Background: Rapid increase in number of vehicles in Kathmandu valley over past decade and never ending road expansion projects has aggravated air pollution. People involved in transportation jobs for long duration like bus drivers, conductors are more vulnerable to ill effects of air pollutants. The purpose of the present study was to assess lung function of public bus drivers exposed to outdoor air pollution by means of PEFR. Methods: Fifty healthy, non smoking bus drivers were selected randomly from bus parks of Bhaktapur district. Anthropological records were taken. PEFR value was obtained by Mini Wright’s peak flow meter. Their mean PEFR was compared with 50, age matched control group involved in other office works. Results: The PEFR value was significantly lower among bus drivers than the control group (p<0.001). Mean PEFR decreased with increasing age and increased duration of bus driving. Conclusions: Our study concluded that PEFR value among bus drivers who are exposed to air pollutants for long period of time was significantly reduced.
Background: Stress is a physical, mental or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stress upsets an individual both mentally and physically. Study showed that medical students suffer from higher stress than other stream students. Among medical students also female students are more prone to stress due to varied reasons. This study aimed to determine the stress among female medical and dental undergraduates. Methods: This cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate and assess the levels of perceived stress and common stressors among female medical and dental students at a teaching institute of Kathmandu, Nepal. A cross-sectional study was done to the first- and second-year undergraduate female medical and dental students. Perceived stress was evaluated using universally accepted Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS-10). Results: A total of 176 female medical and dental students were enrolled in the study. The mean COHEN PSS score was found to be 27.97 (SD 4.32) which showed high stress among study population. Fifty nine percent (59%) of the female medical and dental students had perceived stress. Conclusions: Levels of perceived stress were very high in female students. The most common stressors were related to educational and economic concerns. The students were more focused to daily matters and problems related to their academic achievements.
Background: Hypertension (HTN) attributes to the highest risk of deaths from cardiovascular disease and epidemiological data provide convincing evidence that the risk of cardiovascular disease related to blood pressure is accelerating day by day. It has become an epidemic in Nepal. There are many complications that occur due to uncontrolled hypertension. The outcome of hypertension depends mainly on the patient's self-management like healthrelated behavior, which is based on his or her knowledge. Awareness of hypertension is still inadequate among the rural Nepalese population. Aims and Objective: To find the prevalence and awareness regarding hypertension including the risk factors, symptoms, complications, management among the male adults in a Kavreli population of Nepal. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional community-based study conducted in the Kharelthowk VDC of kavre district. A structured questionnaire was used, and 600 male adults were assessed on their knowledge regarding the awareness of hypertension. BP was measured by the Auscultatory method of all the participants. Result: Out of 600 male adults, 318 (53%) had a history of hypertension and 6% (36) new cases of hypertension were discovered in this study. There was a significant difference observed in the knowledge of hypertension among the hypertensives with respect to kidney failure (p < 0.013), symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath (p < 0.043) and Blurring of vision (p < 0.009). Conclusion: The study subjects had low awareness regarding hypertension and associated risk factors. Proper awareness campaign on HTN should be carried out which will definitely help to raise public knowledge in prevention of the disease and complications.
Background: The incidence of congenital colour vision deficiency shows different trends and may vary in different geographical areas. Colour plays vital role in daily life functioning but there is no effective screening for Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) at any school level. The school children with CVD may feel difficulty in identifying colour figures, lab instruments and specimens which may lead to failure in the examination. Not only this they may find difficulty in daily life functioning so, this study is aimed to find out the incidence of CVD in school children. Methods: A total of 585 school children including 312 males and 273 females between ages 10-16 years were examined for congenital CVD in different schools of Bhaktapur. Each school child was shown the complete range of Ishihara's plates under day light conditions at distance of 75 cm and each plate was shown to them for duration of 5 seconds. Results: Children's colour vision was tested using Ishihara's 38 Plates edition. Among 312 boys, 16(5.12%) were colour deficient. Among 273 girls, 7(2.56%) were colour deficient. Conclusion: With this incidence of colour vision deficiency it shows the importance of screening for CVD in school children and counseling them for daily life functioning and making aware about the choice of career in future.
Background: Medical students are overloaded with many lectures and academic activities, the students spend many hours a day trying to achieve the expected academic outcomes. Stress impacts negatively, the health (mental and physical) and performance (academic and physical), resulting in emotional exhaustion. The impact on health may manifest as depression, substance use and abuse and suicidal tendency. Aims: This cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the levels of perceived stress and common stressors among medical and dental students at Kathmandu Medical College of Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was carried out on the first and second year undergraduate medical and dental students. Perceived stress was assessed using universally accepted COHEN PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (CPSS-10). The students were given a questionnaire which was completed by them individually during May-June 2017. Results: A total of 375 students (290 medical and 85 dental students) were studied. The mean COHEN PSS score was 25.74(SD 4.56) for medical students and 21.34(SD 4.68) for dental students. Conclusion: Levels of perceived stress were very high in dental students and high in medical students. The most common stressors were related to academic and economic concerns. Such students blamed reasons such as their course overload, monetary matters and problems related to their academic performances.
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