Publications by authors named "Germana Leyna"

Study Objectives: To examine 1) multidimensional sleep profiles in pre-schoolers (3-6 years) across geocultural regions and 2) differences in sleep characteristics and family practices between Majority World regions (Pacific Islands, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America) and the Minority World (the Western world).

Methods: Participants were 3507 pre-schoolers from 37 countries. Nighttime sleep characteristics and nap duration (accelerometer: n=1950) and family practices (parental questionnaire) were measured.

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Micronutrient deficiencies can hurt the health of women of reproductive age (WRA), their pregnancy outcomes, and the growth and development of their offspring in sub-Saharan African countries. The present study aimed to estimate the dietary intake of non-pregnant and non-lactating (NPNL) WRA, residing in seven districts of the Mbeya region in Tanzania using a 24-hour dietary recall. A cross sectional study was conducted among 500 NPNL WRA.

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Background: Insufficient physical activity, excessive screen time and short sleep duration among young children are global public health concerns; however, data on prevalence of meeting World Health Organisation 24-h movement behaviour guidelines for 3-4-year-old children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited, and it is unknown whether urbanisation is related to young children's movement behaviours. The present study examined differences in prevalence of meeting 24-h movement behaviour guidelines among 3-4-year-old children living in urban versus rural settings in LMICs.

Methods: The SUNRISE Study recruited 429, 3-4-year-old child/parent dyads from 10 LMICs.

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Micronutrient deficiencies, a global concern affecting vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, pose significant public health challenges. Specifically, micronutrient deficiencies in iron, vitamin A, iodine and folate have been of greatest public health concern among pregnant women. This study aimed to evaluate the co-occurrence of selected multiple micronutrient deficiencies among pregnant women attending Antenatal Care (ANC) in Mbeya, Tanzania.

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Objective: To assess the potential contribution of large-scale food fortification (LSFF) towards meeting dietary micronutrient requirements in Tanzania.

Design: We used household food consumption data from the National Panel Survey 2014-15 to estimate fortifiable food vehicle coverage and consumption (standardised using the adult female equivalent approach) and the prevalence at risk of inadequate apparent intake of five micronutrients included in Tanzania's fortification legislation. We modelled four LSFF scenarios: no fortification, status quo (i.

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Food environment changes in low- and middle-income countries are increasing diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This paper synthesizes the qualitative evidence about how family dynamics shape food choices within the context of HIV (Prospero: CRD42021226283). Guided by structuration theory and food environment framework, we used best-fit framework analysis to develop the Family Dynamics Food Environment Framework (FDF) comprising three interacting dimensions (resources, characteristics, and action orientation).

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Background: Insufficient and above WHO-recommended levels of iodine intake during pregnancy can lead to serious health outcomes. This study aimed to assess median urine iodine concentration and its associated risk factors among pregnant women in the Mbeya region, Tanzania.

Method: A cross sectional survey involving 420 pregnant women (n=420) aged 15-49, registered in Reproductive and Child Health Clinics was conducted.

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Malnutrition is a serious public health problem and has long-lasting economic consequences for individuals and families and, in turn, affects the economic growth of the country. Understanding food taboos and individual preferences for food items is critical to the development of effective nutritional programs and educational messages. The present study aimed to explore food taboos and preferences in food items among breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, adolescent girls, and their young children aged 6-23 months old.

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Article Synopsis
  • Alcohol consumption in Tanzania is higher than the global average, with the study focusing on how factors like depressive symptoms and cognitive performance influence drinking habits.
  • Participants included 2,299 Tanzanian adults, revealing that increased depressive symptoms led to an 8.4% higher likelihood of drinking, but actual consumption decreased by 2.3 drinks for each severity increase in depression.
  • The study found that men drank more than women, Christians drank more than Muslims, and cognitive ability played a role in moderating alcohol consumption among middle-aged and elderly adults dealing with depression.
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  • * Common chronic conditions included hypertension (51.3%), anemia (34.1%), and obesity (32.2%), with 73.7% of participants experiencing multimorbidity.
  • * Women had higher rates of obesity and ischemic heart disease, while older age was linked to an increase in several health issues, indicating a significant prevalence of multimorbidity in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Background: The evaluation of surveillance systems has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify the performance and areas for improvement. Universal salt iodization (USI) as one of the surveillance systems in Tanzania needs periodic evaluation for its optimal function. This study aimed at evaluating the universal salt iodization (USI) surveillance system in Tanzania from January to December 2021 to find out if the system meets its intended objectives by evaluating its attributes as this was the first evaluation of the USI surveillance system since its establishment in 2010.

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Background: Evidence on double and triple burdens of malnutrition among adolescents is an essential key to informing policy design, implementation, and tracking progress of adolescent nutritional programs. Tanzania has a scarcity of studies on the double and triple burden of malnutrition among adolescents.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the co-occurrence of malnutrition (overweight, stunting, and anemia) among adolescents (10-19 y) in mainland Tanzania.

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Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) is a persistent public health problem in Tanzania. The current approach for its management is nutrition counselling. However, there has been no commercial production of ready-to-use supplementary foods for the management of MAM in the country but rather imported from companies outside the country.

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Maternal healthcare-seeking behaviour affects the health and well-being of under-five children. Drawing from the concepts of the health belief model, this study seeks to understand the determinants of health-seeking behaviours among mothers or caregivers of under-five-year-old children having severe wasting in Tanzania. A qualitative study employing the ethnography method conducted 32 semi-structured and narrative interviews with healthcare workers, community health workers, traditional healers, religious and village leaders, and mothers or caregivers of children who had acute malnutrition.

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Poor dietary intake among pregnant women has serious detrimental consequences for pregnancy and offspring both in developed and developing countries. This study aimed to assess dietary intake and associated risk factors among pregnant women. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Mbeya, Tanzania with a sample size of 420 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics to assess the factors associated with dietary intake.

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Background: Malnutrition among young children and adolescents poses a serious health challenge in developing countries which results in many health problems during adulthood. Poor diet quality is known as the root cause of malnutrition which is caused by unhealthy food choices and bad eating habits among young children and adolescents. However, limited evidence is available on diet quality and its association with nutrition status among young children and adolescents in Zanzibar.

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Article Synopsis
  • PWUD in Tanzania face stigma related to both drug use and HIV, impacting their health and social outcomes, prompting the need for culturally adapted stigma measurement tools.
  • The study involved translating existing stigma measures, adding new items, and conducting cognitive debriefing with a diverse group of PWUD to ensure comprehension in the Tanzanian context.
  • Results showed that a majority of adapted items were understood by participants, although some challenges in translation and interpretation were addressed, leading to successfully adapted measures for future research on stigma's psychometric properties.
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Background: Depression is a global mental health challenge. We assessed the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their association with age, chronic conditions, and health status among middle-aged and elderly people in peri-urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Methods: Depressive symptoms were measured in 2,220 adults aged over 40 years from two wards of Dar es Salaam using the ten-item version of the Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10) and a cut-off score of 10 or higher.

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Introduction: preterm infants are vulnerable to several medical complications including anaemia, a significant public health problem with consequences on neurodevelopment. This study looked at the magnitude of anaemia and its associated factors among preterm infants at 6 weeks chronological age in a paediatric clinic of Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).

Methods: this was a hospital based cross-sectional study conducted among preterm infants at 6 weeks chronological age attending follow-up clinic at MNH from October 2019 to March 2020.

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Purpose: Self-report of sensitive or stigmatized health states is often subject to social desirability and interviewer biases. To reduce such biases, we estimated the rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) using a list experiment.

Methods: This population-representative study was nested within the Dar es Salaam Urban Cohort Study, a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) in the Ukonga ward of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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Maternal nutrition is an important forecaster of infant's and mother's health status in most developing countries. This study aimed at assessing the prevalence and associated risk factors of iron, vitamin B12, and folate deficiencies among pregnant women in Mbeya Tanzania. A cross-sectional study using a cluster randomized sampling was conducted among 420 pregnant women.

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Iron deficiency anaemia remains a public health problem, particularly in children aged 6-59 months. This study assessed factors associated with iron deficiency anaemia among children aged 6-23 months, 24-59 months and 6-59 months in Tanzania. Data for this cross-sectional study were extracted from the 2015-16 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey (2015-16 TDHS-MIS).

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Anaemia is a global public health issue, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anaemia and to identify factors associated with the condition among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. A cross sectional study was conducted with 420 pregnant women (<28 weeks of gestation) attending antenatal visits in the 7 districts of the Mbeya Region.

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Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has severe health consequences, though may be underreported due to stigma. In Tanzania, estimates of IPV prevalence range from 12 to >60%. List experiments, a technique of indirectly asking survey questions, may allow for more accurate prevalence estimates of sensitive topics.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explored the levels and factors influencing testing for drug-related infectious diseases among people who use drugs (PWUD) in Dar es Salaam and Tanga, filling a gap in existing data.
  • Conducted as a cross-sectional study with 599 participants, the research utilized questionnaires on tablets to gather information and employed logistic regression to analyze testing determinants.
  • Results indicated high testing rates for HIV (75%) and varying rates for other diseases, while factors such as living situation, perceived treatment appropriateness, and experiences of stigma or violence significantly influenced testing behaviors.
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