Khat chewing is associated with unfavourable health outcomes and family dysfunction. Few studies have addressed the factors associated with khat chewing among Yemeni women. However, the family and husband effects on chewing khat by women have not been addressed. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of khat chewing among Yemeni women and its associated factors, particularly husbands and family factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 692 adult Yemeni women in the city of Sana'a in Yemen using structured "face to face" interviews. Mean (±SD) age of women was 27.3 years (±6.10). The prevalence of chewing khat by women was 29.6%. Factors associated with chewing khat among women were chewing khat by husbands (OR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.26, 2.53), being married (OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.20, 3.37), frequent family social gatherings (OR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.10), high family income (OR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.12, 2.21), larger house (OR = 1.63; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.31), and age of women (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.92). It is concluded that khat chewing by women in this study was significantly associated with family factors and with khat chewing by their husbands. Urgent action is needed to control khat chewing particularly among women.
Introduction. The neighborhoods where the children live play an important role in their development physically and mentally. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between neighborhood safety and child nutritional status in Baghdad city, Iraq. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Baghdad city, Iraq, among 400 primary school children from 4 schools. BMI-for-age Z score was used to assess the nutritional status of the children. Newly developed questionnaires on neighborhood safety were distributed to the parents to answer them. Results. In this study, males were more predominant than females with 215 participants compared to 185 females. A total of 49% were normal weight, 38.8% either overweight or obese, and only 12.2% underweight. There was a significant relationship between father education, father and mother working status, family income, and children nutritional status (P = 0.10, 0.009, <0.001, 0.37), respectively. The association between neighborhood safety variables and child nutritional status was significant except for worrying about child safety and thinking of leaving the neighborhood (P = 0.082, 0.084), respectively. Conclusion. Nutritional status of school children continues to be a public health issue in Iraq especially Baghdad city. There was a significant association between neighborhood safety and children nutritional status.
BACKGROUND: Eating habits have been a major concern among university students as a determinant of health status. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of eating habits and its associated social and psychological factors among medical students.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted among 132 medical students of pre-clinical phase at a Malaysian university. A self-administered questionnaire was used which included questions on socio-demography, anthropometry, eating habits and psychosocial factors.
RESULTS: Mean (± SD) age of the respondents was 22.7 (± 2.4) years and (the age) ranged from 18 to 30 years. More than half had regular meals and breakfast (57.6% &, 56.1% respectively). Majority (73.5%) consumed fruits less than three times per week, 51.5% had fried food twice or more a week and 59.8% drank water less than 2 liters daily. Eating habits score was significantly low among younger students (18-22 years), smokers, alcohol drinkers and those who did not exercise. (p<0.05). Four psychological factors out of six, were significantly associated with eating habits (p<0.05). In multivariate analysis, age and 'eating because of feeling happy' were significantly associated with eating habits score (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Most of the students in this study had healthy eating habits. Social and psychological factors were important determinants of eating habits among medical students.
Study site: Management and Science University, Selangor, Malaysia
Scales & Questionnaires: Compulsive Eating Scale
For patient's receiving mechanical circulatory support, malfunction of the left ventricular assist device (LVADs) as well as mal-positioning of the cannula imposes serious threats to their life. It is therefore important to characterize the flow pattern and pressure distribution within the ventricle in the presence of an LVAD. In this paper, we present a 2D axisymmetric fluid structure interaction model of the passive left ventricle (LV) incorporating an LVAD cannula to simulate the effect of the LVAD cannula placement on the vortex dynamics. Results showed that larger recirculation area was formed at the cannula tip with increasing cannula insertion depth, and this is believed to reduce the risk of thrombus formation. Furthermore, we also simulated suction events (collapse of the LV) by closing the inlet. Vortex patterns were significantly altered under this condition, and the greatest LV wall displacement was observed at the part of the myocardium closest to the cannula tip.
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common myocardial disease. It not only leads to systolic dysfunction but also diastolic deficiency. We sought to investigate the effect of idiopathic and ischemic DCM on the intraventricular fluid dynamics and myocardial wall mechanics using a 2D axisymmetrical fluid structure interaction model. In addition, we also studied the individual effect of parameters related to DCM, i.e. peak E-wave velocity, end systolic volume, wall compliance and sphericity index on several important fluid dynamics and myocardial wall mechanics variables during ventricular filling. Intraventricular fluid dynamics and myocardial wall deformation are significantly impaired under DCM conditions, being demonstrated by low vortex intensity, low flow propagation velocity, low intraventricular pressure difference (IVPD) and strain rates, and high-end diastolic pressure and wall stress. Our sensitivity analysis results showed that flow propagation velocity substantially decreases with an increase in wall stiffness, and is relatively independent of preload at low-peak E-wave velocity. Early IVPD is mainly affected by the rate of change of the early filling velocity and end systolic volume which changes the ventriculo:annular ratio. Regional strain rate, on the other hand, is significantly correlated with regional stiffness, and therefore forms a useful indicator for myocardial regional ischemia. The sensitivity analysis results enhance our understanding of the mechanisms leading to clinically observable changes in patients with DCM.