Young Bangladeshi Research Articles

Causal Relationship of Helicobacter pylori With Iron-Deficiency Anemia or Failure of Iron Supplementation in Children

We investigated Helicobacter pylori (H pylori)-infection as a cause of iron deficiency (ID) and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) or treatment failure of iron supplementation. We randomized 200 Hp-infected children (positive urea breath test) 2-5 years of age with IDA (hemoglobin level <110 g/L; serum ferritin level <12 microg/L; and soluble transferrin receptor >8.3 mg/L) or ID (serum ferritin level <12 microg/L or soluble transferrin receptor level >8.3 mg/L) to 1 of 4 regimens: 2-week anti-Hp therapy (amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and omeprazole) plus 90-day oral ferrous sulfate (anti-Hp plus iron), 2-week anti-Hp therapy alone, 90-day oral iron alone, or placebo. Sixty noninfected children with IDA received iron treatment as negative control. Hp-infected children receiving iron had significantly less frequent treatment failure compared with those with no iron in correcting IDA (11% [95% confidence interval (CI), 2%-20%] for anti-Hp plus iron, 0% for iron alone vs 33% [95% CI, 26%-46%] for anti-Hp and 45% [95% CI, 31%-59%] for placebo; chi(2) = 127; P < .0001), ID (19% [95% CI, 8%-30%] for anti-Hp plus iron, 7% [95% CI, 0%-14%] for iron alone vs 65% [95% CI, 52%-78%] for anti-Hp alone, and 78% [95% CI, 66%-90%] for placebo; chi(2) = 124; P < .0001), or anemia (34% [95% CI, 20%-40%] for anti-Hp plus iron, 27% [95% CI, 14%-40%] for iron alone vs 65% [95% CI, 52%-78%] for anti-Hp alone and 78% [95% CI, 66%-90%] for placebo; chi(2) = 46; P < .0001). Cure rates of IDA, ID, or anemia with iron were comparable with that of the negative control group. Improvements in iron status also were significantly greater in groups with iron. H pylori is neither a cause of IDA/ID nor a reason for treatment failure of iron supplementation in young Bangladeshi children.

Negotiating identities: the lives of Pakistani and Bangladeshi young disabled people

Research has generally amalgamated minority ethnic (all called ‘Asian’ or ‘black’) disabled young people’s experiences and failed to acknowledge the multiple aspects of Asian and black disabled identities, for example how the combined attributes of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, culture, class and disability shape their perspectives and experiences. In an attempt to address this issue my doctoral research explored the experiences and perspectives of 13 young Pakistani and Bangladeshi disabled people. By drawing on the substantive and theoretical findings which emerged from my analysis in this paper I shall consider how multiple aspects of identity, such as ethnicity, disability and gender, affect this population’s identity and self‐image and how this makes their experiences different from white disabled young people and other minority groups’ experiences.

A single flavour of motherhood: An emerging identity in a young Bangladeshi woman

How is a first time mother able to claim her new identity when a traumatic birth is experienced as a sudden loss, evoking previous unresolved issues of separation? This paper explores a young Bangladeshi mother's gradual reconfiguration of identity amidst the strain of motherhood. This process is reworked within the environment of her family, which presents its own problems in light of the sharing of mothering practices and the conflict with a more traditional Bangladeshi model. Weaning and the importance of a third position provide some internal space in order to work through these issues and encounter the nourishing aspects of motherhood.

Talking traditions of marriage — Negotiating young British Bangladeshi femininities

Synopsis This article combines insights from existing research on young “Asian” hybridities and micro-linguistic approaches to language/discourse and identity by linking an exploration of discourses and subject positions negotiated in the talk of five British Bangladeshi girls to an analysis of lexical, syntactic, paralinguistic and sequential features of their interaction. The extracts of data I present originate from spontaneous conversations about the topic of marriage, self-recorded by five 15–16-year old girls from London, England. They reflect not only the heterogeneity of the positions adopted by individual members of the group, but also the complex process of negotiations that the girls engage in locally to find a consensus on their group's stance to marriage. The article focuses on the modified discourse of arranged marriage which emerges as a hybrid in the girls' interactive negotiations of a wide range of cultural discourses with ethnic, gendered, classed and more local inflections and provides a significant space for the girls' construction of British Bangladeshi femininities.

Transnationalism and Entrepreneurial Migrancy in Naples, Italy

This article examines the conceptual limitations in the current literature about transnational migration, which tends to focus on forms of state control or the new ways offered by technological innovation for migrant subjects to maintain connections with their places of origin. Through ethnographic fieldwork in Naples, Italy, this article reconsiders how the concept of migrancy might force us to linger further over the actor's perspective in migration projects and see the fullness of possibilities available in migrant trajectories. I discuss migrant agency in the context of young male Bangladeshi street-vendors and West African day-labourers living and working in Naples and its immediate surroundings. What emerge from interviews and participant observation are imagined futures that disrupt the dominant narratives in the transnational literature as well as assumptions about settlement present among some Italian host institutions. This article, then, encourages researchers to reconsider the role of the imagination in theoretical treatments of transnationalism.

Microarray profiling of colorectal cancer in Bangladeshi patients

We have carried out a retrospective analysis of all cases of colorectal cancer at the Royal London Hospital between April 1998 and March 2002 and determined the differences in presentation and outcome between Bangladeshi and Non-Bangladeshi patients. DNA microarrays were used to explain any potential genetic differences between these two groups that may explain the different phenotypes. We examined the colorectal database at our institution. Microarray profiles, using Affymetrix HU133A Genechips (Santa Clara, CA USA) were obtained from 10 Bangladeshi patients and an age-, sex- and stage-matched group of 10 Non-Bangladeshi patients. Three hundred and sixty-three patients have been treated for colorectal cancer at the Royal London Hospital. Eighteen (5%) patients were of Bangladeshi origin. The prevalence was 27/100,000 compared to 342/100,000 of the Non-Bangladeshi population. Eleven (61%) of 18 Bangladeshi patients were under the age of 40 and 4 (22%) patients presented with locally advanced or metastatic disease. In comparison 39/345 (11%) of non-Bangladeshi patients presented with advanced disease. None of the Bangladeshi patients gave a positive family history. Microarray profiling between these two groups demonstrated 1203 differentially expressed genes (P < 0.05). Colorectal cancer is uncommon in the Bangladeshi patients compared to the non-Bangladeshi population. This cancer presents in younger patients and at a more advanced stage. There is no positive family history within this ethnic community and therefore the cancers are sporadic. However, microarray profiling is able to delineate different gene expression between these two groups. Therefore, there should be a low threshold for investigating young Bangladeshi patients with symptoms of colorectal neoplasia and any future national screening programme should allow for ethnic variation.

Invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b diseases in Bangladesh, with increased resistance to antibiotics

To determine the prevalence, age-group distribution, serotype, and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) isolates in Bangladeshi children because data regarding Hib diseases in developing countries are scarce, which has led to delay of the introduction of Hib vaccine in these countries. Children diagnosed with meningitis (n = 1412) and pneumonia (n = 2434) were enrolled in this surveillance study for Hib invasive diseases. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood specimens, and the subsequent isolates, were processed using standard procedures. During 1993 to 2003, 455 H influenzae strains were isolated from patients with meningitis (n = 425) and pneumonia (n = 30), and an additional 68 Hib meningitis cases were detected by latex agglutination (LA) testing. Overall, 35% of pyogenic meningitis cases were a result of H influenzae, 97.1% of which were Hib. Most (91.4%) cases occurred during the first year of life. Resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and cotrimoxazole was 32.5%, 21.5%, and 49.2%, respectively. There was a trend toward increasing resistance for all three drugs. Resistance to ampicillin and chloramphenicol was almost universally coexistent and was associated with increased sequelae compared with the patients infected with susceptible strains (31% [23/75] vs 11% [21/183]; P <.001). Hib is the most predominant cause of meningitis in young Bangladeshi children. Resistance to ampicillin and chloramphenicol and the high cost of third-generation cephalosporin highlight the importance of disease prevention through vaccination against Hib.

Effect of consumption of food cooked in aluminium or stainless-steel pots on Bangladeshi children with calcium-deficient rickets: an eight month trial

The putative role of aluminium intake in young Bangladeshi children (1.5 to 4 years of age) with calcium-deficient rickets was evaluated in a non randomised controlled eight month trial. The effects of aluminium or stain-less-steel cooking pots on bone metabolism were assessed by measuring blood calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D, aminoterminal propeptide of type 1 collagen (PINP), cross-linked carboxyterminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (ICTP), aluminium and albumin, and by analysis of wrist radiographs. In both groups, blood alkaline phosphatase, 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D and aluminium decreased significantly, while serum albumin increased (p < 0.01). These results suggest that the nutrition may well be of major importance, whereas the role of aluminium appears to be insignificant.

Usefulness of the Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in young Bangladeshi children

Usefulness of the Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in young Bangladeshi children

Working with Bangladeshi young women

The author describes once-weekly psychoanalytically informed work in a child mental health setting with young Bangladeshi women making the transition to adulthood. She argues that the prevalent notion of 'culture conflict' used to account for patterns of emotional disturbance and self-harm in these young women is reductionist and represents a denial of severe family dysfunction and individual psychic pain. She shows how, despite cultural differences, psychoanalytically informed thinking can provide a basis for understanding these young women's experience and facilitate their emotional growth. However, faced with complex unconscious processes, the worker has to remain alert to her countertransference in order not to be drawn into an unhelpful collusion or denial of reality. Organizational defences may also operate to protect staff and their institutions from awareness of such high levels of emotional distress, which therefore remain hidden. The author is grateful to the two young women who consented to publication in the hope that it might help others. Details have been changed to protect their anonymity.

Routes into education and employment for young Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in the UK

The article examines the educational and employment experiences and aspirations of young Pakistani and Bangladeshi people living in Oldham, in Great Manchester. Many young people demonstrated high aspirations and high levels of participation, particularly in relation to the educational and occupational level of their parents. Explanatory factors include the cultural value of education among Asian groups, the desire by parents to ensure success for their children and the ethnic penalty which these young people incur in the labour market. However, not all Pakistani and Bangladeshi young people have these aspirations. Girls who wished to continue their education faced a more complex situation than boys; for girls it was important to avoid jeopardizing the family honour. Nonetheless, national statistics show a marked increase in the numbers of young Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in full-time undergraduate courses in recent years. Women with degree level qualifications showed considerable determination to combine paid employment with family life.

Speaking the Unspeakable: Marital Violence among South Asian Immigrants in the United States (review)

Margaret Abraham begins her book with the story of Syeda Sufian, a young Bangladeshi women living in Jamaica, New York, who was doused with gasoline and set on fire by her husband, Mohammed Mohsin, in 1995. Sufian survived her ordeal, and with the help of Sakhi for South Asian Women, brought public attention to the violence in an immigrant community.

Transition to Adulthood of Female Garment-Factory Workers in Bangladesh

This article examines data from a study on garment-factory workers in Bangladesh to explore the implications of work for the early socialization of young women. For the first time, large numbers of young Bangladeshi women are being given an alternative to lives in which they move directly from childhood to adulthood through early marriage and childbearing. Employment creates a period of transition in contrast to the abrupt assumption of adult roles at very young ages that marriage and childbearing mandate. This longer transition creates a period of adolescence for young women working in the garment sector that is shown to have strong implications for the women's long-term reproductive health.

A polymorphism in the promoter region of the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and drug response: Association studies

DRD2 gene is considered one of the most important candidate genes for the schizophrenia (SCZ) development due to its role in dopamine signaling and no genetic association study has been conducted yet on the Bangladeshi SCZ patients. The objective of the present study was to investigate the association of DRD2 genetic polymorphisms (rs4648317, rs4936270, and rs7131056) with SCZ in the Bangladeshi population.This case-control study consisted of 101 SCZ patients and 101 controls. Genotyping was performed by the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) method.The average ages were 22.15 and 22.09 years in patients and controls, respectively (p > 0.05). CT genotype of rs4936270 showed a significantly higher risk for the development of SCZ compared to CC genotype (OR = 2.0, p = 0.023), whereas no association was found for TT genotype. For the dominant model and T allele, rs4936270 showed a higher risk for the development of SCZ (OR = 2.01, p = 0.020; OR = 1.76, p = 0.021, respectively), while the recessive model had no association with SCZ. A statistically significant (OR = 2.70, p = 0.036) higher risk was found for the AA genotype, but no association was found for GA genotype of rs4648317 SNP compared to GG genotype. In case of dominant and recessive models, rs4648317 showed no association with SCZ. ‘A’ allele of rs4648317 SNP was found to be significantly associated with the elevated risk of SCZ (OR = 1.50, p = 0.044). No association with SCZ of rs7131056 SNP was found for AC, CC genotypes, dominant, recessive, and allele models. Furthermore, from the haplotyping analysis, we found that CAA and TAA haplotypes of rs4936270, rs7131056 and rs4648317 SNPs are associated with SCZ (χ2 = 8.26, p = 0.004; χ2 = 5.31, p = 0.021, respectively). After Bonferroni correction, the association of SCZ did not withstand with any genotype, allele and haplotype (p < 0.017) except CAA haplotype.Our results suggest that DRD2 gene polymorphisms may be associated with the susceptibility of SCZ in the young Bangladeshi population.

Sociodemographic, hygienic and nutritional correlates of Helicobacter pylori infection of young Bangladeshi children.

By the age of 10 years most children in developing countries have been infected by Helicobacter pylori Identification of clues to modes of transmission of this organism to children, as well as evaluation of the sequelae of childhood infections, constitute important research priorities for developing countries. To evaluate demographic, socioeconomic and hygienic factors associated with acquisition of infection by H. pylori early in childhood among Bangladeshi children ages 2 to 5 years and to assess whether infection by H. pylori was associated with poor nutritional status in these children and in an older group ages 6 to 9 years. A random population-based survey of 257 rural Bangladeshi children ages 2 to 5 years and 312 children ages 6 to 9 years. Seropositivity for H. pylori, as manifested by the presence of serum IgG anti-H. pylori antibodies, was correlated with nutritional status of the sampled children and with sociodemographic features and access to clean water and latrine facilities among families of the children. Among children ages 2 to 5 years, the 123 (48%) who were infected by H. pylori were similar to the 134 noninfected children with respect to socioeconomic level, family access to tube well water and family ownership of a latrine. However, families of infected children had more persons per sleeping room in the home (3.8 vs. 3.2, P < 0.05) and were more likely to be Hindu (20% vs. 10%, P < 0.05). Infected children did not differ significantly from noninfected children in Z scores for weight-for-age (-2.66 vs. -2.78), weight-for-height (-1.17 vs. -1.28) or height-for-age (-3.58 vs. -3.56). Analysis of survey children ages 6 to 9 years also revealed similar nutritional indexes among infected vs. noninfected children. Household crowding and behaviors that differ between Hindus and Muslims, but not lack of access to clean water and latrines, may enhance the transmission of H. pylori to rural Bangladeshi children. Although confirming the high frequency of infections in young Bangladeshi children, our findings do not support the notion that H. pylori is responsible for the high prevalence of malnutrition in this setting.

Association of Thyroid Dysfunction with Young Diabetic Subjects in a Bangladeshi Population

The study was a prospective study carried out in the Research Division of Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM), Dhaka. The present study was designed to investigate the thyroid dysfunction specially total and free levels of serum T3 and T4, and TSH in young diabetic subjects. A total number of 49 diabetic subjects and 28 controls were recruited in this study. Plasma glucose was measured by glucose oxidase method, HbA1C by modified HPLC method, serum total T3, total T4, free T3, free T4, TSH and C-peptide were measured by fluorescence-based ELISA technique. Age and BMI of the controls, Type 2 diabetic and FCPD subjects were matched. Total T3 concentration in FCPD and type 2 groups were significantly lower than the control group (p&lt;0.001). T3 in FCPD was lower than that of type 2 (p&lt;0.01). No significant difference was shown in T4 concentrations among the three groups of study subjects but there was significant lower in T3/ T4 ratio in FCPD and type 2 than control groups (p&lt;0.001, p&lt;0.01 respectively). The concentration of Free T3 was lower in FCPD group (p&lt;0.01) than controls and type 2 DM. Free T4 and TSH concentration were similar in all the groups. With increasing of fasting serum glucose and HbA1C in the subjects, serum T3, Free T3, and T3/ T4 ratio were decreased significantly. Irrespective of groups, fasting serum glucose and HbA1C showed negative correlation with serum T3 (FSG: r= -0.591, p= 0.001; HbA1C: r= -0.68, p= 0.001) and Free T3 (FSG: r= -0.421, p= 0.001; HbA1C: r= -0.381, p= 0.001). C-peptide showed positive correlation with T3 and Free T3 (T3: r= 0.429, p= 0.001; Free T3: r= 0.228, p= 0.05). The existance of low T3 syndrome is confirmed in young Bangladeshi diabetic population regarding free levels of T3 and T4. The values of the free hormones (low FT3 and normal FT4) as well as normal TSH explain clinically euthyroid state of the subjects. The data also demonstrated that the lowering of T3 in diabetic subjects seems to be related with their degree of hyperglycemia. Key Words: Thyroid Dysfunction, Young Diabetes Mellitus. DOI: 10.3329/bmj.v36i2.3608 Bangladesh Medical Journal 36(2) 2007 34-38

Study of Lipid Profile and Coronary Angiographic Pattern in Young Bangladeshi Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Majority of the patients of coronary heart disease (CHD) in our country are above 40 years of age but a good number of patients belong to the age under 40, the most valuable and productive period of life during which they can devote themselves to uplift their family, society and country and can participate in nation building activities.3,4 The number of young individuals falling into the spectrum of CHD is increasing everywhere However, this age trend is peculiar in relation to the western age incidence.5 Our objective was to investigate the lipid profile and coronary angiographic pattern in young Bangladeshi patients with acute coronary syndrome and also to find out the relationship between dyslipidemia and coronary artery disease in this age group. Methods: This observational study was carried out in National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) during the period of January 2000 to December 2000. A brief history was recorded on the date of admission and fasting lipid profile was done within 24 hours of admission. Other associated major risk factors were looked for and recorded accordingly. After stabilization oh the acute condition patient was prepared for coronary angiogram and informed consent was taken. Accordingly elective CAG was done. Among them total 64 patients of ACS, underwent coronary angiogram in the cath lab of NICVD, were selected randomly of which of which 32 patients were up to the age 40 years (Group- I) and 32 were above 40 years of age (Group-II). Patient of ACS of either sex having no age limitation were included without prior history of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery. The findings were reviewed and scrutinized carefully by two interventional cardiologists. In doubtful cases third expert reviewed the CD. If a consensus was not reached due to technical or visual error, the case wais discarded from the study. Details of CAG findings i.e. site and number of diseased vessels, location, morphology and pattern of lesion were studied and recorded accordingly. Results: The prevalence of dyslipidaemia and positive family history were more in group I than group II. Younger age group has less favorable lipid profile than older age group having raised total cholesterol in 31.3 percent cases, low HDL in 12.5 percent cases and raised LDL in 31.3 percent cases, while in older age group, it was 21.8, 25.0, 0 and 18.7 percent, respectively. CAG study of the patients showed that no vessel involvement was more common in group I than group II (21.9% vs 12.5%), but triple vessel disease was more common in group II (12.5% vs 21.8%). Single vessel and double vessel diseases were similar in both the groups. Involvement of LAD was slightly more in-group I than group II (68.8% vs 65.6%) and involvement of LCX and RCA were less in group I than group II (21.9% vs 34.3%, and 43.8% vs 78.1%, respectively). Diffuse LAD and RCA lesions were more in group II (36.4% vs 52.4% and 42.9% vs 48.0%, respectively), but diffuse LCX lesion was more in group I (42.9 vs 36.4%). Multiple irregular lesions are more common in older age group (53.1%) than younger age group (28.1%). Conclusion: The younger age group has less favorable lipid profile than older age group having raised total cholesterol, decreased HDL and raised LDL. CAG findings show that most of the lesions are present in LAD (having less impressive LVEF) as like as in older age group, but older age group has more multiple irregular lesions. Prevalence of &gt;2 lesions in one coronary artery was more in group I (31 vs. 25%) but difference was not statistically significant. Keywords: Lipid profile, Coronary angiogram, Younger patients, Acute Coronary Syndrome. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/cardio.v1i2.8237 Cardiovasc. j. 2009; 1(2): 183-188