BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Type II Diabetes Mellitus remains a pressing public health concern among Filipino adults, particularly prevalent in urban households belonging to the middle to richest wealth population. As body composition influences glucose metabolism, understanding the potential of anthropometric parameters is vital in predicting fasting blood sugar. This study aims to generate and find the most appropriate model that can detect likelihood of elevated FBS using different anthropometric parameters.

The data set from 2018-2019, 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey of Department of Science and Technology - Food and Nutrition Research Institute, consisting of 14,655 adults aged 18–65 years from 33 highly urbanized cities (HUCs) was used in this study. While controlling for study variables, multiple logistic regression was used to determine significant predictors affecting the fasting blood sugar (FBS) status of these adults.

The above normal status of each anthropometric parameter, in the models for BMI (aOR=2.33; pCONCLUSION

There is no single anthropometric parameter that can truly discern the status of elevated FBS. However, it appears the use of waist circumference and waist-hip ratio have the potential to be an indicator especially in settings where the evaluation of the actual FBS of the individuals is not feasible. Future research suggests exploring possible interaction of BP, and FBS, diet quality and adequacy, and the effectiveness of having multiple anthropometric parameters in one model.

BACKGROUND

High-risk areas in the Philippines still experience a high prevalence of undernutrition. The efforts of the governments are not enough to reach those who are in need; hence, the presence of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is crucial. One CSO has implemented health and nutrition technical programs to increase the number of well-fed children in four selected areas in the Philippines.

This study aims to shed light on the differences in the nutritional status of the children when they are characterized according to their sociodemographic and economic covariates.

An analytical cross-sectional design was used to survey 692 households, including 764 children aged 0–5 years old. Descriptive analysis and the Chi-Square test of difference were used to answer the objectives.

The study results show that no significant differences were observed when the nutritional status of the children was characterized according to the sociodemographic of the caregiver, food consumption score (FCS) and food security status, water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) practices, and economic indicators, except weight-for-height and marital status of caregivers, and weight-for-age and livelihood and economic support received by their caregivers (P = 0.02).

The majority of children, regardless of their nutritional status, share the same experience and resources in terms of sociodemographics of caregivers, FCS and food security status, WASH practices, and economic indicators. CSO can boost the impact of their health and nutrition interventions by harmonizing their efforts with government programs, leading to better-targeted and more efficient outcomes.

Objective: To review the implementation of essential reproductive health services in Eastern Visayas, Philippines.Materials and Methods: We reviewed four national policies through a qualitative research design using a series of key informant interviews conducted with service providers and focus group discussions with service beneficiaries.Results: There was a gap between the policies and the implementation of reproductive health services in the Eastern Visayas region. This gap is mainly due to the refusal of service providers to cater to teenagers’ needs regarding reproductive health services. This has resulted in teenagers hesitating to seek reproductive health services and related support from primary healthcare facilities. Service beneficiaries have also reported on the unavailability of several reproductive health services in primary healthcare facilities.Conclusion: The gap between national policies and program implementation must be bridged. This can be achieved by creating culturally-specific policies that can improve the implementation of reproductive health programs in the study areas.

BACKGROUND

While adolescent pregnancies in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines have declined over the past five years, young mothers remain at risk of repeat pregnancies, which continue to expose them and their children to health and socioeconomic risks in this vulnerable region.

This study aims to collect baseline information on mothers who experienced early pregnancy in Eastern Visayas and to identify significant differences in maternal characteristics based on type of residence and age. The findings will be used by a nongovernmental organization to plan and develop targeted interventions for this vulnerable population.

This study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design to collect data on mothers who experienced early pregnancy in four selected provinces of Eastern Visayas. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, an independent t-test, and the Mann-Whitney U test.

A total of 296 mothers participated in the survey. Among them, 80.1% were in high school during their first pregnancy, and 88.2% were unemployed at the time of the study. The youngest age at first pregnancy was 12 years. The participants' male partners were at least five years older (39.8%) and ten years older (11.1%). Significant differences were observed in the use of family planning method, number and status of pregnancies, and history of preterm labor.

Results suggest that adolescent pregnancy remains a public health concern in Eastern Visayas, particularly among lowincome teenagers with limited educational attainment, whose parents also had minimal education. The youngest reported age of pregnancy was 12 years. Therefore, efforts should focus on increasing access to family planning services, providing comprehensive reproductive health education, and enhancing maternal and child health services.

Objective: Despite the widespread use and measurement of beta‑human chorionic gonadotropin (β‑HCG) among hydatidiform mole (HM) patients, models derived from this biomarker to predict the remission or postmolar gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) rarely perform well. The study aimed to generate cutoff points for postevacuation β‑HCG levels and evaluate their performance among women with complete molar pregnancies Methods: A retrospective cohort study composed of women with complete HM underwent bivariate procedures comparing characteristics between the comparison groups. Cut points using Liu’s and Youden’s indices were estimated, and their performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Cox regression to compare time‑to‑progression across these proposed β‑HCG cutoffs was also performed. Results: The incidence of postmolar GTN among the 155 women in the study was 15.5% (95% confidence interval: 10.2%–22.2%). Postevacuation HCG levels had a better prediction of disease status than preevacuation and HCG ratio models (χ2 : 163.07, P < 0.01). A cutoff at 508 mIU/mL the 3rd‑week postevacuation (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.89, sensitivity: 87.5%, specificity: 90.1%) was comparable with the 185 mIU/mL cutoff at the 5th‑week postevacuation (AUC: 0.89, sensitivity: 91.7%, specificity: 87%). The hazards ratio of postmolar GTN was 29.74 (8.53–103.71) and 39.89 (8.82–180.38) for the 3rd and 5th weeks HCG after evacuation adjusting for clinically relevant variables Conclusion The first 3rd‑ and 5th‑week postevacuation levels of β‑HCG demonstrated potential in predicting postmolar GTN. However, further refinement and adjustment for clinically relevant risk factors are still needed.
Choriocarcinoma ; Gestational Trophoblastic Disease ; Prognosis

INTRODUCTION: The number of injuries and expenses from unsafe delivery of health care has heeded the call for a greater patient safety advocacy. The development of an effective reporting system contributes towards this cause. The study aimed to explore the perceptions of nurses regarding critical incidents and investigate the factors affecting their decision to report a certain event. METHODS: Focus group discussions including 28 nurses working in the service wards of a tertiary hospital, and the data gathered were analyzed using descriptive qualitative approach. RESULTS: Three key themes emerged from the discussions: (1) perceptions of an incident, (2) attitudes, norms, and culture of incident reporting in the workplace, and (3) perceptions and suggestions for management actions and improving the reporting system. The study showed that various factors tend to interplay in the identification of an incident as well as the consideration to perform the behavior. DISCUSSION The primary practice and education implications focus on changing the workplace culture and proper orientation of the staff, while further research regarding the role of reporting, and appropriate analysis of error reporting among other health care professionals would be recommended.
hospital communication systems ; nursing education ; critical incidents ; patient safety

Introduction: Prematurity-related respiratory disorders are an important public health concern that should be treated efficiently and effectively. Antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) therapy has been recommended to hasten fetal lung maturation in pregnancies at risk but has not been delivered adequately in low to middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the treatment effects associated with the use of a single-dose antenatal corticosteroid on the incidence of respiratory-associated morbidity among prematurely delivered neonates. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of neonates delivered at 24 to 33 weeks gestation at a tertiary hospital comparing outcomes in those given single-dose ACS with those given no ACS. Association was estimated using logistic and propensity score (PS) analyses, as well as average treatment effect (ATE) and among those treated (ATET). Results: Most neonates (78.11%) received a single dose before delivery (single-dose ACS group) and only a few (21.89%) did not receive any dose (no ACS dose group). The odds ratio of respiratory morbidity in the single-dose ACS group was 0.44 (0.23-0.84) from an adjusted logistic regression model and 0.33 (0.17-0.80) from the PS matching model. The latter model was used to estimate that the average treatment effect from a single-ACS dose on the entire sample was -0.09 (-0.03 to -0.15), while its effect among the actual recipients was -0.08 (-0.02 to -0.15). Conclusion There is a small benefit attributed to the single-dose ACS, reinforcing the need for dose administration and completion. Future studies are recommended to clarify the estimated association and improve on the methodological constraints encountered.
Morbidity ; Propensity Score

Introduction: Despite the growing popularity of utilizing observational studies for determining associations with public health implications, there is limited literature using them for examining and quantifying the effects of exposures or treatments: The study compared traditional regression with scoring approaches in estimating treatment effects considering the noted limitations in the dataset. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of previously collected retrospective cohort data derived from maternal-neonatal dyads delivered prematurely in a tertiary hospital. Propensity scores (PS) were estimated using logistic and boosting regression. These scores were implemented into matching, stratification, and weighting models. The estimated measures of effect from traditional regression and PS-adjusted models were compared using certain metrics (i.e., the width of CI, SE, AIC, BIC). Sensitivity analysis was also performed. Results: We included data from 562 patients (123 untreated and 439 treated). Both the estimated scores demonstrated satisfactory fit and reduction in the standardized differences between the groups. However, the logit-estimated scores had better prediction (AUC: 0.71 vs 0.66) and forecasting properties (Brier: 0.15 vs 0.17) than the boosting-estimated scores. All generated statistical models demonstrated a reduction in the occurrence of respiratory morbidity among preterm neonates exposed to a single-dose antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) (ORs ranged from 0.37 to 0.59). The estimated average treatment effects (ATE) and effect among those treated (ATET) from various models suggested a small benefit attributed to the single-dose ACS (ATEs range from -0.09 to -0.41; ATETs range from -0.07 to -0.17). Conclusion PS estimated using logistic regression performed better than those estimated using machine learning strategies. The matching model using the said scores demonstrated better fit and parsimony over conventional and propensity-adjusted models. Future studies are recommended to improve the application of these analytic techniques in real-world data.
Propensity Score ; Machine Learning ; Logistic Models

Background: Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels have been used as an invaluable tool in reproductive medicine for over a decade, especially in predicting ovarian reserve and follicular response during in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. Age-specific reference values of AMH levels have been derived from mostly Western and few Asian population groups but none from the Philippines. In this study, we attempted to determine the first age-specific AMH reference values from infertile Filipino women to be able to provide local infertility centers a guide in treating Filipinos and those with similar racial and lifestyle characteristics. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that was conducted at the Center for Advanced Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at St. Luke's Medical Center Global City. Age, serum AMH levels, body mass index (BMI), and cause of infertility of Filipino women who underwent IVF from August 2015 to March 2020 were taken. AMH was assayed using the automated Access AMH Immunoassay (Beckman Coulter). Results: A total of 1463 women who underwent IVF and with valid AMH results were initially found but only 1233 were included in the study. Mean age was 36.67 + 4.35 years and mean BMI was 24.43 + 4.14 kg/m2. There was minimal effect of BMI on AMH levels and increasing age (R2 = 0.0068), but there were significant differences of mean AMH levels among the general causes of infertility. The mean and median AMH values decreased with advancing age (R2 = 0.1391) although the mean values were consistently higher than the median values. The mean level of the AMH was 2.32 ± 1.90 ng/mL with a 0.16 ng/ml (confidence interval: 0.14–0.19 ng/ml) level decrease per year of increase in age. By age category, the following were the derived AMH values (ng/ml) at the 25th to 75th percentiles: 25–29 = 1.52–4.92; 30–34 = 1.60–4.10; 35–39 = 0.95–3.13; 40–44 = 0.44–1.99; 45 = 0.47–1.08. The mean AMH in this study appears to be similar to several but lower than most other reported AMH nomograms from other population groups. Conclusion The first age-specific AMH reference values for infertile Filipino women are presented and may serve as a useful diagnostic marker in local infertility centers, especially those treating Filipino patients or others with similar characteristics.
Fertilization in Vitro ; Anti-Mullerian Hormone