Population-level serologic testing has demonstrated groundbreaking results in monitoring the prevalence and case-fatality of COVID-19 within a population. In Pakistan, Getz Pharma conducted a sero-prevalence survey on a sample of 24,210 individuals using the IgG/IgM Test Kit (Colloidal gold) with follow-up and sequential testing after every 15-20 days on a sub-sample. This is the first of its kind, large scale census conducted on a dense, urban, working population in Pakistan. The study results reveal that from 24,210 individuals screened, 17.5% tested positive, with 7% IgM positive, 6.0% IgG positive and 4.5% combined IgM and IgG positive. These findings have been extrapolated to the rest of the urban, adult, working population of Pakistan, and as of 6th July, 2020, 4.11 million people in Pakistan have been infected with COVID-19, which is 17.7 times higher than the current number of 231,818 symptom-based PCR cases reported by the government which exclude asymptomatic cases.

Background and aim Hypertension possesses significant public health challenges for both developing and developed economies. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the awareness of hypertension and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with hypertension. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge of hypertension and HRQoL among hypertensive patients. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire was conducted over a period of 4 months (November 2020 to February 2021) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study included 437 questionnaires submitted by the hypertensive population. Results A total of 437 participants were included in this study, with 55.4% being males (n=242). The majority (85.1%) were aware of the normal values of blood pressure. Many participants had no problems with mobility, personal care, usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression. Age groups showed a significant association with mobility and usual activities. The knowledge of hypertension was significantly associated with HRQoL. Conclusion This study found that majority of the hypertensive patients were aware of the standard values of blood pressure. HRQoL concerning physical functioning and general health is found to be good based on the EuroQol visual analogue scale (EQ VAS) in the hypertensive population who are aware of their condition. This study reported a weak yet significant association between hypertension-related knowledge and HRQoL scores. Several factors can affect the HRQoL of the hypertensive population including gender, education, occupation, and income status.

Background One of the leading long-term complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) includes renal dysfunction and urinary tract infections (UTI) which are considered to be prevalent in uncontrolled diabetes. Moreover, physiological factors like age, gender, duration of diabetes, other diabetic complications like neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy and glycosuria are also considered as predisposing factors for increased prevalence of UTI in diabetes which can be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Methods This was a cross-sectional, multi-centre study including diabetic patients from 12 clinical sites spread across major cities of Pakistan. The inclusion criteria were adult Pakistani population of age between 18 to 75 years both genders and suffering from T2DM irrespective of duration. A detailed clinical history of the past 3 months was recorded and, biochemical investigations of blood samples were conducted. Urine culture analysis performed identified the type of pathogen present and was done only for asymptomatic patients. Results A total of 745 type 2 diabetic patients were initially screened, out of 545 patients considered for final analysis 501 (91.92%) were negative and the rest 44 (8.08%) had positive urine culture. Female gender had a significantly higher proportion of positive urine culture (77.27%, p-value< 0.001). Body mass index and mean age had insignificant distribution among the two groups of positive and negative urine culture, with age 40–59 years having higher proportion (70.45%) in the positive group. Escherichia coli was detected in most of the positive samples (52.3%). All bacterial samples were found resistant to Ciprofloxacin. Conclusion Diabetic Pakistani muslim female patients are identified to be at high risk of suffering from asymptomatic UTI and age more than 40 years is an important risk factor. Escherichia coli was the most common causative organism among people living in this geographical area.

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Background The population-based serosurveys are essential for estimating Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) burden and monitoring the progression of this pandemic. We aimed to assess the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and potential predictors of seropositivity in the Pakistani population. Methodology This population-based seroprevalence study includes consenting subjects from the workplaces (factories, corporates, restaurants, media houses, schools, banks, and hospitals) located in the urban areas of Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, and Quetta. We analyzed each subject's serum sample for SARS-CoV-2-IgM and/or IgG antibodies using UNIPER IgG/IgM Rapid COVID-19 Testing Kit. The subject's demographics, exposure history, and symptoms experienced (in last 7 days) were also obtained. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Results The overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 16.0% (2810/17,764). The total antibody seropositivity was higher in males than females (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.110–1.340). The symptomatic subjects had 2.18 times higher odds of IgG seropositivity while 1.2 times for IgM seropositivity than the asymptomatic subjects. The multivariable logistic regression model showed that the odds of SARS-CoV-2 total antibody seroprevalence were affected by the number of dependents (OR = 1.077; 95% CI 1.054–1.099), apparent symptomology (OR = 1.288; 95% CI 1.011–1.643), close unprotected contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 (OR 2.470; 95% CI 2.164–2.819), traveling history (last 14 days) (OR = 1.537; 95% CI 1.234–1.914) and proximity with someone who traveled (OR = 1.534; 95% CI 1.241–1.896). Conclusion We found a reasonable seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the studied population. Several factors like the number of dependents, apparent symptoms, close unprotected contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19, traveling history, and proximity with someone who traveled are associated with increased odds of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity.