BackgroundComplete blood count is one of the routinely advised blood investigation during pregnancy. It is also utilized as a diagnostic tool for neonatal anemia, sepsis and determining hemostatic status of the newborn. The present study aims at estimating the complete blood count of maternal and umbilical cord blood at the time of delivery and to establish its correlation.MethodThis cross sectional study included 114 mothers and their healthy neonates born through normal vaginal delivery. Complete blood count of umbilical cord blood and maternal blood was estimated using automatic hematology analyzer.ResultsThe mean maternal and neonatal hemoglobin concentration was 11.14 ± 1.39 g/dL and 16.34 ± 2.01 g/dL respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between maternal and fetal hemoglobin concentration (p < 0.001 and Pearson R = 0.496). The correlation between maternal and fetal WBC, RBC and Platelet count was not statistically significant. A significant positive correlation was found between maternal and fetal MCV and MCH while PCV showed a non-significant positive correlation.ConclusionThere was moderately positive correlation between maternal and fetal hemoglobin, MCV and MCH. The cord blood hemoglobin was lower in babies born to anemic mothers. The decrease in hemoglobin followed the severity of anemia, however, the correlation did not exist in anemic mothers. It suggested that fetal hematological parameters are not reflective of maternal hemogram.

Background: Anemia is a public health concern with adverse health consequences. The vast nature of medical curriculum demands rigorous efforts and stress putting health science students at risk of anemia. In the present study, we aim to estimate the hemoglobin level of undergraduate health science students at Chitwan Medical College. Methods: This cross-sectional study included all 386 year I and II undergraduate health science students enrolled at Chitwan Medical College. An informed consent was obtained from all the participants and hemoglobin values were obtained using Sahli’s hemoglobinometry at Physiology laboratory of basic science complex during March to August 2019. Ethical approval was obtained from CMC-IRC (Ref: CMC-IRC/075/076-125). Chi-squared test was done to seek the association of various demographic factors with hemoglobin values. Results: Anemia was found among 37.8% undergraduate health science students as per World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. A total of 44.7% males and 32.3% females were found to have anemia. Statistical significant association was observed between body mass index (BMI) and hemoglobin level with higher BMI contributing to higher hemoglobin values. There was no association of hemoglobin level with sex, place of origin and stream of study.   Conclusions: Almost 4 out of 10 undergraduate medical students enrolled at Chitwan Medical College had lower hemoglobin values for age and sex as suggested by WHO.  Keywords: anemia, health science, hemoglobin, students, undergraduate  

Background: Menarche is a milestone for adolescent girls. The age of menarche is influenced by genetic, social status, place, race, ethnicity, nutritional and physical activity. There have been many studies on age at menarche but very few in this part of the country. This study aimed to assess the age of menarche and Body mass index among school going adolescent girls in Bharatpur Metropolitan city Chitwan. Methods: Total participants of 163 adolescent girls in this cross-section study were chosen from three private schools of Bharatpur Metropolitan city during June-September 2021. A pre-tested self-administrated questionnaire for menarche and anthropometric measurements were carried out for body mass index. The data were then entered to Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS, version 20) for the analysis. Results: The study revealed that the age at menarche ranged from 10-14 years of age. BMI of students ranged from 14.68-40.26 with 47.2% of the study population being a healthy weight. Girls having the habit of exercise/yoga attained menarche at 12years or after 12 years whereas girls having no habit had their menarche before 12 years of age. Conclusions: Our finding from the present study forms a baseline to estimate the mean age of menarche. Physically, inactive adolescents were more likely to see menarche earlier than the average age. Many girls were seen overweight as well. Regular exercise and a healthy life style need to be promoted among school going adolescent.

Introduction: Dental caries is common health condition affecting billions of people in the world. Dental caries may be linked to obesity, while on the other hand, it may be linked to underweight/stunting; both are kinds of malnutrition. This study aims to find dental caries in primary and permanent dentition and nutritional status of children aged between 5-14 years. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among children aged between 5-14 years who attended the Department of Pedodontic from January to April 2022.Dental caries was observed and dmft /DMFT index was calculated. Anthropometric measurements were done following WHO criteria.BMI was calculated using age percentiles charts for boys and girls developed by Center for Chronic Disease Prevention. Results: The total participants were 200 among which 88 (44%) were female and 112 (56%) were males. The dental caries status of all BMI categories were observed, caries status was found to be more in deciduous teeth (mean dmft) than in permanent teeth (mean DMFT).BMI categories showed 39(19.5%) underweight, 122 (61%) healthy weight, 25 (12.5%) at risk of overweight and 14 (7%) were overweight. Conclusions: Dental caries status was higher in primary dentition compared to permanent dentition. Correlation between BMI and dental caries status was not significant.

Background: Colour vision is the function of three types of cone pigments present in the retina. Though colours are used for important signs in the medical profession, screening for colour blindness is not paid attention at beginning of a medical career. This study was aimed to assess the presence of colour blindness, if any among the medical students of Chitwan Medical College. Methods: A total of 220 medical students including 127 females and 93 males aged between 16-24 years were examined for colour blindness. Students were shown the complete range of Ishihara’s plates under daylight conditions. The chart was held 75 cm away from the subjects. The types of colour vision deficiency were differentiated with help of key provided with the chart. The data was analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. Results: Among 220 participants, 5(2.27%) were found to have colour vision deficiency. Out of 5colourdeficient students, 4of them were red-green colour vision deficient and 1 of them couldn’t appreciate colour (total colour blindness) within the speculated time for the test. Female partici­pants didn’t have colour vision deficiency while colour vision deficient students were unaware of their colour vision status. Conclusions: Colour vision deficiency affects male than female. Medical students should be screened for colour vision deficiency and made aware of their limitation so that they can take special care in their future clinical practice.