Associations of tobacco use, physical activity and diet with hypertension in the city of Kandahar, Afghanistan: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Objective: Hypertension exerts a substantial financial burden on individuals, families, communities, and the health system of a country. The current study aimed to describe the association of hypertension with its main risk factors in the Afghan population living in Kandahar city.

Results: The prevalence of tobacco smoking, naswar use, physical activity and a healthy diet was 22%, 55%, 63.

Depression symptoms among Afghan TB patients: A multi-center study.

Background: Depression in TB patients carries a heightened risk of treatment failure and a lower quality of life. However, no study to date has documented depression prevalence among TB patients in Afghanistan.

Objectives: We aimed to assess depression prevalence in TB patients in Southern Afghanistan.

sp. nov., isolated from marine sponge .

A novel bacterium, designated as MI-G, was isolated from marine sponge s . Cells of strain MI-G are Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, and rod or coccoid-ovoid in shape. MI-G is able to grow at 10-40 °C (optimum, 28 °C), with 1.

Selenium Deficiency as a Risk Factor for Peripartum Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a multifactorial disease. Although the specific aetiology and pathogenesis of PPCM are unknown, several hypotheses have been proposed, including selenium deficiency. However, the risk of PPCM from selenium deficiency was not previously quantified.

Correction: Outcome of acute bacterial meningitis among children in Kandahar, Afghanistan: A prospective observational cohort study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.