Introduction:Menstruation is a milestone event in a girl's life and the beginning of reproductive life. Lack of knowledge and poor sanitary practices during menstruation has been associated with serious ill-health ranging from genital tract infections, urinary tract infections, and bad odor.Aim:This study aims to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practices about menstrual hygiene and perceived reproductive morbidity among adolescent school girls in Puducherry.Materials and Methods:A school based cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2015 to July 2015 in Puducherry among 242 adolescent school girls in the age group of 12–18 years using multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected using a predesigned pretested, structured proforma by personal interview method after having informed written consent.Results:The mean age for menarche was 12.99 ± 0.9 years; 51.7% of respondents were not aware of menstruation before attaining menarche; 71.5% and 61.2% were not known about the cause and source of the menstrual bleeding, respectively; 78.1% used only sanitary pads whereas 21.9% used both old clothes and sanitary pads as the absorbents. Unsatisfactory cleaning of the external genitalia was practiced by 12% of respondents. Higher prevalence of dysmenorrhea (82.2%) was mentioned by the respondents; 25.2% reported excessive genital discharge. Statistically significant association was found between perceived reproductive morbidity and poor menstrual hygiene practices. About 88.4% of the study population reported any one of the reproductive morbidity, and only 37.4% sought for medical treatment from a health facility.Conclusion:The present study has underscored the necessity of adolescent girls to have adequate and precise knowledge about menstruation before menarche. Proper menstrual hygiene practices which could be imparted through appropriate interventions at earlier stages of life can prevent the girls and women from suffering reproductive morbidities.

Aim: This study evaluated the prevalence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Gwalior-Chambal region of India. Methods: A cross-sectional house-to-house survey was conducted on a population of 7608 subjects, aged between 20 and 79 years for fasting blood glucose level in finger-prick blood. Participants were stratified based on blood glucose levels, gender, age, family history, etc. to assess their impact. Result: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes in the Gwalior-Chambal region was found to be 11.4% and 5.7%, respectively. The prevalence of diabetes was significantly higher in the urban population (12.7%) while that of prediabetes was higher in the rural population (7.9%). Male subjects recorded a higher prevalence of prediabetes (8.2%, OR 1.54 in rural; 5.1%, OR 1.26 in urban) as well as diabetes (rural 9.2%, OR 3.15; urban 16.5%, OR 1.57). Both prediabetes and diabetes were recorded as being higher in those subjects leading a sedentary lifestyle and in the aged population. The prevalence of hyperglycemia was much higher in those with a family history of type 2 diabetes (30.6% in rural, 21.5% in urban). Almost half of the diabetics in the rural population were diagnosed for the first time. The multivariate regression analysis identified male gender, increasing age of 30 years and above, and positive family history as significant risk factors for diabetes whereas age of 40 to 79 and less physical activity were significant risk factors for prediabetes. Conclusion: Family history of diabetes, and sedentary lifestyle appeared as key factors promoting prediabetes and diabetes in the Gwalior-Chambal region. A lack of awareness appeared as one of the major causes of the high prevalence in the rural region.

BackgroundDiabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetes. Almost half of the diabetic patients develop foot ulcer as a complication of DPN during their lifetime. The aim was to estimate the prevalence and identify the risk factors of diabetic peripheral neuropathy among adult diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 421 type 2 DM patients attending Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) clinic in rural Puducherry through systematic random sampling. The study instruments used for data collection were a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire, Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI), Morisky Green Levine Scale (MGLS), physical measurements and recent laboratory results. The data was captured using Epicollect5 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. ResultsThe prevalence of DPN was 31.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 27.1%-35.1%). The mean age, duration of diabetes, and duration of foot symptoms were 57.91±10.61, 7.00±6.23, 5.56±5.26 years. Smoking (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.14; 95% CI 1.73-5.69), mean duration of diabetes>5years (AOR 2.74; 95% CI 1.71-4.40), hyperglycemic status(>200mg/dl) (AOR 2.24; 95% CI 1.08-4.64) and unemployment (AOR 2.05; 95% CI 1.11-3.76) were found to be statistically significant determinants of DPN on binary logistic regression analysis. ConclusionsA considerable proportion of diabetics are at risk of developing DPN among rural DM patients. More diligent screening in a primary health care setting and addressing the modifiable risk factors like smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and uncontrolled hyperglycemia will delay or hamper DPN development among diabetic patients.

Background and Objectives:Renal stone disease is a common disorder of the urinary tract and also a significant problem because of incidence, recurrence, and severe consequences. The complex pathogenetic mechanisms of renal stone formation involve both biologic and environmental risk factors. The present study was performed to identify the role of these parameters among renal stone patients and normal individuals from a coastal union territory region in South India.Methods:The authors conducted a case–control study of renal stone disease among outpatient department patients more than 30 years of age using systematic random sampling procedure with 100 study participants (50 subjects for each group). A questionnaire to explore some relevant history as well as to note general examination findings was used along with a house visit to collect a sample of water. Analysis was undertaken using appropriate statistical techniques.Results:The study showed statistically significant association for renal stones with female sex, illiteracy, body mass index (BMI) (>25 kg/m2), sodium (>50 mg/L), water consumption (<1.5 L/day), water source being borewell, consuming soft drink, sedentary work, and family history of renal stones. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were significantly higher for consuming soft drink (OR: 8.19; 95% confidence interval: 1.99–33.69), sedentary work (10.01; 1.27–78.91), and water consumption < 1.5 L/day (7.73; 2.24–26.69).Interpretation and Conclusions:We conclude that in this part of India, female gender, illiteracy, high BMI, high sodium in drinking water, inadequate water consumption, borewell drinking water, soft-drink consumption, sedentary work, and family history of renal stones can lead to a significant increase in the risk of renal stone disease.

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