Introduction: Maternal behaviour regarding child health care has been recognized as an important social and anthropological factor explaining high mortality rates among children under five years of age. Delays in seeking appropriate health care is known to be the largest risk behaviour which contribute large number of child deaths in developing countries especially in Pakistan. Mothers are mostly responsible for their child health, however, the importance of knowledge among mothers while in identifying the danger sign in their child are very imperative for preventing their illness. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted in an urban setting in Karachi city. The objective of study was to assess the knowledge of mother's regarding danger signs in their child illness and their care seeking behavior with aims to improve the neonatal and child health in Pakistan. Results: The majority of respondent mothers (81.5%) were literate, housewives (90%). Regarding child care the mothers are responsible for the immediate needs of their child. In the context of breast feeding and immunization of the infants, majority of the mothers were aware of practicing early initiation and uses of colostrum because of its importance. Although a large proportion of mothers (90.1%) sought 'appropriate' care for childhood illness, generally care was sought from private doctors (69.4%) instead of government medical practitioners. Conclusion: Study concluded that the Health seeking behviour of mothers has been found appropriate, however, their knowledge regarding the danger signs and illness of their children was reported low. It is recommended that some urgent awareness intervention by the policy makers for reducing the child death should be given to increase their knowledge on the danger sign of child diseases in Pakistan.

Adolescence is one of the fundamental processes of life, where transformation in composition of the body along with behavioral and physiological take place making the adolescents one of the most vulnerable group of population in the community and it is extremely important to take care of their nutritional as well as health status. Present study was carried out to find the prevalence of obesity in adolescents of Islamabad, so that; their health and well-being can be improved. A total of 315 adolescents studying in different schools both male and female within the age range of 15-19 were selected after proper sample size calculation. For data collection a pre-tested self-report questionnaire was used in order to find out the level of obesity and factors leading to overweight and obesity. Results reveal that 74% of the adolescents living in Islamabad had a normal body mass index (BMI)-for-age, 17.4% are overweight while 8.5% are obese. It was found that with increase in age and grade, level of overweight and obesity was higher.

Objective: To ascertain the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of general population of Pakistan. Study design: Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study. Place and Duration of study: The participants in the study were selected from community population of Islamabad in a period of two months from 15th May to 15 July 2020. Patients and Methods: A total of 278 participants were selected for this study. All the participants were given structured questionnaire consisting on demographic information HADS scoring system to calculate depression and anxiety. HADS consists of 14 questions, each of which is scored 0–3. The possible scores for depression and anxiety ranged 0-21. Higher scores indicate increased severity of anxiety or depression. A cut off value of 8 or more was used to identify the anxiety and depression.  Results: The mean age was 33.42 ± 9.67 years and 148 (53.2%) were males. Among these participants 238 (85.6%) were resident of urban area, and 167 (60.1%) were married. Most of the participants were graduate 102 (36.7%). Thirty-six (12.9%) participants had a known patient of Covid-19 in their family or friends. Most of the participants 196 (70.5%) had no any comorbid disease. The mean anxiety score was noted to be 6.47 ± 5.51 and mean depression score was 6.65 ± 4.17. History of any comorbid disease showed a highly significant (p-value < 0.01) association with anxiety and depression score. Conclusion: To minimize the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health of general population attention should be given to vulnerable groups like males, middle age adults, less educated and unemployed persons especially the people with chronic comorbid disease. Keywords: Covid-19, Mental health, General population, Anxiety, Depression

Background and Aim: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) might begin with lifestyle-associated risk factors from childhood and grow to adulthood. High blood pressure, older age, male gender, diabetes mellitus, abnormal cholesterol levels, current smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity are all associated with an increased risk of CVD events. To classify a person's risk for a CVD event, risk factors can be combined in a variety of ways. The present study's aim was to assess the preventable risk factors of cardiovascular diseases among the young population. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 208 young participants of age between 15 to 20 years at the department Medicine, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi during the period from February 2021 to June 2021. Ethical approval was taken from the institutional ethical committee. Informed consent was obtained from each participant. Two steps procedures were followed for data collection. The first step was a questionnaire-based interview for demographic details and modifiable determinants. Secondly, Anthropometry parameters such as blood pressure and pulse were measured. SPSS version 24 was used for data analysis. Results: Of the total 208 participants, 110 (52.9%) were boys and 98 (47.1%) were girls. The overall mean age ± S.D was 17.2±1.8 years with an age range of 15 and 20 years. The incidence of hypertension and prehypertension was 28 (13.5%) and 57 (27.6%) respectively. The occurrence of obesity, tobacco consumption, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity were 31 (14.7%), 16 (7.7%), 108 (51.9%), and 159 (76.4%) respectively. About 70 (33.7%) of the students were found to be malnourished. Conclusion: The present study found that poor diet, obesity, tobacco usage, and physical inactivity were the various risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the young age population. These risk factors have long-term consequences. Appropriate counseling and preventive strategies should be implied to mitigate the ravages of cardiovascular disease among the young generation. Keywords: Cardiovascular Disease; Preventable Risk factors; Young generation