Background:Iodine deficiency is the world's single greatest cause of preventable mental retardation. In developing countries, only 69% of households are consuming iodized salt.Objective:To assess knowledge and practices with respect to the current use of iodized salt, and to estimate its uptake at the household level.Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional survey was conducted in six villages under Rural Health Training Center. A total number of households surveyed were 253. The data collectors obtained verbal consent from the Family, and Pretested Standardized Questionnaire was administered in every selected household. The respondents were asked questions regarding salt purchasing and consumption habits, salt storage, awareness of iodized salt, and iodine deficiency diseases. Rapid iodized salt test kit (MBI kit) was used in the survey to assess iodine content in salt used in households.Results:In this study, 93.7% households were using packet salt. The most common source of information was a television (31.1%). More than half (53.8%) of the households were unaware of the benefits of iodine. About 62.5% of households were consuming adequately iodized salt. Significant association was found between the practice of storing salt in closed containers and use of packaged iodized salt (Chi-square value −37.6, P < 0.001), awareness about the benefits of iodine and type of salt used (P = 0.02) while no association was observed between the socioeconomic status and type of salt used in the household.Conclusions:Though the use of packet salt was more than 90%, adequately iodized salt was consumed only in 62.5%, and more than half of the subjects lacked the knowledge about iodine deficiency diseases.
Surgery has become an integral part of global health care, with an estimated 234 million operations performed yearly. The World Bank in 2002 reported that an estimated 164 million disability-adjusted life years, representing 11% of the entire disease burden, were attributable to surgically treatable conditions. To study the prevalence of various surgical operations undergone by individuals in their life time, in an urbanized community of Delhi. Cross-sectional study, conducted from October 2008 to April 2009 in Vivek Vihar-an urban affluent colony in Delhi. A total of 3,043 individuals residing in 622 households were interviewed as part of the study. Total number of households with some member having ever undergone surgery was 306 (49.2%). 12.3% of our study population (375 out of 3,043) had undergone one or the other form of major surgical operation in their life time. Caesarean section was found to be the most common surgical procedure performed. 61.7% surgeries were elective in nature and 81.9% were performed in a private hospital. The lifetime prevalence of surgical procedures was 1.77% among children, 12.6% among adult males and 15.8% among adult females (p<0.001). It was observed that the expense of surgeries conducted in private hospitals was more compared to government. Our findings suggest that surgery occurs at a substantial rate, at least among the urban affluent, with most of the patients choosing to refer to a private hospital for their surgery.
There is an extensive debate on the neurological consequences of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its impact on Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, which seems to puzzle neurologists. Links between viral infections and PD have long been suspected and studied, but the exact relationship remains elusive. Since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV- 2) enters the brain through multiple routes and has a direct impact on the brain, cumulative damage occurs due to the activation of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. SARS-CoV-2 seems to aggravate PD due to its effects on α-synuclein, mitochondrial dysfunction, and dopamine depletion. A few studies have even highlighted the higher vulnerability of PD patients to COVID-19. The sudden dramatic change in lifestyle caused by the pandemic and the widespread lockdowns that were implemented have added to the hidden sorrows of PD patients, as they already have a compromised mechanism for coping with stress. This review summarizes insights from basic science and the clinical effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the human brain, with a specific focus on PD.
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