Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCW’s) are at the frontline of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, participating directly in the diagnosis and treatment of Coronavirus patients for the past two years. This puts them at a larger risk of causing long-term stress, mental anguish, and other negative psychological impacts. Aim: To evaluate stress score, serum lipid profile and blood pressure in a Dedicated COVID Hospital (DCH) and Dedicated COVID Health centre (DCHC) among HCWs, and to correlate the perception of psychological stress with serum lipid profile. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based crosssectional study conducted from the month of March 2021 to August 2021. Seventy-five HCWs (35 men and 40 women) from DCH and DCHC were included in this study. In these participants, socio-demographic and perceived stress, serum lipid profile was measured. The studied population was divided into two groups: Group A (HCWs in direct contact with COVID-19 patients) and Group B (HCWs not in direct contacts with patients). Stress scores, serum lipid levels, systolic and diastolic Blood Pressure (SBP and DBP) of all the participants were measured and compared with that of controls, using Student’s t-test. Stress scores of HCWs in direct contact with patients were correlated with SBP and DBP and serum lipid profile by using Pearson correlation coefficient (r). Results: Stress levels were significantly higher in Group A (p>0.05), but serum lipid levels were not significant. Stress levels of Group A were found to correlate strongly with blood Total Cholesterol (TC), (p<0.001) serum Triglyceride (TG), (p<0.01) High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL), LDL/HDL, and SBP and DBP (p<0.001). Conclusion: Stress scores were elevated in HCWs in direct contact with patients (Group A) and these strongly correlate with serum lipid levels and BP. The health authorities are responsible for implementation of strategies to manage this psychological stress.

Background: Prolonged load carriage can potentially affect hand and upper limb use through compression of the nerves, reduction in blood flow, and muscle fatigue. Backpacks of undergraduate medical student are not much different from their syllabus. They carry heavy backpacks on regular basis and many times they wear it incorrectly. Aims and Objectives: We aimed to see the effect of backpack load on motor nerve conduction velocity and hand grip strength in the upper extremities. Materials and Methods: The present study included 31 undergraduate medical students between the age of 18 and 25 years. The procedure is conducted in three phases on different days. In each phase, participants were asked to walk for 5 min with load. In Phase 1, nerve conduction velocity and grip strength weere measured in unloaded condition and after carrying load <10% of body weight. To limit the effect of fatigue, participants are instructed to return to laboratory in next consecutive weeks to repeat the procedure for Phase 2 and 3 as in Phase 1 by increasing load to 10–20% and 20–30% of their body weight respectively. Results: Values of median and ulnar motor nerve conduction velocity obtained without and with increasing % of backpack load after 5 min walk were decreased non-significantly as load increased. There was significant (P>0.001) difference in grip strength of medical students carrying backpack with increasing load after 5 min walk. Conclusion: In this study, we aimed at quantifying the effects of load carriage on overall upper limb performance, with a focus on conduction velocity of motor nerves. This has implications for occupations such as soldiers, firefighters, paramedics, and others who may be required to operate machinery, equipment, tools, or systems that require precise motor control.

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Introduction: In the basic setting of the Coronavirus pandemic, medical care workers are at the forefront, participating directly in the consideration, determination, and therapy of patients with Coronavirus from the last two years. This exposes them to a higher danger of creating ongoing pressure, mental misery, and some other psychological wellness side effects. Objective: To evaluate stress, serum cortisol level, and blood pressure in a health workers population and, in addition, to measure serum cortisol concentration as a current biomarker of stress. Materials and Methods: Sixty health workers (22 men & 38 women) from Dedicated Covid Hospital and Dedicated Covid health Centre were included in this study. In these participants, after obtaining the data of socio-demography and perceived stress, serum cortisol was measured by automated chemiluminescent method. This is a hospital-based cross-sectional study. The studied population was divided into two groups: Group A (workers in direct contact with Covid patients) and Group B (workers not in direct contact with patients). Stress scores, serum morning cortisol levels, systolic and diastolic BP and heart rate of all the participants were measured and compared with controls using a Student's t-test. Stress scores of HCW in direct contact with patients were correlated with heart rate, systolic and diastolic BP, and serum morning cortisol levels and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) were calculated. Results: Stress scores are significantly increased whereas serum morning cortisol levels, heart rate and systolic and diastolic BP were non-significantly increased in Group A as compared with controls that is, Group B (P < 0.05). Stress scores of HCW in direct contact with patients were found to correlate strongly with serum morning cortisol levels, heart rate and systolic and diastolic BP with r values 0.397 (P < 0.0001), 0.322 (P < 0.001), 0.717 (P < 0.001), and 0.810 (P < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusion: Stress scores were elevated in HCW in direct contact with patients and were strongly correlated with serum cortisol levels, heart rate, and BP. It is the responsibility of the health authorities to implement strategies to manage this psychological stress.