Bilal Mahmood Beg

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected billions of lives and is expected to impose a significant burden on the economy worldwide. Vaccination is the only way to prevent the infection. However, convincing people to get themselves vaccinated is challenging in developing countries such as Pakistan. Therefore, a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted (n = 982 participants) all over Pakistan to evaluate the perception, knowledge, attitude, and acceptance of the general public towards the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, in general, and a booster dose of SARS-CoV-2, in particular. The highest number of participants were from the province of Punjab (84.5%), followed by Islamabad (3.8%), Sindh (3.7%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2.7%), Baluchistan (2.6%), Gilgit Baltistan (1.4%), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (1.4%). A total of 915 participants were vaccinated against COVID-19, out of which 62.2% received one booster dose, followed by double booster doses (25.5%) and single vaccine shots (12.3%). The highest number of vaccinated participants were from Punjab (85.8%), followed by Islamabad (3.9%), Sindh (2.8%); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2.6%); Baluchistan (2.3%); Gilgit-Baltistan (1.3%); and Azad, Jammu, and Kashmir (1.2%). Among the vaccinated individuals, 71.4% were unemployed, 27.4% were employed (653), and 1.2% were retired from service. However, no significant association was observed among genders and educational levels in regard to acceptance of the booster vaccine. The outcomes of the study revealed that the increased acceptance of booster doses of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines among the public was associated with the intent of personal and family protection. Moreover, individuals with low socioeconomic status and pregnant females showed the least acceptance towards the vaccine inoculation. The study also revealed a decline trend of accepting SARS-CoV-2 vaccine among children.

Background: The coronavirus disease has become a global pandemic, and it continues to wreak havoc on global health and the economy. The development of vaccines may offer a potential eradication of COVID-19. This study evaluated the general knowledge, attitude, and perception of COVID-19 vaccines in the Pakistani population.Methods: A self-reporting e-survey and questionnaire-based survey from vaccination centers of different cities of Pakistan among 502 participants were conducted. The questionnaire comprised four sections inquiring demographics, vaccination status, and perception or attitude towards the vaccine. Univariate logistic regression was applied to predict the knowledge, attitude and behavior of participants.Results: The mean age of participants was 50.8±20.3 years. 53% of the participants have both doses of vaccine administered. Pain on the site of injection (49.8%) was the most common symptom, followed by asthenia (43.0%), muscle pain (29.5%), and swelling (24.5%) on the site of vaccine administration. Females complain of more symptoms than males. More severe symptoms were reported after the first dose of vaccine administration; these symptoms subsided within a week for most participants. Overall, the respondents have a positive attitude towards the vaccine. 47.4% are sure about the vaccine’s efficacy, 48.6% said getting vaccinated was their own decision, and 79.9% also recommended others to get vaccinated.Conclusion: The study concluded that the Pakistani population has a positive attitude but inadequate knowledge towards COVID-19 vaccines. Immediate awareness and vaccination education programs should be conducted by the authorities to complete the mass vaccination schedule.

Objectives: This study was aimed to compare the body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in their ability to predict type 2 diabetes risk in a large prospective cohort of men and women in Pakistan. Methods: This was a case-control study conducted at Diabetic and medical OPD of GTTH. Anthropometric measures including BMI and WHR were analyzed. Student’s t-test, Chi-squared test along with Cramer’s V value, was applied to evaluate association between variables. Receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to assess anthropometric measures. Results: The study included 804 diabetics and 396 non-diabetics between 30–60 years of age. Comparing the BMI parameters it was found that 717 (89·2%) in diabetic group were overweight or obese (p-value < 0·001). On comparing the WHR, 97·9% diabetics had increased WHR (p-value <0·001). Both BMI & WHR were further compared using ROC curve which found out that WHR had an area under ROC of 0·720 & BMI has 0·680, suggesting that WHR is more better predictor of diabetes as compared to BMI. Conclusions: Both BMI and WHR were strong discriminators of T2DM but WHR was found superior according to ROC value. Family history is significantly associated in patients with diabetes. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.5.759 How to cite this:Qureshi SS, Amer W, Kaleem M, Beg BM. Adult anthropometry in Type 2 diabetic population: A case-control study. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(5):1284-1289. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.5.759 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Background: The incidence and prevalence of prostate cancer is increasing in Pakistan in recent years. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the whole world. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done using a questionnaire having questions related to symptoms and treatment options of Prostate cancer. A total of 352 healthy males aged 18 years and above were included in the study. Questionnaire was handed over to 102 healthy male attendants of patients presenting to outpatient department, Mayo hospital Lahore. A soft copy was also formatted using google forms and emailed to around 250 men of different age groups studying or working at various public and private sector nonmedical colleges and universities of Lahore. Descriptive statistics including mean, percentages and standard deviation was used to conclude results. Results: Out of 352 participants, more than half (55.7%) of the participants had heard of the prostate cancer while the others did not. Only 12.8% participants knew about the early symptoms of prostate cancer. More than a quarter participants (29.5%) were not sure about the treatment options of prostate cancer. Conclusion: The overall knowledge and awareness among general public about prostate cancer was poor. There is an urgent need to introduce a public sector awareness campaign for Prostate cancer in Pakistan.