Food Neophobia among Brazilian Children: Prevalence and Questionnaire Score Development

This study aims to create and validate a score to classify food neophobia among Brazilian children (from the ages of 4 to 11 years) and investigate the prevalence of food neophobia. This descriptive cross-sectional population-based study is conducted following three steps: (i) the application of an instrument to identify food neophobia in Brazilian children by their caregivers; (ii) the instrument’s score definition; and (iii) the evaluation and characterization of the national prevalence of food neophobia among Brazilian children. The scores were categorized into three levels, based on the tertial approximation: low, moderate, and high. The study had 1112 participants, and the prevalence of high food neophobia was observed in 33.4% of Brazilian children. The prevalence of food neophobia allowed us to identify this behavior in Brazilian children and better understand the population. Boys were significantly more neophobic than girls. The general neophobia score and domains did not significantly differ between Brazilian regions and age groups. It is worrying that food neophobia did not decrease with advancing age. The score for the complete instrument with 25 items, or the 3 domains, makes its use practical. It can be used to assess neophobia with more caution, evaluate the most neophobic children, and enable more targeted professional interventions to promote healthier and sustainable eating habits.

TRUANCY AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN: REASONS AND COUNSELLING EXPERIENCES

Background and Purpose: Truancy is one of the top discipline problems in Malaysia and the national prevalence of truancy indicates a significant number of students are truant. Counselling at school aims at helping schoolchildren in personality development and discipline. This qualitative study aims to research the experiences of counselling on schoolchildren who were reported for truancy. Methodology: The research participants involved ten schoolchildren who had played truant and were required to participate in counselling sessions. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, and diary entries on two occasions for each participant. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify themes related to the participants’ experiences. Findings: The findings showed that the reasons for truancy among the school children involve self and relationship with others. After being in sessions with school counsellors, the children reported being more responsible, which included behavioural, emotional and goal-based changes. The relationship with the school counsellor allowed them to experience belongingness, which supported them in choosing positive behaviour, emotions and goals, which is related to having a sense of responsibility. Contributions: This paper argues that engaging in counselling with a school counsellor helped the schoolchildren to make responsible decisions about their behaviour, emotions and goals. The most important factor is the “relearning experience” in promoting responsibility among schoolchildren. Keywords: Qualitative research, truancy, belongingness, school counselling, responsibility. Cite as: Mat Min, R., Brahim, S. S., Mohd Yusoff, R. A., & Ramley, F. (2022). Truancy among school children: Reasons and counselling experiences. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 79-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp79-99

A national and sub-national metaregression of the trend of insufficient physical activity among Iranian adults between 2001 and 2016

Insufficient physical activity (IPA) caused approximately 5% of mortalities in 2017 in Iran, almost double its global average. Despite the relatively considerable burden, a knowledge gap exists regarding the trend of IPA in recent years. We described the trend of IPA prevalence utilizing the data from six rounds of STEPwise approach to risk factor Surveillance (STEPS) in Iran. We estimated the physical activity status of Iranian adults from 2006 to 2016 after adjusting for years of schooling, urbanization percentage, and wealth index. We used the spatiotemporal model to interpolate and extrapolate the IPA prevalence for the years in-between the series and from 2001 to 2006, respectively. We used the data of 177,910 participants from six STEPS surveys and found that the national prevalence of IPA had steadily increased over the course of 16 years and had almost doubled in this time period (23.1% in 2001 to 55.4% in 2016). The increase was persistent across all age and gender strata and in every province. Moreover, IPA was more prevalent among women than their male peers regardless of their age category or province of residence. The prevalence of IPA in Khuzestan (highest prevalence) was almost double compared to that in Lorestan (lowest prevalence) in 2016. The IPA prevalence increased considerably and almost doubled in 16 years among Iranian adults, particularly women. Policies need to target IPA as a high priority contributing to the burden of Non-communicable diseases.

Global, regional, and national prevalence of diabetes mellitus in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Both pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are major global public health problems. We estimated the global, regional, and national prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a population with PTB. Methods We searched for observational studies of DM in people with PTB using the PubMed and Embase electronic bibliographic databases, focusing on articles published in the English language from database inception until March 31, 2021. We included original research that reported the prevalence of DM in PTB or those that had sufficient data to compute these estimates. Studies were excluded if they did not provide primary data or were case studies or reviews. Two authors independently extracted the articles and collected detailed information using a predefined questionnaire. A country-specific random-effects meta-analysis was used for countries with two or more available studies, and a fractional response regression model was employed to predict the prevalence of DM in PTB for countries with one or no study. The study was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, using the registration number CRD42018101989. Results We identified 22,658 studies, and 153, across 51 countries, were retained for data extraction. The global prevalence of DM among patients with PTB was estimated to be 13.73% (95% confidence interval [CI] 12.51–14.95). The prevalence rates were 19.32% (95% CI 13.18–25.46) in the region of the Americas, 17.31% (95% CI 12.48–22.14) in the European region, 14.62% (95% CI 12.05–17.18) in Southeast Asia, 13.59% (95% CI 7.24–19.95) in the western Pacific region, 9.61% (95% CI 4.55–14.68) in the eastern Mediterranean region, and 9.30% (95% CI 2.83–15.76) in the African region. The country with the highest estimated prevalence was the Marshall Islands (50.12%; 95% CI 4.28–95.76). Conclusion Comorbid PTB and DM remain prevalent worldwide.

A 10-year review of the clinicopathological patterns and prevalence of head and neck lesions in a tertiary health facility in Uyo, South-South Nigeria

Objectives: Head and neck (HN) lesions occur globally, with remarkable morbidity and mortality. However, in our setting, relevant data are lacking to show its clinicopathologic nature. Hence, we aimed to review the clinicopathological patterns and incidence of HN lesions within a 10-year (January 2010 to December 2019) period as well as provide useful data/information to help in better future management of patients with HN lesions. Material and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of HN lesions (with respect to age, gender, site of lesion, and histopathological diagnosis) at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital Uyo from January 2010 to December 2019. Results: A total of 276 HN lesions were analyzed over a 10-year period, with a prevalence of 0.004. Patients with the highest volume of HN lesions were within the 30–<40 age group. The lesions were more in females (53.6%) with M: F ratio of 1:1.2. There were more neoplastic HN lesions (85.1%) than non-neoplastic HN lesions (14.9%). The benign HN lesions (67.7%) were also more frequent than the malignant HN lesions (32.3%). And the benign neoplastic HN lesions (79.5%) were more than benign non-neoplastic HN lesions (20.5%). Conclusion: The most common HN lesions, respectively, in different subcategories, found in this study were squamous cell carcinoma, nodular goiter, inflammatory nasal polyps, and cystic hygroma. We recommend study of HN lesions’ possible etiologic/risk factors as well as a nationwide survey to determine a national prevalence of HN lesions.

National prevalence and outcomes of different mitral valve interventions for mitral regurgitation among patients with cardiogenic shock: an analysis of the national readmission database 2010–2018

Background Prevalence and outcome data of mitral valve (MV) interventions for severe mitral regurgitation (MR) in the setting of cardiogenic shock (CS) is limited. Purpose Our aim is to study the national prevalence, mortality, and outcomes of three mitral valve interventions (transcatheter mitral valve (MitraClip), surgical mitral valve repair (sMVR), and surgical mitral valve replacement (sMVr)) in patients with severe MR and CS, and how they compare to a non-invasive medical approach to management. Methods Patients with concomitant severe MR and CS were included for the years 2010 - 2018 from the national readmission database. We compared the national prevalence, in hospital mortality, readmission rate, and outcomes of patients who were treated either medically (non-invasive), or underwent an invasive approach with MitraClip, sMVR, or sMVr using one-way ANOVA and logistic regression. Results A total of 106,015 patients (68±13 years, 42% women) with severe MR and CS were identified. Of these, 88,696 (84%) were treated medically, while 607 (0.6%) underwent MitraClip, 4,528 (4%) underwent sMVR, and 12,184 (12%) underwent sMVr. Majority of patients in all four groups had a high Elixhauser comorbidity score of &gt;6. In-hospital mortality rate was 31% in the medical therapy group, 14% and 17% in the sMVR and sMVr groups subsequently, and 26% in the MitraClip group (p&lt;0.001). The median cost of hospitalization was significantly higher in the MitraClip group ($400,087) compared to the other groups (medical=$140,282, sMVR =$290,456, and sMVr =$353,688, p&lt;0.001). Readmission rates were significantly lower in the sMVR (0.7%) and sMVr (1%) groups compared to the medical therapy (4%) and MitraClip (6%) groups (p&lt;0.001). MitraClip was associated with a higher use of Impella (Odds Ratio (OR) 2.6; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.8–3.8, p&lt;0.001), intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) (OR 3.8; 95% CI 2.9–5.1, p&lt;0.001), and vasopressors (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.1–1.7, p&lt;0.001) than sMVR or sMVr. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use was more common in sMVR (OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.5–3.4, p&lt;0.001) and sMVr (OR 2.0,95% CI 1.8–2.2, p&lt;0.001) than in MitraClip. In terms of complications, MitraClip was associated with a higher rate of vascular complications (OR 4.2; 95% CI 1.4–12.8, p&lt;0.001); while both sMVR and sMVr had higher association with significant post-operative bleeding (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.9–2.8, p&lt;0.001) and (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.9–2.4, p&lt;0.001) respectively. Conclusion Majority of patients in this cohort with severe MR and CS were treated either medically or underwent surgical MV replacement. Although MitraClip improved hospital mortality over medical therapy, it was associated with a higher mortality risk, readmission rate, and cost of hospitalization when compared to sMVR and sMVr. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.