ABSTRACT… Objectives: To find out the association of body mass index with different blood groups in medical students. Background: Increased body mass index leads to obesity and is a prominent risk factor for hypertension and diabetes. Blood groups are known to be associated with various diseases and recent studies have shown that a particular blood group with the highest body mass index appeared to be more susceptible to predisposition to hypertension. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Liaquat National Medical College, Karachi. Period: June 2015 to September 2015. Methodology: 181 medical students with 85 males and 96 females and age ranging from 18-22 years. Weight and height of each student was measured using the standard stadiometer and blood groups were determined using the antisera. Results: Mean age of the participants was 19.92 ± 1.10 years. Blood group "O" was found to be most prevalent (39.2%) while blood group "AB" was found to be the least (8.3%). Mean BMI of subjects with blood group A, B, AB and O were found to be 24.3 ± 5.04, 22.6 ± 3.59, 23.0 ± 2.91 and 23.7 ± 4.20 kg/m 2 respectively. The highest BMI was found in subjects with blood group "A" 24.3 ± 5.04 kg/m 2 and lowest in blood group "AB" 23.0 ± 2.91kg/m 2 . The Rhesus-D positive and male students had greater body mass index 23.6 ± 3.56 than females 23.2 ± 3.44. Comparison of overall mean BMI values among different blood groups showed significant difference with p-value < 0.001. Conclusion: Blood group "A" and Rhesus-D positive subjects especially males were found to be the high risk blood type with predisposition to morbidity associated with increased body mass index. Key words:Blood groups, body mass index, medical students. Article Citation: Parveen N, Rehman J, Hassan SH, Hassan Z, Rehman M. Different blood groups; association with body mass index in medical students of Karachi.

Yogurt is a health food with notable market production and demand. Because of this, we conducted a study on prominent commercial brands of yogurts in Pakistan for microbial content and the probiotic potential of the contained lactic acid bacteria (LAB), in the context of their label claims. All contained viable LAB, but the numbers (cfu g −1 ) varied considerably. Three of the products made explicit probiotic claims, but LAB from these displayed no probiotic attributes per WHO-FAO guidelines. The yogurt starter and nonstarter Lactobacillus strains had no gelatinase or hemolytic activity and exhibited significant antibacterial activity against some human pathogens. One brand with a probiotic claim contained an L. acidophilus strain that showed cholesterol assimilation activity in vitro. Some potential human pathogens that were hemolytic and resistance to β-lactam antibiotics were also detected in the products. The findings demonstrate a need for better quality control and regulation to ensure safety and efficacy of yogurt products.Values are mean of three replicates. ‡ LAB isolated on MRSc and M17 media. | Non-LAB isolated on nutrient and MacConkey media. § Genus and species-specific primers for Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactococcus lactis, and Streptococcus thermophilu. ¶ Expiry and manufacturing date and contact information provided except lot/batch number. **a: de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) medium supplemented with L-cysteine in anaerobic condition; b: M17 in aerobic conditions. † † Neg for the primers used.

Objectives: To find out the association of body mass index with different bloodgroups in medical students. Background: Increased body mass index leads to obesity and is aprominent risk factor for hypertension and diabetes. Blood groups are known to be associatedwith various diseases and recent studies have shown that a particular blood group with thehighest body mass index appeared to be more susceptible to predisposition to hypertension.Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Liaquat National Medical College, Karachi.Period: June 2015 to September 2015. Methodology: 181 medical students with 85 malesand 96 females and age ranging from 18-22 years. Weight and height of each student wasmeasured using the standard stadiometer and blood groups were determined using the antisera.Results: Mean age of the participants was 19.92 ± 1.10 years. Blood group “O” wasfound to be most prevalent (39.2%) while blood group “AB” was found to be the least (8.3%).Mean BMI of subjects with blood group A, B, AB and O were found to be 24.3 ± 5.04, 22.6 ±3.59, 23.0 ± 2.91 and 23.7 ± 4.20 kg/m2 respectively. The highest BMI was found in subjectswith blood group “A” 24.3 ± 5.04 kg/m2 and lowest in blood group “AB” 23.0 ± 2.91kg/m2. TheRhesus-D positive and male students had greater body mass index 23.6 ± 3.56 than females23.2 ± 3.44. Comparison of overall mean BMI values among different blood groups showedsignificant difference with p-value < 0.001. Conclusion: Blood group “A” and Rhesus-D positivesubjects especially males were found to be the high risk blood type with predisposition tomorbidity associated with increased body mass index.

Objectives: To determine the accuracy of contrast-enhanced MRI in the diagnosis and detection of breast lesions and their malignant potential by taking the gold standard of histopathology.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (P.I.M.S.) Islamabad. It was undertaken in collaboration with the Department of General Surgery P.I.M.S, Department of Pathology P.I.M.S Islamabad, and HIT Hospital Taxila. The study design was a cross-sectional (Validation) study and the duration of the study was 6 months (from 01-Oct-2016 to 31-Mar-2017). Results: Sample size was calculated by using sensitivity and specificity calculator taking sensitivity 94%1 with a precision of 6%, specificity 85%1 with a precision of 10%, prevalence is 45.9%2, and confidence interval of 95% it comes out to be 92%. Sample collection was made by the technique of Consecutive non-probability sampling.Conclusion: Breast MRI imaging is a modern evolving modality. A gradual increase in diagnostic specificity is achieved with improved software and techniques. More such studies would help develop confidence in this advanced imaging modality for improving patient management and avoiding unnecessary biopsies.

Objective: To investigate the association of resistin with components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in our local population. Study design & setting: Case-control study, Medical OPD; Lyari General Hospital Karachi (from 15th July 2020 till 15th December 2020). Methodology: A total of 164 subjects (83 cases & 81 controls) between the age ranges of 35-65 years were selected. Subjects with metabolic syndrome were included in concordance with International Diabetes Federation criteria. Serum resistin levels in both cases and controls were compared. SPSS 20 was used for statistical analysis. Eighty-three patients with metabolic syndrome were enrolled and compared with 81 healthy unmatched controls. Obesity indices, blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, insulin resistance and serum resistin levels were evaluated. Predictive values of resistin for MetS were analyzed using odds ratios. Results: Significantly elevated levels of resistin were found in subjects with metabolic syndrome compared to healthy controls (8.23±4.43 vs 6.82±3.64 ng/mL, p<0.05). The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for metabolic syndrome in subjects having higher resistin were: males:2.62[1.11–6.19], females: 2.81[1.05–7.49], all Ptrend<0.05.For individual components of metabolic syndrome, we found the odds ratio to be greatest for hypertension, fasting blood sugar, and insulin resistance; 2.64, 4.83, 2.85, respectively, all Ptrend<0.05. Conclusion: The present study suggests significant association of resistin with components of metabolic syndrome such as hypertension, fasting blood sugar, and insulin resistance. Compared to healthy controls, subjects with MetS had significantly higher resistin levels. Further research is required to incorporate this biomarker in clinical setting.