Alcohol and tobacco influencing prevalence of hypertension among 15–54 years old Indian men: An application of discriminant analysis using National Family Health Survey (NFHS), 2015–16

Pestilent relationship between smoking and hypertension or pulse pressure among males over 15 years in India: NFHS-5 Survey

OBJECTIVE

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey conducted in India has divulged that 28.6% of the populace aged 15 years and above partakes in tobacco consumption in various modalities. Despite the availability of numerous studies on the correlation between smoking and hypertension, the nexus between tobacco smoking and hypertension remains enigmatic. Smoking has predominantly been linked to blood pressure, with scant investigations exploring the plausible association that may subsist between smoking and pulse pressure.

METHODOLOGY

This study is based on secondary data analysis from the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). 17 Field Agencies gathered information from 636,699 households, 724,115 women, and 101,839 men. The data related to only men was included and analysed in this present study.

RESULTS

Male participants had a mean age of 32.2+1.2 years, an average waist circumference of 80.4+12.2 cm, and mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 123.4+13.8 mmHg and 80.5+10.2 mmHg. Daily smokers had a slightly higher likelihood of hypertension compared to non-smokers (OR = 1.2, p <0.001). Male quitters had significantly lower odds of hypertension (OR = 0.9, p <0.001). Quitters had reduced odds of narrow pulse pressure but increased odds of wide pulse pressure (OR = 0.81 and 1.14, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The study found that regular smoking was associated with hypertension, while factors such as age, obesity, urban dwelling, wealth, and tribal residence were linked to increased blood pressure. Male quitters had a lower likelihood of hypertension, and middle-aged men and those with central obesity showed distinct associations with deranged pulse pressure.

The Influence of Obesity on Cognitive Functioning Among Healthcare Professionals: A Comprehensive Analysis

Background Excessive body fat, or obesity, is a worldwide epidemic and a major contributor to the development of dementia. Aim The research aimed to determine how obesity affected healthcare professionals' memory performance. Materials and Method A total of 474 participants (both male and female) were recruited in this study by random sampling method from three different health institutions. Participants were categorized into overweight, normal weight, and obese groups based on their body mass index (BMI) as per the WHO guidelines and for body fat participants. The memory function test was done using the Gilewski MJ scale. General frequency of forgetting, mnemonic usage, retrospective functioning, and seriousness of forgetting were measured and compared across the BMI and %body fat groups. Results The percentage of body fat of males and females was 38.19% and 42.26%. Statistically, a significant difference (p<0.05) was observed among the male and female BMI and percentage of body fat. The results showed that there was a significant difference between memory scale parameters and percentage BMI. Statistically, a significant difference was observed in the level of general frequency of forgetting among participants with different percentages of BMI (p<0.05). Similar, results were also observed in the level of seriousness of forgetting, retrospective functioning, and mnemonics usage with different % BMI (p<0.05). The findings showed a positive correlation between BMI and %body fat on the scale of general frequency of forgetting and seriousness of forgetting whereas, a negative correlation was observed on the scale of retrospective functioning and mnemonics usage. Conclusion Memory loss is one of the disorders that obesity is linked to more frequently. A focus on keeping a healthy weight may help prevent the development of future diseases.

Assessing the effectiveness of a DASH diet in hypertensive patients attending the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital - Cameroon: a case-control study

Hypertension remains a public health issue in Cameroon, though lifestyle and dietetic measures are the main approaches for the prevention and management of hypertension. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact of a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet using local foodstuffs on the status of hypertensive patients at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital. A case-control study was carried out with 160 hypertensive patients divided into two groups, a test and a control group. A food questionnaire was used to evaluate the food habits of patients and design the sheet of the DASH diet to provide a maximum of 2000 kcal/d. The DASH diet was administered to the test group (eighty-eight patients), while the control group (seventy-two patients) consumed their normal diet. Both groups were followed up for 8 weeks. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP, DBP), body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, HDL-c, LDL-c and total-cholesterol levels of patients of the two groups were measured before and after the intervention. The results indicate that the DASH diet improves all the markers of hypertension in the test group with significant decreases in BMI, SBP, DBP, LDL-c and total-cholesterol. Patients of the control group had fourteen and seven times more risk of having increased systolic and diastolic pressures, respectively, and are thus exposed to hypertension complications. The DASH diet established in this study is therefore effective for the management of hypertension.

Development of a Methodology for Forecasting the Sustainable Development of Industry in Russia Based on the Tools of Factor and Discriminant Analysis

The problem of sustainable development is one of the central issues on the agenda of the global community. However, it is difficult to assess the pace and quality of sustainable development of individual economic systems—in particular, industry—due to the lack of a unified methodological approach. In this regard, the following research goal was formulated—to develop and test a methodology for forecasting sustainable development by using statistical tools. The achievement of the goal was facilitated by the application of formalization methods, factor analysis, discriminant analysis, the method of weighted sum of the criteria, and the method of comparison. The results of the study are new scientific and practical solutions that develop the ability to diagnose economic systems for the transition to environmentally friendly production. Firstly, methodological solutions are proposed to assess the nature of the transition of industry to sustainable development (low, medium, or high rate). The methodology is based on the proposed aggregated indicator of sustainable industrial development based on the results of factor analysis (by the method of principal components). As a result, the patterns of sustainable development of the extractive and manufacturing sectors of the Russian economy are revealed. Secondly, integral indicators of economic, environmental and social factors of sustainable development are calculated, and classification functions for each type of industrial transition to sustainable development (low, medium, or high) are formed through discriminant analysis. Scenarios of industrial development are developed, taking into account the multidirectional trajectories of the socioeconomic development of the country. Thirdly, the DFD model of the process of scenario forecasting of sustainable industrial development is formalized, reflecting the movement of data flows necessary for forecasting sustainable industrial development. It is revealed that the manufacturing industry is expected to maintain a low rate of transition to sustainable development. On the contrary, for the extractive industry, if efforts and resources are concentrated on environmental innovations, average transition rates are predicted. The uniqueness of the proposed approach lies in combining two types of multivariate statistical analysis and taking into account the indicators that characterize the contribution of industrial enterprises to sustainable development.