Introduction: Hypertension poses a global challenge in terms of morbidity and mortality. Worldwide prevalence of hypertension is over 40%. Management of hypertension targets blood pressure control to prevent disease complications. Though stress and hypertension are closely related, stress management is often overlooked in the treatment of hypertension. Aims: (1) To estimate the prevalence of stress in hypertensive patients and (2) to study the associated risk factors of stress and its implications in disease management. Materials and Methods: It was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study done in Western India for 1 year. Data were collected from 400 hypertensive patients attending the selected health institutions using a pretested questionnaire. Chi-square tests were done using Medcalc 10.4.8.0. Results: The prevalence of stress in hypertensive patients was found to be 84.3%. Only 2.4% of these patients sought help from any health professional for stress. The most common stressors found in the patients were financial dependence on others, living in rented house, having a daughter of marriageable age because of associated dowry, death of a loved one, sleep-related problem, and owing a debt among others. Significant statistical association ( P < 0.05) of stress was observed with the type of family and socioeconomic status. A highly significant association ( P < 0.001) of stress with religion and residential area (whether urban non-slum, slum, or rural) was observed. Stress in individuals leads to poorer compliance with treatment and blood pressure control. Conclusion: Coexistent stress should be diagnosed and managed in patients of hypertension for proper disease management and control.

Background: The level of personal hygiene has a strong bearing on preventive capacity for many diseases and hence the assessment of its level assumes great significance. The school being a strong base for hygienic practices, the present study aimed to assess the level of personal hygiene and its associated factors as well as its effect on morbidity level of school children in a rural belt of southern Rajasthan.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 students studying in classes VIII to XII in 3 different schools of southern Rajasthan from November 2018 to February 2019.The data was obtained by interview method using pretested questionnaire which included socio-demographic factors, the hygienic practices and occurrence of diseases as dichotomous questions. The association of the attributes was tested through Chi-square test, correlation and regression techniques.Results: Only 22% students scored above 75% and were categorized as good practioners of personal hygiene. The age of students, parents literacy, and household income were significantly associated with personal hygiene. The common morbidities like head lice and dental caries were found gender sensitive in the study area. The negative association between disease score and personal hygiene score implied that the disease burden of children can be minimized with higher personal hygiene practices.Conclusions: Systematic efforts to sensitize school children and parents about importance of personal hygiene, improvement in parental literacy coupled with economic empowerment of rural families can help to enhance the status of personal hygiene of students and thereby drastic reduction in their disease burden.

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Birth weight of a newborn is an important predictor of its chance of survival and physical and mental growth. The various obstetric, psychological, socio-economic, demographic and maternal morbidity related factors can affect the birth weight. The present study was conducted to nd out the proportion of low birth weight babies among the babies born at tertiary care hospital and to nd out association between various Socio-economic and demographic factors and birth weight. The present cross-sectional study was conducted during the period 1st Dec. 2021 to 31st Jan. 2022 among 390 mothers admitted in post-partum ward after delivery and fulll the inclusion criteria. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were applied for analysis. In the present study, proportion of LBW was 27.4%. LBW percentage was higher among illiterate mothers, mothers engaged in agriculture work, mothers belonged to scheduled caste and lower socio-economic class. LBW percentage was higher among illiterate mothers, mothers engaged in agriculture work and mothers belonged to scheduled caste and lower socio-economic class. The nding of study emphasized on improvement of female education. Higher education status can help in getting better occupation opportunity and in improving the socioeconomic status of the family