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Background: Menstruation disorders are also responsible for emotional, physical, behavioural and dietary practice changes. These changes affect their normal functioning and social life. The present study was carried out to find the prevalence of menstrual problems among unmarried girls of Chandigarh, India and to compare their knowledge and beliefs regarding menstruation in different sub-groups. Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 744 unmarried females in Rural, Urban and Slum strata of UT Chandigarh, India. Data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire on menstruation. Chi-square value was used for testing statistical significance. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 16.84±3.05 years. Maximum respondents (40.9%) were educated up to 10th standard/ High school. 448 (60.2%) were aware of menstruation before starting of menarche. Awareness was found to be significantly associated (p=0.02) with age. Socio-economic status and prior knowledge of respondents was also found to be significantly associated (p< 0.001). 61% (454) of the respondents had a regular flow during menses. Normal flow was reported by 70.2 %( 522) of the respondents. Dysmenorrhea was found to be the most common problem suffered by 429 (57.7%) respondents. Conclusion: Menstrual hygiene is an issue that needs to be addressed at all levels. A variety of factors are known to affect menstrual behaviors, the most influential ones being economic status. It is essential to design a mechanism to address and for the access of healthy menstrual practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Substance use refers to the use of any psychoactive substance or drug, including licit and illicit drugs, other than when medically indicated. Psychoactive substance use poses a threat to the health, social and economic fabric of families, communities and nations. Chandigarh has more than 0.2 million students from across the country pursuing their courses in higher education institutions. There is a very little information about pattern of drug dependence among the college students of Chandigarh. Objectives: To study the prevalence and pattern of substance use among college students of Chandigarh and to study the psycho-social behaviour of youth and perceived reasons for using substances. Material and Methods: A Cross - sectional community based study. A stratified multi-stage random sample design was adopted in study. The study instrument was a questionnaire which was developed by reviewing relevant literature and previously used standardized instruments and protocols including the WHO questionnaire. On the basis of 60% prevalence anticipated on the basis of pilot study, 90% confidence coefficient and 10% permissible error - sample size came out to be 256. Results: Prevalence of substance use was seen in 52.7% students belonging to age group 19 to 21 years. More prevalence of substance use was found among law students (76.2%) followed by the students from Art stream (62.5%). Among the users alcohol was most commonly used (53.5%), followed by smokers (27.3%), tobacco chewers (8.2%), cannabis (6.8%).49% of the users were using substances on daily basis, followed by 23% who using weekly.29.3% of users had father using any substance. Relief from psychological stress (66.0%) followed by easy availability (46.9%) were the most common reasons of substance abuse. that substances use is common among college going male students irrespective of their social demographic characteristics like age [OR 0.76, 95%CI (.443-1.317)] religion [OR.859 95%CI (.461-1.598)], parental education, occupation and socio-economic status. Therefore, interventions in terms of health education/counselling for reducing substance use among them should be adopted, irrespective of their socio-demographic characteristics. Suggestions: This study suggested some life style related interventions in order to reduce the problem of substance use. There is an utmost need to educate and counsel young students regarding harmful effects of substance use. Health education may be imparted in the school curriculum. Parents should also be educated on discouragement of substance use and on taking proper care of their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 23-hour Observation Unit (OU) is a novel and an effective means for tackling overcrowding in busy Paediatric Emergency Departments (PED) worldwide. However, unexpected hospitalisations in the OU involve transfer of care and they reduce the efficiency of the OU. Hence, we aimed to study the presenting diagnoses which were responsible for the unexpected hospitalisations in a 23-hour OU. Methods and Design: A prospective cohort study Setting: The PED at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Duration: 15th Feb-15th March 2011. Protocol: Consecutive children were triaged at presentation to the PED, according to the WHO paediatric emergency triage algorithm. Those who were transferred to the 23-hour OU, were further followed up for duration of the stay, the hospital course, and the outcome (discharge/hospitalisation). Results: Three hundred (228 males, 72 females) consecutive children who attended the PED over one month were enrolled. All the children, at presentation, were triaged by the medical intern/s who was/were posted in the PED, and they were crosschecked by a PED consultant. A majority (55%, n=165) of the children were triaged as non-urgent, 32% (n=97) as priority and 13% (n=38) as emergent. Out of the 300 children, 173(58%) were transferred to the 23-hour OU. Of these, 16 (9.1%) required unexpected hospitalisations. The children who required hospitalisations had the following diagnoses: bronchiolitis (4), bronchopneumonia (4), seizure (2), viral hepatitis (2), high fever (1), bronchial asthma (1), severe anaemia (1), and urticaria (1). The mean duration of the stay in the OU was 19 hours for those who needed hospitalisation, as against 13 hours for those who were discharged from the OU. Conclusion: The children with respiratory complaints (bronchiolitis and bronchopneumonia) need frequent monitoring in the 23-hour OU, as they have high hospitalisation rates in the OU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is equivocal evidence regarding differences in the clinical course and outcomes of Crohn's disease (CD) among African Americans compared with Caucasian Americans. We sought to analyze whether African Americans with CD are more likely to be hospitalized for CD-related complications when compared with Caucasian Americans with CD., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study including 909 African Americans and Caucasian Americans with CD who were seen at our tertiary care Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) referral center between 2000 and 2013. We calculated the rate of hospitalization for CD-related complications among African Americans and Caucasian Americans separately. Zero-inflated Poisson regression models with robust variance estimates were used to estimate crude and multivariable adjusted rate ratios (RR) for CD-related hospitalizations. Multivariable adjusted models included adjustment for age, sex, duration of CD, smoking and CD therapy., Results: The cumulative rate of CD-related hospital admissions was higher among African American patients compared with Caucasian American patients (395.6/1000 person-years in African Americans vs. 230.4/1000 person-years in Caucasian Americans). Unadjusted and multivariable adjusted rate ratios for CD-related hospitalization comparing African Americans and Caucasian Americans were 1.59 (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.10-2.29; P=0.01) and 1.44 (95%CI: 1.02-2.03; P=0.04), respectively., Conclusions: African Americans with CD followed at a tertiary IBD-referral center had a higher rate for CD-related hospitalizations compared with Caucasian Americans. Future studies should examine whether socioeconomic status and biologic markers of disease status could explain the higher risk observed among African Americans., (© The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press and Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University.)