bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
End-stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Ibrahim Mohammad A , Kordy Mohammad NS 
Published: June 2011

Information was collected on patients with End-stage Renal Disease (ESRD) receiving maintenance dialysis in all of the dialysis facilities in Saudi Arabia. Similar information was also collected from the Saudi Arabian government-sponsored patients with ESRD in the United States between December 1985 to March 1986. As of March 31, 1986, 806 Saudi patients were on maintenance hemodialysis and 16 on peritoneal dialysis in hospital-based dialysis facilities in Saudi Arabia. The prevalence rate of ESRD was 139/million at the completion of the study. The rates increased with age and were similar when compared on a regional basis, but were higher in the rural areas for both sexes in all regions except the Southern Region. Here, the prevalence rates for the female urban residents were higher than for female rural residents. Although primary health care services are available in rural areas, a delay was noted in seeking medical care. This was attributed to the possible lack of health education, knowledge of the disease and information on the availability of the health services. Upon completion of this study, it was concluded that a need exists for further research in all aspects to delineate the role of the various factors that affect ESRD in Saudi Arabia, with the universal goal of preventing development of the disease in the population.
HIV, International Travel and Tourism: Global Issues and Pacific Perspectives
Authors: Lewis Nancy Davis , Bailey Jodi 
Published: June 2011

AIDS, like plagues throughout human history, has been blamed repeatedly on foreigners. This has heightened ramifications, from the personal to the geopolitical, in an era of escalating population movement and rapid international travel. By the end of 1990, the World Health Organization had estimated that the total number of AIDS cases worldwide was close to 1.3 million1. Recent estimates suggest that by the year 2000, 38-100 million adults and over 10 million children will have been infected with HIV2. Seventy-five to eighty-five percent of that number will be from the developing world. AIDS has rapidly become pandemic, with wide-ranging consequences for humankind. Human population movement is an important component in the natural history of AIDS. With respect to this, a central consideration is the relationship between AIDS and international travel, especially tourism. In this paper, after reviewing HTV in the Asia-Pacific region, we present the epidemiology of HIV in the Pacific Islands, discuss its impact with particular reference to population movement, and explore some of the specific challenges that the Pacific Island region faces.
Prevalence of Goiter in a Rural Community in Sri Lanka
Authors: Katugampola Sudharma L , Balasuriya Somaratne , Fernando Malcolm A 
Published: June 2011

The prevalence of goiter in a rural community was determined in a defined geographical area, namely, the Hindagala Community Health Project (HCHP). In this area which is divided into six Public Health Midwife (PHM) areas, the mean altitude varies from 450 to 775 meters. The house-to-house goiter survey conducted by the trained field health staff covered 70% of the population. The total goiter prevalence was 7% while the prevalence of visible goiter was 2.8%. The goiter prevalence was higher in the females than in the males at all age groups. Among males, the prevalence was highest in the school-going age group 6-18 years, while among females the highest prevalence was in the early childbearing period of 19-34 years. Further, an increasing trend in the prevalence was observed with increase in mean altitude of the PHM area. Correlation between community prevalence and age-sex specific prevalence gave the best relationship with the 6-18 year age group and a regression equation to predict the community prevalence from the prevalence in the school-going age group is presented.
Prevalence of Cardiovascular Diseases in Rural Area of Hmawbi and Urban Yangon City
Authors: Aung  , Htoon Myo Thet , Ngwe Thein , Tun Nyan , Kyaw May Mon 
Published: June 2011

With improvements in life expectancy and as more and more people have access to modern medicine, non-communicable diseases are emerging as a health problem in both urban and rural communities in Myanmar. Of all non-communicable diseases, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are known to be the major health problem. Since many studies that have been conducted in both developed and developing countries have shown a difference between rural and urban communities with regard to cardiovascular diseases, our study had the objective of finding out the prevalence of ischemic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease and rheumatic heart disease in a rural and urban community. The risk of obesity and smoking in the occurrence of CVD was also studied. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three urban townships of Yangon City (Sanchaung, Latha and Pabedan) and one rural township of Hmawbi. The results showed that CVD were a health problem in both the urban and rural communities. Coronary heart disease was seen to be more prevalent in the urban townships than in the rural Hmawbi Township, but hypertension (HT) and rheumatic heart diseases (RHD) were more prevalent in the rural township of Hmawbi. Obesity which has been blamed as the major risk factor for CHD and HT in the developed countries was not found to be a risk factor in the study townships, but smoking was.
Attempted Suicide in Kuala Lumpur
Authors: Habil Mohd Hussain , Ganesvaran T , Agnes LS 
Published: June 2011

A total of 306 patients were admitted to the University Hospital in Kuala Lumpur in 1989 after attempting suicide. Fourteen of them succumbed to injuries. Psychosocial data of 296 patients out of the 306 survivors are reported. Suicidal behaviour is more common in the young and especially amongst the females. Nearly 45.0% of them are from social class IV and V. Persons of Indian ethnic origin are over-represented, while in Malays suicidal behavior seemed to be less common. Self-poisoning was reported to be the commonest method in attempting suicide. Diagnosis of adjustment disorder was made in 58.5% of the patients. Two-thirds of the patients had an intention score of less than 10 on the Pierce's Scale.
Environmental Biotechnology: Biotechnology Solutions for a Global Environmental Problem, Hazardous Chemical Wastes
Authors: Omenn Gilbert S 
Published: June 2011

Biotechnology has a growing place in the remediation of hazardous waste sites throughout the world, and especially in Asia where population density is high and land and fresh water are scarce. In-situ bioremediation has been demonstrated already to be highly effective for petroleum hydrocarbons (alkanes, aromatics, polychiorophenols) and organophosphate pesticides in soils and for gasoline by-products (benzene, toluene, xylene) and chlorinated solvents (trichloroethylene) in groundwater. Heavy metals and PCBs are not suitable for bioremediation. Environmental biotechnology includes solid-phase and slurry-phase bioremediation for contaminated soils and site-specific bioreactors for contaminated groundwater. Specific examples are presented. From a policy point of view, accumulated wastes must be detoxified, preferably at sites where they already exist. We cannot continue to rely on their removal and disposal “elsewhere”. For current waste streams, we must minimize the volumes and toxicity. Environmental biotechnology will play a key role.
Some Epidemiological Aspects and Economic Costs of Injuries in Malaysia
Authors: Arokiasamy John T , Krishnan R 
Published: June 2011

Injuries are one of the leading causes of death in the world. In Malaysia, injuries form one of the three main causes of mortality. They are also an important cause of permanent and temporary disability and work absenteeism in the productive age group. Increasing affluence and industrialization coupled with growing population and transportation needs in rapidly developing countries like Malaysia have resulted in a surge of road and occupational injuries. Three quarters of fatalities due to road, occupational, drowning and home injuries occur in those below 45 years of age. A majority of injuries in these categories are attributed to “human” factors and therefore can be prevented by public education and enforced training of workers. The total annual economic loss due to all types of injuries is estimated to be 2 billion Malaysian Ringgit (US$1 = MR2.76 approximately). The government is currently in the process of setting up full-time departments for road safety and occupational health and safety.
Socio-Economic Factors Associated with Intestinal Parasites Among Children Living in Gombak, Malaysia
Authors: B Rajeswari , B Sinniah , Hussein Hasnah 
Published: June 2011

Fecal specimens collected from 456 school children in Gombak, Malaysia, revealed an overall prevalence rate of 62.9%. The most common parasite found was Trichuris trichiura(47.1%) followed by Giardia intestinalis(14.7%), Entamoeba coli(11.4%), Entamoeba histolytica(9.9%) and Ascaris lumbricoides(7.9%). Infection rates were high among the Indonesian immigrant workers' children (90%) followed by the Orang Asli(79.5%), Malay (59.4%) and Indians (36.4%). Females (66.3%) had a higher prevalence rate than the males (58.5%). The prevalence of infection was found to be associated with the socio-economic status, water supply, sanitary disposal of feces and family size. Albendazole administered as a single dose (400 mg) was found to be effective against Ascaris (100%) and hookworm (92.3%) but was not effective against Trichuris(39.2%).
Behavioral Study of Visits by Aged Outpatients to Medical Facilities in Japan
Authors: Anzai Masaya , Watanabe Yumi , Nekoda Yasutoshi , Kawaguchi Takeshi , Anzai Sadamu 
Published: June 2011

In this study we analyzed the changing behavior patterns of aged persons seeking medical care at hospitals and clinics over a recent ten-year period. The results showed a rapid increase in the number of aged outpatients receiving care at hospitals since 1977. In contrast, the number of aged outpatients receiving care at clinics since 1977 fluctuated with an overall downward trend, indicating outpatients' preference to seek treatments in hospital as opposed to clinics. The following are expected to affect future outpatient care rate differences between clinics and hospitals: differences in care rates for new outpatients, and differences between the sexes and among the types of illnesses treated. Having an especially large effect are: hypertension and heart diseases, diseases of the circulatory system also known as “adult diseases”; diseases of the digestive system, and diseases of the respiratory system.
Establishment of an International Information Network for International Health Development: A Survey of Public Health Administration and Management Courses
Authors: Loos Gregory P 
Published: June 2011

The purpose of the present study was to examine the content emphasis of courses of public health administration and management (A & M) among member institutions of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH), to determine comparability of curricula across campuses. A survey of course syllabi from, APACPH schools was conducted by three separate reviewers to identify topical subject matter presented in general and specialty A & M courses delivered to graduate students at each campus. Based on this review, three synthetic general content A & M courses, and one specialty A & M course (i.e. Hospital Administration) were created as a basis for inter-campus cross-institutional comparisons conducted by the author. Despite the number of courses provided by the different APACPH institutions, specific content areas consistently appeared across institutions, suggesting possible foundational A & M content for public health students. In general, there was much better coverage of similar topics at the introductory level of instruction, and much greater consistency was observed across institutions that provided course work addressing the administration of hospitals. Several recommendations are made for further studies of other content areas, and for the development of minimum training content areas as a basis for cross-institutional studies. Asia Pac J Public Health1994;7(3):183-90.
Health Practices and Indices of a Poor Urban Population in Indonesia Part II: Immunization, Nutrition, and Incidence of Diarrhea
Authors: Kaye Katherine , Novell Michael K 
Published: June 2011

This second section in a two-part study of health indices and practices among a poor urban population in Indonesia focuses on problems related to immunization, nutrition, and incidence of diarrhea. Through a survey of 690 mothers and 593 children in two slum communities in Jakarta, we found that 1) 65% of the children were mildly to severely malnourished according to Gomez criteria, with malnutrition most prevalent among the poorest; 2) 75% of the mothers reported exclusive breastfeeding of their infants during the first four months after birth, but breastfeeding decreased sharply with increasing socioeconomic status; 3) of the 19% of one-to three-year-old children who were incompletely immunized, most were likely to be missing their measles and DPT 3 immunizations; and 4) 28% of the mothers reported that at least one of their under-three-year-old children had diarrhea in the last month, with frequency of reporting highest among poor mothers and those using water from vendors. We concluded that selective interventions should be accompanied by development of a comprehensive health infrastructure that permits uninterrupted service delivery and follow up of those identified as high risk. Such a comprehensive primary health care system should be part of a multisectoral development strategy. Asia Pac J Public Health1994;7(4):224-7.
Immunization Coverage and Infant Mortality Rate in Developing Countries
Authors: Shimouchi Akira , Ozasa Kotaro , Hayashi Kyohei 
Published: June 2011

We examined whether immunization coverage (IMC) is one of the predictors of infant mortality rate (IMR), as a single indicator representing the availability of primary health care (PHC) services in developing countries. Multiple regression analysis showed that partial correlation coefficients for IMR with immunization coverage (-0.224), logarithm of per capita GNP (-0.294), total fertility rate (0.269), and adult literacy rate (-0.325) were all statistically significant (p < 0.001) in 97 developing countries which make up more than 97% of the population in all developing countries of the world. Multiple correlation coefficients of IMR with these four variables in 97 countries was 0.921. Thus, more than 80% of variation of IMR in developing countries were explained by the variation of the four variables. The study also showed that IMC was well correlated (simple correlation) with the four indicators of the availability of primary health care services: access to local care (0.730), care of pregnant women (0.603), delivery care (0.666), and infant care (0.553), all of which were statistically significant (p < 0.001) in the 48 developing countries which make up 42% of the population of all developing countries. Multiple correlation coefficients of these four variables was 0.787. About 60% of the variation of IMC will be explained by the variation of the four variables. Thus we conclude that immunization coverage is one of the main predictors of the infant mortality rate. It represents one of the health intervention components which can be used as a proxy indicator of the availability of PHC service in developing countries. Asia Pac J Public Health1994;7(4): 228-32.
A Smoking Intervention Program for Primary Four Students in Hong Kong: What it can and cannot achieve
Authors: Betson Carol L. , Peters Jean , Lam Tai-hing , Hedley Anthony J. , Wong Chi-ming , Day Jeffrey , Fielding Richard 
Published: June 2011

The study aimed to assess the feasibility of a smoking prevention intervention program in primary schools in Hong Kong; increase awareness of the purpose of tobacco advertising; record any changes in attitude towards smoking; and measure the effects of the program on the children's knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking on health. Six classes from two primary schools in Hong Kong were involved in the study. The sample of 205 pupils in Primary 4, aged 9-10 years, were presented with a smoking prevention program of three lessons, including homework assignments. The intervention was evaluated by the analysis of pre-and post-test results and through personal interviews with the teachers. There were statistically significant changes in the responses of the children between pre-and post-tests, with a reduction in “don't know” answers and increase, in most cases, in correct responses. There were more improvements in knowledge than in attitude. There were no significant changes in the responses to questions about current behavior or future intention to smoke. School-based smoking prevention programs for primary schools in Hong Kong should be further developed and evaluated. Additional studies with larger numbers of children need to be conducted and implementation should occur quickly once efficacy has been demonstrated by evaluation. We hypothesize that a longer, spiral curriculum spanning Primary 4, 5 and 6 would be more effective in preventing the uptake of smoking, although this shorter program is a feasible and acceptable alternative to the absence of any program.
Secular changes in growth centiles of children 0–5 years in the Hindagala Community Health Project, 1965–1989, Sri Lanka
Authors: Katugampola Sudharma L , Fernando Malcolm A , Balasuriya Somaratne 
Published: June 2011

The weights of 4, 792 infants and preschool children maintained at a family clinic in a rural area, over a period of 25 years from 1965 to 1989, were studied retrospectively. The data were analyzed by five-year birth cohorts. The 97th, 50th and 3rd centile curves were computed for the study sample. They were well below those of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Males were heavier than females for each centile. The secular variation was examined. It was observed that during the first year of life, the weight gain of the first three cohorts was significantly higher than the last two. From 12 to 48 months there was only a minimal change between cohorts. However, after 48 months, the last two cohorts showed an improvement in weight as compared to the other three. The boys in our study were far below the 50th centile for NCHS, fell to the 3rd centile around 20 months, and gradually declined further. The 97th centile for boys was above the 50th NCHS during the first year of life but fell thereafter until 60 months. The use of local standards at rural clinics is recommended for early detection of those at risk of growth retardation.
A Study of Pattern of Body Mass Index (BMI) and Prevalence of Obesity in a Saudi Population
Authors: Kordy Mohammad Naji S. , El-gamal Fathi Mahmoud 
Published: June 2011

The present study was conducted to assess the pattern of body mass index (BMI) prevalence of obesity, and the association between obesity and other health-related problems in a Saudi population. The study was conducted in Queza district of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A systematic random sample of Saudi nationals aged 16 years and above were selected (total number 1037; 611 males and 426 females). The study population was clinically examined and a specially-designed questionnaire was administered to obtain the information. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and urine analysis were carried out. The collected data were analyzed using simple as well as multivariate statistical methods. It was observed that BMI significantly increased with age. The crude mean BMI was significantly greater in females compared to males. Prevalence of Grade I obesity among different age groups in males ranged from 15.7% to 43.0%, while in females the range was from 22.8% to 45.7%. Similar patterns for both genders were found for Grade II obesity (5.2%-18.9%; and 11.1%-47.8% respectively). Obesity was significantly associated with an increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, where increase in BMI by one unit increased systolic blood pressure by 0.617 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure by 0.484 mm Hg. This relationship held true even after allowing for other confounding factors. The present study concluded that obesity is a problem prevalent in the community of Queza district. It is recommended that health education programs be implemented through primary health care services in the community to prevent this problem.
Assessment of Malocclusion of Japanese Junior High School Pupils Aged 12-13 Years in Iwate Prefecture According to the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI)
Authors: Takahashi Fumie , Abe Akiko , Isobe Yutaka , Aizawa Yuzuru , Hanada Nobuhiro 
Published: June 2011

The purpose of this investigation is to grasp the actual condition of malocclusion in Japanese junior high school pupils using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). A total of 218 junior high school pupils aged 12-13 years were examined according to DAI. About 40% of the subjects had incisal crowding. The percentage of subjects with incisal spacing was 24%, and 71% of them had diastema of 1 mm or more. The percentage of subjects with anterior irregularity on the upper and lower arch was 39% and 33%, respectively. The percentage of subjects with anterior maxillary overjet and mandibular protrusion of 1 mm or more was 85% and 6% respectively. Dislocation by more than a half-cusp in the proximal or distal relationship in the molars was observed in 26% of all subjects. Mean ± SD of DAI score was 25.3 ± 7.3.
Health Status/Life Satisfaction and Health Practices: A Study of Pacific Asian and Native Hawaiian Elderly Cohorts
Authors: Koseki Lawrence K , Reid Sue E 
Published: June 2011

This article describes the sociodemographic characteristics, self-ratings of health status, life satisfaction and health practices of Pacific Asian and Native Hawaiian elderly groups. The data were gathered from two separate, non-equivalent elderly cohorts enrolled in an elderly self-care education program in Hawaii during the period 1989-1992. The findings generally reflected favorable self-ratings of health status, high life satisfaction levels, and positive health practices for both of these minority elderly groups. The exceptions regarding several health practices relate to snacking between meals, overweight problems and insufficient sleep for a sizable proportion of both groups. Slight to moderate differences between the two groups were also evident in 1) eating habits; 2) snacking; 3) types of physical activities; 4) weight control; 5) sleep patterns; 6) alcohol use; and 7) smoking. Despite the article's exploratory nature and limitation in the generalizability of its findings, the data of fer a beginning database for Asian and Pacific Island elderly which is sorely lacking.