Objectives: To assess the iron status of women using oral contraceptive pill (OCP) and compare this status with that of women of non-OCP users. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional comparative study was done in Dhaka Medical College from January 2006 to December 2006. Total 61 apparently healthy women of low socioeconomic class, age ranged 20-40 years were selected from different areas of Dhaka city. Of them 41 women were OCP users (Study group) and 20 women were non-OCP users (for comparison). OCP users again subdivided into subgroups according to duration of OCP use. Serum ferritin and haemoglobin level were taken as parameters of iron status in both groups. Statistical analysis was done by the SPSS 12.0 programme. Results: The mean (±SD) of serum ferritin level were 59.45±24.79ng/ml and 77.36±35.16 ng/ml in non-OCP & OCP users respectively. The difference of mean (±SD) of serum ferritin levels were significant (p:<0.05) between two groups. The mean (±SD) of haemoglobin levels were 11.54±0.76gm/dl and 12.04±0.79gm/dl in non-OCP user and OCP users respectively. The difference of mean (±SD) were significant (p:<0.05) between two groups. Levels of serum ferritin & haemoglobin were 19ng/ml and 10.95gm/dl respectively in women using OCP for 1 year. But their levels became 144 ng/ml and 13.95gm/dl respectively in women using OCP for 12 years. Conclusion: This study suggests that OCP use raises serum ferritin and haemoglobin levels and thus has beneficial effects on iron status of the body. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpp.v26i1-2.19963 Bangladesh J Physiol Pharmacol 2010; 26(1&2) : 25-29

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Background: Ramadan fasting has some effects on anthropometric, metabolic and physiological functions in the healthy subjects. Objective: To observe the effects of Ramadan fasting on serum total cholesterol (TC) low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C) in healthy adult male. Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Physiology, Sir Salimullah Medical College (SSMC), Dhaka between January and December 2013. Sixty healthy adult male aged 24 to 28 years were studied. Serum TC, LDL-C and HDL-C levels were estimated by enzyme method. Data were collected twice; 1-3 days before Ramadan fasting (BRF) and then during 25 th -27 th days of Ramadan fasting (ARF) and compared. The statistical analysis was done by paired sample 't' test. Results: In this study, the mean body weight (BW), BMI, TC, LDL-C levels were significantly (p<0.001) decreased, and HDL-C level was significantly (p<0.001) increased in ARF than BRF. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that Ramadan fasting has some beneficial effects on cholesterol and lipoprotein status in healthy adult male.

Thyroid disease have a strong predominance in woman of childbearing age. Pregnancy may be associated with thyroid dysfunction. Our objective was to assess the serum FT3, FT4 and TSH levels in pregnant women. This cross-sectional analytical study was done in the Department of Physiology of Dhaka Medical College from July 2006- June 2007. Total 50 apparently healthy women of low socioeconomic class, age ranged from 18- 40 years were selected from the Outpatient Department of urban primary health care project at Mirpur, Dhaka. Out of them 30 pregnant women of different trimester were taken as study group and 20 age matched non pregnant women were taken as control. Serum FT3, FT4 and TSH levels were parameters in both groups. Statistical analysis was done by the SPSS 12.0 programme. The means ( SD) of serum FT3 levels were 6.36 1.16 p mol/L and 6.38 1.38 p mol/L, FT4 levels were 20.25 4.77 pmol/L and 19.39 8.17 pmol/L and TSH levels were 0.96 0.96 mIu/L and 1.27 0.86 mIu/L in group A (Study) and group B (control) respectively. The difference of means ( SD) of serum FT3 , FT4 and TSH levels were not significant (p>0.05) between group A and B. From the statistical analysis of the results obtained in the present study and their comparison with those of published reports, it may be concluded that there is no change of serum FT3, FT4 and TSH levels in pregnancy.Medicine Today 2015 Vol.27(2): 1-4

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