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Background: The life expectancy of human is increasing worldwide, and the elderly population represents a large group throughout the world and also in Bangladesh. Globally it is a challenge to overcome elderly comorbidities, and now it is also a challenge that how our elder people can lead a good health and we can use that elderly population as a partner of our socio-economic development. The objectives were to find out the most common comorbidities in elderly population in our society and to give more emphasis for prevention and better management of those comorbid conditions and allow them to lead a healthy living. Methods: This prospective observational study was done in a General Hospital in Faridpur of Bangladesh from October 2019 to December 2020 for a period of one year and three month. Patients of age 60 years and above were selected randomly of all sexes and races. All the information was recorded in fixed protocol. Results: The study was included total 1043 elderly patients, among this male patients were 34.49% and female patients were 65.51%. Most of them presented with single disease in 53.30%. Others presented with two, three and four or more comorbidities (27.99%, 13.32%, and 5.36% respectively). Most common comorbidities were Hypertension (HTN) in 35.37%, Diabetes mellitus (DM) in 28.37%, obstructed airway diseases in 26.84%, Osteoarthritis in 19.94%, Ischemic Heart Diseases (IHD) in 18.88%, Osteoporosis 7.47% and cerebrovascular diseases 4.60%. Conclusion: A large proportion of the population, especially those aged 60, is affected by multicomorbidities. The comorbidities found most of them are preventable. Bangladesh J Medicine 2022; 33: 269-273

Aims: The main aim of this study was to find out the suitable variety having the export potentiality. Study Design: The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block (RCB) design with the two replications in each location. Place of the Study: The study was conducted in ten different agroecological environments across the country, namely Bogura, Jashore, Munshiganj, Gazipur, Patuakhali, Faridpur, Debiganj, Madaripur, Thakurgaon and Rangpur district of Bangladesh during November 2020 to March 2021. Methodology: Sixty-two released potato varieties and exotic materials were used as planting materials for the experiment. Whole seed tubers of 28–40 mm were planted in the last week of November with a spacing of 60 cm between the rows and 20 cm between the plants. The crops were harvested at full maturity during March. Tuber yield was determined by adding the weights of marketable and unmarketable tubers from the net plot area and converting them to tons per hectare. After that, the tubers were graded in different grades and the dry matter of the potato was analyzed. Results: Considering the results, the location Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Debiganj and Bogura are the most suitable place for export variety cultivation in Bangladesh. The potato variety and genotypes 13.7, BARI Alu-12, BARI Alu-61, BARI Alu-68, BARI Alu-73 and Innovator were found promising for export for their yield, tuber size and dry matter content. Conclusion: The variety having good yield, bigger size and high dry matter could be selected for export from Bangladesh and the better-performed regions can be utilized for export quality potato production in Bangladesh.

The presence of high levels of carcinogenic metalloid arsenic (As) in the groundwater system of Bangladesh has been considered as one of the major environmental disasters in this region. Many parts of Bangladesh have extensively reported the presence of high levels of arsenic in the groundwater due to both geological and anthropogenic activities. In this paper, we reviewed the available literature and scientific information regarding arsenic pollution in Bangladesh, including arsenic chemistry and occurrences. Along with using As-rich groundwater as a drinking-water source, the agricultural activities and especially irrigation have greatly depended on the groundwater resources in this region due to high water demands for ensuring food security. A number of investigations in Bangladesh have shown that high arsenic content in both soil and groundwater may result in high levels of arsenic accumulation in different plants, including cereals and vegetables. This review provides information regarding arsenic accumulation in major rice varieties, soil-groundwater-rice arsenic interaction, and past arsenic policies and plans, as well as previously implemented arsenic mitigation options for both drinking and irrigation water systems in Bangladesh. In conclusion, this review highlights the importance and necessity for more in-depth studies as well as more effective arsenic mitigation action plans to reduce arsenic incorporation in the food chain of Bangladesh.

Duckweed used as adsorbent material for arsenic (III) removal from groundwater. The results of th is study showed that adsorption of arsenic (III) by duckweed without any pretreatment. Various parameters are investigated that affect arsenic adsorption/desorption. Maximum arsenic (III) removal was obtained under the following conditions: initial As (III ) concentration, 100 µg/L; Duck weed amount, 3 g; average particle size, 0.595 mm; treatment flow rate, 1.67 mL/min; and pH, 5.5 , respectively . The desorption efficiencies with 1M H 2 SO 4 was observed 97.67%. The present work meets the arsenic concentration required for d rinking water recommended by Bangladesh and the World Health Organization (WHO) water quality criteria for drinking water.

Heavy metal pollution was reported in commercially valuable freshwater edible fish in the Buriganga River, Bangladesh. The concentrations of As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, and Cu were investigated in the muscle, gill, stomach, intestine, and liver of Heteropneustes fossilis caught at three stations to assess the degree of fish pollution by heavy metals. Significant differences in concentrations of analyzed elements were observed among different tissues, but not among the stations. The ranges of the measured concentrations (μg/g dry weight) in the tissues of H. fossilis were as follows: arsenic concentration was (0.2-0.4), (0.82-0.90), (3.29-3.99), (2.20-2.80), and (2.41-2.90), that of lead was (1.79-2.20), (4.95-6.55), (10.36-13.38), (5.74-9.70), and (18.20-18.79), that of cadmium was (0.3-0.4), (2.87-4.27), (1.03-1.63), (1.55-4.59), and (2.25-5.50), that of chromium was (1.40-1.70), (3.52-3.72), (2.28-5.29), (2.77-3.79), and (4.25-8.65), that of zinc was (24.47-28.82), (16.82-18.80), (20.22-22.20), (22.86-26.68), and (60.82-67.80), and that of copper was (7.80-8.50), (6.22-6.81), (38.21-44.25), (17.07-21.03), and (43.24-47.30) in the muscle, gill, stomach, intestine, and liver, respectively. This research showed that the liver appeared to be the main heavy metal storage tissue, while the muscle had the lowest levels of analyzed metals. The concentrations of metal in the muscles not exceeded the acceptable levels for a food source for human consumption.

Because lead pollution was recently reported in the fresh water Dhanmondi Lake, in Bangladesh the concentration of selected elements in the flesh of three species of fish, Tilapia nilotica , Cirrhina mrigala and Clarius batrachus , were investigated. The elemental concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry and the following results (in μg/g-dry weight) were obtained: calcium 4999, sodium 3183, magnesium 2193, iron 131, zinc 60.1, manganese 17.5, copper 5.07, lead 2.08 and nickel 1.91. Since the commission regulation setting maximum lead level for the muscle meat of fish, released from the European Communities (EC), followed by the European Union (EU), is 0.2 mg/kg wet weight, corresponding to 0.96 μg/g dry weight, considerable attention should be paid to the lead content in freshwater fish species in Bangladesh. Furthermore, continuous monitoring of heavy metal concentration in edible freshwater fish will be needed in Bangladesh.