RESUMEN
AIM: To assess oral health knowledge of pregnant women visiting Government Maternity Hospital, Hyderabad. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 606 pregnant women aged 18-40 years old. Oral health knowledge of respondents was assessed using the 14-item self-administered questionnaire and responses were recorded on a dichotomous scale (yes/no). The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) package version 20.0. RESULTS: Overall inadequate knowledge regards to oral health was observed among 55.8% pregnant women. Based on knowledge regarding tooth decay, 71.6% of study participants believed that every painful tooth has to be removed and 81% of respondents were unaware of brushing with fluoridated toothpaste prevents tooth decay. Similarly, with respect to gum disease, 77.7% of subjects were not aware of gum disease and around 49.8% unacquainted that bleeding during tooth brushing indicates gum problems. It is enriching to observe, 94.1% of respondents felt oral health is important for general health. On the other hand, a quite alarmingly high percentage (73.9%) of subjects does not know the relationship between oral health and pregnancy. Furthermore, 91.1% and 65.5% of participants were ignorant that pregnancy can increase the tendency of gums to swell or bleed and poor oral health affect their unborn baby, respectively. More than three-fourths of the study participants (84%) had never visited dentist. CONCLUSION: The study highlights limited knowledge allied to oral health among pregnant women and problem-oriented dental visits indicating an urge among this group to scale up their knowledge.
RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To ascertain the relationship between seropositivity to chronic infections with Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and acute coronary syndromes and association of each of these infective agent with biochemical parameters and cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: The present study was a case-control study involving 117 patients [unstable angina (UA) n=101 and chronic stable angina (CSA) n = 16] attending cardiology clinic. The cases were aged 35-79 years and they were compared with age, sex and socio-economic status matched controls without evidence of coronary artery disease (CAD). RESULTS: Fifty seven (58%) patients with UA and 9(56%) patients with CSA were seropositive for H. pylori. Sixty seven (66%) subjects with UA and 15(94%) patients with CSA subjects were seropositive for C. pneumoniae. Two (2%) patients with USA were seropositive for Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Seropositivity in normal subjects for H. pylori, C. pneumoniae and CMV was 7(43.25%), 10(62.5%) and 1(6.25%) respectively. In linear regression analysis seropositivity of CMV showed positive association with HDL-C (P< 0.05). No significant association of infective agents and coronary syndromes was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of lipids, lipoproteins, C-reactive protein and higher percentage of coronary risk factors in patients seropositive for H. pylori in UA suggests the role of infective agents in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.