Objective of the study is to assess the knowledge towards breast self-examination (BSE) of breasts among young adults in various districts of Sindh province in Pakistan. Descriptive cross sectional study design was used to conduct the study at Larkana. A total of 171 young female students participated in the study including students of matric, intermediate, undergraduate and postgraduate level. Participants were given a self-administered questionnaire designed to assess the knowledge of students towards SBE and Breast cancer. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests in SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23.0). A total 171 young adults participated in the study. Only a 2.33% were married. Most of the participants (47.36%) had intermediate level education, 43.85% were undergraduate, 8.18% had a family member with breast cancer, 38.6% of the respondents didn’t know that breast cancer is the most fatal cancer in women all over the world. A 43.8% considered that family history as a risk factor for the breast cancer, 61.4% considered that pain in the breast is symptom for the breast cancer, 83.63% of participants didn’t know how to perform breast self-examination, 88.3% of the participants were not practicing self-breast examination. It was concluded that most of the young students in various districts of Sindh province in Pakistan do not have reasonable knowledge towards Self-breast examination and do not practice the same in routine life.

Background: The COVID-19 first appeared in Wuhan city of China. It was treated as a case of pneumonia having no etiology, first appeared in December 2019. Its spread was at a rapid pace worldwide. It was named as COVID-19 by the World Health Organization on 11 th February 2020, as of 5 th June 2020, there are 87,113 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 196 students of SMBBMU through an online questionnaire. It was self-generated and evaluated by epidemiologists. The questionnaire was developed through the WHO advisory from the Coronavirus disease advice for public: Myth busters. It contains socio-demographic information and Twenty-four (24) questions related to myths and knowledge for COVID-19 and the response of questions was taken on true/false basis. Results: A total of 196 students participated out of which 100 were females and 96 were males, the mean age of the participants was 22.4005 ± 4.97, and 168(85.7%)participants were unmarried. The highest ratio involved in this study was of the first year, which was about 82 (41.8%). The most common source of information was social media (n=118; 60.2%). Overall,77.21% of the students were aware of the myths and realities regarding COVID-19.Data were analyzed through SPSS 24.Conclusion:The students had sound knowledge regarding the myths and realities of COVID-19.It is the responsibility of public health care providers to spread this knowledge into every part of the country through social media and other sources at their disposal.

Objectives: To determine the association of obesity and hypertension among the faculty members of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto University Larkana. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 340 subjects from SMBB Medical University. A self-administered questionnaire, mercury sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, weighing and height  scales were the research instruments, data was entered and analyzed using the statistical program for social sciences SPSS version 19. Results: A 340 subjects were included in the study. There were 123 (36.2%) female and 217    (63.8%) male participants, Prevalence of hypertension in the sample was 31.5% (27.6% in females and 33.6% in males) Hypertension was more comparatively more prevalent in overweight group (39.3%) and obese group (32.5%). Conclusion: Obesity is an important public health challenge in the study setting and its highly associated with HTN. Prevalence of Obesity and hypertension among university teachers was observed significantly higher compared to the general population. Measures to prevent the obesity and hypertension are strongly recommended.

Objective: Periodontal disease can be a source of subclinical and persistent infection that may induce systemic inflammatory responses that increase the risk of preterm birth. The goal of this study was to establish whether periodontal disease is a risk factor for preterm birth and to evaluate the association of this risk with gestational age. Study Design: This descriptive cross-sectional study included postpartum women with periodontal disease admitted to the maternity care unit of five different medical college hospitals in Dhaka City. Methods: The sample size was 111 postpartum; all of them had mild, moderate, or severe periodontitis. A periodontal examination was performed within 48 hours of delivery to determine the severity of periodontal disease. The outcome variable is preterm birth (define as birth occurring before 37 weeks of gestational age.). The statistical analysis of the data was carried out by using software program SPSS version 17. Results: The prevalence of severe periodontitis was 11.7% (13/111), moderate periodontitis was 36% (40/111), and mild periodontitis was 52.3% (58/111). From the variables that described the socio-demographic characteristics, only age had a significant association with preterm birth, and the mother having a lower age than normal and the mother having higher age than normal had an increased prevalence of preterm birth. From the variables that described the oral health related characteristics, regular visits to a dentist and pain in the tooth had a significant association with preterm birth (P<0.05). From the variables which that described the pregnancy related characteristics, BMI, previous history of miscarriage or abortion, previous history of preterm birth, antenatal check-up, and genital infection had a significant association with preterm birth (P<0.05). From the variables that described the socio-demographic characteristics, only education level had significant associations with periodontitis (P<0.05). Practical implication: The study suggests that periodontal disease may increase the risk of preterm birth in pregnant women. Therefore, improving the periodontal health of pregnant women may improve pregnancy outcomes. Regular visits to the dentist and early treatment of tooth pain may help in identifying and managing periodontal disease in pregnant women. Additionally, healthcare providers should consider periodontal health as a potential risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and incorporate it into prenatal care. However, more research is needed to determine the causal relationship between periodontal disease and preterm birth, and to identify key confounders. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a specific drive to improve the periodontal health of pregnant women could be a means of improving pregnancy outcomes. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether only periodontal diseases play a causal role in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Additional longitudinal, epidemiologic, and interventional studies with clear and consistent definitions of periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes, sufficiently large sample sizes, and controls for key confounders are needed to validate this association and to determine whether it is causal. Keywords: maternal periodontal disease; preterm birth; risk factors; gestational age; epidemiology; dental visits

Background: According to World Health Organization, work-related health deals with all facets of health and determinants of one’s health may vary in different occupations. Identifying those determinants may be crucial for primary prevention of risks and adverse health conditions. Objective: To identify the physical and postural determinants of musculoskeletal disorders among dental healthcare professionals. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out amongst public and private sector dentists of Hyderabad. The data was collected through pre-tested questionnaire from 132 participants. Participants’ socio-demographic characteristics, personal information, work-related factors, physical load related factors and prevalence of different musculoskeletal pain sites were analyzed through frequencies. Associations were assessed using Pearson’s coefficient the strength of association was determined via Chi-square test. Results: Females (39.4%) as compared to males (60.6%) were more affected and most subjects falling in the age group of 24-28 years with +0.66 SD. The postgraduate (77.3%) individuals were more affected as compared to their graduate counterparts. Furthermore, majority complained of neck pain (65.8%) followed by back (64%) & shoulder (59.6) pain. The study also found out that majority of the dentists (95.6%) have a reduction in activity due to MSDs. The only significant association (P value = 0.039) was found between sleeping hours/day and occurrence of MS disorders. Conclusion: Musculoskeletal disorders amongst dentists were found in remarkably high number. Wrong posture and poor physical ergonomics of workspace are attributed to higher incidence of MSDs.