Medical Students In Age Group Research Articles

Neurophysiological cognitive assessment and its association with neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio

Relevance. Cognition is an important physiological and higher mental functions in human being. There are various studies showing that inflammatory condition could negatively affect fronto temporal cognitive abilities such as memory, attention and executive functions. A non-invasive test P300 a component of Auditory events related potentials and Mini mental state examination (MMSE), a questionnaire based test reflect cognitive function, and haematological parameter neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a convenient parameter of systemic inflammation. Aim of present study was to assess the cognitive function assessment by P-300, MMSE and academic performance and find an association with neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in first year medical students. Materials and Methods. This was an observational study conducted on 79 first year medical students of age group 18-25 years in the department of physiology RUHS College of medical sciences Jaipur. For cognitive assessment non-invasive test P300, MMSE and academic performance was recorded. A haematological parameter NLR was calculated by dividing the absolute neutrophil count with the absolute lymphocyte count. To find an association statistical analysis was done by MEDCALC 16.4 version software. Results and Discussion. The association between P-300 amplitude and latency and MMSE with NLR was found non-significant. Marks have a significant positive correlation with NLR (0.015). Conclusion. In the present study neurocognitive function test P-300 and MMSE found non-significant association with inflammatory marker NLR although academic performance (marks) have a significant positive correlation with NLR.

Knowledge Regarding Cervical Cancer and Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cervical cancer caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is ranked as the second most common cancer among women worldwide and is a major cause of female mortality. Two vaccines against HPV have been approved and recommended for use in India. However, the availability of the vaccines is hardly known and utilised, even among the medical community. To assess the knowledge and attitude and acceptance of cervical cancer and human papilloma virus vaccine among medical students. In this cross sectional study, 150 medical students of age group > 18 years were included. A self administered, validated questionnaire for knowledge of symptoms, screening, risk factors for cervical cancer and HPV vaccine and also the acceptability of HPV vaccine was assessed over duration from December 2022 to March 2023 in a tertiary care teaching hospital, Anantapur, India. The data obtained was analysed with descriptive statistics by using Microsoft excel 2019.The results show 98.4% of students were aware that cervical cancer is caused by HPV, but only 84.7% knew that HPV vaccine was available. About 72% felt the need to get vaccinated in future; 97.3% of students knew that pap smear was used to screen for cervical cancer, but only 63.3% opted to screen themselves or family members in future as they believed that they were not at risk.In the present study, although the knowledge was satisfactory, a gap was found between the knowledge and attitude regarding cervical cancer and HPV vaccine and there is a need for creating awareness among health care professionals.

Effect of Heartfulness Meditation on Cortisol Levels and Vital Parameters in Healthy Female Medical StudentsA Prospective Longitudinal Study

Introduction: Medical education has been reported to be one of the most stressful academic curriculum worldwide, with a potential of negatively affecting the physical and mental health of medical students. Meditation is a self-produced relaxation technique which restores the mental peace by relieving emotional and physiological stress and is an accepted therapy to reduce stress. Aim: To study the effect of heartfulness meditation on cortisol levels and vital parameters in healthy female medical students. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective longitudinal study conducted in the department of physiology at Sri Padmavathi Medical College for women, SVIMS, Andhra Pradesh, India. Sixty female medical students of age group 18 to 25 years were undergone heartfulness meditation training for a period of 6 months from September 2021 to February 2022 Baseline measurements of cortisol, heart rate, Respiratory Rate (RR) and Blood Pressure (BP) were taken at the beginning of the session and after 6 months of intervention program i.e., from September 2021 to February 2022. Later pre and postvalues were compared and analysed statistically by using paired sample t-test and the p-value <0.05 or 5% was used as level of significance for comparison. For data analysis Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19 was used. Results: The vital signs and cortisol levels in female medical students were significantly changed after practicing heartfulness meditation for six months. There was a significant decrease in Pulse Rate (PR) (p<0.001), RR (p<0.001), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) (p<0.001) and Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) (p<0.001) and cortisol levels (p<0.001) after 6 months practice of heartfulness meditation. Conclusion: The study concluded that heartfulness meditation had a positive effect on sympathovagal balance and also it was effective in reducing stress levels in medical students.

To study the influence of stress level with obesity in medical students of India

Stress and Obesity are two highly prevalent conditions present in the society, incidence of which are escalating worldwide. Medical education is taxing and tends to bring psychological stress. Eating has been recognized as a coping mechanisms for dealing with emotions and alleviating stress. There is a vicious cycle of stress-obesity-stigma-stress. To study the prevalence of stress levels and obesity in the medical studentsA cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students of age group 18-30 yrs of Dr. D.Y. University, School of Medicine, Nerul, India. After the approval of the Institutional Ethical Committee, data was collected from 500 students by using a validated, self-administered questionnaire. Utmost care was taken to maintain the privacy and confidentiality. Waiver consent was taken from students who had participated voluntarily in the study. The data collected was coded and entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS version 17.0 software. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis and the data was represented in the form of percentages, mean.The prevalence of overweight and obesity in medical students was found to be 36.8 % (184) and 11.1 % (55) respectively. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was comparatively higher in males 48.3% and 11.5% than in females 30.1% and 10.6%. 45.6% (228) study participants perceived their stress level to be high and 30.8% (154) as medium. Among the study participants who perceives their stress level as high (n=228), 39.04% (89) were overweight and 18.86% (43) were obese. Developing innovative and effective strategies for managing stress in medical students is the need of the hour. Aggressive management can delay the onset and progression of obesity, and prevent complications.

A cross-sectional study on practice of self-medication for dysmenorrhea among students in a medical college in South India

Background: The drugs used for self-medication can have both unwanted and beneficial effects. Self-medication if used inappropriately can result in adverse effects, increased antibiotic resistance, resources wastage, drug interactions, and ill health. Among adolescent females, dysmenorrhea is one of the most common clinical conditions which effects their daily activities, physical, and emotional well-being. Furthermore, impacts negatively on their academic activities and quality of life. Therefore, practice of self-medication is very common in primary dysmenorrhea. Aims and Objectives: The aim of study is to access and evaluate practice of self-medication among medical students on primary dysmenorrhea. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based and cross-sectional study was conducted and female medical students of age group between 20 and 25 years were selected. A pre-validated 15 points questionnaire was used to assess the features and pain severity of dysmenorrhea. The results were taken by utilizing descriptive statistics. Results: In this study, total numbers of participants were 70 students. Dysmenorrhea was experienced in 80.02% of participants with mild degree (31.21%), moderate degree (29.29%), and with severe degree (19.7%) of dysmenorrhea. In this study, 57.34% of participants preferred for self-medication. The participants commonly used a combination of dicyclomine and mefenamic acid (68.78%) which is fixed dose combination. Medical consultation was sought only in 12.44% and 9.3% students used household remedies. Conclusion: The dysmenorrhea was common in students and they commonly practiced self-medication with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. There is need to emphasize the significance of creating awareness within students regarding adverse effects of drugs.

A cross sectional study to find the association between junk food, obesity and peak expiratory flow rate in medical students of age group 18 to 25 years

Objective: To find association between junk food, obesity and Lung Function Test in medical students of age group 18 to 25 years. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in Dept. of Physiology of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belagavi for the period of two months. After obtaining institutional ethical clearance and informed consent, total of 270 medical students between the age group of 18-25 were enrolled. Obesity was evaluated by BMI, Waist Hip Ratio & skinfold thickness. PEFR was measured using the electronic spirometer, model-RMS Helios-702. Junk food consumption was evaluated by 24hr dietary recall method. Results and Conclusion: The main results of our study showed that there was significant increase in BMI with increasing junk food consumption. The obese subjects had lower Peak Expiratory Flow Rate. (p

Effect of short term exercise on cardiorespiratory parameters in exercise trained and untrained young adults

Effect of short term exercise on cardiorespiratory parameters in exercise trained and untrained young adults - IJCAP- Print ISSN No: - 2394-2118 Online ISSN No:- 2394-2126 Article DOI No:- 10.18231/2394-2126.2019.0025, Indian Journal of Clinical Anatomy and Physiology-Indian J Clin Anat Physiol

A STUDY ON CEPHALIC INDEX OF ADULT NORTH INDIAN POPULATION

Introduction: Cephalic index is the percentage of head breadth to head length. The index is calculated from measurement of the diameters of head (head length and head breadth). When applied to living individuals it is known as cephalic index, and when referring to dry skulls, the cranial index. This index is used as a useful anthropological tool for analysis of racial and sexual differences in a population. The present study was done to find out Cephalic Index and to study sexual dimorphism in adult North Indian population. Objective of the study was to calculate the cephalic index and to find out that the present study group belongs to which category in the classification of skull based on cephalic index and to study the sexual dimorphism in respect to cephalic index. Material & Methods: The present study comprised of 200 medical students of age group between 18 yrs. to 25 yrs. of S.N. Medical College, Agra, not having any significant disease or deformity that could have affected the general or the bony growth. Two anthropometric parameters; head length and head breadth were recorded in centimeters by using spreading caliper. With these recorded data, cephalic index was calculated for males and females separately as well as combined. Results: Mean Cephalic Index was significantly higher (p=0.03124) in females (79.350 ± 5.7157) as compared to males (77.715 ± 4.9102). Conclusion: There was a statistically significant difference in the mean of the cephalic indices of male and female students (p=0.03124). The mean cephalic index of combined population in this study was 78.533 ± 5.3776 which states that the dominant head shape among North Indians is Mesaticephalic.

Impact of Body Mass Index on Arterial Stiffness in Young Prehypertensives: A Cross Sectional Study.

Obesity and hypertension pose a big threat to public health. Targeting the prehypertension stage to evaluate the vascular damage due to obesity can help us to plan early interventions. A cross-sectional study. This study as a part of the medical heath checkup program was conducted by the Medical College in Puducherry, India on all medical students of age group 18-25 years. Blood pressure (BP) recordings and body mass index (BMI) were classified into following four groups: Group1: Normotensives with normal BMI (n=109); Group 2: Normotensives with higher BMI (n=89); Group 3: Prehypertensive subjects with normal BMI (n=50); and Group 4: Prehypertensive subjects with higher BMI (n=99). Arterial stiffness, body fat composition, and lipid profile were evaluated. Correlation of arterial stiffness indices with BMI, BP, body fat, visceral fat, lipid profile were done using Pearson's correlation and the contribution of BMI to arterial stiffness was assessed using univariate regression analysis. BMI, arterial stiffness, body fat, visceral fat, total cholesterol and total triglyceride showed a significant increase in prehypertensive group with higher BMI as compared to other groups. BMI showed significant correlation with arterial stiffness (P<0.0001) and found to be an independent contributing factor for arterial stiffness development in prehypertensives. Vascular damage was seen in the prehypertensive stage itself and was more pronounced in individuals with higher BMI.

A comparative study of visual and auditory reaction times on the basis of gender and physical activity levels of medical first year students

Background:Reaction time (RT) is a measure of the response to a stimulus. RT plays a very important role in our lives as its practical implications may be of great consequences. Factors that can affect the average human RT include age, sex, left or right hand, central versus peripheral vision, practice, fatigue, fasting, breathing cycle, personality types, exercise, and intelligence of the subject.Aim:The aim was to compare visual RTs (VRTs) and auditory RTs (ARTs) on the basis of gender and physical activity levels of medical 1st year students.Materials and Methods:The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 healthy medical students in age group of 18–20 years. RT for target stimulus that is, for the beep tone for measuring ART, and red circle for measuring VRT was determined using Inquisit 4.0 (Computer Software) in the laptop. The task was to press the spacebar as soon as the stimulus is presented. Five readings of each stimulus were taken, and their respective fastest RT's for each stimuli were recorded. Statistical analysis was done.Results:In both the sexes’ RT to the auditory stimulus was significantly less (P < 0.001) as compared to the visual stimulus. Significant difference was found between RT of male and female medical students (P < 0.001) as well as between sedentary and regularly exercising healthy medical 1st year students.Conclusion:The ART is faster than the VRT in medical students. Furthermore, male medical students have faster RTs as compared to female medical students for both auditory as well as visual stimuli. Regularly exercising medical students have faster RTs when compared with medical students with sedentary lifestyles.

Prediction of Stature Based on Foot Length

Background Estimation of body height from its segments or dismember parts has important considerations for identifications of living or dead human body or remains recovered from mass disaster or other similar conditions. Objective Stature is an important consideration in determining the identity. Our aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between foot length and body height and to derive a regression equation for stature estimation from foot length and to find out the correlation between body height and foot length. Methods The present study was conducted on 200 medical students of age group 18 to 23 years studying in MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. India. Body height and foot length were measured in centimeter. All the measurements were taken by using standard measuring devices and standard anthropometric techniques. Results Correlation coefficients between stature and foot dimensions were found to be positive and statistically highly significant. Prediction of stature was found to be most accurate by multiple regression analysis. Conclusions In population similar to our subjects, stature and gender estimation can be done by using foot measurements and it will be helpful for Anatomists, Anthropologists and forensic experts to calculate stature based on foot length. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jonmc.v3i1.10058 Journal of Nobel Medical College Vol.3(1) 2014; 66-70

Evaluation of autonomic functions in obese and non obese medical students

Background: Obesity a major risk factor for many acute and chronic disorders, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and diabetes. Aims & Objective: To evaluate autonomic functions in obese and non-obese medical students. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 non obese and 30 obese medical students in age group of 18-25 years who have satisfied inclusion and exclusion criteria and have consented to participate in study were enrolled. Each enrolled subjects baseline blood pressure (BP) was recorded and evaluation of autonomic function was done using Hand grip dynamometry and Cold pressure test values. Results: There was significant difference in autonomic parameters values between obese and non-obese students, indicative of deranged autonomic and cardiac functions in obese. Conclusion: Implementation of early interventional programs (weight reduction, life style changes and physical exercise) to prevent obesity related cardiovascular sequelae in future.

PHYSICAL FITNESS INDEX AS A MEASURE OF CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE IN SWIMMERS AND NONSWIMMERS

Background and Objective: Recreational swimming is a good way to relax, while enjoying a full-body workout and is recommended for the prevention and treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The present study compares the physical fitness in young freestyle swimmers practicing regularly and non-swimmers to measure the cardiovascular endurance. Materials and Methods: This Study was carried out at tertiary health centre of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai on medical students after the informed and written consent. Sixty male medical students of age group 18 25 years fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included. Their Physical Fitness Index was calculated. The data was analysed using student

Demarking and identifying points-reliable criteria for determination of sex from external ear

Introduction: The anatomy of the external ear is clinically and surgically important as it is related to the vital structures in the neck. The morphometric measurements of the external ear were undertaken to determine the sex of an individual. These findings also suggest that this study will have a role in plastic and reconstructive surgery; identification of dysmorphic features in various chromosomal disorders. Aim: The present study will enlighten us to determine the sex from the external ear and provide an insight in determining the variations in sex from the external ear with 100% accuracy. It may also serve as a guideline before surgical intervention in otoplasty so as to resculpt or reshape the ear. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 100 healthy male and 100 healthy female medical students of age group 18-25 years of Goa Medical College, Bambolim, Goa, having no history of any diseases or other genetic disorder or heredity diseases. The anatomical landmarks used for this research study were the right and left a) ear length b) ear length above tragus c) ear length below tragus d) tragus length e) ear breadth f) concha length g) concha breadth h) lobule height i) lobule width of the external ear. Results: The measurement procedure proved to be easy and it did not show any discomfort to the participants. Ear length below tragus, lobule height and lobule width were larger in females than males. This method was made applicable to all the parameters except for ear length below tragus, lobule height and lobule widths since these parameters were greater in females than males. Conclusion: In this study, we could determine the sex from the external ear in a large percentage. The parameters were of little value when subjected to demarking point analyses. However, for a larger population the mean values for the above parameters from different regions will have significantly different values and hence, DPs are to be worked out separately for the different regions. These DPs are much simpler to apply than multivariate discriminant functional techniques for identification of sex with certainty.