al-turath Medical Journal

The countries in the Middle East are very prone to the deficiency of vitamin D despite the excessive amount of sunlight, which is strange when considering the fact that the culture of the country restricts the exposure to the sun. The hypothesis of the cross-sectional research was to establish the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency among the reproductive-aged women (18-45 years) and how this condition was correlated with the bone health indicators. Between March and September 2024, 280 women who visit outpatient clinics at Baghdad Teaching Hospital were enrolled with the help of the convenience sampling method. Measurements were done on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as parathyroid hormone (PTH). Structured questionnaires were used to gather information on sun exposure, dietary intake and physical activity. Findings indicated overall prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D <20 ng/mL) of 72.5% (n=203), severe deficiency (25(OH)D <10 ng/mL) of 28.2% and deficiency (10-19.9 ng/mL) of 44.3% with insufficiency (20-29.9 ng/mL) of 19.3% and sufficient levels (30 ng/mL Wearing full covering clothing, limited outdoor activity, low dietary vitamin D intake and multiparity were significant risk factors (aOR= 3.42, p=0.001, aOR= 2.64, p=0.001, aOR= 2.18, p=0.003, aOR= 1.86, p=0.012, respectively). Weak women possessed much more PTH and ALP and less calcium. Such findings show that there is an urgent need of public health interventions such as supplementation programs and awareness programs.

The countries in the Middle East are very prone to the deficiency of vitamin D despite the excessive amount of sunlight, which is strange when considering the fact that the culture of the country restricts the exposure to the sun. The hypothesis of the cross-sectional research was to establish the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency among the reproductive-aged women (18-45 years) and how this condition was correlated with the bone health indicators. Between March and September 2024, 280 women who visit outpatient clinics at Baghdad Teaching Hospital were enrolled with the help of the convenience sampling method. Measurements were done on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as parathyroid hormone (PTH). Structured questionnaires were used to gather information on sun exposure, dietary intake and physical activity. Findings indicated overall prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D <20 ng/mL) of 72.5% (n=203), severe deficiency (25(OH)D <10 ng/mL) of 28.2% and deficiency (10-19.9 ng/mL) of 44.3% with insufficiency (20-29.9 ng/mL) of 19.3% and sufficient levels (30 ng/mL Wearing full covering clothing, limited outdoor activity, low dietary vitamin D intake and multiparity were significant risk factors (aOR= 3.42, p=0.001, aOR= 2.64, p=0.001, aOR= 2.18, p=0.003, aOR= 1.86, p=0.012, respectively). Weak women possessed much more PTH and ALP and less calcium. Such findings show that there is an urgent need of public health interventions such as supplementation programs and awareness programs.

Hypertension causes cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. The study was a cross-sectional one that sought to find out the hypertension prevalence and other related factors in adults who visit primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in Baghdad. Systematic random sampling will be used to recruit a total of 520 adults [?]18 years old enrolled in six PHCs in Baghdad in the period of April-October 2024. A single visit measurement of blood pressure was done in accordance with standardized WHO STEPS protocols. Hypertension was considered as systolic BP [?]140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP [?]90 mmHg, or the present consumption of antihypertensive drugs. Structured questions were used to gather data on demographics, lifestyle and medical history. Findings revealed prevalence of hypertension of 34.6 (n=180) among PHC attendees with 48.3% having never been diagnosed. Other factors of importance were; age [?]50 years (aOR=3.24, p<0.001), obesity (aOR=2.68, p<0.001), diabetes mellitus (aOR=2.42, p=0.001), family history (aOR=2.18, p=0.002), physical inactivity (aOR=1.86, p=0.008) and high salt intake (aOR=1.72, p=0 These results show high prevalence of hypertension among PHC attendants and the prevalence of unrecognized cases, which indicate the necessity of the systematic opportunistic screening and lifestyle change program in the primary care environment.

Iron deficient anemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional condition among children worldwide and the implication of this condition cannot be underestimated in relation to cognitive development and body maturation. This was a cross-sectional study to establish the prevalence and risk factors of IDA in the five year old children who were attending Central Child Teaching Hospital in Baghdad. A systematic random sampling was used to enroll (320 children) marshmallow children. CBC, serum ferritin (divided by CRP), serum iron, TIBC and saturation of transferrin were done. Demographic data, feeding practices and socioeconomic aspect data were gathered through use of structured questionnaires. The findings showed that general prevalence rate of anemia was 48.1 according to the IDA prevalence is 88.3 of all anemia prevalence in it with 42.5 prevalence of the IDA prevalence (n=136). The exclusive bottle feeding (aOR=2.86, p= 0.001), late introduction of complementary foods (aOR=2.34, p=0.002), low maternal education (aOR=1.98, p=0.008) and low socioeconomic status (aOR=2.12, p=0.004) were found to be significant risk factors. The mean hemoglobin of children with IDA was found to be 9.8+-1.4 g /dl as compared to 12.2+-1.1 g /dl in children without IDA (p < 0.001). This conclusion means that a sense of urgency exists in massive nutrition intervention programmes which focus on early childhood nutrition and maternal education in Iraq.