Objectives To investigate the role of social factors in the association between depression and falls among older adults. Methods The sample included data from 3443 older adults from three waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2010–2014). A Lifestyle Questionnaire was used to measure social engagement, social network contact, and neighborhood social context. Mediating effects of social factors were estimated through causal mediation analysis. Results: Poorer social engagement and network contact were associated with greater likelihood of falls, while poorer neighborhood context was associated with greater likelihood of fall injuries. Social engagement mediated a significant portion of the effect of depression on falls (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.06), and neighborhood context mediated a portion of the effect of depression on fall injuries (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.07). Discussion: The direct and indirect impacts of social factors suggest that considering them may help improve existing fall prevention approaches.

Hepatitis B virus infection is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, and accounts for a significant proportion of morbidities and mortalities in Ghana. Infection with HBV during pregnancy can result in life-threatening complications to both mother and child. To improve their quality of life, the free maternal care was introduced to grant pregnant women cost-free access to antenatal and postnatal services. The study analysed the prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women receiving free antenatal care in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study, where secondary data of pregnant women who accessed free antenatal services at the Trafalga hospital, Ho, from 2016 to 2017 were retrieved from the hospital’s database. Data on hepatitis B surface antigen reactivity test, age and period of turnout were analysed with Microsoft Excel and Graph pad prism version 6. A total of 2,634 pregnant women assessed free antenatal care from January 2016 –December 2017, with 10% rise in turnout in 2017. The age of the study population was fairly young, ranging from 13–52 years and mean of 29.87±5.83. The prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women in the entire study was estimated to be 6.0%, while that of 2016 and 2017 were 5.3% and 6.7% respectively. Turnout for antenatal services peaked in July, which also recorded the highest prevalence of HBV infection among the pregnant women. Our study, first of its kind show an HBV prevalence of 6.0% among a large population of pregnant women who accessed free antenatal services at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The study evaluates the influence of the free maternal care policy on antenatal attendance and HBV infection rates among pregnant women.

Using linked birth and death certificates for participants served by a Healthy Start program in South Carolina and community controls, we found that the Healthy Start program contributed to significant improvements in prenatal care, breastfeeding initiation, and participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and significant reductions in inadequate weight gain and large-for-gestational-age births. However, Healthy Start participants were more likely to gain excessive weight during pregnancy, and there were no significant differences in perinatal outcomes. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print March 9, 2023:e1–e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307232 )

Background: Blood glucose measurement is a way of monitoring changes in glycaemia. Different point-of-care testing (POCT) glucose meters are on the market and hence there is an increase in variability of the results given by these meters. This study sought to measure the glycaemic variability using four different point-of-care glucose meters Methods: Four point of care glucometers namely; Accu-chek performer nano, OneTouch select plus flex, OneTouch Ultra 2 and Easy Check were used test blood samples from a total of 100 patients visiting the collection point of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Laboratory. A chemistry analyzer (Mindray BS 240 fully automated) was used as the reference method. Results: The median (interquartile range), Bland Altman Plot and Regression Equation were used to assess the agreement between the various meters and the reference method. The OneTouch Select plus had the least bias (-0.85) and the the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the highest bias (1.49). The OneTouch select had the best limits of agreement (-2.51 – 0.82) and the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the widest limits of agreement (-1.91 – 4.89) when compared to the reference method. Conclusion: OneTouch Select plus had the best agreement with the reference method and the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the least agreement with the reference method. Blood glucose meters should be used for the monitoring of blood glucose however, it should not be used as a diagnostic tool. Annals of Medical Laboratory Science (2021) 1(2), 1 - 8 Keywords: glucometer, point-of-care, blood glucose, glycaemia