Introduction:Shift Work Disorder (SWD) is a sleep disorder characterized by sleepiness and insomnia, which can be attributed to the person's work schedule. Awareness of the mechanisms behind shift work related health problems could be essential to schedule the shift work, employment routines, clinical treatment, and selection of employees.Objective:To assess the prevalence of SWD and to identify related health problems among nurses in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore.Materials and Methods:We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore between May and September 2014. Based on simple random sampling, 130 nurses were selected for the study. After obtaining written informed consent from the participants, structured interview schedule using Standard Shift Work Index and Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire (BSWSQ) was administered.Results:The mean age of the 130 nurses was 27.4 ± 2.64 years. The prevalence of SWD was found to be 43.07%. Headache, back pain, gastritis, and menstrual disorders were the most common complaints, which are found in 78 (60.0%), 75 (57.6%), 42 (32.3%), and 39 (30.0%) cases, respectively. Anxiety and depression was found in 23 (17.6%) and 31 (23.8%) individuals, respectively. We also found a significant association of SWD with increasing age, more number of nights worked in a year, and longer duration of working hours. According to the BSWSQ, 70 (53.8%) nurses were found to have sleep problems.Conclusion:A high prevalence of SWD symptoms calls for a focus on the antecedents of work related sleep problems and appropriate intervention, such as behavioral changes, clockwise rotating shifts, and treatment.

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality found in live-born babies. The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant women regarding Down syndrome and its screening. Methods: This was a prospective study done in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in a tertiary care hospital. All pregnant ladies who attended the antenatal clinic and consented for the study were included. A prevalidated questionnaire was given to these women and data was collected. Responses to pregnant women's knowledge, attitudes and practices were evaluated in a three-point scale of yes/no/ don't know. All correct answers or all but one correct answer was scored good and the percentage was calculated. Results: A total of 267 pregnant women were included in the study. Of the 267 women only 156 (58.4%) had heard about Down syndrome. Eighty five percent of the women unanimously agreed that Down syndrome babies had mental impairment. But only 21.1% patients had good knowledge score on Down syndrome. Eleven percent had good knowledge regarding Down syndrome screening tests. Almost sixty five percent of the women had the right attitude towards screening tests and 46.1% patients had followed good practice. Conclusions: Informed decision making rather than imposed decision making must be practiced. Compulsory and effective education regarding Down syndrome and its screening must be provided to all patients at the earliest antenatal visit. The gap between women's knowledge, theirs attitudes and practice has to be addressed to. Noninvasive prenatal testing might be the future and is quickly bring about a shift in the paradigm in prenatal screening.