Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Slums”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Prevalence of leptospiral agglutinins among conservancy workers in Madras City, India.

In a study of 584 Corporation conservancy (sanitation) workers who lived mostly in slums, and who worked in four Corporation Circles of Madras City, India, 192 (32.9%) were found to be positive for agglutinins to Leptospira interrogans. Seropositivity prevalence increased with age, but was similar in males and females except in the youngest age group, where males predominated. Prevalence in the four study areas ranged between 17.8 and 40.5% (P < 0.01). Among 152 sera in which one serogroup predominated, Autumnalis was the most commonly recorded (33.6%), followed by Icterohaemorrhagiae (15.1%), Panama (15.1%), Sejroe (14.5%) and others (21.7%). Forty sera reacted to two or more serogroups at the same (highest) titre, most frequently to the first three serogroups above. The titre range was 1:50-1:3200 (geometric mean titre 149). Among a group of 46 male automobile industry workers who lived in middle-class housing, seropositivity prevalence (17.4%) was approximately half that of the sanitation workers (P < 0.05), and the titre range was lower (1:50-1:200, GMT 84). The predominating serogroups were those found in the sanitation workers. Bearing in mind that sanitation workers are the urban group probably at highest risk of leptospiral infection, the prevalence rate (< 33%) found in our study is not considered to be particularly high.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stillbirth rates and folic acid and zinc status in low-socioeconomic pregnant women of Brazilian Amazon.

Twenty-five women in their first trimester and 25 women in their third trimester of pregnancy were randomly chosen from the slum areas of eight towns in the Brazilian Amazon (Manaus, Sao Luis, Boa Vista, Porto Velho, Sao Gabriel, Santarem, Tefe, and Benjamin Constant). Blood samples were removed from the subjects for folic acid and zinc analyses, and the women were asked questions about whether they had suffered from complications during previous pregnancies. It was found that the stillbirth rates reported ranged from 0 to 20/1000 pregnancies. The town that had the highest stillbirth rate (Santarem) also had the highest percentage of women with deficient erythrocyte (red blood cell, RBC) folate status. All of the women in Santarem also had deficient serum folate levels in both trimesters of pregnancy, as well as the lowest average RBC folate value in the third trimester of pregnancy. The same town was also one of two in which the pregnant women had the lowest mean serum zinc levels in the third trimester.

Brazil↗
PubMed1995

Sexually transmitted diseases in children.

Fifty eight (16%) of the 362 patients, who reported to Dermatology and STD Department with symptoms pertaining to their genitourinary system were below 14 years of age. Fifty four (93.1%) of these children belonged to families of lower socio-economic strata. All the children were slum dwellers and none of them had studied beyond the third class. Syphilis was seen in 27.6%, gonorrhea in 24.1%, chancroid in 22.4%, candidiasis in 10.3%, condylomata acuminata in 6.9% and herpes genitalis in 6.9% of these children. The probable reasons for the increased prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in children as ascertained by this study were sexual promiscuity and probably sexual assault.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Meningococcal meningitis.

Meningococcal meningitis has been recognised as serious problem for almost 200 years. In Africa the disease occurs in epidemics periodically during the hot and dry weather in the "meningitis belt" and in east Africa, which is outside this belt the epidemics tend to occur during the cold and dry months. The infection is mainly transmitted from person to person by nasopharyngeal carriers in crowded places like refugee camps and army barracks. The rural/urban migration, the basic structural conditions of housing in squatter settlements and slums together with an overcrowded transport system have also contributed to the transmission of meningococcal meningitis. The earlier treatment of meningococcal meningitis was by the way of repeated CSF drainage. The first important advance in the treatment was intrathecal injection of antimeningococcal serum. A major break through in the treatment was the introduction of sulphonamides which was the preferred treatment until emergence of resistance to sulphonamides in mid 1960's. Penicillin remains the drug of choice currently. Mass immunisation of selected communities using polyvalent A and C polysaccharide vaccine is a useful control measure. Chemoprophylaxis is generally not recommended during epidemics. Given the current population densities and rural/urban migration together with financial constraints, future epidemic in Kenya may be more explosive unless strict surveillance programmes are maintained.

Africa, Eastern↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dynamics of contraceptive practice amongst urban Indian women.

BACKGROUND: Most studies on knowledge, attitude and practice regarding contraceptives have been conducted in rural areas and urban slums. In this study, a mixed urban population was surveyed. SUBJECTS: Two thousand parous women from different social and educational backgrounds residing in the metropolis of Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra were included in the study. RESULTS: Fifty per cent of illiterates, semi-literates and highschool educated, and 80% of college-educated couples said that they had no gender preferences for their children, but actual practice belied this. Regardless of the level of education, 25%, 75% and 95% of all couples were sexually active by 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months after childbirth. Awareness regarding the availability of various contraceptives increased with education; 20% of all graduate couples used condoms or the rhythm method immediately after marriage. After the birth of their first child, 80% of educated couples used spacing methods whereas even after the birth of their third child more than 50% of the uneducated did not. The major complaint of the intrauterine device users was menorrhagia and abdominal pain, while that of pill users was nausea, giddiness and headache. Spacing methods were popular among the educated, and terminal ones among the uneducated. Steroidal contraceptive pills were not popular with any group, regardless of the level of education. CONCLUSION: Education was the main variable in the decisions regarding the family size, spacing interval, contraceptive awareness, its use immediately after marriage and during the postpartum period.

Contraception↗
PubMed1996

Hematologic effect of vitamin A supplementation in anemic Pakistani children.

To assess the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in anemic Pakistani children and investigate the hematologic response to vitamin A supplementation, 4-8 year old primary school children from the slum areas of Karachi were surveyed for anemia. Of 101 anemic children selected, 16% had low level of vitamin A ( < 20 micrograms/dl) and an additional 2% had deficient level ( < 10 micrograms/dl). Serum Retinol level showed positive associated with serum iron, ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit and Mean cell hemoglobin concentration. A non-randomized control trial was then carried out. Oral vitamin A capsules were given to 42 children and 53 children served as controls. After 6 weeks, there were significant differences between the two groups for Retinol, Retinol-Binding-Protein and Hematocrit. However, no significant difference could be found for Hemoglobin, RBC count, Mean Corpuscular Volume, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration, Serum iron, ferritin or transferrin. A single vitamin A supplement improved the hematocrit in 6 weeks. Long-term studies are needed to find if the WHO recommended periodic massive doses of vitamin A besides improving the morbidity and mortality will also improve the overall picture of anemia in children.

Anemia↗
PubMed1996

Risk factors for childhood pneumonia among the urban poor in Fortaleza, Brazil: a case--control study.

Reported are the results of a case-control study carried out between July 1989 and June 1990 in Fortaleza city, Ceará State, Brazil, to determine the factors that place young children living in urban slum conditions at increased risk of contracting pneumonia. Cases were 650 under-2-year-olds with a radiological diagnosis of pneumonia who were recruited at the main paediatric hospital in the city over a full calendar year. Age-matched controls were recruited from the neighbourhood where the cases lived. Cases and controls were compared with respect to a variety of sociodemographic, environmental, reproductive, nutritional, and morbidity factors, and a risk factor questionnaire was administered to the mother of each child or to the child's normal guardian. Cases and controls were also weighed and measured. Malnutrition was the most important risk factor for childhood pneumonia in the study population, with weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height also being important risk factors. In view of the high prevalence of stunting in the study population, there is an urgent need to reduce the level of malnutrition as a priority. Attendance at a day care centre was also associated with a high odds ratio. In view of the growing numbers of children attending day care centres in both developing and developed countries, it is essential that ways be identified to improve the design and management of such centres in order to minimize the risk of pneumonia. Increased risks of childhood pneumonia were also associated with low birth weight, non-breast-feeding, crowding, high parity, and incomplete vaccination status, but not with socioeconomic status or environmental variables. Finally, children who had suffered from previous episodes of wheezing or been hospitalized for pneumonia had a greater than threefold increased risk of contracting the disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Crowding.

Crowding is the situation in which case a large number of animals, including man, are restricted in environmental space. Such an occurrence may start with just a few animals. In plants, including bacteria in culture, agriculture may be considered as an artificial example of this process. We see the ontogenic forms of crowding developing from stress into superorganisms (such as certain social insects) and from stress into pathological crowding in animals, plants and man. Crowding is shown by environmental changes such as in the introduction of new species of certain rodents and lagomorphs into the Australian environment. Aspects of crowding play a role during the housing of zoos, domestic or laboratory animals. Space limitations and overpopulation initiates stress and infections such as tuberculosis and tumours. This is found in man himself in the development of slums through to urbanisation as seen in Asia particularly, in prisons, in the workplace, in the school or home.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Leprosy in resettlement colonies of Delhi.

Population influx into urban areas like Delhi has encouraged mushrooming of numerous slums where about 30% population of the city is living. A survey was conducted in four resettlement colonies of Delhi. Of the 6,876 persons examined, 43 (6.25 per 1000) subjects were found to have clinical and histologic evidence of leprosy. Fifteen (35%) patients of neuritic leprosy, eight (19%) with tuberculoid leprosy, 12 (38%) of borderline tuberculoid, three (4%) each with borderline and borderline lepromatous and one (2%) each of lepromatous and indeterminate leprosy were diagnosed. The study revealed that 21% of the patients were less than 20 years of age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Hand washing with soap reduces diarrhoea and spread of bacterial pathogens in a Bangladesh village.

Hand washing with soap and water can prevent the spread of diarrhoeal diseases in areas where comparatively costly interventions, such as supply of safe water and improved sanitation, are not possible. In this study, the practice of hand washing with soap and water was instituted in a periurban slum of Dhaka city, and the surveillance for diarrhoea sustained for a one-year period. Rates of primary and secondary attacks were compared to those of a non-intervention area similar in age structure, economic status, education, and other relevant variables. Rectal swabs of cases and contacts established aetiologies. There was a large (2.6 fold) reduction in diarrhoeal episodes in the intervention area during the observation period. Rates of bacterial pathogens were also lower in the intervention area. Significant reduction in diarrhoeal incidences was observed in all age groups for all pathogens except for rotavirus. These observations if implemented as health policy could reduce the spread of diarrhoeal diseases at low cost in high risk areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Ambient air pollution & respiratory symptoms complex in preschool children.

To study the association between ambient air pollutants (AAP) and respiratory symptoms complex (RSC) in preschool children, a cohort of 664 children between the ages of 1 month to 4.5 yr were randomly selected from 28 slums (anganwadi centres) of Lucknow, north India. They were followed up fortnightly for six months. The outcomes assessed were presence of RSC at the time of interview and days on which symptoms had occurred in the past week. Exposure to ambient air sulphur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) on the day of the interview or in the week prior, was assessed by ambient air monitoring at 9 centres within the city. The cumulative incidence of RSC was 1.06 and the incidence density per 100 days of follow up was 1.63. All three pollutants were positively correlated with each other and negatively correlated with temperature. Ambient air SPM and SO2 and cooking and heating fuels like dung cakes, wood, coal and kerosene and remaining indoors while the food was cooked were associated with increased incidence of RSC, increased duration of symptoms, or both. We conclude that to improve the respiratory health of preschool children, ambient air SPM and SO2 levels should be kept as low as possible and mothers should be advised to keep children in another room while cooking.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1996

Cost of infant feeding in exclusive and partially breastfed infants.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the costs incurred on infant feeding between the mothers who exclusively breastfed their infants and those who introduced supplements up to 6 months of age. DESIGN: Longitudinal follow up. SETTING: Urban slums of south Delhi. METHODS: One hundred normal mother infant pairs fulfilling the prelaid criteria were recruited at the time of birth and followed up for determining the feeding practices. The cost of feeding was estimated at prevalent market prices in terms of food supplement and medical treatment of infant and additional nutritional intake of mothers. The differences in costs in exclusively and partially breastfed groups were analyzed at 3, 4, 5 and 6 months of age. RESULTS: There was a sharp decline of exclusive breastfeeding from birth to six months. The mean cost of infant feeding was Rs. 204/- per month in partially breastfed as compared to Rs. 106/- in exclusively breastfed at 6 months of age. The increased cost was largely attributable to supplementary food and the cost of feeding bottles. (83% of mothers used bottles). CONCLUSIONS: The mean cost of infant feeding is substantially higher in partially breastfed children.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1996

Barriers to contraceptive use in Kenya.

This study was designed to identify and to better understand the barriers to contraceptive use among Kenyan-couples. Data were collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions among couples not planning for pregnancy and not using any effective contraceptive method. The study was conducted in the Baba Dogo urban slum area of Nairobi, and Chwele, a rural sub-location in Bungoma, western Kenya. Some important barriers to contraceptive use were identified in couples wishing to space or limit further births. Those barriers included lack of agreement on contraceptive use and on reproductive intentions; husband's attitude on his role as a decision maker; perceived undesirable side effects, distribution and infant mortality; negative traditional practices and desires such as naming relatives, and preference for sons as security in old age. There were also gaps in knowledge on contraceptive methods, fears, rumours and misconceptions about specific methods and unavailability or poor quality of services in the areas studied. This paper recommends that information and educational programmes should be instituted to increase contraceptive knowledge, to emphasise the value of quality of life over traditional reproductive practices and desires, and to improve availability and quality of services.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Tuberculosis tracing in Moroccan immigrants].

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis has reappeared in developed countries, and Spain is no exception. The aim of this study is to find out the degree of prevalence of tuberculosis infection and the rate of tuberculosis infection in a shanty town occupied by Moroccan immigrants. METHODS: Using one case of active pulmonary tuberculosis in a Moroccan citizen, immigrant and resident in a settlement of slums, a contact study was undertaken with the collaboration of social workers and a Moroccan sociologist who lived in the same shanty town, who acted as interpreter. A tuberculosis test was carried out applying PPD in the Health Centre, to 80% of the residents, offering an extremely flexible timetable and no bureaucratic red tape. The inoculations, records and Mantoux readings were performed by two nurses at the Health Centre. RESULTS: Mantoux cover was 83.3%. The proportion with a tuberculosis infection was 77.7%; five cases were diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis (13.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of tuberculosis found (77.7%) is considerably higher than other findings published with respect to other fringe groups living in Spain (30%).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The effect of energy density and viscosity of porridges on the energy intake of infants].

It has been known for at least 25 years that high energy density and low viscosity are desirable attributes of complementary foods. However, the effects of increasing energy density and reducing viscosity of gruels on infant energy intake have only been studied in the last 10 years. Works published between 1986 and 1992 were carried out with infants randomly selected in urban slums or rural areas in India and Tanzania. When gruels are given in a single meal, all of them showed higher energy intake with both high energy-dense and low viscosity gruels. But these studies do not give information about the effects of these gruels on daily energy intake from gruels and on total daily energy intake when they are given with feeding frequencies corresponding to traditional weaning practices. Works published since 1992 were conducted among infants suffering from or recovering from acute diarrhoea or severe malnutrition. A positive effect of increasing energy density of gruels was observed not only on energy intake from gruels but also on total energy intake. On the other hand, effectiveness of reducing viscosity was not clearly demonstrated. Further studies are required, particularly to identify the conditions for which high energy dense gruels prepared from bulk-reduced starchy staples are able to significantly improve infant energy intake.

Diarrhea, Infantile↗
PubMed1996

Socioeconomic and behavioral factors affecting the prevalence of geohelminths in preschool children.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the prevalence of geohelminth infections in preschool children living in an urban slum area in Sri Lanka and parental education, socioeconomic status, the use of anthelmintics, and beliefs regarding these helminths. Between October 1992 and February 1993, stool samples were collected from preschool children (< or = 60 months of age) in the Mahaiyyawa area, Kandy, Sri Lanka, and examined using direct smears and a concentration technique. Stool samples which were found to be positive for helminth ova were also examined using the modified Kato-Katz technique. A pretested questionnaire was administered to the mothers or principal caretakers of the children from whom stool samples were obtained to assess parental education, socioeconomic status of the family and knowledge, attitudes and practices related to intestinal parasites, particularly geohelminths. Stool samples from 307 children were examined; 81 (26.4%) were positive for geohelminth ova. Roundworm infections predominated, and were seen in 73 of the 81 (90.1%), either alone or together with whipworm and/ or hookworm infections. All infections were of mild to moderate intensity. Questionnaires were administered to the mothers/principal caretakers of 208 children. Mothers/caretakers of 91 children (45%) claimed that the child was on regular anthelmintics. As the educational level of the mother/caretaker improved, the prevalence of geohelminth infections in the children declined (chi-square for linear trend = 8.19, p = 0.004). However, there was no significant correlation between prevalence of infections and paternal educational levels. Prevalence also tended to increase as the socioeconomic class declined (chi-square for linear trend = 4.899, p = 0.026). Another finding of note in this study was the widespread ignorance and misconceptions regarding geohelminth infections among carers.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effect of intervention on promotion of exclusive breast feeding.

A community-based intervention study was conducted in a Katchi Abadi (slum area) of Karachi with the objective of improving optimal breast feeding practices, including promotion of exclusive breast feeding and giving of colostrum to newborns. Sixty-seven mothers were registered in the intervention group and 53 in the control group. Health education to promote exclusive breast feeding was provided in the form of flip-charts, videos and photographs. Sixty-six percent mothers in the control group gave prelacteals as compared to 31% in the intervention group (P < .0001). Colostrum was given by 97% mothers in the intervention group and 3% in the control group. Majority (94%) of intervention group mothers continued exclusive breast feeding till four months of age against 7% in the control group. It was concluded that health education programmes in the antenatal period as well as after birth can promote exclusive breast feeding practices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Nutritional status of the elderly.

Elderly become vulnerable to malnutrition owing to inappropriate dietary intake, poor economic status and social deprivation. Elderly are known to be easily subjected to inanition and avitaminosis resulting in multiple nutritional deficiencies. Urban slum dwellers, rural poor and those living alone appear to be at a higher risk of poor dietary intake. Though food consumption patterns of rural and urban elderly show a distinct difference, these are greatly influenced by regional dietary patterns. The diets of institutionalised and free living elderly reveal adequate nutrient intakes except iron and vitamin A. The nutrients least adequately supplied in the diets of Indian elderly are calcium, Iron, vitamin A, riboflavin and niacin along with energy deficits. Changes in body composition which mark the onset of the ageing process, include decline in lean body mass and increase in adipose tissue. A high prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia has also been reported among Indian elderly.

Aged↗