Comorbidity in Schizophrenia: Conceptual Issues and Clinical Management.

Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder that affects cognitive, perceptual, and emotional functioning. The currently available evidence suggests heterogenous intertwining of biological and psychosocial etio-pathogeneses. Clinical and research interests in the comorbidity issues of schizophrenia were borne out of the real-world clinical challenges that patients often present with multiple coexisting psychopathologies as well as comorbid medical conditions.

Height, weight and BMI percentiles and nutritional status relative to the international growth references among Pakistani school-aged children.

Background: Child growth is internationally recognized as an important indicator of nutritional status and health in populations. This study was aimed to compare age- and gender-specific height, weight and BMI percentiles and nutritional status relative to the international growth references among Pakistani school-aged children.

Methods: A population-based study was conducted with a multistage cluster sample of 1860 children aged five to twelve years in Lahore, Pakistan.

Family-based factors associated with overweight and obesity among Pakistani primary school children.

Background: Childhood obesity epidemic is now penetrating the developing countries including Pakistan, especially in the affluent urban population. There is no data on association of family-based factors with overweight and obesity among school-aged children in Pakistan. The study aimed to explore the family-based factors associated with overweight and obesity among Pakistani primary school children.

Waist circumference, waist-hip ratio and waist-height ratio percentiles and central obesity among Pakistani children aged five to twelve years.

Background: Central obesity has been associated with the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in children and anthropometric indices predictive of central obesity include waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-height ratio (WHtR). South Asian children have higher body fat distribution in the trunk region but the literature regarding WC and related indices is scarce in this region. The study was aimed to provide age- and gender-specific WC, WHR and WHtR smoothed percentiles, and to explore prevalence and correlates of central obesity, among Pakistani children aged five to twelve years.

Prevalence and socioeconomic correlates of overweight and obesity among Pakistani primary school children.

Background: Childhood obesity is becoming an equally challenging, yet under-recognized, problem in developing countries including Pakistan. Children and adolescents are worst affected with an estimated 10% of the world's school-going children being overweight and one quarter of these being obese. The study aimed to assess prevalence and socioeconomic correlates of overweight and obesity, and trend in prevalence statistics, among Pakistani primary school children.

Urban-rural inequities in knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tuberculosis in two districts of Pakistan's Punjab province.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore inequities in knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tuberculosis (TB) among the urban and rural populations.

Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two districts of Pakistan's Punjab province. The 1080 subjects aged 20 years and above, including 432 urban and 648 rural respondents, were randomly selected using multistage cluster sampling and interviewed after taking verbal informed consent.

Are we doing enough? Evaluation of the Polio Eradication Initiative in a district of Pakistan's Punjab province: a LQAS study.

Background: The success of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was remarkable, but four countries - Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nigeria - never interrupted polio transmission. Pakistan reportedly achieved all milestones except interrupting virus transmission. The aim of the study was to establish valid and reliable estimate for: routine oral polio vaccine (OPV) coverage, logistics management and the quality of monitoring systems in health facilities, NIDs OPV coverage, the quality of NIDs service delivery in static centers and mobile teams, and to ultimately provide scientific evidence for tailoring future interventions.