Background: Health is a fundamental requirement for living a socially and economically productive life. Poor health inflicts great hardships on households, including debilitation, substantial monetary expenditures, loss of productivity and sometimes, death. Objectives: To describe healthcare-seeking behaviour, access to health services and utilisation, and their predictors in a southwestern Nigerian community. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Ajebo community, Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area in Ogun State. A total of 420 respondents were studied using an interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect quantitative data.  Results: More than half (54.0%) of the respondents had access to public health facilities, 41.7% had access to private health facilities, while patent medicine stores were accessed by 4.3% of the respondents. Out of the 249 (59.3%) who were ill in the preceding three months, 92.4% of them sought healthcare. More males utilized government-owned health services s than females (χ² = 3.878, p = 0.049). More than half (56.4%) travelled >10 minutes to access healthcare services. Lack of formal education was not a hindrance to seeking healthcare (OR = 31.392, p = 0.003, CI = 3.323-2.347). Income earning <30,000 Naira was the strongest predictor of healthcare utilization (OR = 3.304, p =0.001, 95% CI = 2.007-5.441). Education with OR = 31.392 (p = 0.003, 95% CI = 3.323-96.570) was the strongest predictor of healthcare-seeking behaviour. Conclusion: Healthcare-seeking behaviour was not limited by lack of formal education. The utilisation of public health facilities was high among the respondents. State of employment and income were strong predictors of healthcare utilisation in Ajebo community.

Background: Several epidemiological studies have identified the association of abnormal ABPI with ischemic stroke. So the goal of this study was to determine the actual relationship of ABPI with ischemic stroke in the context of our country. Methods: This case control study was carried out in the Department of Neurology, Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. ABPI was measured by Doppler ultrasound machine of 100 patients who were admitted to the Mitford Hospital during the study period. Among them 50 patients with Ischemic stroke, confirmed by CT/MRI scan of brain were considered as ‘case’ and 50 age-sex matched individuals with one or more vascular risk factors (VRF) but without stroke were considered as ‘control’. Then the results of ABPI were compared between the two groups. Results: Among the 50 patients with ischemic stroke (case group), 74% had normal ABPI and 26% had ABPI< 0.9; on the other hand among 50 age and sex matched individuals (control group) 90% had normal ABPI and 10% had ABPI <0.9. The difference was statistically significant between two groups. (p=<0.05).This association remained significant even after adjustment for potential confounders (age, gender, high BMI, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, smoking, ischemic heart disease and family history) in a multiple logistic regression model. Conclusion: The incidence of low ABPI is significantly higher in ischemic stroke patients than the age- sex matched control. Chattagram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College Journal Volume 12, Issue 3, September 2013: 27-33

Background: Epidemiologic studies have reported that microalbuminuria is a risk factor for stroke in men and a limited case control study found that the highest quintile of microalbuminuria values was associated with 13 fold increased risk for stroke. The goal of this study is designed to determine its relationship to risk factors for ischemic stroke. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective observational study conducted in the Department of Neurology, Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fifty consecutive patients with ischemic stroke with at least two risk factors who fulfilled the inclusion criteria of case were confirmed by CT or MRI. Equal number of controls same ages without stroke who had at least two risk factors were compared with the case group. The patients were assessed clinically with structured questionnaire including blood pressure, height and weight, and monitoring blood glucose and microalbuminuria. Results: Microalbuminuria was found 58.0% in patients with ischemic stroke. Patients who had diabetes mellitus will have 13.86 times the risk for developing microalbuminuria (p<0.05). Patients who had HTN will have 4.19 times the risk for developing microalbuminuria (p<0.05) and BMI (³23 kg/m 2 ) will have 4.24 times the risk for developing microalbuminuria with (p<0.05). Whereas TIA, IHD, dyslipidemia, smoking and positive family history were not significantly (P>0.05) associated with microalbuminuria in patients with ischemic stroke. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that diabetes is the factor most closely associated with microalbuminuria followed by HTN and BMI³23 kg/m 2 with statistically significance in patients with ischemic stroke.