large number of healthcare professionals were not aware of adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance, especially the nurses. It was found that 13.3% of nurses did not know about adverse drug reactions and 93.3% of them had not reported any reactions. Furthermore, many healthcare professionals did not show a positive attitude towards pharmacovigilance. If proper pharmacovigilance practice cannot be started, the nation will face serious economic and health-related problems.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Food nutrients are essential for the growth and development of human. In several parts of the world, Cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta), is a tropical root crop cultivated for food formulations and consumption by humans. This study was conducted to assess the nutritional evaluation (weight gain, protein efficiency ratio, net protein retention, and biological value) of the processed cocoyam, soya bean (Glycine max) flours and their blends by feeding trials using Albino rabbits. The sun-dried samples were milled to size (sieve with 25 µm aperture size) to obtain homogenous flours. Blends were obtained with various ratios according to the percentage of soya bean/cocoyam flours. The biological value, protein efficiency ratio, and net protein retention were analysed using standard methods for the calculations. Net protein retention of soya bean flour was higher than that for cocoyam flour. The highest biological value was given by the 50% blend, while the lowest was given by the control diet. The higher the protein efficiency ratio values, the higher the protein quality. The highest protein efficiency ratio value was given by soya bean flour, while the lowest value was from Cocoyam flour. The best blend of Cocoyam and soya bean flours obtained based on chemical and nutritional evaluations was the 50% blend of soya bean and Cocoyam flours.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Background: Malnutrition is a deficiency of nutrients due to inadequate energy intake. Picky eating behavior in children could be a cause of malnutrition, but previous studies’ results were still inconsistent. This study aimed to determine the relationship between picky eating behavior and malnutrition among children aged 2-5 years. Methods: This case-control study involved 70 children aged 2-5 years in Kutukan Village, Randublatung District, Blora Regency. Malnutrition was defined as a weight-for-age Z score <-2.0 SD based on the WHO classification. Child eating behavior was evaluated using the Child’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ), identifying picky eaters if the food avoidance score surpassed the food approach score. Data analysis employed the Chi-Square test. Results: Boys experienced more malnutrition, with 20 (57.1%) affected, and the most affected age group was 24-35 months, with 19 (54.3%). Questionnaire processing revealed that the number of picky-eater children in the malnutrition group was 33 (94.3%), while in the non-malnutrition group, there were 31 (88.6%). Bivariate analysis showed no relationship between picky eating behavior and malnutrition in children aged 2-5 years (p=0.673; CI 95%=0.364-12.459). Conclusion: This study found no significant relationship between picky eating and malnutrition in children aged 2-5 years.

Minidian Fasitasari

Background: There is a lack of data on current tuberculosis (TB) burden in Shabwah Governorates in Yemen. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, epidemiology, and outcomes of TB disease in Shabwah Governorate, Yemen. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the National TB Program (NTP) Center in Ataq City, Shabwah Governorate, Yemen. The study involved TB patients of different ages who were notified at the center between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Results: We involved a total of 123 new active TB cases, including 86 (69.9%) with pulmonary TB (PTB) and 37 (30.1%) with extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). The total prevalence of TB disease during the year 2021 was 14.5 new TB cases per 100,000 population, while the median age of the study population was 34 years. The majority of the cases (23.6%) belonged to age group 15–24 years. There was a slightly higher preponderance of males 54.5% (n=67). EPTB was detected in 37 (30.1%) patients with lymph node TB being the most common manifestation [17 (46.0%)]. All patients received four-drug anti-TB therapies for 6–12 months. Most patients 111 (90.3%) were cured, and 2 (1.6%) patients died during the course of the disease, while 10 (8.1%) patients were lost during follow-up. Conclusion: The prevalence of TB in Shabwah Governorate was 14.5/100,000 population. Male patients and younger age groups were more affected, while the lymph nodes were the main extrapulmonary sites involved and the cure rate was 90.2%. The results of the study indicate the need to revise the notification form for active TB cases and to expand NTP activities to focus on targeted screening for active TB cases in high-risk groups to close the gap in unidentified TB cases.

Karishma