Introduction: Improper disposal of unused and expired medicines poses severe threats to environmental safety and public health, notably accelerating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Globally, pharmaceutical consumption rose by 14% between 2019 and 2023. Despite this surge, Mongolia continuously lacks an established national pharmaceutical take-back framework, and public behaviors regarding residential medical waste management remain insufficiently evaluated. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of adult residents in Ulaanbaatar concerning medication disposal. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and March 2026 among 301 adult citizens across nine districts of Ulaanbaatar. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire evaluating demographic parameters, knowledge (10 items), attitudes (10 items), and practices (8 items). Statistical analysis was executed using IBM SPSS v26.0, applying descriptive frequencies, percentages, and one-way ANOVA. Conclusion The findings reveal a prominent knowledge-behavior gap among citizens. While the mean knowledge score was moderate (62.4%), with 92.2% recognizing the dangers of expired drugs, practical behaviors were profoundly unsafe. Specifically, 86.4% of participants discarded medication alongside ordinary household waste, 94.0% had never returned products to pharmacies, and 0% had utilized a designated medical disposal point. Conversely, an overwhelmingly positive public attitude was observed, as 88.4% expressed willingness to return unused medicines if a formal pharmacy-based collection system existed. This critical disparity underscores that public awareness campaigns alone are inadequate. There is an urgent necessity to integrate pharmacy-led take-back programs into national environmental and health policies, establish accessible urban disposal infrastructure, and enforce rigorous pharmaceutical waste standards in Mongolia.

Purpose: The inflammatory response due to inflammatory cytokines, bacterial pathogens, and the altered lipoprotein metabolism in patients with periodontitis indicates that infection with periodontal anaerobic bacteria may influence atherogenesis in vitro and in vivo. We aimed to explore the effect of periodontitis concerning clinical and ultrasound markers of early atherosclerosis. Methods: In this case-control study, a total of 30 systemically healthy adults (15 with periodontitis and 15 without periodontitis) over 40 years of age were studied. Periodontitis was determined by measuring the clinical attachment level (CAL) and radiographic bone loss (RBL). Conventional cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index, serum levels of total cholesterol (TCH), triglycerides (TG), and high-density and low-density lipoprotein (HDL and LDL, respectively) cholesterol were evaluated. Carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured using ultrasonography. Results: The mean values of the CAL and carotid IMT were 5.02±0.9 mm and 0.084±0.01 cm vs. 1.6±0.61 mm and 0.072±0.02 cm in the periodontitis and healthy groups, respectively, reflecting statistically significant differences (P=0.001 and P=0.037, respectively). There were statistically significant differences in the serum levels of TCH, TG, and LDL between the 2 groups (P=0.017). The CAL and RBL were positively associated with carotid IMT and serum cholesterol levels, except for HDL, whereas tooth loss was not associated with any markers (P<0.05). Compared to the healthy group, participants with periodontitis exhibited 2.09 times higher odds (95% confidence interval, 1.22–3.59) of having subclinical atherosclerosis. Conclusions The presence of periodontitis increased the risk of atherosclerosis.