43 research outputs found
Supplemental_tables - Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) practices and diarrhoea prevalence among children under five years in a tribal setting in Palghar, Maharashtra, India
No full textSupplemental_tables for Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) practices and diarrhoea prevalence among children under five years in a tribal setting in Palghar, Maharashtra, India by Angeline Jeyakumar, Swapnil Rajendra Godbharle and Bibek Raj Giri in Journal of Child Health Care</p
Assessment of personal hygiene and sanitation using a composite index among adolescent girls and their households in urban slums of Pune, Maharashtra
No full textThe assessment of hygiene and sanitation in urban slums is essential to identify adolescent health needs. A tool that comprised of three domains and 13 variables including drinking water index (DWI), personal hygiene index (PHI) and household hygiene index (HHI) was developed and tested among 60 households. Observations were repeated after 6 weeks. Cronbach's alpha was used to test the reliability and Inter Class Correlation Coefficient was used to assess repeatability of the questionnaire. The tool was used to assess the personal hygiene of adolescent girls (n = 565) and their household sanitation in nine slums of Pune city. Excellent reliability (α = 0.9) was obtained for four variables, two observations obtained good (α = 0.8), two scored acceptable (α = 0.7) and one scored questionable (α &lt; 0.6) reliability. No variance was observed among four variables. DWI and PHI scores were average (between 2 and 3). About 40% of the households scored the least (between zero to one) in HHI. History of malaria was reported among 3%, one year prior to the study period and 30% minor infections were reported. The composite index developed was valid to assess hygiene and sanitation of this population. Measures to improve household hygiene would contribute to integrated approaches in improving adolescent health.</jats:p
Is lack of breakfast contributing to nutrient deficits and poor nutritional indicators among adolescent girls?
No full textBackground: Breakfast is considered the first and most important meal of the day. Missing the first meal may result in significant nutritional deficits, if not compensated in subsequent meals. Aim: To describe the nutrient intake through breakfast and to study its association with nutritional indicators among adolescent girls. Methods: A cross-sectional study among adolescent girls ( n = 565) 16–18 years was carried out in urban slums of Pune, Maharashtra, India. Haemoglobin was assessed by cyanmethemoglobin method. Nutritional status was assessed through anthropometry and three 24-hours diet recall. Z scores, independent sample test, and linear logistic regression were used to assess undernutrition, to compare means of nutrient intake and to associate nutrient intake with nutritional status, respectively. Results: Almost 50% did not consume solid food for breakfast and 99% of the participants consumed inadequate breakfast (<610 kcal). Two types of breakfast emerged: I (bakery products + beverage) and II (traditional breakfast + beverage). Although the mean energy intake of type II breakfast (235±100.55 kcal) and the mean micronutrient intake was significantly higher than type I (micronutrients: vitamin C and folate ( p = 0.001), iron ( p = 0.01)) it did not meet the adequacy norms for breakfast. Among nutritional indicators breakfast intake was not directly associated with body mass index. However, mean intake of nutrients such as energy, protein and iron through the day were significantly lesser ( p = 0.001, p = 0.01 and p = 0.01 respectively) among anaemic adolescents. Linear regression showed significant association between energy, fat intake and BAZ scores. Conclusions: Compensating dietary deficits that arise in the first meal would directly address the day’s nutrient deficit. The results highlight the need for a food-based approach to address undernutrition among adolescent girls in resource-poor settings. </jats:sec
Magnitude and severity of anthropometric failure among children under two years using Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) and WHO standards
No full textNutritional Status of Children Participating in the Supplementary Nutritional Programme (SNP) and Mothers’ Perceptions of Services Provided
No full textFood away from home and the risk of non-communicable diseases among young working adults in Pune, India: a smartphone-based dietary assessment
No full textAbstract Background The shift towards increased consumption of food away from home (FAFH) has been recognized as a significant contributor to the global rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Despite this, dietary assessment in such contexts often relies on traditional methods prone to recall bias. This study, therefore, employed a novel smartphone-based dietary tracking application called “FoodLog” to investigate the factors associated with FAFH consumption and its relationship with NCD risk among young working adults in Pune, India. Methods A case-control study was conducted with 1,000 participants (330 cases, 670 controls), aged 25–45 years. Dietary intake was recorded over five consecutive days using the ‘FoodLog’ app, designed to minimize recall bias. Sociodemographic data were collected via a semi-structured Google Forms questionnaire. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were calculated to assess associations between FAFH consumption, participant characteristics, and NCD risk. Results Approximately 35% of participants reported consuming FAFH during the previous week. FAFH consumption was significantly associated with male gender, being married, employment as a consultant, and living alone. Correlations were also found between self-reported chronic conditions and variables such as age (36–45 years), certain professions, marital status, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, smoking, non-vegetarian diets, and FAFH consumption. FAFH consumers had a 1.48 times higher likelihood of having chronic conditions (AOR = 1.48, CI: 1.25–1.87). Conclusions The use of a mobile dietary app offers promising avenues for scalable nutrition monitoring. Findings support targeted public health interventions tailored to urban subgroups and encourage multidisciplinary research to address contextual dietary determinants
Auditing causality of the multiple-burden of malnutrition in India and South Africa: a critical need for directions
No full textDeveloping economies are shaped by the current predicament of urbanisation and its impact on health is inevitable. In the post-pandemic times, India and South Africa witnessed a GDP growth rate of about 1·7 % and 1·9 %, respectively, while the developed economies like Europe and the USA have bounced back with more than 2 % GDP. The similarities and differences between India and South Africa provide potential candidates to study nutrition transition with the elements of urbanisation. In both countries, increased access to convenience foods is a consequence of the rapid expansion of small and medium enterprises, open international markets and expanding food supply chains. Also, there has been significant acculturation and people have moved away from traditional diets in these two countries. A spate of similar changes in the food environment is a telling sign of serious ill-health consequences in both countries. Generating evidence on causality is fundamental to informing policy. India and South Africa qualify as potential candidates to study the multiple burdens of malnutrition. Collaborating with different disciplines such as data sciences and capacitating analytic skills are key to progress in this direction
Effect of vitamin D supplementation on the immune response to respiratory tract infections and inflammatory conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textContext: Vitamin D acts as an immune modulator, by downregulating the production of inflammatory immune markers and upregulating the production of anti-microbial peptides and anti-inflammatory markers. Hence, vitamin D may be useful in improving the immune response against respiratory tract diseases. Objective: A systematic review (following PRISMA guidelines) and meta-analysis were performed to study the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the immune response to respiratory tract diseases irrespective of population type. Data sources: Electronic search engines Pubmed, Pubmed Central, Google Scholar, Clinicaltrials.gov, Clinical Trial Registry India, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles. Data extraction: Sixteen RCTs were eligible for inclusion. Jadad scale was used to assess the quality of studies. Methods of the selected studies were assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment. Using the random-effects model meta-analysis was performed if at least three articles studied similar immune markers. Thus, IL-6, cathelicidin, CRP, TNF alpha, and IFN gamma, were included in the analysis. In all 16 articles were included for qualitative assessment, and 14 articles for meta-analysis. Data analysis: There was a significant decrease in CRP levels after intervention with an overall effect of Z = 3.37 (P < 0.00). The observed increase in IL-10 levels was not significant with an overall effect of Z = 0.84 (p = 0.40). There was no significant decrease in IL6 [Z = 0.59 (P = 0.56)], and interferon-gamma levels [Z = 1.70 (p = 0.09)]. Secondary outcomes including mortality, and length of hospital stay did not show a significant difference in the intervention group. Conclusion: Among the biomarkers studied CRP significantly decreased, with no significant changes in the others. Our findings suggest that vitamin D supplementation modestly affects the immune response. Pooling infectious and non-infectious respiratory diseases could have underestimated our findings. More RCTs are warranted to obtain substantial results
Determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in The Gambia: a population-based study using the 2019–2020 demographic and health survey data
No full textAbstract Background Early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life prevents neonatal and infant mortality. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Target 3.2 aims to reduce neonatal mortality and under 5 mortality globally. The decline in the early initiation of breastfeeding in The Gambia coincides with deviations from the SDGs, due to poor indicators of child survival. Our work studied the determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in The Gambia. Methods We used the 2019–2020 Gambia Demographic Health Survey (GDHS) conducted across all regions of the country. Since our population of interest was children born two years preceding the study, we only included children less than 24 months of age, living with an eligible respondent. Thus, a weighted sample of 5691 mother-child pairs was applied in the analysis. We reported summary statistics of individuals’ sociodemographic, obstetrics and antenatal, household, and community-level factors. A logistic regression model was used to determine associations between early initiation of breastfeeding and covariates. Results The prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding was 64.3% (n = 3659). Mothers who had secondary education or higher educational level had higher odds of early initiation of breastfeeding (AOR 1.22; 95% CI 1.07, 1.40). Regions with rural population notably Lower and Central and Upper River Region had lower odds of early initiation of breastfeeding [Mansakonko (AOR 0.37; 95% CI 0.26, 0.15), Kerewan (AOR 0.26; 95% CI 0.19, 0.36), Kuntaur (AOR 0.39; 95% CI 0.28, 0.54), Janjanbureh (AOR 0.48; 95% CI 0.35, 0.66) and Basse (AOR 0.64; 95%CI 0.49, 0.85)]. Also, women in the high quintile of the wealth index were more likely to initiate breastfeeding early (AOR 1.29; 95% CI 1.06, 1.57). Four or more antenatal care visits did not increase early initiation of breastfeeding. Conclusions The results of the analyses demand affirmative action to improve maternal education, reduce poverty and inequality and empower rural communities in The Gambia. The IYCF component in antenatal care needs to be strengthened. Programs and policies on IYCF must resonate to address determinants of timely breastfeeding initiation to chart progress towards the SDG
A Pilot Study to Assess and Compare Acceptability of an Energy-Dense Nutrient Supplement Among Moderate Underweight Children in Rural and Urban Settings of Pune, Maharashtra
No full textWe developed and tested the reliability of a digital tool to facilitate sensory evaluation (SE) of an energy-dense nutrient supplement among children and elicit their mothers’ perceptions in Phase-I. In Phase-II, SE and two-week acceptability were assessed in children from government preschools in rural and urban Pune (India). Cronbach’s alpha values of 8 and 6.8 indicated good and fairly acceptable reliability for mother and child questions, respectively. “Very-good” rating was obtained from >75% and >60% for appearance and smell, respectively. The acceptability test showed a significantly higher intake among the rural (mean = 102.0 ± 19 gm) compared to the urban children (71.14 ± 13 gm) (p < .05).</p
