Although low birth weight (LBW) is still a major health problem in Indonesia, studies about determinants of LBW with large sample sizes are still limited. This study aimed to examine the association between LBW and maternal characteristics, as well as socio-economic backgrounds in Indonesia. A secondary analysis of 2017 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) was conducted, specifically using the questionnaires for women of childbearing age. A bivariate chi-square analysis and a multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed. As many as 6.7% of infants were born with LBW. In terms of maternal characteristics, women who gave birth to twins were 20.30 times more likely to have infants with LBW (p < 0.001). Women with birth intervals of <24 and ≥24 months were likely to have LBW infants (p < 0.05). Complications during pregnancy were also associated with LBW (1.99 times higher than women with no complications) (p < 0.001). In terms of socio-economic factors, women with higher education and higher wealth index were less likely to give birth to infants with LBW. Additionally, marital status and type of residence were also significantly associated with a higher risk of LBW. In conclusion, LBW was associated with maternal characteristics and socio-economic backgrounds among women of childbearing age in Indonesia, including twin births, birth interval, and pregnancy complications as well as educational attainment, wealth index, marital status, and type of residence.

Nutrition education can contribute to maintaining health and optimal learning capacities during childhood. One important aspect to achieve goals and have successful nutrition education in schoolchildren is the quality of nutrition educators. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of online nutrition educator training to improve knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in giving nutrition education and overcoming barriers in nutrition education due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was a quasi-experimental study with one group pretest-posttest design, including seventy-three nutrition educators. Nutrition educators derived from nutrition students/alumni and was recruited online by interviews. Intervention was done in terms of one-time online education by the experienced lecturers. Knowledge regarding reducing salt, sugar and fat consumption was retrieved from 20 multiple choice questions. Self-efficacy was assessed using a self-developed questionnaire. From this study, intervention for nutrition educators significantly increased educators’ knowledge by 3 points from 82 to 85 (p<0.01) and improved self-efficacy was significant for 1-time and 3-times per week. Nutrition educators perceived that the best duration to do nutrition education related to reduction of sugar, salt and fat among schoolchildren was 3 times/week, for 30 minutes per meeting. Higher self-efficacy was found in giving offline than online nutrition education. Crowded places, bad weather, a conducive environment, and educators’ bad health become barriers to nutrition educators in providing nutrition education. Nutrition educators are having more self-efficacy in giving nutrition education using power-points (p <0.001) rather than through video or games in online based-nutrition education for schoolchildren. This study succeeded in providing significant results on the effectiveness of one-day training in improving the nutrition educators’ knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy.

Diabetes Mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia, and if it continues, the patients are at risk of having a macrovascular or microvascular complication. One of the most frequent microvascular complications is Diabetic Retinopathy, with a prevalence of 42.6%. Most of the blindness due to Diabetic Retinopathy is a permanent condition and cannot be treated, so prevention is vital in reducing this disease. This literature aimed at providing the recent information related to the effect of curcumin in preventing Diabetic Retinopathy from occurring in patients with Diabetes Mellitus and becoming a source of the latest product innovation in preventing this disease. The writing began by electronic database searching via Google Scholar, Science Direct, Medline, and Research Gate. Only articles in English were taken as a literature review with the following research variables, namely the decrease in ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species), the decline in inflammation, morphological changes in the retina, and reduction in levels of VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor)which is an angiogenic factor. Twelve studies showed the following measurement results, namely five studies showed a significant result for giving curcumin extract to decrease ROS; ten studies showed that curcumin extract could significantly improve the morphology of the retina; four studies showed that curcumin extract could significantly help the anti-inflammation process, and four studies showed a significant reduction in VEGF levels. Based on twelve articles reviewed, curcumin can act as a bioactive substance in preventing Diabetic Retinopathy in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

In developing countries, low birth weight (LBW) is still considered a major public health problem among infants. The national prevalence of LBW in Indonesia is quite high and ranked 6th for LBW cases among countries in Southeast Asia. This paper aimed to study the determinant of LBW especially in the urban area of Indonesia due to the wide availability of household survey data and the limited research of LBW with a large number of samples. This study used the latest data from the 2017 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS). A bivariate analysis using the Chi-square test and a multivariate analysis tested by logistic regression was done. As many as 7,321 women of childbearing age-aged 15-49 years from the urban areas were selected as the final sample. A number of 6.7% of infants were born with LBW with a mean birth weight of 3,677 grams. This study showed a significant relationship between birth interval and maternal complication and LBW (OR:0.74; OR:2.21). Women’s level of education also appeared to be significantly related to LBW (OR:0.82).  The conclusion of the study was that birth interval, maternal complications, and mother’s education level were closely related to LBW. Therefore, collaboration between health services, health centers, government sectors, and academicians is needed to provide standard ANC services followed by routine maternal health education is expected to reduce LBW numbers in urban areas of Indonesia.

Latar Belakang: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) merupakan kumpulan gejala fisik, emosi, dan perilaku pada wanita usia produktif, biasanya terjadi pada fase luteal sebelum mentruasi. Gejala yang parah dapat menggangu aktivitas harian seorang wanita Hal ini terjadi akibat adanya beberapa faktor penyebab seperti perubahan hormon,status gizi dan gaya hidup. Pada kondisi mengalami PMS dengan melakukan olahraga mampu melepaskan senyawa dalam tubuh yang memberikan perbaikan gejala PMS sehingga menjadikan olahraga sebagai salah satu terapi yang direkomendasi dalam managemen gejala PMS.Tujuan: Systematic review ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui berbagai jenis olahraga dan durasi olahraga yang dapat digunakan dalam pencegahan kejadian PMS.Hasil: Sebanyak 749 artikel berhasil diidentifikasi dari tiga database yaitu Pubmed, Science Direct, dan Scopus. Didapatkan 12 penelitian berdasarkan kriteria inklusi untuk diikutsertakan kedalam systematic review. Hasil telaah dari 12 artikel menunjukkan bahwa wanita dengan PMS memiliki gejala PMS yang lebih rendah setelah melakukan olahraga ringan hingga berat. Durasi minimal untuk merasakan manfaat olahraga selama 60 menit/minggu dalam 8 minggu untuk olahraga berat.  Namun diperlukan jangka waktu yang lebih lama untuk merasakan efek postif olahraga berintensitas sedang selama 12 minggu dengan durasi yang sama dengan olahraga berat.Kesimpulan: Berbagai jenis olahraga dari olahraga ringan hingga berat serta durasi yang bervariasi minimal 60 menit per minggu terbukti menurunkan gejala PMS pada wanita. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa olahraga dapat digunakan sebagai terapi PMS pada wanita.