Objective: To compare serum calcium and magnesium in preeclamptic women and normal pregnant women. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study was done between August 2010 to April 2011 on 30 normal pregnant women and 30 preeclamptic women in Dhiraj Hospital attended Gynecology and Obstetrics' department. The blood samples were collected and analyzed for calcium and magnesium by semi-automatic analyzer ERBA CHEM 5 in central laboratory. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 15. The p-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant Results: The serum calcium and magnesium in preeclamptic women were (8.9±0 .4 mg/dl vs. 9.7± 0.7 mg/ dl, p<0.0001) and (0.75±0.08 mmol/l vs.0.85±0. 09 mmol/l, p=0.001) respectively, significantly lower than that in normal pregnant women. Conclusion: These findings support the hypothesis that hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia are possible etiologies of preeclampsia.

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Background: Geriatric depression is becoming a global public health problem causing considerable morbidity and disability. This problem is also increasing in India but still not sufficient work has been done on depression in many parts of India. This study aimed to find out prevalence of and factors associated with depression in elderly population in Vadodara, Gujarat.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was performed among 176 participants of more than 60 years of age. Simple random sampling was done to select talukas, villages and participants. Depression was screened by Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS 15). Person with score more than 5 was considered as depressed. Descriptive and bivariate analysis was conducted with the help of SPSS version 11.5 for windows.Results: The overall prevalence of depression in old age was 34.1% but in female it was higher (64.7%) than male (14.81%). Bivariate analysis revealed that gender (OR=10.64, 95% CI: 5.093 – 21.82), p<0.001), lower education (OR=4.167, 95% CI: 1.991 – 8.719, p<0.001) and cognitive impairment (MMSE score) (OR=121.333, 95% CI: 37.384 – 393.79, p<0.001) were independently associated with depression.Conclusions: Gender, lower education and cognitive impairment are some of the factors associated with depression in older population.

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Background: Aging is an inevitable process. Old age persons are more vulnerable to physical and social problems. The objective was to study the prevalence of health problems among elderly population.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 600 old age persons living in villages of Vadodara district. Their socio-demographic profile and morbidity pattern were assessed by face to face interview. Data were analysed by epi info version 7.Results: Around 65% of study participants have musculoskeletal problems; obesity was prevalent in 46.2% which was more in females (53%) than in males (41%). Depression was more in females 76.2% as compared to males (40%). Prevalence of diabetes and hypertension were 18.7% and 30.33% respectively.Conclusions: Present study reveals that old age persons from various health problems which show the need for comprehensive health programs especially for elderly population.