Objective: To determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of sepsis among neonates admitted into neonatal intensive care units (NICU) of public hospitals in Dhaka. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 173 neonates admitted into the NICUs of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital from March 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016 at Dhaka, Bangladesh. On the basis of the presence of clinical signs and symptoms of sepsis, neonates were admitted into the NICUs. The weight of the baby was measured and blood culture, complete blood count (CBC), C-reactive protein (CRP) and urine R/M/E were done at the time of admission. The neonates, who had positive blood culture reports, were confirmed as having sepsis. After receiving informed written consent, maternal data were collected from the mother of the neonate and neonatal data were collected from NICUs. Results: The prevalence of sepsis among the neonates admitted into NICU of the concerned public hospitals in Dhaka was 69.35%. In the multiple logistic regression model, perinatal asphyxia (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.27-8.90), presence of infection at umbilical cord (aOR = 3.32, 95% CI = 1.40-7.85), history of bottle feeding of the neonates (aOR = 3.02, 95% CI = 1.11-8.25) and pre-existing maternal infection (aOR = 4.44, 95% CI = 1.92-10.26) were significantly (p-value < 0.05) associated with neonatal sepsis. The odds of developing sepsis among the neonates with ≤ 2.5 kg weight at admission was more than three times higher (aOR 3.82, 95% CI = 1.59-9.19) than neonates with admission weight > 2.5 kg. Conclusion: Like other South Asian countries, the prevalence of neonatal sepsis is alarming in Bangladesh. Further research should be conducted to measure the burden of infections in the entire neonatal period and observe the effects of biological risk factors on the early and lateonset neonatal sepsis.

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ObjectiveTo determine whether the odds of being a smoker differ based on social media use and social interactions among urban university students in Bangladesh.HypothesisSocial media use and social interactions influence the smoking behaviour of Bangladeshi university students, particularly in starting and maintaining cigarette smoking.Design and settingA cross-sectional study using mixed methods on 600 student smokers and non-smokers recruited from two public and two private universities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a lower middle-income country with limited resources. Exclusion criteria were those who did not use any form of social media and PhD students.ResultsOdds of smoking were significantly higher for those who socialised more than 4 hours/day (p<0.05; OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.12 to 2.75) and typically at night (p<0.05; OR 2.80; 95% CI 1.95 to 4.00). Odds of smoking were also higher for those who liked (p<0.05; OR 4.85; 95% CI 3.32 to 7.11), shared (p<0.05; OR 20.50; 95% CI 13.02 to 32.26) and followed (p<0.05; OR 2.88; 95% CI 1.36 to 6.11) tobacco-related content on social media. Qualitative analysis resulted in emergent themes of smokers imitating tobacco-related photos or videos seen on social media and peers as an influence for smoking initiation.ConclusionThis study suggests social media and social interactions may influence smoking behaviour in university students in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Future research should continue to investigate the roles social media and social interaction have on smoking in order to explore social media-based smoking cessation interventions or dissemination of smoking health hazards through social media.

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Background: Worldwide, colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer and affects both men and women equally. Increasing evidence suggests that abnormal glucose metabolism may be associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer. The aim of this case control study was to determine the association of colorectal cancer with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2 DM) and other risk factors of colorectal cancer among adult Bangladeshi population.Methods: We included patients of colorectal cancer as cases and the controls were mostly cancer patients other than colorectal cancer and relatives of the patients attending in National Institute of Cancer Research Hospital (NICRH) in Dhaka. Three hundred samples (100 cases and 200 controls) were selected purposively.Results: It was found that in cases 19% participants had T2 DM before colorectal cancer whereas 10.5% participants in controls had similar history. Appropriate statistical analysis reported that cases having T2 DM has 2.86 times higher chance to develop colorectal cancer (OR 2.68, 95% CI: 1.21-5.96) compared to controls. We also got significant inverse association with colorectal cancer with obesity (OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.19-0.97), positive smoking history (OR 0.32, 95% CI: 0.19-0.60) and low fruits and vegetable intake (OR 0.33, 95% CI: 0.19-0.60).Conclusions: This was a unique study for Bangladesh which showed results consistent with the finding of studies done globally. Therefore, we accept our research hypothesis as T2 DM is a risk indicator for colorectal cancer, however obesity, smoking and less fruits and vegetable intake are also risk factors for colorectal cancer among Bangladeshi population.