Background Pneumonia is a leading cause of mortality among children under-five years of age globally. The WHO (2014) has reported that indoor air pollution caused by cooking and heating with biomass fuel, living in crowed homes and parenting smoking are risk factors of pneumonia.Objectives The objective of the study was to identify the risk factors for pneumonia among children under-5 years of age.Methods A case control study was carried out among the mothers having under-5 years children who were admitted in the paediatric ward of Dhulikhel Hospital in 2012/13. A convenience sampling technique was used to select 50 children with pneumonia and 150 children with non-pneumonia diseases matched on age, sex and setting. A semi-structured interview consisting of questions related to risk factors for pneumonia was used to collect data from mothers of both cases and controls.Results Sex of the child did not differ by case/control group whereas the children with pneumonia were slightly older with 26% cases and 15% controls older than 3 years of age. Mother’s education was similar in both groups as was family income. Living in a household with a chulo with smoke increased the odds of having pneumonia significantly, with the risk almost 4 times greater if the chulo was located within the same building (OR: 3.76, 95% CI: 1.20-11.82, p=0.02). Children who had diarrhea in the past 3 months were protected from pneumonia (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.18- 0.82, p=0.01). An increasing trend of pneumonia was observed among children of tobacco smoking parents with greater risk if both parents smoked; it was, however, not statically significant (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 0.56-8.82, p=0.26).Conclusion The present study suggests that two factors related to smoke, presence of a smoky chulo in a household and both parents smoking, are modifiable risk factors related to pneumonia in young children. Reliable longitudinal studies, interventions, and programs to educate parents in prevention are important for reducing mortality and morbidities related to acute respiratory illnesses in Nepal.Kathmandu University Medical Journal Vol.12(4) 2014; 247-252

Objectives:To evaluate the impact of untreated dental caries and its consequences on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), school absenteeism and school performance in Nepal.Methods: This is a population-based, national cross-sectional study. This study was conducted among three WHO index age groups (5-6, 12-and 15-year-olds) of schoolchildren from 18/75 randomly selected districts of Nepal. Clinical findings on untreated dental caries lesions (decay in primary and permanent dentition, dt/DT) and its consequences (pufa/PUFA) were recorded, and the participants were graded into four categories based on the severity of untreated dental caries (GUDC). The Nepali version of Child-Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (C-OIDP) was used to assess the information on OHRQoL. Similarly, school-related information (school absenteeism and school performance) was collected from the school registry. Generalized linear mixed models with random effects were used to evaluate the association between dental caries and OHRQoL, school absenteeism and school performance.Results: Among the study sample, the mean (SD) C-OIDP score was 2.4 (5.0). It was observed that the 15-year-olds, those belonging to the Newari ethnic group, and children with high GUDC grades had poor OHRQoL. After adjusting for confounding factors, high dt + DT or pufa + PUFA was associated with higher impact on OHRQoL.Similarly, lower grades of GUDC (Grade 1 and Grade 2) also had less impact on OHRQoL than the most severe Grade 4. High dt + DT or pufa + PUFA were associated with maximum school absenteeism. Furthermore, high C-OIDP and a grade of GUDC ≥2 score were associated with poor school performance.Conclusion: Untreated dental caries and its consequences have a considerable impact on OHRQoL. These conditions may contribute to high school absenteeism and poor school performance. K E Y W O R D Schildren, dental caries, oral health-related quality of life, school absenteeism, school performance

Among Nepalese children, oral diseases are common, and geographical variation is prevalent. The health policy should address the alarming oral health situation and need for urgent treatment and population-based preventive programmes that is evident in Nepal.