“Addressing the impact of stroke risk factors in a case control study in tertiary care hospitals”: a case control study in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Peshawar, Khyber Phukhtoonkhwa (KPK) Pakistan

BACKGROUND: Stroke was the second most common cause of death worldwide in 2004, resulting in 5.7 million deaths. This case controlled study was conducted in Tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, KPK Pakistan about common risk factors of stroke and the impact of these risk factors. METHOD: Study was done at Government Tertiary Care Hospitals of Peshawar namely Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).The hospital based case–control study included 50 cases (stroke patients) and 100 controls (non-stroke patients). This study was accomplished from 24th April 2012 to October 2012 in tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar. A proper questionnaire was used to collect data from all the cases and controls, which was recorded in the form of tables and graphs. The risk factors studied were Hypertension, Smoking, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, cardiac problems, B.M.I, diet, stress and family history of stroke. Anthropometric (weight, height, body mass index) measurements were done on all patients. For determination of association and impact of these risk factors, analyses were performed by calculation of Chi-Square test and confidence interval using SPSS version 16 program. RESULTS: Comparing the cases with controls, hypertension (p = 0.000), sedentary life style (p = 0.000), cardiac problems (p = 0.009), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.010), smoking (p = 0. 042) were significant risk factors whereas B.M.I (p = 0. 393), stress (p = 0.705), family history of stroke (p = 0.729), diet (p = 0.908), were not found to be statistically significant risk factors. The most significant risk factor was systemic hypertension (OR = 4.16) followed by sedentary life style (OR = 3.60), cardiac problems (OR = 2.74) diabetes (OR = 2.49) and smoking (OR = 2.05). CONCLUSION: Hypertension, Smoking, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle and cardiac problems have strong correlations and association with Stroke and are the major risk factors of stroke. Prevention of these risk factors can lead to decrease in the incidence of stroke. B.M.I, diet, stress and family history of stroke had no significant association

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020

BACKGROUND: The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year. METHODS: For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose-response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to estimate the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) and non-drinker equivalence (NDE), the consumption level at which the health risk is equivalent to that of a non-drinker, using disease rates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020 for 21 regions, including 204 countries and territories, by 5-year age group, sex, and year for individuals aged 15-95 years and older from 1990 to 2020. Based on the NDE, we quantified the population consuming harmful amounts of alcohol. FINDINGS: The burden-weighted relative risk curves for alcohol use varied by region and age. Among individuals aged 15-39 years in 2020, the TMREL varied between 0 (95% uncertainty interval 0-0) and 0·603 (0·400-1·00) standard drinks per day, and the NDE varied between 0·002 (0-0) and 1·75 (0·698-4·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals aged 40 years and older, the burden-weighted relative risk curve was J-shaped for all regions, with a 2020 TMREL that ranged from 0·114 (0-0·403) to 1·87 (0·500-3·30) standard drinks per day and an NDE that ranged between 0·193 (0-0·900) and 6·94 (3·40-8·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals consuming harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, 59·1% (54·3-65·4) were aged 15-39 years and 76·9% (73·0-81·3) were male. INTERPRETATION: There is strong evidence to support recommendations on alcohol consumption varying by age and location. Stronger interventions, particularly those tailored towards younger individuals, are needed to reduce the substantial global health loss attributable to alcohol. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions

Global, regional, and national levels of maternal mortality, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background In transitioning from the Millennium Development Goal to the Sustainable Development Goal era, it is imperative to comprehensively assess progress toward reducing maternal mortality to identify areas of success, remaining challenges, and frame policy discussions. We aimed to quantify maternal mortality throughout the world by underlying cause and age from 1990 to 2015. Methods We estimated maternal mortality at the global, regional, and national levels from 1990 to 2015 for ages 10–54 years by systematically compiling and processing all available data sources from 186 of 195 countries and territories, 11 of which were analysed at the subnational level. We quantified eight underlying causes of maternal death and four timing categories, improving estimation methods since GBD 2013 for adult all-cause mortality, HIV-related maternal mortality, and late maternal death. Secondary analyses then allowed systematic examination of drivers of trends, including the relation between maternal mortality and coverage of specific reproductive health-care services as well as assessment of observed versus expected maternal mortality as a function of Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary indicator derived from measures of income per capita, educational attainment, and fertility. Findings Only ten countries achieved MDG 5, but 122 of 195 countries have already met SDG 3.1. Geographical disparities widened between 1990 and 2015 and, in 2015, 24 countries still had a maternal mortality ratio greater than 400. The proportion of all maternal deaths occurring in the bottom two SDI quintiles, where haemorrhage is the dominant cause of maternal death, increased from roughly 68% in 1990 to more than 80% in 2015. The middle SDI quintile improved the most from 1990 to 2015, but also has the most complicated causal profile. Maternal mortality in the highest SDI quintile is mostly due to other direct maternal disorders, indirect maternal disorders, and abortion, ectopic pregnancy, and/or miscarriage. Historical patterns suggest achievement of SDG 3.1 will require 91% coverage of one antenatal care visit, 78% of four antenatal care visits, 81% of in-facility delivery, and 87% of skilled birth attendance. Interpretation Several challenges to improving reproductive health lie ahead in the SDG era. Countries should establish or renew systems for collection and timely dissemination of health data; expand coverage and improve quality of family planning services, including access to contraception and safe abortion to address high adolescent fertility; invest in improving health system capacity, including coverage of routine reproductive health care and of more advanced obstetric care—including EmOC; adapt health systems and data collection systems to monitor and reverse the increase in indirect, other direct, and late maternal deaths, especially in high SDI locations; and examine their own performance with respect to their SDI level, using that information to formulate strategies to improve performance and ensure optimum reproductive health of their population. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Women's Rights in Pakistan

The critically discusses the women’s rights in Pakistan. For this purpose, it explores the Patriarchal nature of the society and the historical background of women’s rights in Pakistan. Before it does so, the paper also throws light on the status of women in Islam and enumerates the important rights the woman holds in Islamic law because of Islam’s great influence in the state of Pakistan.</jats:p

PEMENUHAN NAFKAH ISTRI DAN ANAK OLEH SUAMI YANG MELAKSANAKAN KHURUJ DALAM PERSPEKTIF HUKUM KELUARGA ISLAM (Studi Pada Jama’ah Tabligh Kota Bandar Lampung)

Khuruj, yakni keluar dari rumah ke rumah, dari kampung satu ke kampung yang lain dan bahkan keluar negeri dengan tujuan untuk mendakwahkan agama. Konsep Khuruj dalam aplikasinya terdiri dari tiga tahap, yakni 3 hari dalam sebulan, 40 hari dalam setahun, dan 4 bulan sekali dalam seumur hidup.  Ketika dalam masa berdakwah atau khuruj suami meninggalkan istri dan anak-anaknya tetapi kewajibannya sebagai kepala rumah tangga harus tetap terpenuhi salah satunya adalah kewajiban memberikan nafkah terhadap keluarganya. Peenelitian ini mengkaji bagaimana pemenuhan nafkah istri dan anak oleh suami yang melaksanakan khuruj dalam perspektif hukum keluarga islam (studi pada jama’ah tabligh kota bandar lampung)”. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian lapangan (field Research) yakni dilaksanakan di Kota Bandar Lampung diantaranya daerah Labuhan Ratu, Kampung Baru Raya, Gedung Meneng Raja Basa, dan Tanjung Raya Kedamaian. Sumber data utama dalam penelitian ini adalah keterangan dari wawancara Orang yang bersangkutan dalam hal ini informan dan responden dari bagian jamaah tabligh. Sumber data sekunder yang bersifat membantu atau menunjang dalam melengkapi serta memperkuat data. Hasil penelitian, Praktik mengenai pemenuhan nafkah dari suami selama mereka khurūj, sebagaian besar informan menyatakan terpenuhi dengan baik, karena memang para suami mereka mengatur keuangan sangat baik yaitu dengan menabung penghasilan selama belum sampai waktu khurūj yang kemudian dipakai dikemudian hari saat tiba saatnya khurūj untuk biaya dakwah dan keperluan istri. Di lain sisi ada juga istri yang bekerja sehingga tidak merasakan kekurangan saat suami keluar untuk berdakwah. Kemudian ada yang menyatakan kurang terpenuhi dengan alasan karena memang penghasilan keuangan suaminya yang tidak  seberapa. Namun, hal tersebut bukan menjadi penghalang dakwah suami, karena para istri tersebut dengan ikhlas ditinggalkan untuk berdakwah walau nafkah yang diberikan pas-pasan. Namun, ada program para istri anggota jama’ah tabligh yang lain untuk memberikan bantuan dan sumbangan bagi para istri yang suaminya sedang khurūj dan terbilang kurang mampu. Sehingga dapat meringankan beban mereka.  Perspektif hukum Islam terhadap pemenuhan nafkah istri dan anak oleh suami yang melaksanakan Khuruj adalah telah sesuai karna suami dalam hal ini telah menunaikan kewajibannya dalam memberikan nafkah kepada istri dan anaknya tersebut sebagai kewajibannya yakni untuk melindungi jiwa (Hifdz Nafs), namun demikian istri juga dituntut untuk bisa mengatur urusan rumah tangga, menjaga harta suami dan menjaga kehormatan dirinya dan isteri wajib menjaga diri serta mendidik anak sesuai ketentuan Al-qur’an dan Hadits.</jats:p