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Introduction: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are still a major public health problem in Indonesia. Studies have shown that risk factors of NCDs are associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and mortality. However, it is unclear whether NCD risk factors are also risks for new COVID-19 cases. This study aimed to obtain an NCD risk profile among university employees and its associations with contracting COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2021. Participants were administrative employees of Universitas Indonesia (UI), Depok City, West Java. Assessment of NCD risk factors was based on the World Health Organization STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance (WHO STEPS). Demographic, working, and medical-history data were obtained electronically by using a Google Form. Physical and laboratory examinations were done in the Integrated Post for NCDs. Risks were expressed as adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in multivariate analyses. Results: A total of 613 employees were enrolled. Men were predominant (54.8%), and about 36% of them work in shift as security personnel. About 66.7% were overweight or obese and 77.8% had hypertension. There were 138 (22.8%) employees who had COVID-19. Nearly all (95.6%) had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. At-risk waist circumference (ORadj 1.72, 95% CI 1.15–2.56, p = 0.008) and total cholesterol level of 200–239 mg/dL (ORadj 2.30, 95% CI 1.19–4.44, p = 0.013) were independent risk factors, but shift work (ORadj 0.52, 95% CI 0.34–0.80, p = 0.003) was protective against COVID-19. Conclusion: The prevalence of NCD risk factors among university administrative employees was high, increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19. A behavioral intervention program to manage NCD risk factors at the university level is urgently needed according to the Health Promoting University framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The potential role of medical students in raising awareness during public health emergencies has been acknowledged. To further explore their potentials as public educators and role models for the communities during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of these students toward COVID-19. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in Indonesia. Socio-demographics characteristics, social interaction history, information-seeking behavior, as well as knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were collected through a self-reported questionnaire. A p-value of <0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results: Out of 4870 respondents, 64.9% had positive attitude and 51.5% had positive practice toward COVID-19, while only 29.8% had adequate knowledge. Knowledge was slightly positively correlated with attitude and practice (ρ = 0.074 and ρ = 0.054, respectively; both p<0.001), while attitude was weakly correlated with practice (ρ = 0.234, p<0.001). Several factors including age, sex, place of residence, institution type, academic level, family income, history of chronic illness, prior volunteering experience, and perceptual awareness on COVID-19 were significantly associated with either knowledge, attitude, and/or practice toward COVID-19. Furthermore, health institution's and the government's press releases, as well as health expert opinions were deemed as the most reliable sources of COVID-19-related information–yet trivially none of these sources were associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice in the study population. Conclusion: Many undergraduate medical students in Indonesia had positive attitude and practice against COVID-19, yet only a few had adequate knowledge. This warrants further interventions to keep them updated with COVID-19 evidence to maximize their potentials in raising public awareness on COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The question to involve or restrict medical students' involvement in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response remains contentious. As their state of preparation and perceptions in volunteering during this pandemic have yet to be investigated, this study aims to evaluate Indonesian medical students' willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students throughout Indonesia. Socio-demographic and social interaction information, in addition to willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice, were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: Among 4870 participants, 2374 (48.7%) expressed their willingness to volunteer, while only 906 (18.6%) had adequate readiness to practice. Male students, students with prior volunteering experience in health or non-health sectors, and students from public universities or living in Central Indonesia (vs Java) had higher scores of willingness and readiness to volunteer. Students from Sumatra also had better preparedness (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–2.12, p = 0.004), while the opposite occurred for students from Eastern Indonesia (OR 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44–0.89, p = 0.002)–when compared to students from Java. In addition, compared to students with high family income, students from lower-middle income families were less willing to volunteer (OR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59–0.98, p = 0.034), though those with low family income had better readiness (OR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.10–2.08, p = 0.011). Shortage of medical personnel, sense of duty, and solicitation by stakeholders were the main reasons increasing the students' willingness to volunteer; whereas contrarily fear for own's health, absence of a cure, and fear of harming patients were the primary factors diminishing their willingness to volunteer. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that many Indonesian medical students are willing to volunteer, yet only few of them were ready to practice, indicating that further preparations are required to maximize their potentials and minimize their exposure to hazards. We suggest that their potentials as a firm support system during the pandemic should not be overlooked, and that the integration of relevant courses to the medical curricula are imperative to prepare for future public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of corticosteroid therapy in COVID-19 patients is mediated by its suppressive effect on the regulations of inflammatory response. However, its clinical outcome is often unpredictable. This study aimed to explore the role of glucocorticoid receptors in corticosteroid response in Moderate-Severe COVID-19 patients. In this cross-sectional study, we attempted to find the relationship between the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (encoded by NR3C1), the variation of glucocorticoid receptors isoform, and the mutations of glucocorticoid receptors exon with clinical response to corticosteroids. In addition, the relationship between glucocorticoid receptors expression and the expression of IκBα (encoded by NFKBIA) and glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper protein (GILZ; encoded by TSC22D3) as steroid pathways was also evaluated. Thirty-four COVID-19 patients were studied. Blood was drawn before and on day 5 of corticosteroid treatment. Glucocorticoid receptors expression, isoform, and mutation were determined by RNA sequencing from white blood cells. Based on the improvement of clinical and oxygen status, patients were classified into responder and non-responder groups. Of thirty-four patients, 23 (67.6%) showed excellent responses to corticosteroids, and 11 (32.4%) were non-responders. The NR3C1 gene expression was significantly higher in the responsive group at baseline and after five days of glucocorticoid treatment. Isoform variant and mutation of glucocorticoid receptors did not correlate with clinical response. The expression of IκBα and GILZ correlated positively with glucocorticoid receptors expression. This study elucidates the relationship between glucocorticoid receptor expression with therapeutic responses to corticosteroids in moderate-severe COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]