Household Basis Research Articles

Mitigating flash flooding in the city: Drain or harvest?

AbstractRainwater harvesting (RWH) is principally based on collecting, storing, and using rainfall which would otherwise be lost as surface runoff. Runoff threatens in several ways: accelerating erosion, intensifying flooding, and reducing groundwater recharge. Therefore, purposely retaining rainfall in the urban water cycle rather than draining has several positive impacts on designing sustainable cities. This work presents a proposal on how to avoid flooding in cities by systematically harvesting, storing rainwater, and using it for multiple purposes. The concept of RWH presented here has the potential to be a radical innovation to solve the social, economic, and environmental challenges associated with flash flooding. Each residence is regarded as a water production unit. Depending on the climatic conditions, people can meet their water needs on a local household basis, or alternatively use piped water as a complement. By infiltrating rainwater, groundwater is locally recharged and downstream wells are more productive. The implementation of this idea involves entrepreneurial agency that challenges existing structures, rather than adapting to them. Clearly, social entrepreneurship and social innovation are expected to catalyse the realization of this social innovation, also in rural areas. It is about mobilizing ideas, capacities, and resources to create a sustainable social transformation.

Decadal characteristics of small-scale fishing livelihoods in 13 Pacific Island Countries and Territories

AbstractSmall-scale fisheries are cornerstones of wealth, food, and tradition for people throughout the Pacific region. Yet, their governance is plagued by a lack of relevant data. Using data collected from household income and expenditure surveys carried out in 13 Pacific Island Countries and Territories over the last decade, we bring enhanced resolution to these fisheries by describing how households engage in small-scale fishing and accounting the income generated from these activities. We find most households do not actively participate in fishing, and most that do, fish only for subsistence. Over time, however, the rates at which households participate in fishing may be declining. Further, the total income generated through aquatic foods caught for subsistence is nearly double that of foods caught for sale, but on a per household basis fishing for commercial purposes is more lucrative. Differences point to important distinctions in how households engage with and generate income from commercial and subsistence fishing, including where activities are often conducted, and the types of aquatic foods targeted. These distinctions have implications for how livelihoods-focused policies and programmes can be developed to ensure aquatic food systems continue to support Pacific Island communities as the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals approaches.

Evaluating responses to health-related messages about the financial costs of climate change

IntroductionScience communication research has increasingly explored what factors shape public opinion around climate change policies. The public health consequences of climate change are becoming an increasingly prominent focus of research and policy, and prior research has identified the importance of health messaging for effective risk communication efforts. While prior research on communication appeals that highlight the impact of climate change on public health has shown promise, evidence around the effectiveness of such appeals remains thin, especially around health-related financial costs related to climate hazards. MaterialsWe explore how social media messages that describe the ramifications of climate-related health problems may influence support for climate change policies. We fielded an experiment embedded in an online survey of 2,859 English-speaking U.S. adults to understand how health-cost climate messaging may have a differential impact on distinct segments of the public. Treatment groups read a hypothetical social media post about how a failure to invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation may result in financial burdens from either damaged property or healthcare costs due to worsening climate hazards quantified at either a national or household scale. Following exposure to treatment stimuli, respondents were asked to state to what extent they perceived climate change to be a threat to the US, supported policy responses, and supported federal investments in mitigation and adaptation. ResultsWhile all messaging conditions were associated with significantly higher perceptions that climate change poses a threat, no differences were observed when comparing across the health- versus property-related economic damage messages. ConclusionCommunication of costs on a per household basis was associated with significantly higher perceptions that climate change is a threat compared to messages that emphasized costs at a national level.

Implementation of the compulsory universal testing scheme in Hong Kong: Mathematical simulations of a household-based pooling approach.

This study aims to propose a pooling approach to simulate the compulsory universal RT-PCR test in Hong Kong and explore the feasibility of implementing the pooling method on a household basis. The mathematical model is initially verified, and then the simulation is performed under different prevalence rates and pooled sizes. The simulated population is based in Hong Kong. The simulation included 10,000,000 swab samples, with a representative distribution of populations in Hong Kong. The samples were grouped into a batch size of 20. If the entire batch is positive, then the group is further divided into an identical group size of 10 for re-testing. Different combinations of mini-group sizes were also investigated. The proposed pooling method was extended to a household basis. A representative from each household is required to perform the RT-PCR test. Results of the simulation replications, indicate a significant reduction (p < 0.001) of 83.62, 64.18, and 48.46% in the testing volume for prevalence rate 1, 3, and 5%, respectively. Combined with the household-based pooling approach, the total number of RT-PCR is 437,304, 956,133, and 1,375,795 for prevalence rates 1, 3, and 5%, respectively. The household-based pooling strategy showed efficiency when the prevalence rates in the population were low. This pooling strategy can rapidly screen people in high-risk groups for COVID-19 infections and quarantine those who test positive, even when time and resources for testing are limited.

Analysis of single- and multi-family residential electricity consumption in a large urban environment: Evidence from Chicago, IL

Natural and human-caused extreme events can alter residential electricity demand in urban areas and stress the electricity grid, with different types of residential electricity consumers exhibiting different consumption patterns. Residential electricity demands have been widely analyzed considering single-family consumers; however, multi-family consumption patterns remain comparatively understudied. The deployment of smart electricity meters enables the identification of single- and multi-family residential electricity consumption patterns at high temporal resolution. Using smart electricity meter data for the greater Chicago area, we compare electricity demand profiles reported by smart meters from single- and multi-family consumers in a large and diverse urban environment to understand residential electricity patterns better. Our study comprehensively analyzes the daily electricity demand profiles of these two types of residential consumers to identify peak electricity consumption times and magnitudes. Results show that the electricity demand of both residential end-users follows similar time of use patterns, and single-family users approximately double the demand of multi-family users on a per household basis. We also present predictive models of the electricity demand with socioeconomic data at the zip code level. Predictive model results show that multiple linear regression models explain up to 62% and 41% of the mean daily electricity (MDE) demand of single- and multi-family users, respectively. The median age of occupants, percent age 65 and older, mean commute time, and percent high school or higher education are statistically significant predictors of the MDE demand of single-family users, with percent high school or higher education having the highest relative importance. Similarly, median building age, percent multi-family, percent female, median age of occupants, and mean commute time are statistically significant predictors of multi-family electricity consumption, with median age of occupants having the highest relative importance. Modeling electricity demand to uncover differences between single- and multi-family residential electricity demands can assist city planners and utility managers to develop tailored demand management strategies.

Features of the Structure of Age-related Expenses in the Russian Federation

Changes in the demographic structure of the population (aging of the population) can directly or indirectly lead to the transformation of keysocio-economic indicators. This may affect the structure of revenuesand expenditures of the state budget, as well as be reflected in somesectors of the economy. In the foreign literature, a significant number of studies are devoted to the study of the influence of the age structure of the population on the economic indicators of the country. However,in Russia this problem is poorly understood. The age composition ofthepopulationalsoaffectsthecharacteristicsofsocio-economicpolicy.Population growth in the most productive ages leads to an increase inper capita income, while in the least productive ages to a decreasein per capita income [18]. The greatest growth in the working-agepopulationintheliteratureisusuallydefinedasthefirstdemographicdividend that was overcome for most developed countries. Currently,developedcountriesareata stage when there is a significant increaseintheburdenofolderpeople.However,accordingtoscientists,intheseconditions, an effective policy in the field of income and expendituremanagement can support the country’s economic growth. This effectis usually called the second demographic dividend. However, in the case of insufficient consumption at older ages, a decrease in totalconsumption can be observed, and, as a consequence, a decreasein output. Thus, in Russia there is a tendency towards aging of the population and low consumption in older ages.The purposeof the study is to construct an age profile of populationexpenditures, as well as to analyze the age structure of populationexpendituresbasedondatafromtheRussianMonitoringofEconomicSituation and Health survey conducted by the Higher School ofEconomics.Materialsandmethods.Inordertoconstructageprofilesofhouseholdexpendituresandthenanalyzetheagestructureofhouseholdexpenditures, we considered surveys of the Russian Monitoring ofEconomic Situation and Health, conducted by the Higher School of Economics from 2010 to 2018. Before constructing age profiles ofpopulationexpenditures,a primary statistical analysis of the databaseswas carried out and anomalous observations were excluded. Theobtained age profiles were smoothed using the Friedman method. Itis important to note that population expenditure surveys are collectedon a per household basis and not per family member. Thus, beforeconstructing age profiles of household expenditures, it is necessary toreallocatehouseholdexpendituresforeachfamilymember.Thepaperexamines the features of the methods of redistribution of expendituresof the population. When constructing age profiles of populationexpenditures, the recommendations of the National IntergenerationalTransfer Accounts project developed by Ronald Lee and AndrewMason will be used. Data processing was performed in the IBMSPSS and R software package.Results.When constructing age profiles of population expenditures, there is an increase in expenditures in age groups over 50 in2018comparedto2010.Conclusionsaredrawnaboutchangesin expenditures on food, durable goods, services, utilities, andhealthservices.Theshareofexpensesforfoodproductsrangesfrom38.6%to43.7%.Thesmallestshareofspendingonfoodisobservedin the ages from 0 to 9 years (less than 40%). Inotheragegroups,theshareofspendingonfoodhasnosignificantfluctuationsandisabout42%.Thelargestshareofspendingondurablegoodsfallsontheagegroupsfrom0 to 19 years (about17%).After20years,thereisa gradual decrease in the share ofspendingondurablegoods(to6.6%in the age group 75-59). Intermsofservicecategory,thelargestshareofexpensesfallsonagegroups50-54(18%).In the age groups over 55 years old,theshareofexpendituresonservicesdecreases(to10.7%in the age group 75-59 years old). The expenditures for the category ofutilitiesin the age groups from 0 to 49 years do not change, andthenthereisa gradual increase in the share of expenses. There isa high proportion of spending on health services in the age groupsfrom0 to 4 and in the age groups over 60. The results obtained are necessary when constructing forecast values for assessingmacroeconomicindicators,planningthestatebudget.Conclusion.The article provides a review of foreign and Russianliteratureonassessingtheimpactoftheagestructureofthepopulationoneconomicgrowth,calculatesthe ageprofileofhouseholdexpendituresin the Russian Federation, and considers the agestructure of household expenditures for 2010 and 2018 by five-yearage intervals. The results obtained allow us to draw conclusionsabout the different structure of population expenditures dependingon age groups.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Acute Diarrhea in Children Under Five Years of Age in Urban Slums of Bahawalpur

Aim: To find out the prevalence and risk factors of acute diarrhea in children between six months to five years of age. Methodology: It is cross-sectional analytical study conducted in urban slums of Bahawalpur from January to December 2019. Approval from institutional ethical review committee was obtained. Sample size was 324 with 95% level of confidence, 5% margin of error and 31.1% expected population proportion. Tibba Badar sher and Bhatta # 2,3 were two slum areas of Bahawalpur city selected by simple random method. In two slum areas, 324 children aged six months to five years were selected by systematic random sampling on household basis in proportionate way i.e. 271 from Tibba Badar Sher and 53 from Bhatta No. 2,3. Data was collected by using structured questionnaire and for data analysis SPSS version 22 was used. Results: Prevalence of diarrhea in children under 5 years of age, living in urban slums was 38.9%. Diarrhea was more common in children whose mothers were working women and mothers not practiced hand washing before feeding child. Conclusion: Diarrhea was common in children whose mothers were not washing their hands before feeding and also among children not vaccinated against measles and rotavirus. Key words: Diarrhea, Rota virus, Hand washing, Vaccination

The adaptation of Turkish health literacy scale for literate Syrian adult refugees living in Turkey: a reliability\u2013validity study

BackgroundTurkey hosts the world’s largest refugee population of whom 3.5 million are Syrians and this population has been continuously growing since the year 2011. This situation causes various problems, mainly while receiving health-care services. In planning the migrant health-care services, for the policy makers of host countries, health literacy level of migrants is an important measure. Determination of health literacy level of Syrian refugees in Turkey would be supportive for planning some interventions to increase health-care service utilization, as well as health education and health communication programs. An “original health literacy scale” for 18–60 years of age Turkish literate adults (Hacettepe University Health Literacy Scale-HLS) was developed to be used as a reference scale in 2018. Since it would be useful to compare the health literacy levels of Turkish adults with Syrian adult refugees living in Turkey with an originally developed scale, in this study, it was aimed to adapt the HLS-Short Form for Syrian refugees.MethodsThis methodological study was carried out between the years 2019–2020 in three provinces of Turkey where the majority of Syrians reside. The data was collected by pre-trained, Arabic speaking 12 interviewers and three supervisors via a questionnaire on household basis. At first, the original Scale and questionnaire were translated into Arabic and back translated into the original language. The questionnaire and the Scale were pre-tested among 30 Syrian refugees in Ankara province. A total of 1254 refugees were participated into the main part of the study; 47 health-worker participants were excluded from the validity-reliability analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman–Brown coefficients were calculated.ResultsOf the participants, 52.9% was male; 26.1% had secondary education level or less; almost half of them had moderate economic level; 27.5% could not speak Turkish. The Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.75, Spearman–Brown Coefficient was 0.76; RMSEA = 0.073, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92 and GFI = 0.95 for the Scale. The Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.76, Spearman–Brown Coefficient was 0.77; RMSEA = 0.085, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.91 and GFI = 0.95 for self-efficacy part.ConclusionIn conclusion, the adapted HLS would be a reliable instrument to evaluate the health-literacy level of Syrian refugees living in Turkey and could allow for a comparison of the host country’s health literacy level to that of the refugees using the same scale.

Crisis and Continuation: The Digital Relocation of Jain Socio-Religious Praxis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In early 2020, Jain diaspora communities and organizations that had been painstakingly built over the past decades were faced with the far-reaching consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its concomitant restrictions. With the possibility of regular face-to-face contact and participation in recurring events—praying, eating, learning, and meditating together—severely limited in most places, organizations were compelled to make a choice. They either had to suspend their activities, leaving members to organize their religious activities on an individual or household basis, or pursue the continuation of some of their habitual activities in an online format, relying on their members’ motivation and technical skills. This study will explore how many Jain organizations in London took to digital media in its different forms to continue to engage with their members throughout 2020. Looking at a selection of websites and social media channels, it will examine online discourses that reveal the social and mental impact of the pandemic on Jains and the broader community, explore the relocation of activities to the digital realm, and assess participation in these activities. In doing so, this article will open a discussion on the long-term effects of this crisis-induced digital turn in Jain religious praxis, and in socio-cultural life in general.

Determinants of Households’ Decision to Save at Household Level: Evidence from Small holder Farmers’ of Ambo District, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Saving is an important economic growth to be studied under the purview of the economic arena on an individual as well as household basis. In a country like Ethiopia, the income standard is almost uncertain and leads to more consumption rather than saving which has now been a central problem. The objective of this study was to identify the determinants of farmers’ decision to save at household level. Both primary and secondary data source were used for this study during 2018/19. Accordingly, the study was based on the survey of a total of 130 farmers covering three kebeles of Ambo district. Besides, binary logit model was used to analyse the factors affecting households’ decision to save. The results of this study indicated that education level of the household head, income of the household and land holding size had positively and significantly affected households’ decision to save. But distance from microfinance Institution had negatively and significantly affected households’ decision to save in the study area. This study recommends that in order to make micro-economic successful these factors and problems need to be taken into consideration by policy makers to encourage farmers to participate in saving.

Prevalence and risk factors of geohelminthiasis among the rural village children in Kota Marudu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Geohelminthiasis is a worldwide problem, especially in low-income countries. Children from rural areas and those living in poverty, lacking basic health amenities and having poor environmental sanitation are likely to be affected. Adverse effects such as anemia, protein malnutrition, colitis are common which can affect both the children's physical and mental growing development. A cross-sectional study on geohelminthiasis was conducted among children from 238 households in 13 villages in Kota Marudu of northern Sabah, East Malaysia. The study involved interviewing villagers using questionnaires to collect demographic and socio-economic data, getting faecal samples from the children, collecting soil samples and identifying parasite eggs with microscopy and molecular methods. A total of 407 children (6 months-17 years old) enrolled in the study. Geohelminthiasis was detected in the faecal samples of children from 54% (7/13) of the villages with mean prevalence of infection per village of 9.0% (0%-34.9%). On a household basis, 18% (43/238) of the households sampled had infected children, with mean prevalence rate per household of 11% (0%-43%). The prevalence was for Ascaris lumbricoides: 9.6% (39/407), Trichuris trichiura: 2.7% (11/407) and hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma sp.): 2.7% (11/407). The overall mean infection rate of the children examined was 14.3%. Significantly higher prevalence was recorded for the children of mothers who did not have any formal education (p = 0.003); household income of less than USD119 (RM500) (p<0.001); children from homes without proper sanitation facilities (p<0.001); children who usually go about barefoot (p<0.001) and not washing feet before entering the house (p = 0.017). Soil samples were found to have geohelminth eggs or larvae which could be due to unhygienic sanitation practices. This study shows the geohelminthiasis is prevalent in the villages, and the risk factors are lack of maternal education, low income, poor sanitation facilities and irregular deworming practice. Expanding deworming coverage in the study region may help reduce the worm infections in these communities, so that the mental and physical development of the children would not be affected by geohelminthiasis. The data on the prevalence of geohelminthiasis in this study would contribute to better public health monitoring and operation to reduce the infection in rural areas.

A systems thinking approach to stimulating and enhancing resource efficiency and circularity in households

Households are highly resource intensive in terms of energy consumption and waste generation, and resource utilisation and management in households has wider implications at the national level. This paper applies systems thinking approach at the household level for the first time. The approach takes into consideration energy supply and demand, waste management and resource recovery from waste in a single system. Combining energy and waste management analysis enables better understanding of the systems at household level and can address resource efficiency, fuel poverty and environmental issues more effectively at the national level. This study adopts the Systems Thinking Approach to Resource Recovery (STARR) framework to identify the potential improvements that can be made within the system. Three models of households on energy and waste management, including “waste-and-energy”, “waste-to-energy” and “reduced consumption” models, are examined through assessments of economic, environmental and social dimensions. These models are further explored through different scenarios, by considering the adoption of renewable solar photovoltaic (PV) energy supply, increasing recycling rate, integrating energy from waste into household and reducing consumption of resources and waste generation. The scenario with the least environmental impact involves adopting a concerted approach through switching to solar PV, increasing recycling rate and using electricity generated from residual waste, with global warming potential (GWP) of −1308 kg CO2-equivalent per year and total saving/income of £680 per year, on a one household basis.

Study on Current Practices of E-Waste Processing and Its Environmental Impact

The generation of E-waste is increasing as increasing in technology. The quantity analysis of E-waste in Bangalore city is studied and methods of disposing of e-waste is known. Only 57 recycling units are working in Karnataka. In which estimating e-waste is a questionnaire based survey. The survey could be conducted on a household basis, commercial establishment basis or even on an industrial basis. The questions are framed in such a way to collect information about the options of disposing off the electrical appliances, the average year of using an electrical product after re-using, obsolescence rate of different electrical appliances etc. While generating of e-waste contains hazardous elements. Which can cause adverse effects on environment (Pollution of Ground water, Acidification of soil, Air pollution) and human health. 70% of heavy metals found in landfills. To know the environmental effects caused by e-waste and Problem faced by the government for disposal of e-waste. The environmental pollution occurred by the improper disposing of e-waste. Some of raw materials are valuable and they can be recycled or reused by creating asset. Awareness among the people is to be created. Proper disposing, reduce, reuse, refurbish and recycle of e-waste. Improvement in technology for disposing need to be created. Need for stringent health safeguards and environmental protection laws in India. The E-waste should be given to the Authorized recyclers.

Socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol use and some related consequences from a household perspective in Vietnam.

Alcohol-related harm reduction may target individuals, their households or communities. This study investigates the prevalence of and socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences (injury, accident, property loss and interpersonal violence) at the family-level. A cross-sectional survey of 2394 households was conducted in eight provinces from six socioeconomic regions and two metropolitan cities in Vietnam. Family-level alcohol use and injury were computed from individual data, while other measures were on a household basis. Unstandardised and indirectly standardised concentration index was used to measure degree of expenditure-based inequality in alcohol use and its consequences. Over the previous 12 months, 88.5% and 46.2% of households had at least one current-drinker and one heavy episodic drinking person, and in 41.7% the heavy episodic drinking person was the breadwinner. About 5.3% of households suffered alcohol-related injury, accident or property loss; 11.4% reported alcohol-related interpersonal violence. Poor and near-poor households suffered the double-burdens of both having heavy episodic drinking person and alcohol-related harm. A modest socioeconomic gradient was observed with all types of drinker, more concentrated among higher living-standard households, especially in urban areas. However, there was a persistent high-level inequality disadvantaging lower living-standard families, especially in rural areas, in suffering all measured alcohol-related harms. Alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences are highly prevalent in Vietnam. Lower socioeconomic households, especially in rural areas, are important target groups for alcohol-related harm prevention and reduction interventions. The concentration index appeared to be a useful measure of inequalities in alcohol-related harms.

PENGOLAHAN LIMBAH PERTANIAN MENJADI BRIKET, BOKASHI, SILASE, DAN KOMPOS CASCING DI DESA SIDOREJO GODEAN

Bantut, Kemirisewu and Dongkelan have abundant of agricultural crop yield, on another side, the negative impact is raising due to untreated of crop yield. KKN PPM program was aimed to help the lokal community in solve that environmental problem by empowering the community through KKN PPM student. By this activity was hoped that KKN PPM student, institution and community group will change their attitude in treating the agricultural waste. Counseling, training and mentoring were used as a method of this program. Students and lecturer shared knowledge about the utilization of the waste such as briquette, bokashi, silage, and “cascing” fertilizer. In this activity, also be followed by post-production activities in using biomass briquettes (biobriket) as an alternative fuel in the household basis, bokashi products and “cascing” that rules as fertilizer for increased farming production. Silage was a function as increase livestock production. The outcome of this KKN PPM program was the improvement of environmental management system, better management of agricultural waste, improvement of community education and participation and increases of community self-support. At the end of program, Bokashi, briquettes, silage, and cascing fertilizer were produced.

Certified Organic Agriculture as an Alternative Livelihood Strategy for Small-scale Farmers in China: A Case Study in Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (<1ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (>1ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Technological innovation and dispersion: Environmental benefits and the adoption of improved biomass cookstoves in Tigrai, northern Ethiopia

This paper empirically analyzes adoption and fuel savings efficiency of improved biomass cookstove technology using survey data from a cross-section of 200 farm households from the highlands of Tigrai, northern Ethiopia. Results indicate that these farm households are willing to adopt improved biomass cookstove innovations if this leads to economic savings. Moreover, results suggest significant positive environmental externalities. On a per household basis, we found that adopters collect about 70kg less wood and about 20kg less dung each month. The adoption of improved biomass cookstoves reduces harvest pressure on local forest stands: assuming an average of 120metric tons of biomass per ha, we find the potential reduction in deforestation amounts to some 1400ha per year – an important saving. Further, the reduced use of dung as a fuel has a positive impact on soil productivity in agriculture.

Doenças e condições crônicas de saúde, multimorbidade e índice de massa corporal em idosos

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2016v18n5p509 The aim of this study was to analyze the association between diseases and chronic health conditions, multimorbidity and body mass index (BMI) in older adults from southern Brazil. Epidemiological cross-sectional study, with household basis was carried out with 343 older adults aged 60-79 years, selected by probability sampling and all aged 80 years or older (n=134). Hypertension, diabetes, cancer, chronic pulmonary diseases, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, history of falls and dependency in activities of the daily living were assessed by self-report. Associations between independent variables and BMI (outcome) were tested using simple and multiple linear regression. Participated in the study 270 women (73.2±8.8 years) and 207 men (73.3±9.0 years). After adjustment (age, education, living arrangement, smoking, alcohol consumption, waist circumference, cognitive status and all other disease and chronic health conditions), the associations identified were: hypertension with higher BMI values (β 3.43; 95%CI: 2.38 to 4.48), for women, and chronic pulmonary disease with lower BMI values (β -2.05; 95%CI: -3.50 to -0.60). There was a linear trend between number of diseases and BMI for both sexes. Conclusion: The results showed an independent association between specific chronic diseases and BMI. Monitoring of nutritional status in older adults is important to identify extreme BMI values, especially those with more than two diseases and chronic health conditions.

Processing methods and microbial assessment of pito (an African indigenous beer), at selected production sites in Ghana

Pito is an indigenous sorghum beer brewed on household basis with variation in product quality. The brewery processes for assuring the quality of the drink have not been clearly defined. To evaluate the brewery processes at 12 selected brewery sites in Ghana, the study adopted oral interviews/survey, observations and laboratory tests that sought to identify differences in processing methods and how they influence the quality of the drink. Pito samples were taken from selected centres at dominant producing areas: the Upper West Region (Nandom), the Northern Region (Tamale) and Ashanti Region (Kumasi). The samples were tested for aflatoxins and coliform levels, and the yeasts and moulds species present were identified. The survey results revealed that there were five similar but sequentially different processing methods currently being used to brew the drink in the selected regions. Pito samples from Kumasi had the highest mould contamination of 3.7 × 103. The moulds identified in the beverage were Aspergillus clavatus, Mucor hiemalis, Cladosporium sphaerospemum and Cladosporium herbarum. The yeasts identified were Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Debaryomyces hansenii and Pichia anomala. Aflatoxin was absent in all of the beverage samples, although the malted grain sample from the Tech-Junction in Kumasi showed an aflatoxin concentration of 9.58 ppb. Coliform tests were negative for all of the samples. The study, emphasizes the need for a more controlled and standard method of production to improve on the quality of the drink and to ensure the safety of its consumers. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

Diabetes mellitus em Montes Claros: inquérito de prevalência autorreferida

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of self-reported diabetes mellitus in the population of Montes Claros. Methods: Cross-sectional, analytical study with population and household basis. The data collection instrument was based on the questionnaire proposed by the Ministry of Health to assess behaviors and risk factors for noncommunicable chronic diseases. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was surveyed through report made by the assessed individuals, in a northern city of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The association of self-reported diabetes to sociodemographic profile, lifestyle, use of health services, and perception of general health was evaluated through Poisson regression, with analysis of prevalence ratios. The average number of medical appointments in the public sector and hospitalization events in the year were compared between diabetics and nondiabetics. Statistical analysis considered the significance level at p<0.05 and 95% confidence interval. Results: There were 2,149 participants. Of these, 4.5% (n=96) reported having diabetes. The highest prevalence rate was related to the elderly (PR=1.047), those who consume soft drinks (PR=1.054), and those with negative self-perceived health (OR=1.017), p<0.05. The average number of medical appointments in the public sector was higher among diabetics, (2.53±3.420), as well as the average number of hospitalizations, (1.44±0.703), p<0.05. Conclusion: The prevalence of self-reported diabetes mellitus in this population was similar to the national scenario and showed association to the elderly, soft drink consumers and to those who perceive not having a good general health. Diabetes seems to contribute to the increased use of public health services.