Public Health Commons^™

The Association Between Dengue Virus Infection And Liver And Kidney Function Among Cambodian Children, Ashley Moineau

Masters Theses

Severe liver and kidney dysfunction are prevalent in 10%-30% of the Southeast Asian population. Dengue virus infection has been reported as a modifiable risk factor for liver and kidney dysfunction, especially among children in Southeast Asia. Epidemiologic studies assessing this relationship are sparse, often failed to include children, and did not adjust for important covariates. Therefore, we evaluated the relationship between dengue virus infection and liver and kidney dysfunction among hospitalized children in Cambodia (n=551). Participants with a serologically confirmed dengue virus infection were categorized according to increasing severity of infection (i.e. dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, or dengue shock …

Utilization Of Emulsion Chemistries For Delivery And Antiviral Application Of Carvacrol, Hao-Yuan Hsu

Masters Theses

Human norovirus (HuNoVs) are the most common enteric pathogen around the world that cause ~50% of foodborne illness of disease outbreaks annually. HuNoVs are the member of the Caliciviridae family, which consist of small (38 nm), unenveloped, single stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses. Norovirus are divided into 5 genogroup (GI, GII, GIII, GIV, GV, GVI and GVII). The GI, GII, and GIV cause human illness, in addition, GII.4 genotype cause the most human disease. Due to HuNoVs are difficult cultured in vitro, the cultivable HuNoVs surrogates have been widely studied. Recently, some studies have been conducted with HuNoVs surrogates, for …

Gender, Class, Caste And Health Status Of Abandoned Elderly Women In Bangalore, South India, Olya Clark

Doctoral Dissertations

The research study centers on issues of health, quality of life, and access to health care among abandoned elderly women in Bangalore, India, specifically focusing on interrelationship of class, caste, structural factors and health. Despite increasing feminization of India’s older population, elderly women’s abandonment and its health consequences has received little attention in existing research literature. The study seeks to explain the causes of elderly female abandonment and concomitant social and health consequences, by examining how their life experiences are shaped, sustained and changed by their class, caste, and gender positions. Elderly abandonment is not unique to India but exists …

Understanding Health Issues Among Adolescent Females In A Northeast Province Of Afghanistan, Amina Davlatshoeva

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the health issues facing adolescent females (ages 18-21) in rural, northeastern Afghanistan. Incorporating participant observations, in-depth interviews, and narrative inquiries, this study seeks to illustrate adolescent females’ perspectives on health issues. To achieve this goal, ten adolescent females were interviewed in rural, northeastern Afghanistan during 2010. The participants were between 18- and 21-years old. The one-on-one interviews were conducted in a multiple-response format and were structured around three research questions:

• How does a young female’s understanding of health issues shape her identity in northeastern Afghanistan?
• In what ways …

Adolescent Nutritional Status And Its Association With Village-Level Factors In Tanzania, Nozipho Maziya

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Adolescent Nutritional Status and its Association with Village-level Factors in Tanzania

Undernutrition is associated with multiple risk factors operating at different levels, from the individual level to household and community levels. Empirical research has shown that contextual or environmental factors influence nutritional status, but very few studies have examined association between these factors and undernutrition among adolescents. This cross-sectional study used a two-level hierarchical nonlinear model to investigate the association between village-level factors and undernutrition (BMI for Age < 5th percentile of the WHO reference) among a sample of adolescents, (n=670) from 28 villages in Kilosa District, Tanzania. Our hypothesis that contextual factors are associated with undernutrition was supported. The odds …

Association Between Dietary Intake And Nutritional Status Among Adolescent Girls In Kilosa District, Tanzania, Shanshan Chen

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Underweight and stunting are highly prevalent public health problems in developing countries, particularly among populations exposed to food insecurity and chronic malnutrition. Underweight results from relatively recent malnutrition whereas empirical research has shown that early childhood malnutrition is a strong predictor of stunting. Dietary diversity has been recognized as an indicator of food security, with consumption of more food groups suggesting better nourishment. Greater dietary diversity has been associated with better nutritional outcomes and improved micronutrient intake. Zinc, an essential mineral, plays a critical role in child growth and development. A deficiency in Zinc may contribute to increased risk for …

Iron Status, Inflammation And Anemia In Bangladeshi Women Exposed To Arsenic, Joycelyn M. Faraj

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Iron depletion (ID) is the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide and is the leading cause of anemia. Chronic arsenic (As) exposure is a major public health problem in Bangladesh and triggers inflammatory responses that render iron status assessment challenging. We assessed the prevalence of ID and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in 147 arsenic-exposed Bangladeshi women (75 skin lesion cases; 72 controls), ages 18-33 years, who were part of a skin lesion study. Hemoglobin (Hb) was measured in whole blood; ferritin and hs-c-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in serum. The prevalence of anemia (Hb<120g/L) was 18%. Although the prevalence of ID (ferritin≤12mcg/L) did not differ between cases and controls, anemia was more common among cases (25% vs. 10%; p=0.02). Of anemic women, 27% (N=7) also had ID (Hb<120g/L and ferritin≤12mcg/L), indicating IDA. Women with normal iron status had higher toenail arsenic compared to iron-depleted women (2.9 vs 1.4 µg As/g toenail; p=0.00), and their water arsenic concentration was higher than that of iron-depleted women (18.8 vs 6.2 µg As/L; p=0.03); every 1µg increase in toenail As was associated with a 45% lowered risk of ID (OR=0.55, 95%CI=0.33,0.94). Much of the anemia in this cohort appears unrelated to ID, but could be linked to other nutrients, such as folate and vitamin B12, which are involved in both hematopoiesis and arsenic metabolism. It is possible that arsenic exposure in this cohort compromised folate and vitamin B12 status.

Vitamin D Levels And Risk Of Dyslipidemia Among Us Children With Diabetes And Obesity, Elsina E. Hagan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Dyslipidemia is increasing among U.S. children, and the prevalence is highest among children with diabetes and obesity. Recently, vitamin D deficiency has been suggested as a possible dietary risk factor for dyslipidemia. Despite the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency amongst children, virtually no studies have evaluated the association between vitamin D and dyslipidemia among children. We evaluated the vitamin D and dyslipidemia relationship among 240 children and adolescents aged 2 through 21 years who were outpatients of a pediatric endocrinology unit at a large tertiary care facility in Western Massachusetts from April 2008 to April 2010. Eligible children were …

Vitamin D Status Among Bangladeshi Women Of Reproductive Age, Ann Micka

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Vitamin D deficiency is of particular concern among women in many south Asian countries due to low availability of vitamin D-rich foods, dark skin pigmentation, and cultural and religious practices that promote the wearing of concealing clothing. However, information regarding the vitamin D status of many subpopulations in south Asian countries is limited. The current study was conducted to assess the vitamin D status of 147 Bangladeshi women of reproductive age and determine whether vitamin D status influences susceptibility to arsenic-associated skin lesions (75 cases, 72 controls). Serum 25(OH)D3 levels were measured using a radioimmunoassay. The mean serum vitamin D …