Vagal cardiac and pulmonary mechanisms are linked, and improvement in one vagal limb might spill over into the other. Baroreceptor sensitivity can be enhanced significantly by slow breathing (supported by a small reduction in the heart rate observed during slow breathing and by reduction in both systolic and diastolic pressure). Slow pace bhastrika pranayama (respiratory rate 6/min) exercise thus shows a strong tendency to improving the autonomic nervous system through enhanced activation of the parasympathetic system.

The frequencies of ABO and rhesus blood groups vary from one population to another. We studied blood group distribution in 120 Nepalese students; 34% were blood group A, 29% group B, 4% group AB and 32.5% group O. The frequency of Rh-negative blood was 3.33% and Rh-positive 96.66%

Educational environment in medical schools is highly demanding and stressful due to various factors. The study was aimed to explore level of stress, stressors and the coping strategies among the undergraduate medical, dental and nursing students of a medical college in Kathmandu. A cross- sectional observational study was conducted among 174 consenting (95 medical, 51 dental and 28 nursing) first year undergraduate students with predesigned, pretested, semi-structured questionnaire which included socio-demographic details, Kessler psychological distress scale and Medical student stress questionnaire. Average age of students was 19.54±1.28 years. Results revealed that 66.66% of students were under stress with 25.86% having mild, 18.96% having moderate and 21.83% having severe levels of stress. Highest prevalence of stress was noted among nursing students (75.00%) with 32.14% under severe stress. Among 116 males and 58 females, males were more stressed (75.00%) than females (50.00%). Most of the students enjoyed music and chatted with their close ones to cope with stress. Academic related stressor was found to be the major stressor (2.65±0.69) with statistically significant association (p< 0.01) with the stress levels among the students. Informing students about the “must know” and “good to know” areas of the topics of every subject may be helpful to decrease the academic related stress. Regular practice of meditation, sports and cultural activities may help to reduce stress.

Blood group distribution ofABO and Rh factor were studied among 322 Nepalese(male - 178; female - 144) and 100 Indians (male - 72; female - 28;) in a group ofmedical students.The percentage of different groups A, B, AB and 0 in Nepalese showed relativelymore in A & AB and less in 0 groups than Indians. The Rh (-)ve was more amongIndians (9%) than Nepalese (1.5%).This difference is likely to be due to difference of ethnic origin of Indian & Nepalese.The population of Nepal is a mixture ofTibeto-Burman, Australoid and Indo-Aryanraces.Key Words: A, B, O, Rh blood group.

Introduction: Primary dysmenorrhoea is one of the major problems associated with menstruation among the young undergraduate medical students which affect their daily routine. Among various causes, mental stress is one of the major causes of primary dysmenorrhoea. This study aims to assess the relationship between the degree of stress and incidence of dysmenorrhoea amongst the young Nepalese medical students. Methods: Young, unmarried, non-smoker female medical undergraduate students (age: 18-20years, n = 104) having no pelvic pathology participated in this study. A baseline questionnaire was used to note the medical history on menstruation, use of contraceptive pills, active or passive smoking exposure and alcohol use. The independent and individual perception of stress was evaluated by using a stress questionnaire. Results: Result indicated that the stress score is significantly higher (31.30 vs. 18.81) in dysmenorrhoeic women (n=50) compared to eumenorrhoeic participants (n=54). Conclusions: The present study indicated a positive relationship between psychological stress (supported by stress scores) and dysmenorrhoea. The path of solution of this painful problem might be paved out by de-stressing the person through relaxation exercise, yoga and pranayama (the breathing exercises.) Keywords: Primary dysmenorrhoea; psychological stress; yoga. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/joim.v32i3.4952 Journal of Institute of Medicine, December, 2010; 32:3 2-4