Background: Adherence to antihypertensive therapy is an important factor in determining the clini... more Background: Adherence to antihypertensive therapy is an important factor in determining the clinical course of hypertension. This study was planned to estimate adherence to antihypertensive therapy and its determinants among OPD patients attending two primary care hospitals in Kashmir valley. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design. All subjects who reported to OPD between October and December 2020 and had been prescribed antihypertensive medications for at least 1 year were included. Sociodemographic information was collected on a pretested schedule and adherence to medications was assessed by using the-14 item Hill-Bone HBP Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale (HB-HBP). Mann–Whitney test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used. Results: A total of 406 subjects were included in the final analysis with a mean age of 58 years for women and 56 years for men. The sample comprised 54% women. More than 60% of subjects were currently married, urban area residents, and belonged to middle strata of social class. The mean score obtained in the HB-MAS (maximum score 56) was 19.26 (SD ± 4.3). Subjects aged 60 years and above, those belonging to lower socioeconomic class, and subjects prescribed three or more drugs with more than once-daily dosing regimen had higher odds of having poor adherence. Conclusion: There is suboptimal adherence among OPD patients at primary care level. There is a need for enhanced counselling regarding medication adherence particularly for elderly, poor, illiterate persons and those prescribed multiple medicines with more than once-daily dosing.
Background: Seroprevalence surveys are useful in estimating past infections and provide an apprai... more Background: Seroprevalence surveys are useful in estimating past infections and provide an appraisal of the cumulative number of infections in a population. We designed a population-based survey in Kashmir to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in the general population aged 18 years and above. Methods: The survey was conducted among 110 villages and urban wards across ten districts in Kashmir from 17 Oct 2020 to 04 Nov 2020. Serum samples were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. Seroprevalence estimates were adjusted for the sampling design and assay characteristics. Findings: Out of 6397 eligible individuals enumerated, 6315 (98.7%) agreed to participate. The final analysis was done on 6230 participants. Seroprevalence adjusted for the sampling design and assay characteristics was 36.7% (95% CI 34.3%-39.4%). Seroprevalence was higher among the older population. Only one-half of symptomatic individuals reported having been tested. One out of every ten seropositive individuals reported a history of COVID-19 like symptoms. We estimated an infection fatality rate of 342 deaths per million infections. Interpretation: During the first seven months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kashmir valley, approximately 37% of individuals were infected. There is still a significant pool of susceptible people in Kashmir. The number of infections will continue to rise unless infection prevention measures are practiced by the population. Funding: National Health Mission Jammu & Kashmir Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests, financial or otherwise. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Government Medical College Srinagar.
BackgroundPrevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection provides essential informatio... more BackgroundPrevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection provides essential information for deciding disease prevention and mitigation measures. We estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in District Srinagar.Methods2906 persons >18 years of age selected from hospital visitors across District Srinagar participated in the study. We tested samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-based serologic test.ResultsAge- and gender-standardized seroprevalence was 3.6% (95% CI 2.9% to 4.3%). Age 30-69 years, a recent history of symptoms of an influenza-like-illness, and a history of being placed under quarantine were significantly related to higher odds of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies. The estimated number of SARS-CoV-2 infections during the two weeks preceding the study, adjusted for test performance, was 32602 with an estimated (median) infection-to-known-case...
International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 2017
Background: Gynaecological disorders are quite frequent in the community but still mortality is a... more Background: Gynaecological disorders are quite frequent in the community but still mortality is an indicator of maternal health. Treatment seeking behaviour depends upon the individual perceptions and attitudes towards health care. Methods: A community based cross sectional study in which 419 eligible women in the age group of 15-45 were enrolled and interviewed for the study. A semi structured pretested questionnaire was used. The questionnaire included information about the socio demographic characteristics of the students. Data was analysed using percentages. Results: The prevalence came out to be 20.28% which was percentage of women reporting one or more gynaecological disorders. 52.94% did not seek anywhere care or visited any health care facility. Conclusions: The study found a good percentage of women who self-reported one or more gynaecological disorder, which prompts one to find out various factors associated with this problem.
In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and pr... more In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and prognosis. miR-2909 is a novel miRNA that can regulate immunogenomics and oncogenomics. The present study investigated the role of miR-2909 in the pathogenesis of PCa and the potential signalling pathways through which it operates. We have identified miR-2909 as a novel mediator of androgen/androgen receptor (AR) signalling that enhances the proliferation potential of PCa cells and assists in cancer survival under reduced androgen levels. Our results revealed that miR-2909 down regulates TGFBR2 by targeting its 3'-UTR sequence. We also observed that miR-2909 over-expression attenuated TGFβ-mediated SMAD3 activation, cell growth inhibition and apoptosis. Moreover, miR-2909 modulated the expression of p21CIP, c-MYC and CCND1 through TGFβ signalling. Importantly, we also demonstrated that miR-2909 and AR regulates each other's expression resulting in a positive feedback loop. In concl...
Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2011
There are no population-based data available on cancer pattern in Kashmir and our study is the fi... more There are no population-based data available on cancer pattern in Kashmir and our study is the first kind which represents the trend in cancer pattern in the valley. The source of our data were cancer patients registered in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Sheri-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, and Department of Radiation Oncology, SMHS, Srinagar during the period Jan 2002 to Dec 2006. These are leading medical centres in the valley and draw most all of cancer patients from all over Kashmir for treatment. During the period a total of 6,943 cases were registered of which 4,345 were males and 2,598 were females. The age standardized incidence rates were 34.9 per 100,000 for males and 24.8 per 100,000 for females. Oesophagus was the leading site of cancer in both sexes (male ASR 11.2; female ASR 8.3) followed by lung (ASR 6.5), brain (ASR 2.2) and head and neck (ASR 2.2) in males and breast (ASR 5.2), skin (ASR 1.6) and rectum (ASR 0.95) in females. The incidence o...
Background: Adherence to antihypertensive therapy is an important factor in determining the clini... more Background: Adherence to antihypertensive therapy is an important factor in determining the clinical course of hypertension. This study was planned to estimate adherence to antihypertensive therapy and its determinants among OPD patients attending two primary care hospitals in Kashmir valley. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design. All subjects who reported to OPD between October and December 2020 and had been prescribed antihypertensive medications for at least 1 year were included. Sociodemographic information was collected on a pretested schedule and adherence to medications was assessed by using the-14 item Hill-Bone HBP Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale (HB-HBP). Mann–Whitney test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used. Results: A total of 406 subjects were included in the final analysis with a mean age of 58 years for women and 56 years for men. The sample comprised 54% women. More than 60% of subjects were currently married, urban area residents, and belonged to middle strata of social class. The mean score obtained in the HB-MAS (maximum score 56) was 19.26 (SD ± 4.3). Subjects aged 60 years and above, those belonging to lower socioeconomic class, and subjects prescribed three or more drugs with more than once-daily dosing regimen had higher odds of having poor adherence. Conclusion: There is suboptimal adherence among OPD patients at primary care level. There is a need for enhanced counselling regarding medication adherence particularly for elderly, poor, illiterate persons and those prescribed multiple medicines with more than once-daily dosing.
Background: Seroprevalence surveys are useful in estimating past infections and provide an apprai... more Background: Seroprevalence surveys are useful in estimating past infections and provide an appraisal of the cumulative number of infections in a population. We designed a population-based survey in Kashmir to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in the general population aged 18 years and above. Methods: The survey was conducted among 110 villages and urban wards across ten districts in Kashmir from 17 Oct 2020 to 04 Nov 2020. Serum samples were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. Seroprevalence estimates were adjusted for the sampling design and assay characteristics. Findings: Out of 6397 eligible individuals enumerated, 6315 (98.7%) agreed to participate. The final analysis was done on 6230 participants. Seroprevalence adjusted for the sampling design and assay characteristics was 36.7% (95% CI 34.3%-39.4%). Seroprevalence was higher among the older population. Only one-half of symptomatic individuals reported having been tested. One out of every ten seropositive individuals reported a history of COVID-19 like symptoms. We estimated an infection fatality rate of 342 deaths per million infections. Interpretation: During the first seven months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kashmir valley, approximately 37% of individuals were infected. There is still a significant pool of susceptible people in Kashmir. The number of infections will continue to rise unless infection prevention measures are practiced by the population. Funding: National Health Mission Jammu & Kashmir Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests, financial or otherwise. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Government Medical College Srinagar.
BackgroundPrevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection provides essential informatio... more BackgroundPrevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection provides essential information for deciding disease prevention and mitigation measures. We estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in District Srinagar.Methods2906 persons >18 years of age selected from hospital visitors across District Srinagar participated in the study. We tested samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-based serologic test.ResultsAge- and gender-standardized seroprevalence was 3.6% (95% CI 2.9% to 4.3%). Age 30-69 years, a recent history of symptoms of an influenza-like-illness, and a history of being placed under quarantine were significantly related to higher odds of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies. The estimated number of SARS-CoV-2 infections during the two weeks preceding the study, adjusted for test performance, was 32602 with an estimated (median) infection-to-known-case...
International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 2017
Background: Gynaecological disorders are quite frequent in the community but still mortality is a... more Background: Gynaecological disorders are quite frequent in the community but still mortality is an indicator of maternal health. Treatment seeking behaviour depends upon the individual perceptions and attitudes towards health care. Methods: A community based cross sectional study in which 419 eligible women in the age group of 15-45 were enrolled and interviewed for the study. A semi structured pretested questionnaire was used. The questionnaire included information about the socio demographic characteristics of the students. Data was analysed using percentages. Results: The prevalence came out to be 20.28% which was percentage of women reporting one or more gynaecological disorders. 52.94% did not seek anywhere care or visited any health care facility. Conclusions: The study found a good percentage of women who self-reported one or more gynaecological disorder, which prompts one to find out various factors associated with this problem.
In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and pr... more In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and prognosis. miR-2909 is a novel miRNA that can regulate immunogenomics and oncogenomics. The present study investigated the role of miR-2909 in the pathogenesis of PCa and the potential signalling pathways through which it operates. We have identified miR-2909 as a novel mediator of androgen/androgen receptor (AR) signalling that enhances the proliferation potential of PCa cells and assists in cancer survival under reduced androgen levels. Our results revealed that miR-2909 down regulates TGFBR2 by targeting its 3'-UTR sequence. We also observed that miR-2909 over-expression attenuated TGFβ-mediated SMAD3 activation, cell growth inhibition and apoptosis. Moreover, miR-2909 modulated the expression of p21CIP, c-MYC and CCND1 through TGFβ signalling. Importantly, we also demonstrated that miR-2909 and AR regulates each other's expression resulting in a positive feedback loop. In concl...
Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2011
There are no population-based data available on cancer pattern in Kashmir and our study is the fi... more There are no population-based data available on cancer pattern in Kashmir and our study is the first kind which represents the trend in cancer pattern in the valley. The source of our data were cancer patients registered in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Sheri-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, and Department of Radiation Oncology, SMHS, Srinagar during the period Jan 2002 to Dec 2006. These are leading medical centres in the valley and draw most all of cancer patients from all over Kashmir for treatment. During the period a total of 6,943 cases were registered of which 4,345 were males and 2,598 were females. The age standardized incidence rates were 34.9 per 100,000 for males and 24.8 per 100,000 for females. Oesophagus was the leading site of cancer in both sexes (male ASR 11.2; female ASR 8.3) followed by lung (ASR 6.5), brain (ASR 2.2) and head and neck (ASR 2.2) in males and breast (ASR 5.2), skin (ASR 1.6) and rectum (ASR 0.95) in females. The incidence o...
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