American Journal of Public Health Research

BACKGROUND: There are many concerns nowadays about many issues in adolescent health behavior. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of dietary habits, physical activity and sedentary behaviors among Egyptian adolescents and to assess how they perceive their physical and emotional health. METHODS: The study was cross sectional and was conducted from December 2014 to July 2015 in Menoufia governorate in Egypt. Number of adolescents participating in the study was 329. Their BMI percentile was calculated using a percentile online calculator. A questionnaire about health behaviors of the students and their perception of health was distributed. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among students was 18.8% and 10% respectively. Bad dietary and sedentary behaviors were common among them. Poor perception of health and negative feelings were also common. CONCLUSIONS: national surveys and health promotion programs are urgently needed to focus on health behaviors of the Egyptian adolescent children.

American Journal of Public Health Research. 2015, 3(6), 229-234. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-3-6-5
Pub. Date: December 29, 2015

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Associations among Hypertension, Depression and Obesity in a Sample of the U.S. Adults

by Hyunmin Kim and Jade G. Setias

Original Research

Although there have been studies showing the determinants of obesity, there have been relatively little attention paid to other factors such as mental health disorders like depression and chronic illnesses like hypertension. In addition, there exists a controversy over the association between hypertension and depression. Thus, we have investigated the associations among hypertension, depression, and obesity by adjusting age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status. The data was from the 2011 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). This survey is conducted every year and in particular the data involves approximately 5,000 individuals of all ages in the United States, who completed the health examination component of the survey. We have utilized a logistic regression analysis to examine how hypertension, depression and obesity are associated one another. We have also used a proportional odds model to test how hypertension and depression may affect obesity. The main findings from the results of study are the following: first, being obese and feeling down, depressed or hopeless were associated with an increased likelihood of having hypertension and second, hypertension and depression may positively affect obesity. The findings suggest that as the determinants of obesity, depression and hypertension should be timely diagnosed and treated properly for considering the associations one another. By doing so, it can provide with the overall cost-savings and more importantly, people’s health.

American Journal of Public Health Research. 2015, 3(6), 221-228. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-3-6-4
Pub. Date: December 28, 2015

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Stress and Academic Programme Type: Perspective on Polytechnic Students in Nigeria

by Yahya Saleh Ibrahim, Shahimi bin Mohtar, Muhammad Abdullahi Sabo, Mohd Kamarul Irwan Abdul Rahim and Ahmad Shabudin Ariffin

Original Research

This study examines the stress levels of students in Kaduna Polytechnic based on Marrital status, College type, and programme of study. Stress among students of tertiary institutions is normally unavoidable parts of everyone’s life that call periodic assessment. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Stratified random sampling technique was utilized to select 250 students in the 2014/2015 academic session. The instrument for data collection was adapted from the well-known DHFS Wellness perceived Stress Scale developed by Cohen (1983) structured on a five-point rating scale. Its computed reliability using Cronbach alpha gave 0.70 coefficients. The data was analyzed using parametric statistics of t-test and one-way ANOVA. The results indicated that student’s levels of stress are significantly high. Similarly academic programmes, College type and marital status significantly influenced the students’ levels of stress. Based on these findings, some recommendations were made among which is institutional management and other stakeholders should provide psychological and academic counseling services to the generality of the students.

American Journal of Public Health Research. 2015, 3(6), 214-220. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-3-6-3
Pub. Date: December 05, 2015

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Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and the Association between Vitamin D and Waist Circumference and the Framingham Risk Stratifications

by Waleed S. Mohamed and Khaled Alswat

Original Research

Over the past decade, numerous non-skeletal diseases have been reported to be associated with vitamin D deficiency including coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is a major public health problem worldwide. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and CAD among male University populations. 125 patients attending the Taif University Outpatient Clinic (TUOC) aged 20-63 years were included. Body weight, height, blood pressure, and waist circumferences (WC) were measured. Laboratory data including; total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high and low density lipoproteins (HDL, LDL), fasting blood glucose (FBG), high sensitivity C reactive protein (CRP) and vitamin D were done. Framingham risk score (FRS) was calculated. 70.3% of the screened patients had vitamin D level < 20 ng/dl. The mean calculated FRS is 3.53. The mean age of 35.35±11.75 years, mean weight of 81.2±16.3 kg, mean body mass index (BMI) of 28.1±5.3 kg/m2, mean WC 94.9±21.5 cm, mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 131.6±14.2 mmHg, and mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 75.8±9.9 mmHg. 7.2 % have hyperlipidemia, 6.4% have hypertension (HTN), 9.6% of the patients were type 2 diabetics (T2D) and 32.4% report family history of T2D. A significant positive correlation between FRS and age (r=0.6124), WC (r= 1998), DBP (r=0.2281), FBG (r= 0.3315), TC level (r=0.3814), TG level (r=0.4079), LDL level (r=0.2240), Non HDL level (r=0.3923) with a significant negative correlation between FRS and vitamin D level (r= -0.9473), HDL (r= -0.0091) and CRP (r= -0.0910). The overall prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency was high. There was no difference between the low and the optimal vitamin D groups. Wide screen program for early detection of vitamin D deficiency among University population both male and female and application of WC in detection of overweight/obesity and early detection of person of high CAD is recommended with application of intervention and educational programs for those at higher risk. A future wide scale study is needed to confirm our findings.

American Journal of Public Health Research. 2015, 3(6), 207-213. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-3-6-2
Pub. Date: December 02, 2015

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Prevalence and Sociodemographic Determinants of Malnutrition among Under-Five Children in Rural Communities in Imo State, Nigeria

by Chukwuma B Duru, Uche R. Oluoha, Kelechi A. Uwakwe, Kelvin C. Diwe, Irene A. Merenu, Ifeadike O Chigozie and Anthony C. Iwu

Original Research

Background: Malnutrition is a global issue with patterns and prevalence that vary significantly not only among different nations of the world but also in different region of a country. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out among under-five children in households in rural communities in Imo State. The multi-stage sampling technique was used for the selection of subjects. Data was collected by direct measurement of anthropometric parameters as well as the use of a semi-structured questionnaire to obtain caregivers’ information. Result: This mean age of the children was 21.0 ± 17.9 months. The mean weight, height, MUAC, and Head Circumference of the children were 10.6±4.4kg, 82.7±13.7cm, 20.2±3.6cm and 51.5±0.8cm respectively. The prevalence of overweight/obesity, underweight, wasting and stunting were, 9.8%, 28.6%, 23.6% and 28.1% respectively. Conclusion: Based on our findings, there is high prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children in the studied communities, thus there is need to institute appropriate control measures by the relevant authorities to reverse this problem owing to the fact that most of the causes of malnutrition are preventable.

American Journal of Public Health Research. 2015, 3(6), 199-206. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-3-6-1
Pub. Date: November 27, 2015

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