scholarly journals The impact of regional socioeconomic deprivation on late HIV diagnoses: a cross-sectional study in Germany

Author(s):  
Annemarie PANTKE ◽  
Uwe KOPPE ◽  
Matthias AN DER HEIDEN ◽  
Niels MICHALSKI ◽  
Jens HOEBEL ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Late HIV diagnoses are associated with significantly poorer health outcomes and facilitate onward transmission. The proportion of HIV infections diagnosed at advanced stages has remained continuously high in Germany. This study examined the effect of regional socioeconomic deprivation on late HIV presentation.Methods: We used data from the national statutory notification of newly diagnosed HIV cases collected between 2011 and 2018 with further information on the timing of diagnosis determined by the BED-Capture-ELISA test (BED-CEIA) and diagnosing physicians. Data on regional socioeconomic deprivation were derived from the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD). Outcome measures were a long-standing infection based on the BED-CEIA result or an infection at the stage of AIDS. The effect of socioeconomic deprivation on the timing of diagnosis was analysed using multivariable Poisson regression models with cluster-robust error variance.Results: Overall, 66.2% (n=6,185) of the patients were diagnosed with a long-standing infection and 13.1% (n=1,536) with AIDS. The proportion of late diagnoses was higher among persons with heterosexual contact compared to men who have sex with men (MSM) (76.5% long-standing and 16.4% AIDS vs. 62.4% long-standing and 11.9% AIDS). MSM living in highly deprived countryside regions were more likely to have a long-standing infection (aPR: 1.16, 95% CI 1.05-1.28) as well as AIDS (aPR: 1.41, 95% CI 1.08-1.85) at the time of diagnosis compared to MSM in less deprived countryside regions. No differences were observed among MSM from urban areas, and no differences overall among persons with heterosexual contact.Conclusions: An effect of socioeconomic deprivation on late HIV presentation was found only in MSM from countryside regions. We suggest that efforts in promoting HIV awareness and regular HIV testing are increased for heterosexual persons irrespective of socioeconomic background, and for MSM with a focus on persons living in deprived regions in the countryside.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius T. Kamwesiga ◽  
Lena K. Von Kock ◽  
Gunilla M. Eriksson ◽  
Susanne G.E. Guidetti

Background: Knowledge about perceived impact of stroke on everyday life as well as rehabilitation needs after stroke in Uganda is necessary to identify and develop rehabilitation interventions.Objectives: To explore and describe clinical characteristics and functioning during the acute or subacute phase and chronic phase, as well as the impact of stroke on everyday life during the chronic phase in stroke survivors in central Uganda.Method: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on a consecutively included acute or subacute (n = 58) sample and a chronic (n = 62) sample. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect demographic information and clinical characteristics. The Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS) was used to collect clinical characteristics, assess neurological impairment and define stroke severity. The Barthel Index was used to assess the level of dependence in activities of daily living. In addition, the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) 3.0 Uganda version was used to assess the impact of stroke in everyday life as perceived by the individuals in the chronic sample receiving rehabilitation.Results: The mean age of the acute/subacute sample was 49 years and 81% had moderate or severe stroke. The mean age of the chronic rehabilitation group was 53 years and 58% had mild stroke. Time since onset in the acute sample was between 2 days and 3 weeks, and time since onset for the chronic sample varied between 3 months and 3 years. Strength, hand function and participation were the most impacted SIS domains in the chronic sample.Conclusion: People with severe and moderate stroke were more likely to be admitted to Mulago Hospital. The mean age in the study sample was lower than that in high-income countries. Further knowledge is needed regarding the impact of stroke to develop guidelines for stroke rehabilitation interventions feasible in the Ugandan healthcare context in both rural and urban areas.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Scully ◽  
Eamon Laird ◽  
Martin Healy ◽  
James Bernard Walsh ◽  
Vivion Crowley ◽  
...  

Vitamin D status was assessed in a large urban area to compare differences in deficiency and to geomap the results. In total, 36,466 participants from 28 geographical areas were identified in this cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of general practitioner (GP)-requested 25(OH)D tests at St James’s Hospital, Dublin between 2014 and 2018. The population were community-dwelling adults, median age 50.7 (18–109 years) with 15% of participants deficient (<30 nmol/L), rising to 23% in the winter. Deficiency was greatest in younger (18–39 years) and oldest (80+ years) adults, and in males versus females (18% vs. 11%, p < 0.001). Season was the biggest predictor of deficiency (OR 4.44, winter versus summer, p < 0.001), followed by location (west Dublin OR 2.17, north Dublin 1.54, south Dublin 1.42 versus rest of Ireland, p < 0.001) where several urban areas with an increased prevalence of deficiency were identified. There was no improvement in 25(OH)D over the 5-year period despite increased levels of testing. One in four adults were vitamin D deficient in the winter, with significant variations across locations and demographics. Overall this study identifies key groups at risk of 25(OH)D deficiency and insufficiency, thus providing important public health information for the targeting of interventions to optimise 25(OH)D. Mandatory fortification may be necessary to address this widespread inadequacy.


Author(s):  
Vida Abedi ◽  
Oluwaseyi Olulana ◽  
Venkatesh Avula ◽  
Durgesh Chaudhary ◽  
Ayesha Khan ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundThere is preliminary evidence of racial and social-economic disparities in the population infected by and dying from COVID-19. The goal of this study is to report the associations of COVID-19 with respect to race, health and economic inequality in the United States.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study of the associations between infection and mortality rate of COVID-19 and demographic, socioeconomic and mobility variables from 369 counties (total population: 102,178,117 [median: 73,447, IQR: 30,761-256,098]) from the seven most affected states (Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts).FindingsThe risk factors for infection and mortality are different. Our analysis shows that counties with more diverse demographics, higher population, education, income levels, and lower disability rates were at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. However, counties with higher disability and poverty rates had a higher death rate. African Americans were more vulnerable to COVID-19 than other ethnic groups (1,981 African American infected cases versus 658 Whites per million). Data on mobility changes corroborate the impact of social distancing.InterpretationThe observed inequality might be due to the workforce of essential services, poverty, and access to care. Counties in more urban areas are probably better equipped at providing care. The lower rate of infection, but a higher death rate in counties with higher poverty and disability could be due to lower levels of mobility, but a higher rate of comorbidities and health care access.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1241
Author(s):  
Jayasri Helen Gali ◽  
Harsha Vardhana Varma ◽  
Aruna Kumari Badam

Background: More than fifty percent of the cured cases of pulmonary tuberculosis develop some form of chronic pulmonary dysfunction. It can present with varying degrees of lung damage, ranging from minimum functional abnormalities to severe forms of dysfunction that can be an important cause of death. Objective of the study to identify the various Post Tuberculosis Lung Diseases (PTBLDs) and to study impact of the patient and disease related factors on its occurrence.Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in 134 adult, post tuberculosis patients, aged between 18-65 years, who have completed at least one year after the end of anti-tubercular treatment. All symptomatic post TB lung disease patients coming to the pulmonology out-patient clinic at the Apollo Institute of Medical sciences and Research were included in the study.Results: Majority were more than 50 years (35.3%) and males (59.4%). Majority were from urban areas (70.7%), low social class (72.2%), and unskilled workers (56.4%). Most common symptom was cough in 74.4% cases. Majority of the cases had symptoms from one week to one month i.e. 47.4%. Only eight cases were found out to be very prompt in reporting their symptoms. 39 cases had some or the other co-morbidity. Current chest X-ray status was normal in only three cases. Mean FEV1 was 1.38 which increased to 1.52; mean FVC was 1.23 which increased to 1.58; mean FEV1/FVC was 67.37 which increased to 72.76 after giving the bronchodilator. 78(58.6%) cases had obstructive and 27(20.3%) had restrictive lung disease. In 30 cases the disease was reversible. Majority of the cases were of pulmonary fibrosis followed by bronchiectasis.Conclusion: Further studies are needed to develop approaches for the prevention, care and treatment of patients with post TBLD.


Author(s):  
Hafiz Muhammad Asif ◽  
Hafiz Abdul Sattar

Purpose: A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 was identified as the cause of COVID-19 eventually led to the declaration of Public health emergency of international concern and a pandemic by WHO due to its exponential global spread. Present study was conducted to investigate the impact of second wave of pandemic on mental wellbeing and social behaviors among university students of Pakistan during this crucial period of COVID-19 infection. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was designed to evaluate the psychosocial impact during the current COVID-19 outbreak among the students of The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Snowball sampling or chain referral sampling procedure was adopted to recruit the participants in the study. Verbal informed consent was taken from all participants before recruitment in the study irrespective of their gender, age and socioeconomic status. Results: Mental health of university students during COVID-19 epidemic was affected to a varying degree revealing that 26.66% were recorded to have mild, 27.15% moderate and 17.04% suffering from severe anxiety out of total 1029 students. Students who were residing in urban areas with parents and having a steady family income were negatively associated and found protective factors against anxiety. However, having a relative or an acquaintance infected with COVID-19 was an independent risk factor for experienced anxiety. Positively associated factors with the level of anxiety symptoms included economic stressors, effects on daily-life, and academic delays whereas social support was negatively correlated with anxiety in COVID-19 related stressors. Conclusion: Public health emergencies and such pandemic are exerting serious psychological impacts on university students. It is recommended that the higher authorities should plan better policies to reduce this impact for the provision of high quality and timely crisis-oriented psychological services to university students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali R. Hameed

Background: Rotavirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in children below five years. Objectives: The aim of this study to evaluate the prevalence of rotavirus among children with diarrhea, the efficacy of Rotavirus Rapid Test Device (RTD)and ELISA and evaluate the relationship between the demographic agent and clinical presentation associated with rotavirus. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at AL-Batool Teaching Hospital in Baqubah, from the first of April 2019 to 31 of March 2020, on (300) children with diarrhea below five years of age. The patients included (n=161, 53.6%) males and (n=139, 46.3%) females. The patient’s age, gender, living area, season, mode of feeding, source of water supply and sterilization, were collected through a questionnaire prepared for this study. The Rapid Test and ELISA are used for the detection of rotavirus in fecal specimens.  Results: The rotavirus antigen was detected in (47.33%) stool specimens by the ELISA test and (59%) by Rotavirus Rapid Test Device (RTD) from (300) children with diarrhea and high infection in the age group between 13-24 months at the rate (49.40%). The highest infection rate in spring was (56.00%) and lower in summer (33.33%). The infection males more than females (42.24% vs. 39.57%). High significant infection among children living in rural areas (55.68%) compared to those living in urban areas (35.48%). According to the clinical features, the results showed the rate of rotavirus infection in children with fever was (54.90%), vomiting (42.03%), those suffering from severe dehydration (48.85) some dehydration 78 (46.15%), however, rotavirus infection was significant with fever only. 


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piyush Kumar

BackgroundThe safety of women is of significance and prime concern in India due to a huge female population, equity issues, gender issues, lack of positive deviance at community level, illiteracy, socio-economic factors, migration from rural to urban areas, inaccessibility to legal help and of course many more factors. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had presented a challenge even for developed nations around the world regarding women’s protection in the ongoing pandemic era &amp; especially in the lockdown period when it’s really difficult to go out and shout for help. Aim and ObjectivesThe main aim of this research is to find out impact of SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 Pandemic on violence against women in India across different states and union territories from the beginning of pandemic i.e. January 2020. The objective is to find out that the covid-19 era has a positive or negative impact over violence against women. Data from various accredited sources were continuously collected, observed and analysed for this research study. Settings &amp; DesignThe month-wise and state-wise data indicating number of complaints registered with National Commission for Women in India(NCW) under different categories are presented in different table 1, 2, 3, 4,5,6,7,8 will be discussed and displayed. The period of study is from January 2018 to 2021 December. This is a retrospective cross-sectional continuous observational qualitative and quantitative as well as comparative study. The two years of covid-19 pandemic i.e. 2020 and 2021 is compared two previous two years to know the impact of covid-19 on violence against women in India.Materials &amp; MethodologyThe data is collected from accredited and reliable sources of National commission for women, India as well as various other sources listed in this research study. The data obtained is analysed by using Microsoft Office software. ResultIncrease in violence against women in India is seen in this covid-19 pandemic era as compared to pre-pandemic years under observation. See Figure 1 and figure 2:- comparison of number of cases of domestic violence and various forms of violence to know the impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and lockdown situations in India. During the second year of pandemic i.e. 2021 the total numbers of Nature-Wise Report of the Complaints Received by NCW was 30865 which is an increase by 55.03 % compared to 2018 and 56.43 % as compared to 2019.ConclusionIndia should have various strategies to ensure safety of women and their mental health issues in such pandemic like situations. It seems that present laws and regulations are insufficient to give the desired results. The barriers of legal and protective system and delivery of helpful services etc. constraints should be rectified added with a proper dynamic plan to carry on usual women protection services even in pandemics and natural disasters. Keywords- SARS-CoV-2, pandemic, violence, women, lockdown, domestic abuse,


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Syafiq ◽  
Sandra Fikawati ◽  
Syilga Cahya Gemily

Abstract Background One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic was the weakening of the community's economic condition. The weak economy of the community will have an impact on household food security. This study aims to determine food security in the COVID-19 pandemic situation and the impact of the pandemic on food security in urban and semi-urban areas. Methods A cross-sectional study with a total sample of 517 people who live in urban (Jakarta) and semi-urban (Depok) areas. The research data was collected online and purposively through Posyandu cadres who have access to family/community. Data analysis used the chi-square test and multiple logistic regression. Results There were 65.0% of households had food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the multivariate analysis showed that family income during the COVID-19 pandemic (AOR = 4.2; 95%CI = 2.7–6.7), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (AOR = 2.6; 95%CI = 1.6–4.1), and the age of the respondent (AOR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.1–2.5) was significantly related to household food security after being controlled by husband's work status during the pandemic. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has an impact on employment and income which then decreasing the level of household food security.


2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iskandar Simorangkir

There have been long running disputes on the relationship between the degree of openness and economic performance. Based on cross-country analyses, a number of studies found that the relationship between openness and economic performance is quite mixed. Some studies discovered a positive relationship, while others found a negative or simply neutral relationship.Unlike previous studies using cross-sectional data, this study uses structural vector auto-regression (SVAR) to explore the impact of trade openness and financial openness on the Indonesian economy. The findings shows that trade openness and financial openness have negative impacts on output. The results of trade openness are quite robust; since a lack of preparation to anticipate trade openness weakens the competitiveness of Indonesian products relative to foreign products and, finally, lower output. The findings of financial openness are also robust because greater financial openness leaves the Indonesian economy more vulnerable to capital reversal, which endangers economic performance.Keywords: Openness, SVAR, forecast error variance decomposition, impulse response function.JEL Classification: F41, F43


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahnaz Ranjbar ◽  
Mostafa Heidari Haratemeh

Today, the insurance industry is one of the major economic institutions. Insurance, on the one hand, is a financial institution that plays an essential role in strengthening the economic fabric of the community, and on the other hand, by providing security and certainty, the scope for the expansion of productive activities. Meanwhile, life insurance is very important for all types of insurance. Because in life insurance, the length of the insurance is often more than one year, and even includes, in some cases, the life of the insurer.The objective of the current research is to study the impact of economic risks (depression, inflation, lowering the bank interest rates) on the sales of life insurances where the economic risks are initially measured through ARCH-GARCH family models and then the intensity of the impact of the economic risks are examined and determined on the sales of life insurances. In this regard, the type of research was correlation-causal and in terms of the nature and time it is considered to be practical and cross-sectional, respectively. In this research, time series data were used on the economic risks and the sales of the life insurances and they were used for the time period 1971 through 2015. The results showed that: A) Based on instantaneous response functions, by creating a positive shock equal to one standard deviation in the economic risks, the percentage of the sales of life insurances starts to decrease from the first year. As a result, increases in the economic fluctuations lead to decreases in the sales of life insurances. B) Variance analysis functions show that variables of inflation rates, gross domestic product, and interest rate fluctuations account for 0.56%, 1.33%, and 2.1% of the error variance for the sales of life insurances, respectively. C) Economic risks (depression, inflation, lowering the band interest rates) have significant impacts on the sales of life insurances.


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