The likelihood of pre-hypertensive young adults developing hypertension has been steadily increasing in recent years. Despite the fact that aerobic exercise training (AET) has demonstrated positive results in lowering high blood pressure, the efficacy of different types of AET among pre-hypertensive young adults has not been well-established. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and continuous moderate-intensity training (CMT) on the blood pressure (BP) of physically inactive pre-hypertensive young adults. In total, 32 adults (age 20.0 ± 1.1 years and BMI 21.5 ± 1.8) were randomly assigned to three groups: HIIT, CMT and control (CON). The HIIT and CMT groups participated in 5 weeks of AET, while the CON group followed a DASH diet plan only. The HIIT protocol consisted of a 1:4 min work to rest ratio of participants, at an 80–85% heart rate reserve (HR-reserve) and a 40–60% HR-reserve, respectively, for 20 min; the CMT group exercised at 40–60% of their HR-reserve continuously for 20 min. In both the HIIT and CMT groups, systolic blood pressure (SBP) (3.8 ± 2.8 mmHg, p = 0.002 vs. 1.6 ± 1.5 mmHg, p = 0.011) was significantly reduced, while significant reductions in the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (2.9 ± 2.2 mmHg, p = 0.002) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (3.1 ± 1.6 mmHg, p < 0.0005) were noted only in the HIIT group. No significant differences in SBP (−0.4 ± 3.7 mmHg, p = 0.718), DBP (0.4 ± 3.4 mmHg, p = 0.714), or MAP (0.1 ± 2.5 mmHg, p = 0.892) were observed in the CON group. Both HIIT and CMT decreased BP in physically inactive pre-hypertensive young adults; however, HIIT yielded more beneficial results in terms of reducing the SPB, DBP and MAP.

Background: Early initiation of breastfeeding is the initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth, which plays a significant role in a born baby’s growth and survival, however its prevalence and predictors among urban full-time readymade garments (RMG) working mothers are not investigated. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and factors affecting early initiation of breastfeeding among urban RMG working mothers. Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was conducted between March 2023 and December 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 452 full-time female RMG workers were included for the quantitative study. Qualitative study was carried out among 30 full-time female RMG workers, four female physicians who were employed in the RMGs, four RMG factory managers, and four local pediatricians. Results: The prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding was 40% among the women. It was significantly associated with various factors, including socio-cultural barriers, the advanced age of the mother (AOR 3.93, 95%CI 1.18, 13.04), lack of education (AOR 6.86, 95%CI 1.11, 42.49), lack of awareness, and cultural practices such as initiating goat milk and honey instead of breast milk. The absence of colostrum feeding (AOR 8.96, 95%CI 4.30, 18.70) and pre-lacteal feeding (AOR 0.06, 95%CI 0.03, 0.11) were significant baby feeding practice-related barriers to early initiation of breastfeeding. Maternal health factors, notably post-delivery sickness, cesarean delivery, and lack of breastmilk production, were revealed as a significant hindrance to the early initiation of breastfeeding explored from qualitative analysis. In addition, RMG factory-related factors that significantly affect early initiation of breastfeeding include a strong focus on production, a busy schedule, and a lack of initiative regarding the early initiation of breastfeeding. Conclusions: The prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding among RMG working women is poor. This study emphasizes the need for interventions that address specific challenges of early initiation of breastfeeding faced by working mothers in RMG sectors, including improved lactation education, increased awareness to mitigate cultural barriers, RMG factory-based initiatives to empower female workers early initiation of breastfeeding, and preparing early initiation of breastfeeding -friendly post-cesarean unit at the health care facility.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively impacted people’s lives, neurobiological health, and general well-being throughout the world. South Asian countries have experienced high frequencies of psychiatric concerns that have worsened during the pandemic. This review aimed to determine the aggregated prevalence of common mental health problems (e.g., depression, fear, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and suicidal tendencies) and their associated factors among community populations in South Asian countries. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was undertaken using multiple databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Global Health, Google Scholar and ResearchGate to retrieve articles. Overall, 22 articles were included. The prevalence of concerns ranged widely with respect to estimates of symptoms of depression (10.2–85.9%), fear (38.5–88.8%), anxiety (8.1–62.5%), stress (10.56–91.77%), and insomnia (13.32–53.45%). In addition, the prevalence of suicidal ideation was estimated to range between 5% and 8%. Factors associated with mental health concerns included socio-demographic, behavioral and health-related measures, and COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors. The findings suggest poor mental health among general populations in South Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, identifying individuals with mental health concerns and implementing interventions including mental health counseling appear warranted among these populations.

The study aimed to investigate parental knowledge of tobacco effects on health and parental perceptions on tobacco control measures at households in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Out of 1436 tobacco-using parents, a total of 400 participants were selected for the cross-sectional survey using a multi-stage probability sampling. Overall knowledge and perceptions of parents were scored. Simple and multiple logistic regressions were performed. There were 19.8% of parents who had good knowledge about health effects of tobacco and 40.8% had positive perception on home initiatives of tobacco control measures respectively. The study revealed that knowledge of overall tobacco effects on health (AOR = 20.92, 95% CI = 2.60–167.83), asthma (AOR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.17–0.49), infertility (AOR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.24–0.77) and pre-eclampsia (AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.14–0.90) were significantly increased the odds of parents good knowledge. Whereas parental perceptions indicate that living in the joint family was positively associated with controlling tobacco use (AOR = 3.10, 95% CI = 1.88–5.13). It suggests that health education programs need to be developed to improve parental awareness on the adverse health effects of tobacco use at households.

Background: Pregnancy termination (PT) is a major public health concern in low-and middle-income countries like Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors of PT using the nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data 2017–2018. Materials and Methods: A weighted population-based sample of 8759 ever-married reproductive-aged women (15–49 years) was included in the study. The outcome variable was PT in any of the following forms: miscarriage, induced abortion, and stillbirth. A univariate analysis for mean, frequency, and percentage and multiple logistical regression were used to determine the factors associated with PT. Results: Around 18% of the women were found to have PT. The mean age of the women in the study was 25.79 years; 65.1% lived in the rural areas, and the majority of them were Muslims. Advanced age of the women (AOR:3.49, p = 0.004), residence in the countryside (AOR:0.81, p = 0.002), higher education (AOR:0.72, p = 0.027), not being a Muslim (AOR:0.74, p = 0.010), higher socio-economic status (AOR:1.28, p = 0.027), having a job (AOR:1.15, p = 0.041), being married at the age of >22 years (AOR:0.71, p = 0.036), and using a mobile phone (AOR:1.22, p = 0.002) were significant factors of PT. This study did not find any association between PT and contraceptive use. Conclusions: Age, living region, education, religion, wealth index, working status, marital age, and mobile phone use are the determinants of PT. Interventions including these factors need to be made to reduce PT in Bangladeshi women. These findings could be helpful in undertaking further epidemiological studies to understand the actual causes of PT in various rural and urban settings among different socio-demographic groups in Bangladesh.