Introduction: Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common congenital defects and accounts for nearly one-third of all major congenital anomalies. It is the leading causes of birth defect-associated morbidity, mortality, and medical expenditures. Of all CHD types, ventricular septal defect (VSD) and atrial septal defect (ASD) accounted 51% of cases with an increasing trend over time.Objective: The aim of this review is to estimate the pooled prevalence of ventricular septal defect and congenital atrial septal defect among congenital heart diseases patients in East African context.Methods: Using PRISMA guideline, we systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed studies that examined the prevalence of Ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect in East Africa, from Medline (PubMed), Cochrane Library, HINARI, and Google Scholar. A weighted inverse variance random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect.Results: A total of 2323 studies were identified; 1301 from PubMed, 12 from Cochrane Library, 1010 from Google Scholar and 22 from other sources. The pooled prevalence of ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect in East Africa was found to be 29.92% (95% CI; 26.12–33.72; I2 = 89.2%; p<0.001), and 10.36% (95% CI; 8.05–12.68; I2 = 89.5%; p<0.001) respectively.Conclusions and future implications: Based on this review, the pooled prevalence of VSD and ASD is still high and alarming; this signifies that the emphasis given for congenital heart defect in East African countries is limited. Special attention and efforts should be applied for early detection to prevent serious complications and for a better prognosis of all forms of CHD. A screening program for CHD should be instituted during the perinatal period. Furthermore, early referral of suspected cases of congenital cardiac anomalies is mandatory for better management till the establishment of cardiac centers in different regions of the continent.

Background. Underweight is defined as being below the healthy weight range. Underweight in reproductive age group women not only affects women but also increases the risk of an intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and child mortality. Various factors are linked with underweight among women. However, studies on the prevalence of underweight and its associated factors among women are limited in Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of underweight and its associated factors among reproductive age group women in Ethiopia.Methods. For this study, data were drawn from the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey (EDHS). From the total, 15,683 women participants of the 2016 EDHS; a subsample of 2,848 participants aged 15–49 years who had a complete response to all variables of interest were selected and utilized for analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 software program. Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to assess the frequency distribution of underweight and is presented with different sociodemographic characteristics. Logistic regression models were applied for analysis. A two-sidedpvalue of less than 0.05 was used to declare a statistically significant association between the independent variables and underweight among women.Results. The prevalence of underweight among reproductive age group women in Ethiopia was 17.6%. The majority, 78.3% of underweight women, were rural dwellers. The odds of being underweight was higher among the young aged women, among those residing in rural areas, in those with higher educational status, and in those who have one or more children. On the other hand, the odds of underweight among respondents living in Benishangul, SNNPR, and Addis Ababa were less compared to those living in Dire Dawa. Similarly, the odds of underweight among participants with a higher level of husband or partner educational status and among those who chew Khat were less compared to their counterparts.Conclusion. Underweight among reproductive age group women in Ethiopia is still a major public health problem, particularly among rural dwellers. Underweight was significantly associated with different sociodemographic variables. Hence, context-based awareness creation programs need to be designed on the prevention methods of underweight in Ethiopia, giving especial emphasis to those residing in rural areas.

Background. Hepatitis B virus is a global problem, with 66% of all the world population living in areas where there are high levels of infection. HBV is the leading risk factor for HCC globally and accounts for at least 50% of cases of HCC. Medical and health science students, being part of the health-care system, are exposed to the infection as a risk as other health-care workers when they come in contact with patients and contaminated instruments. Objective. The main aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of hepatitis B virus infection prevention and its associated factors among health science students in Woldia University. Methods. Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 30 to May 30, 2019, among health science students of Woldia University who had previous clinical attachments. Two hundred students were selected by the systematic random sampling method. Association of dependent and independent variables was computed using a bivariable and multivariable logistic regression model. P<0.05 was considered as significantly associated. Result. The study revealed that, out of 200 participants, 96 (48%) have poor knowledge, whereas 104 (52%) showed good knowledge about HBV. Regarding the practice of participants, 79 (39.5%) of the students have good practice to prevent HBV, whereas 121 (59.5%) had poor practice towards HBV infection prevention. Conclusion. Based on the current study, greater than half of the students who participated in the study have good knowledge of hepatitis B infection prevention and most of the students have poor practice about infection prevention of hepatitis B virus.

Background. Reproductive health is a universal concern but it has special importance for women particularly during the reproductive year. Although policy actions and strategic efforts made reproductive health service uptake of youths in Ethiopia, still its utilization remains low. Adolescence is not quite capable of understanding complex concepts. This makes them vulnerable to sexual exploitation and high-risk sexual behaviors and reproductive health problems. Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the utilization of reproductive health services and associated factors among adolescents in Woldia town secondary schools, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2019. Methods. An institutional-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 420 secondary school students in Woldia Town from January to June 2019. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The samples were distributed proportionally, and participants in each school were selected by the systematic sampling technique. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was carried out to assess the association between dependent and independent variables. Result. Out of 420 students participated in this study, 270 (64.3) of the respondents utilize reproductive health service. Residence (AOR=4.40, 95CI (1.23, 9.362)), educational status of the partner (AOR=2.66, 95CI (2.35, 5.24)), presence of RHS facility in school (AOR=2.53, 95CI (1.57, 4.06)), and good knowledge level on reproductive health services (AOR=1.77, 95CI (1.14, 2.75)) were significantly associated with reproductive health service utilization. Conclusionand Recommendations. Knowledge of respondents on reproductive health utilization in the study area was found to be low. Students who were from rural families have low utilization of reproductive health services. This low service utilization in these students might be disposed to different reproductive health risks such as sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, and unwanted pregnancy, which in turn can increase the school dropout rate and have an impact on an individuals future life. However, students who have good knowledge and were encouraged by their friends have good reproductive health service utilization. Therefore, it needs a great effort and attention of all concerned bodies including parents, school staff, and health professionals to improve service utilization in schools.

Introduction: : Neurolathyrism is an upper motor neuron disorder characterized by spastic paraparesis, which is caused by the prolonged over-consumption of grass pea. It is a devastating disease with great impacts on physical, social, mental, and economical health. Objective: To determine the prevalence of neurolathyrism and its associated factors in grass pea cultivation areas of Dawunt wereda. Methods: Community based cross-sectional study design was conducted from February 01- March 30, 2021 on 631 Households with a total of 3,350 individuals. Two-stage random sampling technique was used to select participants. Multilevel binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with neurolathyrism. Statistical significance was declared at p < 0.05; and AOR with 95% CI was used to interpret the results. Results: The household and population level prevalence of neurolathyrism in Dawunt district were 9.2% (7.2–11.7%) and 2.4% (2.0-2.3.0%) respectively. Age (AOR = 7.4 ( 2.6–20.6)), male sex (AOR = 7.8 (3.9, 15.4)), and marital status (AOR = 4.0 (1.3–12.8)) were the individual level variables; family size (AOR = 12.6 (3.0-52.8)), annual grass pea production (AOR = 5.0 (2.3–11.0)), ever feeding only grass pea (AOR = 8.8(3.5–22.2)), ever feeding immature seeds of grass pea (AOR = 6.28 (2.80, 14.08)), high grass pea to other cereals mixing ratio (> 3:1) (AOR = 6.1 (1.1, 33.5)) were the household level variables found to have significant association with neurolathyrism. Conclusion: The prevalence of neurolathyrism was found to be high. Ever feeding only grass pea, Grass pea to other cereals mixing ratio (using ratio of 1:1 or more), and Ever feeding immature grass pea seeds were the modifiable risk factors for neurolathyrism.

BACKGROUND: Anaemia during pregnancy affects about half of all pregnant mothers in developing countries; it is the major causes of indirect maternal mortality. Anaemia can directly cause poor growth of fetus in utero due to inadequate oxygen flow to the placental tissue or it is indirect indicator of maternal nutritional deficiency. Mal-development of placenta is the leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and an important factor of fetal growth retardation. The aim of this study was to compare histopathological changes of placenta associated with maternal anaemia. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from May-June, 2018 in Dessie Referral Hospital. A total of 66 placentas (33 anaemic and 33 non-anaemic) were collected after delivery. EPI data version 4.2.0 was used to enter the data while the data were analyzed by using SPSS version 22. Chi-square and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. RESULTS; In pregnancies with maternal anaemia, 75.7% of anaemic placentas terminal villi vessels were increased in number, compared to 15.1% in non-anaemic (p=0.001). Placental calcification was 72.7% in anaemic groups compared to 54% in non-anaemic groups. However, it was insignificant (p=0.12). Intervillous space was wider in anaemic compared to non-anaemic groups (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS; Chorionic villi capillaries were increased in number, and it was dilated in anaemic placenta, compared to non-anaemic. Intervillous space was significantly wider in anaemic placenta.