Objectives: This paper aims to study how consumption of beverages relates to the body weight of children and adolescents in Mongolia. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted between 2015 and 2016. A group of 353 relatively healthy children and adolescents aged 6-16 were selected from ger districts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Chi-squared analysis was conducted to evaluate the association of categorical variables with body mass index (BMI) z-score subgroups. T-test or two-way ANOVA was performed to compare means. Beverage consumption was presented as means with standard deviation (SD) among sex and age groups. Results: The data from 347 children and adolescents were analyzed. Boys represented 50.1% (n =174) and the mean age ± SD was 10.0 ±2.9 years. Tea was the main beverage type in all age and sex groups compared to other types of beverages. Girls aged between 10 and 13 years old had the highest consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). And there was a markedly high consumption of SSB among overweight and obese children. Conclusion: Significantly higher consumption of SSB was seen among overweight and obese children. Detailed household and school-based observational and interventional studies should be performed using these findings to help policy makers to make evidence-based decisions about SSB.

This study addresses growing concerns regarding childhood obesity and cardiovascular diseases by exploring the effects of possible policy measures on the intention to choose sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in Mongolia, a low-income country. Focusing on parents' preferences for purchasing SSBs, we employed a stated preference choice experiment to analyse how various product attributes, including price, labelling, sugar content and store placement, affect parents' purchase decisions. Price increases were the most effective intervention, with larger increases leading to a substantial reduction in purchase probability. Labelling also played a crucial role, particularly graphic warnings, which strongly deterred selection. Reducing sugar content positively influenced preferences. Also, store placement at less prominent locations (e.g., back row and bottom shelf) was associated with lower selection probability; however, these results reflect stated preferences and should be interpreted cautiously given their hypothetical nature. Additionally, estimates of willingness to pay suggest consumers are less willing to purchase SSBs with graphic warning labels and placement in the back row and bottom level. These findings highlight the importance of integrating multiple regulatory measures to effectively curb SSB consumption and mitigate associated health risks in Mongolia.

Undram Mandakh. CAJMS 2021;7:1-2. https://doi.org/10.24079/CAJMS.2021.03.001

Background: Following a locally transmitted case in Sukhbaatar city, Selenge province, we conducted a study with two objectives. First, we aimed to estimate the basic reproduction number of COVID-19, leveraging the epidemiological and clinical characteristics observed in the first 67 confirmed cases. Second, we aimed to model the outbreak considering different patient profiles - asymptomatic, symptomatic, and pre-symptomatic - with the goal of predicting the ultimate scale of the epidemic in the scenario of uninterrupted transmission. Methods: We conducted a prospective case study following the WHO FFX cases generic protocol. The rapid response teams collected the surveillance data from November 14–29, 2020. We created a stochastic process to draw many transmission chains from this greater distribution to better understand and make inferences regarding the outbreak under investigation. Results: The majority of the cases involved household transmissions (35, 52.2%), work transmissions (20, 29.9%), index (5, 7.5%), same apartment transmissions (2, 3.0%), school transmissions (2, 3.0%), and meetup transmissions (1, 1.5%). The posterior means of the basic reproduction number of both the asymptomatic cases, R_0^Asy and pre-symptomatic cases R_0^Pre (1·35 [95% CrI 0·88−1·86] and 1·29 [95% CrI 0·67−2·10], respectively), were lower than that of the symptomatic cases. Conclusion: Our study highlights the heterogeneity of COVID-19 transmission across different symptom statuses and underscores the importance of early identification and isolation of symptomatic cases in disease control. Detailed contact tracing data with advanced statistical methods, can be applied to other infectious diseases, facilitating a more nuanced understanding of disease transmission dynamics.

Background: Following the first locally transmitted case in Sukhbaatar soum, Selenge Province, we aimed to investigate the ultimate scale of the epidemic in the scenario of uninterrupted transmission.Methods: This was a prospective case study following the locally modified WHO FFX cases generic protocol. A rapid response team collected data from November 14 to 29, 2020. We created a stochastic process to draw many transmission chains from this greater distribution to better understand and make inferences regarding the outbreak under investigation.Results: The majority of the cases involved household transmissions (35, 52.2%), work transmissions (20, 29.9%), index (5, 7.5%), same apartment transmissions (2, 3.0%), school transmissions (2, 3.0%), and random contacts between individuals transmissions (1, 1.5%). The posterior means of the basic reproduction number of both the asymptomatic cases and the presymptomatic cases (1.35 [95% CrI 0.88–1.86] and 1.29 [95% CrI 0.67–2.10], respectively) were lower than that of the symptomatic cases (2.00 [95% Crl 1.38–2.76]).Conclusion: Our study highlights the heterogeneity of COVID‐19 transmission across different symptom statuses and underscores the importance of early identification and isolation of symptomatic cases in disease control. Our approach, which combines detailed contact tracing data with advanced statistical methods, can be applied to other infectious diseases, facilitating a more nuanced understanding of disease transmission dynamics.