Obesity is generally classified into generalized obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and abdominal or central obesity (WC ≥90 cm for men and WC ≥80 cm for women) based on World Health Organization recommendation for Asians. Hypertension is one of the most common obesity-related complications, and about 30% of hypertensive individuals can be classified as being obese. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of different age groups (years) on the anthropometric and derived variables. It determined the correlation between anthropometric and derived variables and also estimated the frequency of central obesity and hypertension. Finally, it investigated the relationship between central obesity and blood pressure among rural Bengalee adults of Dirghagram village of Ghatal Block, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India. The present cross-sectional study was undertaken among 310 rural adults (154 males; 156 females) aged over 18 years. Our study was carried out during March, 2017. Height (cm), weight (kg), waist circumference (cm), hip circumference (cm) and blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) were measured using standard procedures. One way ANOVA analysis on most of the anthropometric and derived variables showed a statistically significant increase from younger to older age group in both sexes (p<0.001;p<0.01; p<0.05). In addition to that, more females had central obesity using waist circumference (55.8% vs. 19.5%), waist hip ratio (87.2% vs. 35.7%), waist height ratio (73.7% vs. 44.2%), and conicity index (87.2% vs. 57.8%) criteria, and hypertension (52.5% vs. 27.3%). The prevalence of central obesity was much higher in case of hypertensive individuals. Therefore, the present study showed a high prevalence of central obesity among the rural adults of Dirghagram village. Furthermore, central obesity contributed in increasing hypertension among the villagers.

Lip print pattern (LPP) is unique to each individual. For decades, forensic experts have used LPP for personal identification to solve criminal cases. However, studies investigating ethnic variation in LPP are scanty. Our study wanted to investigate variation in LPP between two ethnic groups, Oraon tribals and Bengalee Hindus, residing in West Bengal, India. A total of 280 participants included 112 Oraons and168 Bengalee Hindus of both. Prints were taken using dark shaded lipstick and transparent cellophane tape and recorded into white A4 sheet. Prints were divided into four quadrants and examined by magnifying glass. For analysis of results, classification of Suzuki and Tsuchihashi was followed. A p value of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. It was observed that Type II pattern was dominant in first and second quadrants in both ethnic groups, irrespective of sex. Combination of Type II+III was found to be the most common pattern in males among both Oraons (16.2%) and Bengalee Hindus (12.2%) whereas in females Type II pattern (25.0%) among Oraons and Type III pattern among Bengalee Hindus (11.4%) was the most common. Chi square test showed statistically significant difference among females (p<0.05) and in third and fourth quadrants among males (p<0.01) of both ethnic groups. Our investigation clearly demonstrated sex and ethnic variations in LPP. Further studies are required to investigate ethnic variation in LPP among the various populations groups, both tribal as well as non-tribal, from different regions of India.

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Background: For successful management of acute appendicitis, early diagnosis and intervention is needed. Incorrect diagnosis may allow significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Several studies across the globe shows that Modified Alvarado Scoring System (MASS) does not need high end instrument and can be done in emergency situation for accessing acute appendicitis and reducing the chances of unnecessary surgery. To access the efficacy of MASS for diagnosis of acute appendicitis in remote areas with primary health care facilities, present study was done at Siliguri of Darjeeling district of West Bengal which was 580 km distant from state capital (Kolkata).Methods: A cross sectional study over a period of 16 months was conducted among the patients admitted at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital suspected to have acute appendicitis. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination. Written consent was obtained from the patients before commencement of the study. MASS was applied to the patients and the results were compared with histopathological findings. Appropriate statistical analysis has been done by SPSS (version 16.0).Results: A total of 75 patients (44 males and 31 females) were considered. The sensitivity and specificity of MASS in this study were 75.86% (71.43% for males and 80% for females) and 82.61% (80% for males and 87.5% for females) respectively. Study revealed statistically significant (p<0.000) association between Histopathological report and MASS.Conclusions: To reduce the chances of negative appendectomy and for better diagnosis of appendicitis, MASS may be more useful at primary health care centres those are located in remote areas as it was very simple, easy and cost effective.

The tribal population in India, as per 2011 census is 104.3 million, constituting 8.6% of the total population. Overall, 89.97% of them live in rural areas. Nutrition has been a major health issue in India for centuries. Chronic hunger and under-nutrition are the worst tribulation of the poverty that still plagues millions of tribal households in India. The objective of this study was to assess the anthropometric characteristics and nutritional status of the population. The present cross-sectional study was carried out at 2 blocks (Debra and Dantan II) of Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal, India. A total 392 adults (Female= 207; Male= 185) Ho tribal people were included in this study. The mean (SD) value of height (cm), weight (kg), mid-upper arm circumference [MUAC (cm)], body mass index [BMI (kg/m2)] was higher among males 159.68 (5.64), 54.53 (8.00), 24.79 (2.56) and 21.37 (2.85) respectively, than females 149.16 (5.42), 46.01 (7.98), 22.00 (2.76) and 20.65 (3.19). These values were statistically significant (p<0.0001). Based on MUAC, the prevalence of undernutrition was higher among females (55.6%) than males (26.5%) and this was statistically significant (p<0.001). However, based on BMI, the prevalence of undernutrition was higher among females (27.5%) than males (16.8%), which was statistically significant (p<0.05) also. According to WHO classification of chronic energy deficiency (CED), the rate of under nutrition indicated a serious situation. Thus, to reduce the nutritional stress among this ethnic group, appropriate nutritional intervention programmes are needed to be initiated.