1.Trends in Body Mass Index and its Determinants among Ever-married Non-pregnant Women in Bangladesh
Khan MN ; Mondal MNI ; Islam MR ; Al-Mamun MA ; Shitan M
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 2015;21(2):191-205
Introduction: There is increasing prevalence of overweight ever-married non¬pregnant women while underweight women of the same category remain common. Thus, this study aimed to identify body mass index (BMI) trends as well as the determinants of nutritional status across urban and rural areas and Bangladesh as a whole over the survey years of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2007 and 2011.
Method: The nationally representative samples of 9,241 and 14,975 ever-married non-pregnant women 15 to 49 years old were extracted from the BDHS 2007 and 2011, respectively. BMI was used as a proxy to measure nutritional status. Binary logistic regression models were fitted separately for urban and rural areas and Bangladesh as a whole to identify the changes in determinants.
Results: The prevalence of underweight women decreased 5.3% while the prevalence for overweight women increased 3.1% between the survey years of BDHS 2007 and 2011. Women in rural areas were found more likely to be underweight while the percentage of women with normal nutritional status was found to increase in the urban areas. Respondents' age, education, marital status, children ever born, wealth index, age at first birth, husbands' occupation and husbands' education were identified as the most important determinants of nutritional status in both the survey years.
Conclusion: The burden of underweight, and overweight to obese women in Bangladesh is strongly related to an individual's demographic and socio-economic position. These findings underscore the need for public health efforts aimed at combating underweight among women.
2.Working Hours and Personal Protective Equipment Effect on Blood Cholinesterase Levels of Tobacco Plantation Workers
Prehatin Trirahayu Ningrum ; Globila Nurika ; Abdullah Al Mamun ; Ellyke ; Isa Ma&rsquo ; rufi ; Rahayu Sri Pujiati ; Anita Dewi Moelyaningrum ; Ragil Ismi Hartanti ; Reny Indrayani ; Kurnia Ardiansyah Akbar ; Edza Aria Wikurendra
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2024;20(No.1):78-83
Introduction: Tobacco production is increasing in certain regions of Indonesia due to its high economic value.
Tobacco and its products can have harmful effects on the health of consumers, producers and processing workers.
Analysis of blood samples has shown that tobacco farmers are at risk of developing occupational diseases related to
pesticide exposure and nicotine absorption through the epidermis of wet tobacco leaves. The aim of this study was
to compare blood cholinesterase levels in tobacco plantation workers in relation to their working hours and use of
personal protective equipment (PPE). Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in ten subdistricts in Jember district, Indonesia, and included 50 participants selected using proportional sampling. Spearman’s
test was used to analyse the relationship between variables. Results: The significance value of the relationship based
on Spearman’s test between working hours and blood cholinesterase levels of tobacco farmers in Jember was 0.058
> α (0.05). Meanwhile, the significance value of the relationship between working hours and complete blood count,
specifically mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), was 0.00 < α (0.05), and between PPE use and
blood cholinesterase levels was 0.035 < α (0.05). Conclusion: Working hours were not associated with blood cholinesterase levels, but were associated with blood MCHC levels. Meanwhile, the use of PPE was found to be associated
with cholinesterase levels in tobacco farmers.