Eating disorders among university students have been increasing day by day in developing countries. However, there is a dearth of existing literature that assessed eating disorder risk among this population group in Bangladesh. Thus, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of eating disorder risk and its associated factors among university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 365 Bangladeshi public university students from October to December 2019. Data were collected by self-reported questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, risk of eating disorder, and nutritional status of study participants. The respondents' eating disorder risk and nutritional status were assessed using the validated eating attitudes test-26 (EAT-26) tool and anthropometric measurement, respectively. A cut-off score of ≥ 20 based on EAT-26 indicates the presence of an eating disorder risk. Finally, a binary logistic regression was employed to identify the determinants of an eating disorder. The prevalence of 'eating disorder risk' was 23.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 18.6 to 27.4). Being female (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.4 to 4.2), aged between 17-21 years (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.2 to 3.6), overweight (AOR = 4.9; 95% CI: 1.6 to 14.9) and obese (AOR = 7.7, 95% CI: 1.9 to 31.4) showed a higher odds of having an eating disorder risk in the present study. The higher prevalence of eating disorders in the study indicates that psychological intervention and health awareness programs, particularly to younger age, female, and overweight and obese students at the university level, would effectively prevent the eating disorder risk.

Background: Low Birth Weight (LBW) is a global health concern for childhood mortality and morbidity. The objectives of this study were to assess the association between the number of Antenatal Care Visits (ANC) and LBW among Bangladeshi newborns, and to identify the demographic and socio-economic predictors of LBW.   Methods: Our present cross-sectional study is based on the secondary data of the Bangladesh Demography and Health Survey (BDHS) 2014. Complete data of 4,235 (weighted) mother-child pairs were included in the analysis.   Results: The overall prevalence of LBW among newborns were found to be 19.3% (95% CI: 17.8-20.9). Among the mothers who received antenatal care services 1-3 times during pregnancy, 35% had less possibility of having LBW babies [COR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.50-0.85]. The association remained significant after adjusting the analysis with the sex of the newborn, administrative regions (division), maternal educational status, mother’s weight status and fathers’ occupation [AOR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.55-0.99]. Additionally, the sex of the newborn, division, maternal education, maternal weight status, and fathers’ occupational status were found to be significantly associated with LBW.   Conclusion: Increasing the coverage of antenatal services and enabling mothers to receive quality antenatal services may substantially contribute to reducing the prevalence of LBW in Bangladesh.

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Diabetic patients with associated dyslipidemia are easy targets for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Glycated hemoglobin predicts the risk for the development of diabetic complications. This study was an attempt to determine lipid abnormalities associated with Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus and association between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and serum lipid profile to assess the importance of HbA1c as an indicator of dyslipidemia and future risk of cardiovascular disease in Bhola District, Barisal. In this cross-sectional study, 200 known patients of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus within 35-85 years of age were randomly selected. They were investigated for HbA1c and lipid profile. The data were evaluated by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 16.0 version software. Independent samples t-test (2-tailed) was used to compare means of anthropometric, clinical and laboratory parameters and the effect of the glycemic control on their lipid profile was determined using correlation coefficient. Amongst the study group, 65% patients showed poor glycemic control, 35% with good glycemic control and 59.60% patient’s haddyslipidemia.HbA1c was found to have significant positive correlation with total cholesterol (TCHO), low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) and significant negative correlation with high density lipoprotein (HDL-C). The mean value of TC, LDL-C and TG was found to be lower in patients with good glycemic control than those with poor glycemic control. These differences were significant at the level of P<0.05. These findings conclude that the glycemic control of the patient has got a strong impact on the serum lipid level and dyslipidemia is frequently encountered in those who have got poor glycemic control.Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.5(2): 185-192, August 2018

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