Depression among older people in Sri Lanka: With special reference to ethnicity.

Aim: To ascertain if the factors associated with depression differ among ethnic groups in community-dwelling older people in Kandy District, Sri Lanka.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out of people aged ≥60 years living in a single divisional secretariat of Kandy District. The participants were asked about ethnicity (Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim), sociodemographic characteristics and depression status by face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire.

Trends in the growth of literature of telemedicine: A bibliometric analysis.

Over the past two decades, the use of telemedicine as a way to provide medical services has grown as communication technologies advance and patients seek more convenient ways to receive care. Because developments within this field are still rapidly evolving, identifying trends within telemedicine literature is an important task to help delineate future directions of telemedicine research. In this study, we analyzed 7960 telemedicine-related publication records found in the Science Citations Index - Expanded database between 1993 and 2012.

Outcomes of a school-based intervention on rabies prevention among school children in rural Sri Lanka.

Background: In Sri Lanka, one of the major challenges in rabies control is to manage the dog population and subsequently to protect people, especially young children, from dog bites.

Methods: In 2009, an educational-entertainment campaign called 'Rabies Edutainment 4 Kids' was introduced in the school curricula in rural Sri Lanka to improve practices on rabies prevention and pet care among school children, and to evaluate its effectiveness through pre- and post-tests.

Results: The level of rabies knowledge, attitude and practice among the pupils was dependent on their responses to a survey, and scores were significantly improved both among the study and control groups after the intervention.

Road traffic crashes and fatalities in Japan 2000-2010 with special reference to the elderly road user.

Objective: To investigate comparative road user crash and fatality rates in Japan between 2000 and 2010 in the elderly and young.

Methods: Data from the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Vital Statistics Database and the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis were used to calculate crash rates by age group, vehicle, and license category.

Results: Fatal crash rates per 100,000 licensed drivers for 4-wheeled motor vehicle drivers decreased by 53, 56, and 42 percent among the 65-69, 70-74, and ≥75 age groups between 2000 and 2010, respectively, compared to 66 and 60 percent among the 16-19 and 20-24 age groups, respectively.

Is the reporting timeliness gap for avian flu and H1N1 outbreaks in global health surveillance systems associated with country transparency?

Background: This study aims to evaluate the length of time elapsed between reports of the same incidents related to avian flu and H1N1 outbreaks published by the WHO and ProMED-mail, the two major global health surveillance systems, before and after the amendment of the International Health Regulations in 2005 (IHR 2005) and to explore the association between country transparency and this timeliness gap.

Methods: We recorded the initial release dates of each report related to avian flu or H1N1 listed on the WHO Disease Outbreak News site and the matching outbreak report from ProMED-mail, a non-governmental program for monitoring emerging diseases, from 2003 to the end of June 2009. The timeliness gap was calculated as the difference in days between the report release dates of the matching outbreaks in the WHO and ProMED-mail systems.

Trends of gender gaps in life expectancy in Japan, 1947-2010: associations with gender mortality ratio and a social development index.

Aim: This study analyzed the trend of gender gaps in life expectancy (GGLE) in Japan between 1947 and 2010, and explored the correlations of GGLE with gender mortality ratio and social development indices.

Methods: Using GGLE and social indices data collected from the official websites, we carried out trends analysis of GGLE by calculating segmented average growth rates for different periods. We explored the association between GGLE and all-cause mortality; and between GGLE and Human Development Index (HDI) while controlling for time trend, by computing the generalized additive models based on the software R (version 2.

Religious leaders as potential advocates for HIV/AIDS prevention among the general population in Sri Lanka.

Religious leaders in Sri Lanka may have a high potential of contributing to HIV/AIDS prevention among the general public because of their social status. In order to assess their current HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and attitude and the possibility of becoming community advocates of HIV/AIDS prevention, we conducted a questionnaire survey among Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian leaders in Sri Lanka in 2009. There were limited correct responses about HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), and information regarding condoms, HIV testing and counselling were poorly understood.

Leptospira infection at the University of Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka: clinical and laboratory investigations.

To help formulate a local intervention for leptospirosis in Sri Lanka, we determined the serogroups of leptospiral species among 97 patients diagnosed with leptospirosis at the University of Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. Ninety-two point eight percent of the patients were men; nearly two-thirds were > or = 35 years old; the majority had secondary or higher education level, half were farmers or laborers; and 57.7% presented in the acute-phase of the illness.

Analysis of hospital-based sentinel surveillance data on leptospirosis in Sri Lanka, 2005-2008.

In Sri Lanka, leptospirosis is a notifiable disease. In addition to having a routine disease reporting system, Sri Lanka has implemented a hospital-based sentinel surveillance system since 2004. This report discusses the findings of a descriptive analysis of the sentinel surveillance data collected from 2005 to 2008.

Accelerating the development of an AIDS vaccine: the AIDS vaccine for Asia Network (Avan).

HIV/AIDS is a major public health problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. The development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine is central to stopping the epidemic and would be a great public health tool. The AIDS Vaccine for Asia Network (AVAN) is a group of concerned investigators committed to assisting regional and global HIV vaccine efforts.

Prevalence and carrier status of leptospirosis in smallholder dairy cattle and peridomestic rodents in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Leptospirosis is an important bacterial zoonotic disease globally and one of the notifiable diseases in Sri Lanka. Other than human leptospirosis, little information is available on leptospirosis in domestic and feral animals in Sri Lanka. Thus, this study attempted to determine the prevalence and carrier status of leptospirosis in smallholder dairy cattle and peridomestic rodents to understand the impact of the disease on public health in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Serological evidence of Thailand virus-related hantavirus infection among suspected leptospirosis patients in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the current prevalence of leptospirosis and hantaviral infections, and the socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors of infected patients, in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This report discusses the serological evidence of hantavirus infections among 105 suspected leptospirosis patients, 8 of whom had hantavirus antibodies. Serotyping ELISA showed that these 8 patients had high optical density values for Thailand virus.

AIDS vaccine for Asia Network (AVAN): expanding the regional role in developing HIV vaccines.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to spread and an AIDS vaccine is urgently needed. Regional alliances and international collaborations can foster the development and evaluation of the next generation of AIDS vaccine candidates. The importance of coordinating and harmonizing efforts across regional alliances has become abundantly clear.

4G/5G variant of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene and severe pregnancy-induced hypertension: subgroup analyses of variants of angiotensinogen and endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

Background: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is a common cause of perinatal mortality. It is believed to result from the interaction of several factors, including those related to the blood coagulation system. We performed genotyping and subgroup analyses to determine if the 4G/5G genotypes of the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene (PAI-1) play a role in the pathogenesis of PIH, and to evaluate possible interactions of the PAI-1 polymorphisms with those of the angiotensinogen gene (AGT) and the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene (NOS3).

Knowledge, attitude and practice assessment of construction workers for HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence is relatively lower in Sri Lanka than in other Asian countries; however, the number of HIV-infected persons has rapidly increased in recent years.

Methodology: A baseline study on HIV, acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS), and sexually transmitted infections (STI) knowledge, attitude, and practice was conducted at two construction sites in Sri Lanka from January to February 2007 to design an effective intervention strategy for the construction workers.

Results: Among 611 respondents (mostly males, mean age 32.

A pilot study on the usefulness of information and education campaign materials in enhancing the knowledge, attitude and practice on rabies in rural Sri Lanka.

Background: Rabies remains endemic in Sri Lanka despite a strong government patronized anti-rabies campaign. Personal, cultural or religious beliefs have been thought to influence health practices that could render rabies prevalent in the country.

Methodology: The knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of 580 household heads/members from Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka, regarding rabies were explored through a structured questionnaire.

Gender differences in the relationships between obesity and lifestyle risk factors in a small farming town in Japan.

The prevalence of obesity and its relationship to lifestyle habits was studied in Minami Furano Town, a small farming town in Hokkaido, Japan. All residents of Minami Furano Town over 18 years of age were given an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire in March, 2002. Logistic-regression analysis was performed separately for each gender with obesity as the dependent valuable, and lifestyle risk factors as explanatory variables.