In Pakistan, viral hepatitis is a serious public health problem affecting millions of people. Both hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections are spreading rapidly in all provinces of Pakistan, including Sindh, because of lack of knowledge about routes of transmission, low literacy rate, reuse of syringes, piercing, and other factors. However, information about the prevalence and risk factors is inadequate. So, a general population-based study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate and risk factors of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in Nawabshah. Healthy individuals were screened for hepatitis B and hepatitis C using an immunochromatographic rapid test followed by confirmation through ELISA and PCR. Information about sociodemographic and risk factors was obtained through a pretested questionnaire. Descriptive frequencies, odds ratio, and CI were calculated using SPSS software version 23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). In total, 523 participants were screened for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, among whom 232 were females and 291 were males. The overall prevalence of hepatitis C and hepatitis B was 14.3% and 6.7%, respectively. In a bivariate analysis, hepatitis B infection was significantly associated with risk factors such as hospitalization, blood transfusion, needle injury, multiple sex partners, reused syringe, dental extraction, surgery, injectable drug abuse, and shaving at barbershops. Hepatitis C infection was associated with factors including surgery, needle injury, blood transfusion, reused syringes, dental extraction, and shaving at barbershops. The increasing prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C virus in Nawabshah is a public health concern. There is dire need to implement preventive measures.

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Objective: To determine the relationship between anemia, menstrual abnormalities and hematological parameters among students, who are studying at Sindh University and are the permanent residents of Hyderabad city. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out at physiology department, university of Sindh Jamshoro. Study duration was one year from August 2018 to July 2019. All participants were the permanent resident of Hyderabad, aged from 18 to 25 years, and willing to contribute in the study. The questionnaire was designed to elicit comprehensive responses from participants regarding hematological parameters and menstrual abnormalities. Menstrual abnormalities such as poly-menorrhea, menorrhagia, oligo-menorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and amenorrhea were determined using the menstrual history. Participants with a hemoglobin level of <12 gm/dl were deemed anemic. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 300 individuals were randomly selected for this study, and 283 of them agreed to have their blood drawn. The participants' average age was 20.99±1.87 years. Most of the participants had irregular cycle 44.52%, followed by oligomenorrhea 13.43%, Polymenorrhea 11.66% and remaining were normal. Hypomenorrhea was seen in 8.48% of the respondents while hypermenorrhea was seen in 7.42% of the respondents. 14.49% of females reported the duration of menstrual bleeding for fewer than three days, and 34.63% reported normal duration of menstrual bleeding. Longer menstrual bleeding days (>7 days) was 26.85% Anemia in the participants was 45.94%, out of this mild, moderate and severe anemia was 32.51%, 7.42% and 6.01% respectively. RBCs, HCT and WBCs were statistically significant in terms of menstrual abnormalities (P<0.05), whereas other hematological parameters remained statistically insignificant in terms of menstrual abnormalities (p->0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of menstrual abnormalities and anemia were observed to be frequently high among female students of Sindh University’s permanent residents of Hyderabad. Key words: Menstrual patterns, menstrual abnormalities, Anemia, University students

Introduction: Mental health is crucial for wellbeing. COVID-19 pandemic has caused mental health problems. In this study it was hypothesized that COVID19 related mental health disturbances may have impacted the menstrual health. Objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 affected mental health on the menstrual health of university students. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at University of Sindh, Jamshoro between July to August 2021 during fourth wave. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to collect the data. Healthy unmarried female students were included in the study. Mental health parameters were assessed using DAS Scale. Results:  For a total 400 study participants the mean age was 20.82±1.69. The prevalence of mild to severe depression, mild to severe anxiety, and mild to moderate stress was 46.3%, 62% and 29.3% respectively. In moderately depressed females there was an increased prevalence of oligomenorrhea [ꭓ2=34.5 p<0.0001], heavy menstrual blood flow [ꭓ2=21.8 p<0.001], increased duration of menstrual bleeding [ꭓ2=21.56 p<0.001], and heavy menstrual dysmenorrhea [ꭓ2=18.78 p<0.002]. In moderately anxious females there was an increased prevalence of oligomenorrhea [ꭓ2=15.5 p<0.07], heavy menstrual blood flow [ꭓ2=12.4 p<0.03], and increased duration of menstrual bleeding [ꭓ2=21.56 p<0.001]. In moderately stressed females there was increased prevalence of polymenorrhagia [ꭓ2=22.3 p<0.001], increased duration of menstrual bleeding [ꭓ2=24.23 p<0.0001], heavy menstrual dysmenorrhea [ꭓ2=21.28 p<0.01] and secondary amenorrhea [ꭓ2=4.28 p<0.01]. Conclusion: COVID19-affected Mental Health affected menstrual health. Healthcare system of Pakistan should address this issue while planning to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on human health.

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