Introduction: Reproductive health of adolescent girls is crucial as it determines the health of future generations. School girls when experiencing menarche find themselves in a setting without water, toilets or a supportive female teacher to explain the changes happening in their body. An important concern for adolescent girls is to have adequate, correct knowledge along with facilities and the cultural environment to manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity. Hence, the present study was done to assess knowledge and practices about menstruation in adolescent school girls of an urban slum. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among girls of a Government School located in an urban slum of western Maharashtra. A total of 250 girls participated. Data collection was through a pilot-tested questionnaire. The data thus collected were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using the SPSS 20 software. All girls were educated about menstrual hygiene after the study. Results: The mean age of the students was 14.9±1.75 years. The mean age at menarche was 11.97 (95% CI: 11.94–11.99). It was observed that only half (56.4%) had acquired prior knowledge about attaining menarche. Out of these in a large proportion, the knowledge was imparted to them by their mothers (60.7%), followed by friends (31.8%). There was no significant association between educational status of mother and awareness in respondent about menstruation. Regarding the organ of menstrual blood flow, half (50.7%) knew the correct answer (i.e. uterus); whereas the rest believed that it was stomach/kidney, etc. Most of the school girls (90.5%) used sanitary pads. Almost 90% of the young women faced physical complaints or health problems during menstruation. Most of the participants had some kind of restrictions on them during the menstruation and most of these were religious restrictions (69.7%) followed by physical (41.2%) and social restrictions (22.3%). All of them were unsatisfied with the toilets and hand washing facilities available inside the school premises. Conclusion: Correct knowledge in adolescent young girls regarding menstruation is lacking. Lack of awareness is a roadblock in adopting safe and hygienic menstrual practices. It also hinders them from overcoming traditional beliefs, misconceptions and restrictions regarding menstruation. This will empower them as they transition into womanhood.

No abstract

There is a significant association between score of sense of coherence scale and self rated health among medical students.

No abstract

Introduction: Parasitic opportunistic infections are widely accepted to accelerate the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. A large number of interventions are needed to delay HIV progression and improve the health status of HIV patients. The cheapest, simplistic, and practical intervention in a resource-limited setting like India, where HIV and helminth co-infection is common, is deworming. Methodology: The participants were assesses for their eligibility and recruited into two study arms. Both groups were followed for 1 year. CD4 count was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Study participants assigned to the treatment group were treated at 0, 3, 6, and 9 months with tablet Albendazole (400 mg) for 3 days. Study participants assigned to the control arm were given Placebo (Tablet Calcium 500 mg) for 3 days at 0, 3, 6, and 9 months. Results: In both treatment group and the placebo control group, the mean CD4 count was found to be declining. The mean decline in CD4 count of the intervention group was 72 cells/mm3 at 6 months and 85 cells/mm3 at 1 year. Similarly, the mean decline of CD4 count in the control group was 94 cells/mm3 at 6 months and 120 cells/mm3 at 1 year. We found that the mean difference in CD4 count between the intervention group and control group was −31.66 cells/mm3, −9.98 cells/mm3 and 24.87 cells/mm3 at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year, respectively. Our results are consistent with various other studies conducted in Uganda and Africa, as well as Cochrane systematic review. Conclusion: We conclude that empirical treatment with Albendazole in HIV-positive antiretroviral therapy naïve patients has no significant influence on delaying the progression of HIV disease.