Composite carotid intima-media thickness as a risk predictor of coronary heart disease in a selected population in Sri Lanka.

Background: Segment-specific variations of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) have not been assessed in South Asian populations. The purpose of this study was to determine if segment-specific CIMTs or a composite-CIMT score is a better risk predictor of coronary heart disease in South Asian populations.

Methods: A comparative prospective study was conducted from November 2019 to October 2020 in a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Effects of indoor air pollution due to solid fuel combustion on physical growth of children under 5 in Sri Lanka: A descriptive cross sectional study.

Solid fuel combustion is an important risk factor of morbidity. This study was conducted to determine the effect of indoor air pollution (IAP) due to solid fuel combustion on physical growth in 262 Sri Lankan children under five. Exposure was defined by the type of fuel used for cooking.

Physical Activity Tracking Among Sri Lankan Adults: Findings From a 7-Year Follow-up of the Ragama Health Study.

Limited data are available on physical activity tracking among adults in low- and middle-income countries. Using a longitudinal design, we assessed trends and correlates of physical activity among Sri Lankan adults. Individuals selected through age-stratified random sampling, were screened initially in 2007 (n = 2986) and reevaluated in 2014 (n = 2148).

Patterns and predictors of mortality in a semi-urban population-based cohort in Sri Lanka: findings from the Ragama Health Study.

Objective: To describe patterns and predictors of mortality in a semi-urban population in Sri Lanka.

Design: A prospective population-based cohort study.

Setting: Ragama Medical Officer of Health area in the Gampaha district, Sri Lanka.

High Levels of Serum Angiopoietin 2 and Angiopoietin 2/1 Ratio at the Critical Stage of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Patients and Association with Clinical and Biochemical Parameters.

Longitudinal changes of serum angiopoietin 1 (Ang-1) and angiopoietin 2 (Ang-2) associated with endothelial stability in dengue patients with different disease stages were studied. Serum Ang-1 and Ang-2 levels were measured in confirmed dengue fever (DF) patients on admission (DFA,  = 40) and discharge (DFD,  = 20); in dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) patients on admission (DHFA,  = 40), at critical stage (DHFC,  = 36), and on discharge (DHFD,  = 20); and in healthy controls (HC,  = 25). DHFC had the highest serum Ang-2 and lowest Ang-1 levels compared to DFA, DHFA, and HC ( < 0.

Awareness of human papillomavirus, cervical cancer and its prevention among primigravid antenatal clinic attendees in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study.

Unlabelled: Background Cervical cancer is the second commonest cancer amongst Sri Lankan women. With introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to the national immunisation schedule, awareness and prevention of disease underpins vaccine uptake. Knowledge of HPV, HPV-related diseases and attitudes towards prevention and screening among urban women was assessed.

Socioeconomic inequality and determinants of postnatal home visits made by public health midwives: An analysis of the Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey.

Introduction: The impact of socioeconomic inequalities on health outcomes and service delivery is increasingly researched globally. This study assessed the overall and sector-wise socioeconomic inequality in postnatal home visits made by Public Health Midwives (PHMs) in Sri Lanka and decomposed the observed socioeconomic inequality into potential determinants.

Methods: Data from the Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey (SLDHS) 2006-07 were used.

Epigenome-wide association study of body mass index, and the adverse outcomes of adiposity.

Approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide are overweight or affected by obesity, and are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related metabolic and inflammatory disturbances. Although the mechanisms linking adiposity to associated clinical conditions are poorly understood, recent studies suggest that adiposity may influence DNA methylation, a key regulator of gene expression and molecular phenotype.

Epigenome-wide association of DNA methylation markers in peripheral blood from Indian Asians and Europeans with incident type 2 diabetes: a nested case-control study.

Background: Indian Asians, who make up a quarter of the world's population, are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. We investigated whether DNA methylation is associated with future type 2 diabetes incidence in Indian Asians and whether differences in methylation patterns between Indian Asians and Europeans are associated with, and could be used to predict, differences in the magnitude of risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Methods: We did a nested case-control study of DNA methylation in Indian Asians and Europeans with incident type 2 diabetes who were identified from the 8-year follow-up of 25 372 participants in the London Life Sciences Prospective Population (LOLIPOP) study.

Comparison of performance of Sri Lankan and US children on cognitive and motor scales of the Bayley scales of infant development.

Background: There is no validated scale to assess neurodevelopment of infants and children in Sri Lanka. The Bayley III scales have used widely globally but it has not been validated for Sri Lankan children. We administered the Cognitive and Motor Scales of the Bayley III to 150 full-term children aged 6, 12 and 24 months from the Gampaha District of Sri Lanka.

Importance of active case detection in a malaria elimination programme.

Background: With the aim of eliminating malaria from Sri Lanka by 2014, the Anti-Malaria Campaign of Sri Lanka (AMC) sought the support of Tropical and Environmental Disease and Health Associates Private Limited (TEDHA), a private sector organization. In 2009, TEDHA was assigned 43 government hospitals in the district of Mannar in the Northern Province and in districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara in the Eastern Province to carry out malaria surveillance to complement the surveillance activities of the AMC. Passive case detection (PCD), activated passive case detection (APCD) and active case detection (ACD) for malaria have been routinely carried out in Sri Lanka.

Indoor air pollution and respiratory health of children in the developing world.

Indoor air pollution (IAP) is a key contributor to the global burden of disease mainly in developing countries. The use of solid fuel for cooking and heating is the main source of IAP in developing countries, accounting for an estimated 3.5 million deaths and 4.

Prevalence and predictors of osteoporosis in an urban Sri Lankan population.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of osteoporosis in both women and men and to determine the association between osteoporosis and selected risk factors among a sample of urban Sri Lankan adults.

Methods: The population aged 35-64 years residing in 22 Grama Niladhari divisions, the smallest administrative units in the country, of the Medical Officer of Health area Ragama, Sri Lanka, was identified using the electoral list and stratified into three age groups (n = 3012). A random sample was obtained from each stratum and selected individuals were invited to participate in the study (n = 1100).

Treatment-seeking behavior and treatment practices of lymphatic filariasis patients with lymphoedema in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka.

This cross-sectional, descriptive study describes the treatment-seeking behavior of 413 lymphoedema patients attending 2 filariasis clinics in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka. A pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire obtained information regarding sources and types of treatment taken, time taken for diagnosis, and details regarding diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) treatment. There was a mean delay of 2.

Impact of vitamin A supplementation on health status and absenteeism of school children in Sri Lanka.

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of Vitamin A supplementation on health status and absenteeism of school children. A randomized double blind placebo controlled trial over a period of 13 months was conducted in a rural area of Sri Lanka involving 613 school children attending Grades 1-5 (aged 5 to 13 years). Children were assigned to either 200,000 IU of Vitamin A (n=297) or placebo (n=316) once every 4 months.

Low-level exposure to organophosphate pesticides leads to restrictive lung dysfunction.

Apart from symptomology, there are very few reports on lung function following exposure to low levels of organophosphate (OP) pesticides in man. Twenty-five occupationally exposed farmers and 22 environmentally exposed freshwater fishermen were evaluated between and during OP spray seasons. Forty marine fishermen living away from agricultural areas were recruited as a control group.

Effects of occupational exposure to organophosphate pesticides on nerve and neuromuscular function.

This study aimed to investigate whether occupational exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides caused neurophysiological abnormalities. Thirty farmers who regularly spray OP pesticides and 30 fishermen (controls), living close by but not involved in pesticide spraying, were evaluated during and between cultivation seasons. The farmers had higher erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase levels than the controls during (P = 0.