Association of household air pollution with cellular and humoral immune responses among women in rural Bangladesh.

Household air pollution (HAP) arising from combustion of biomass fuel (BMF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries. Air pollution may stimulate pro-inflammatory responses by activating diverse immune cells and cyto/chemokine expression, thereby contributing to diseases. We aimed to study cellular immune responses among women chronically exposed to HAP through use of BMF for domestic cooking.

Awareness and control of hypertension in Bangladesh: follow-up of a hypertensive cohort.

Objectives: To assess the effect of awareness and advice to seek care on blood pressure (BP) control among patients with hypertension in Bangladesh.

Design: Longitudinal study.

Setting: The study was carried out in icddr,b surveillance sites at rural Matlab in Chandpur district and semi-urban Kamalapur in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Mobile phone intervention for increasing adherence to treatment for type 2 diabetes in an urban area of Bangladesh: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Mobile phone technologies including SMS (short message service) have been used to improve the delivery of health services in many countries. However, data on the effects of mobile health technology on patient outcomes in resource-limited settings are limited. The aim of this study therefore is to measure the impact of a mobile phone SMS service on treatment success of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes in an urban area of Bangladesh.

Hypertension: adherence to treatment in rural Bangladesh--findings from a population-based study.

Background: Poor adherence has been identified as the main cause of failure to control hypertension. Poor adherence to antihypertensive treatment is a significant cardiovascular risk factor, which often remains unrecognized. There are no previous studies that examined adherence with antihypertensive medication or the characteristics of the non-adherent patients in Bangladesh.

Mental disorders in Bangladesh: a systematic review.

Background: Mental disorders constitute a major public health problem globally with higher burden in low and middle-income countries. In Bangladesh, systematically-collected data on mental disorders are scarce and this leaves the extent of the problem not so well defined. We reviewed the literature on mental health disorders in Bangladesh to summarize the available data and identify evidence gaps.

Social and economic impact of diabetics in Bangladesh: protocol for a case-control study.

Background: Diabetes affects both individuals and their families and has an impact on economic and social development of a country. Information on the availability, cost, and quality of medical care for diabetes is mostly not available for many low- and middle-income countries including Bangladesh. Complications from diabetes, which can be devastating, could largely be prevented by wider use of several inexpensive generic medicines, simple tests and monitoring and can be a cost saving intervention.

Effects of prenatal food and micronutrient supplementation on child growth from birth to 54 months of age: a randomized trial in Bangladesh.

Background: There is a lack of information on the optimal timing of food supplementation to malnourished pregnant women and possible combined effects of food and multiple micronutrient supplementations (MMS) on their offspring's growth. We evaluated the effects of prenatal food and micronutrient interventions on postnatal child growth. The hypothesis was that prenatal MMS and early invitation to food supplementation would increase physical growth in the offspring during 0-54 months and a combination of these interventions would further improve these outcomes.