Background: Menstruation has more profound effect on quality of education than other aspect of puberty because it involves a learning component as well as elements affected by the school environment and infrastructure. It is, therefore, imperative to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Secondary School girls in Ogbomoso on the subject of menstruation and menstrual hygiene.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out between June and August 2016. A total of 447 eligible female adolescent secondary school students were selected by multistage sampling technique. A semi-structured facilitated self- administered questionnaire was used.Results: Majority (96.4%) of the adolescents have heard about menstruation before menarche while 55.9% had good knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene. Despite the high level of knowledge, about 64% of the respondents describe their response to their first menses as scary, discomforting or emotionally disturbing. Also, only 25% of the respondents had good menstrual hygiene practice. Factors that were significantly associated with good knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene in this study were older adolescent age (15-19 years) (χ2=47.68, P<0.0001); adolescents whose mothers have greater than secondary school education (χ2=42.52, P<0.0001); and those living with their parents (χ2=123.9 ,P=0.001)  while only living with parents significantly influenced good practices.Conclusions: The study concluded that majority of the adolescents do not observe good hygienic practice during menstruation despite relatively good knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene. Efforts have to be put into ensuring that adolescents are well educated on the meaning of menstruation, the importance of good hygienic practice both in schools and at home.

Background: Substance abuse among youths is fast becoming a global Public Health concern. Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with substance abuse in selected public schools in Ogbomoso, South-West Nigeria. Methods: Cross-sectional study design and multi-stage sampling method were utilized among 249 study participants who gave informed consent/assent. Data were collected using facilitated, self-administered questionnaire.Descriptive and inferential statistics using the Chi-Square test were carried out at p<0.05. Results:The mean age of our respondents was 16.3±2SD; 40.0% of them had positive attitude to substance abuse while 21.7% had ever consumed alcoholic drinks. In all, 31(26.3%) of the respondents satisfied the criteria used in defining substance abuse. Tramadol was the most commonly abused substance apart from alcohol; reported by 39.0% of the substance abusers. Most (35.5%) of the substance abusers did so believing it could enhance their academic performance. The proportion of respondents who were substance abusers was significantly higher among students who had not received any formal lectures on the subject at school compared to those who had.(47.5% vs 29.7% ;p=0.023). Conclusion: Our findings underscore an urgent need to intensify awareness against substance abuse among secondary school students in Nigeria. Sci. 2018;18(3): 776-785. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v18i3.36 Keywords

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Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Non-O blood groups have been shown to confer a high risk of coronary heart disease. There is paucity of data on the relationship between blood group and left ventricular hypertrophy, among other cardiovascular risk factors. A community-based study was done to evaluate the blood groups and their associations with conventional cardiovascular risk factors in Ejigbo. Anthropometry, blood pressure and other clinical variables were measured. Blood samples were taken for biochemical analysis for blood group typing, serum cholesterol and triglyceride assay. A 12- lead electrocardiogram was performed. The analysis was done using SPSS version 20 to determine possible relationships between the variables. Two hundred and six cases were recruited and analyzed. The prevalence of the various groups was as follows: A - 23%; B-31.4%; AB-4.4%; O-41.2%; rhesus-positive-92.7% and rhesus-negative-7.3%. Blood group B had similar systolic blood pressure (136.0±23.9 vs 137.3±22.3; p=0.726), higher Sokolow- Lyon voltage sum (3.3±1.1 vs 2.9±0.9; p=0.025) and serum triglycerides [14(21.9%) vs7(8.4%), p=0.021] than those with blood group O. Those with Rhesus Positive status had longer PR interval (169.3±25.4 vs 154.2±19.1; p value=0.055) and QRS duration (83.8±12.8 vs 78.4±7.6; p value=0.043) than those with Rhesus negative blood groups. Binary logistic regression revealed blood group B as an independent determinant of left ventricular hypertrophy( LVH) (OR: 3.028; p=0.012; 95% CI:1.275-7.192). Blood group B is a determinant of LVH. Rhesus positive status is associated with delayed electrical conduction through the myocardium.