Context:There is growing body of evidence that use of computers can adversely affect the visual health. Considering the rising number of computer users in India, computer-related asthenopia might take an epidemic form. In view of that, this study was undertaken to find out the magnitude of asthenopia in computer operators and its relationship with various personal and workplace factors.Aims:To study the prevalence of asthenopia among computer operators and its association with various epidemiological factors.Settings and Design:Community-based cross-sectional study of 419 subjects who work on computer for varying period of time.Materials and Methods:Four hundred forty computer operators working in different institutes were selected randomly. Twenty-one did not participate in the study, making the nonresponse rate 4.8%. Rest of the subjects (n = 419) were asked to fill a pre-tested questionnaire, after obtaining their verbal consent. Other relevant information was obtained by personal interview and inspection of workstation.Statistical Analysis Used:Simple proportions and Chi-square test.Results:Among the 419 subjects studied, 194 (46.3%) suffered from asthenopia during or after work on computer. Marginally higher proportion of asthenopia was noted in females compared to males. Occurrence of asthenopia was significantly associated with age of starting use of computer, presence of refractive error, viewing distance, level of top of the computer screen with respect to eyes, use of antiglare screen and adjustment of contrast and brightness of monitor screen.Conclusions:Prevalence of asthenopia was noted to be quite high among computer operators, particularly in those who started its use at an early age. Individual as well as work-related factors were found to be predictive of asthenopia.

Context:Domestic accidents are worldwide public health problems. The consequences of a domestic accident may prove disastrous as it may result in disability and loss of productivity. In this context, the present study was carried out to characterize the occurrence of domestic accidents in a semi-urban community.Aims:To study the incidence of domestic accident in a semi-urban community and its association with various epidemiological factors.Settings and Design:Community-based cross-sectional study of 796 households consisting of 4086 individuals residing in a semi-urban area.Materials and Methods:Complete information from 796 households consisting of 4086 individuals was collected through semi-structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Domestic accident was considered when any of these individuals had met with an accident inside the house or in the immediate surroundings of the house during the last 6 months from the date of survey. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed.Statistical Analysis Used:Simple proportions and Chi-squared test.Results:The incidence of domestic accidents was found to be 1.7%. The most common accident reported was fall. Occurrence of falls was found to be associated with age and overcrowding. Other accidents noted were burns, scalds, electrocution, injuries and accidental poisoning. Accidents were reported in significantly higher proportion in extreme age groups and in females. Higher proportion of accidents occurred during the morning and evening hours. About 10.1% were treated at home, 72.5% as outdoor patients and 17.4% as indoor patients. The mean duration of hospital stay was found to be 2 weeks. Full recovery was observed in 82.6% cases, whereas permanent disability was found in only 2.9% subjects, while 14.5% reported chronic pain after the accident. No death related to domestic accident was reported in the present study.Conclusions:Domestic accidents are more common in extreme age groups and in females. The reasons may be the higher amount of time spent at home and greater participation in daily home activities. Falls being the most frequent type of accidents, proper designing of house and adequate illumination may help in reducing their occurrence, as the majority of accidents occurred during the morning and evening hours in our study.

Context: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in first the 6 months of life is the most effective way to satisfy nutritional and psychological needs of a baby. However, EBF rate for India remained low at 54.9% during 2015–2016. It is therefore essential to understand the reasons for such a low EBF rate in the country so that appropriate interventions can be developed and implemented. Objectives: (1) To estimate the prevalence of EBF in rural community of central Gujarat and (2) to identify barriers to EBF in this community. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross sectional study was conducted among mothers of 330 infants of age 6 months to 1 year using pretested questionnaire. Two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select the sample. χ 2 test, t -test, and logistic regression were applied to assess the significance of associations. Results: EBF rate in the studied population was detected to be 49.7%. Early marriage of parents, less educated parents, male child, Christian religion, working mother, less number of antenatal visits, operative delivery, late initiation of breastfeeding, not feeding colostrum, lack of knowledge about EBF, and poor counseling of mother regarding EBF were identified as barriers to EBF. Conclusion: Prevalence of EBF was found to be lower than the national average in the rural community of central Gujarat. Effective strategies at local, state, and national levels should aim at addressing the barriers to EBF that are identified in this study.

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Context:Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the musculoskeletal disorders that is often described as an occupational hazard, including occupations involving computer use. However, clear consensus is lacking as far as the association between the use of computer and risk of possible CTS is concerned.Aim:To assess the association between CTS and computer use.Settings and Design:A case-control study.Materials and Methods:A sample size of 411 (137 cases and 274 controls) was calculated using Epi Info (version 6). Thus, 137 confirmed cases of CTS and 274 controls (matched for age and sex) were studied using a structured questionnaire.Statistical Analysis Used:Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval was calculated between the two groups to analyze the association. For control of confounding factors, logistic regression analysis was done.Results:Current use of computer was found to be significantly higher in controls rather than cases (OR = 0.47, CI = 0.27–0.84, P = 0.009). Similarly, past use of computer was also found to be higher in controls. However, the difference was not statistically significant (OR = 0.38, CI = 0.11–1.35, P = 0.20). On applying logistic regression, variables found to be significantly associated with CTS were education (OR = 0.79, CI = 0.66–0.94, P = 0.01), obesity (OR = 3.11, 95%CI = 1.92–5.04, P = 0.00), and short stature (OR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.02–1.1, P = 0.00). Although current use of computer (OR = 0.33, CI = 0.16–0.67, P = 0.00) was significantly associated with CTS in multivariate model, OR of value less than one does not indicate positive association between this variable and CTS.Conclusion:The study did not demonstrate any positive association between computer use and CTS.