No abstract

The risk of osteoporosis is higher in elderly and postmenopausal women. Several studies in different populations investigated the association between osteoporosis and metabolic syndrome (MS); however, the results are conflicting. In our population, no study has yet been conducted to evaluate this relationship in postmenopausal women. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between osteoporosis and metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women. In this study, a total of 131 postmenopausal women were included. Clinical history and anthropometric data were recorded and subjected to blood collection and scan for bone mineral density (BMD) and T-score at the lumbar spine and femoral neck and by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Osteoporosis and osteopenia were defined from T-score. The lipid profile was estimated by standard spectrophotometric methods. The mean±SD of age (years) of the postmenopausal women was 57.0±8.4. Bone mineral densities (g/cm2) were 0.78±0.17, 0.75±0.16, 0.72±0.16 and T-scores were   -2.32±1.54, -1.52±1.29, -1.53±1.39 respectively in lumbar spine, right femoral neck and left femoral neck. Osteoporosis and osteopenia were found in 58 (44.3%) and 45 (34.4%) study subjects, respectively. Eighty-three (63.4%) of the study subjects have metabolic syndrome (MS). On multiple regression analysis, considering BMD at lumbar spine, right femoral neck or left femoral neck as dependent variable and age, body mass index (BMI), and MS as independent variables, β values for MS with BMD were -0.041 (p = 0.184), 0.002 (p = 0.938), 0.011 (p = 0.688) and with T-score were -0.330 (p = 0.241), -0.005 (p = 0.984), 0.151 (p = 0.599) at lumbar spine and right femoral neck and left femoral neck respectively. The coefficient of osteoporosis with MS in multiple logistic regression analysis was β = 1.311, (p = 0.003). In conclusion, osteoporosis is found to be positively associated with metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women.

The readymade garment (RMG) industry is a key sector of Bangladesh economy. This sector brings in about 78% of the country’s total merchandize export earnings. More than 3.2 million people are working in this sector and mostly females from underprivileged social classes. Employment in this Ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh provides workers with economic benefits and some empowerment. A descriptive cross-sectional study followed by a qualitative approach was utilized. Through proportionate quota sampling, 560 garments workers were recruited from 6 (one large, two medium, and three small) garment factories in Mirpur area of Dhaka city. Almost all of the garments workers knew that both smoking and smokeless tobacco (98.4%) is harmful for health. Knowledge on specific health hazards of smoking (96.96%) tobacco was relatively higher than those of smokeless (90%) tobacco. Electronic media (Radio/TV/Cinema) was the most common source of their knowledge (92.9%).  In case of smoking tobacco, cancer (63.6%) was the mostly reported disease caused by smoking tobacco, followed by lung cancer (15.7%) and heart attack (11.3%). On the other hand, for smokeless tobacco, cancer (29.8%), followed by oral cancer (26.6%) and lung cancer (15.0%) was mostly reported diseases by the garments workers. Garment workers’ knowledge on tobacco control policy was found to be very low. Only 35.0% knew about the policy. Although few garments workers know about the rules for prohibition of tobacco product in public place (25.7%) and public transport (11.3%), other specific rules under tobacco control policy were not known to majority of them. The present study provides a scientific base regarding current tobacco using practice among garments workers in Dhaka city and their knowledge and attitude towards tobacco. Finding revealed from qualitative analysis of data suggested that now-a-days smoking is considered as a trend; people have to smoke for showing smartness or to maintain social status. Peer influence also plays an important role for initiating and maintaining smoking status. Socio-cultural influence for smokeless tobacco consumption was not well documented by this study which indicated a need for more focused qualitative study.

In todays global health pandemic, high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of chest became an important tool for early diagnosis, evaluation of disease progression and prompt management of COVID-19 patient. HRCT of Chest is also an important complement to the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. The aim of this study was to assess different patterns of appearance in HRCT chest in COVID-19 infection & to grade the severity by observing a sample of 50 after the symptoms began. In this study, 50 patients had been selected from a private hospital of Dhaka, Bangladesh who came for HRCT chest to diagnose COVID- 19. The data were collected from 11 April 2020 to 27 May 2020. Distribution and patterns of pulmonary lesions like ground glass opacity (GGO), consolidation, reverse halo sign, crazy paving, thickened vascular marking, lymphadenopathy and pleural effusion were evaluated. It was also assessed the involvement of lung lobe, percentage of lung involvement and total severity score. Among 50 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, most of patients had fever (64%) and dry cough (50%). 30% patients had come with shortness of breath. There were 28 (56%) males and 22 (44%) females aged 20 to 85 years. The highest number of patients were in the age range 40 to 49 years. The CT abnormality of ground glass opacity (GGO) was shown in all 50(100%) cases. Moreover 22(44%) cases had GGO plus consolidation. Crazy-paving pattern was in 16(32%) cases. In case of lobe involvement, most patients, 43 (86%) had involvement of all the 5 lobes and right lobe involvement were the most. The lesions were mostly peripheral (17, 34%) and in 5(10%) cases the distribution were diffuse but predominantly peripheral. Total severity score was categorized into 5 groups (0, 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20). Most of the patients (19, 38%) were in total severity score ranging from 16-20. In case of total percentage of lung involvement maximum patients (32, 64%) were in the range of 1- 25% and maximum lung involvement (76-100%) was seen in only 1 case. HRCT of chest may be useful for the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 to optimize the management of patients. However, CT has still limitation for identifying specific viruses and distinguishing between viruses.

Background: Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a common disorder in the elderly and found to be most prevalent in postmenopausal women which are thought to be associated with several factors including hypertension, however, results are inconsistent in different studies. Aim of the study: This study aimed to explore the association between BMD and hypertension in postmenopausal women. Methods and materials: In this study, total 76 postmenopausal women were included. BMD was determined at the lumbar spine and femoral neck by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Anthropometric data and status of hypertension and diabetes were collected according to a pre-structured questioner. Results: Age (mean±SD) of the postmenopausal women was 57±9 years. Among them, 46 (60.5%) subjects were hypertensive and 30 (39.5%) were normotensive. Bone mineral density (g/cm2) in normotensive women and in hypertensive women were 0.79±0.15 vs 0.74±0.15 (p=0.160) at lumbar spine; 0.70±0.12 vs 0.69±0.13 (p=0.271) at right femoral neck and 0.73±0.15 vs 0.71±0.13 (p=0.592), respectively. T-scores at lumbar spine, right and left femoral neck in normotensive and hypertensive postmenopausal women were -2.28±1.37 vs -2.75±1.35 (p=0.153), -1.70±1.16 vs -1.95±1.07 (p=0.363) and -1.82±0.95 vs -1.93±1.01 (p=0.632) respectively. On multiple regression analysis, BMD and T-score only at lumbar spine showed inverse association with hypertension (β=-0.069, p=0.045; β=-0.612, p=0.050) on adjusting confounding variables. Conclusion: Hypertension is independently associated with BMD and T-score measured from the lumbar spine but not with BMD and T-score measured from the femoral neck in postmenopausal women.