BACKGROUND The presence of visible mold in households is associated with asthma. However, the role of "classroom fungus" in the development of childhood asthma, as well as the fungal species that may lead to asthma, remains controversial. This nationwide school survey was conducted to investigate the correlation between fungal spores in classrooms and asthma in schoolchildren. METHODS From Ap...

OBJECTIVES We determined the seroprevalence and correlates of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women in Aguascalientes City, Mexico. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey. SETTING Pregnant women were enrolled in the central Mexican city of Aguascalientes. PARTICIPANTS We studied 338 pregnant women who attended prenatal care in 3 public health centres. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEAS...

INTRODUCTION Tic disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood associated with psychiatric comorbidity and academic problems. Estimating the prevalence and understanding the epidemiology of tic disorders is more complex than was once thought. Until fairly recently, tic disorders were thought to be rare, but today tics are believed to be the most common movement disorder, with 0.2-46.3...

A cross-sectional survey was performed to estimate the prevalences of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii (ELISA, IFAT), Sarcocystis spp. (ELISA, using S. miescheriana as antigen) and Neospora caninum (ELISA, immunoblotting) in sows from breeding farms in southern Hesse, Germany. A total of 2041 plasma samples of sows from 94 randomly selected farms was examined. Data on farm profiles, husbandry ma...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of hyperglycemia among HIV-infected persons who are not receiving antiretroviral therapy is unknown. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to estimate the prevalence of hyperglycemia among Chinese adults with newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS. METHODS Two thousand and six newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients from 10 provinces and municipalities in China were selected during 2009...

Malaria is a major public health problem particularly in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. In most urban areas, malaria transmission intensity is low thus monitoring trends using reliable tools is crucial to provide vital information for future management of the disease. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) such as Paracheck Pf are now increasingly adopted for Plasmodium falciparum malaria diagnosis and are ad...

BACKGROUND It is generally believed that overweight is less prevalent than undernutrition in the developing world, particularly in rural areas, and that it is concentrated in higher socioeconomic status (SES) groups. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of adult female overweight and underweight in the developing world by using categories of urban or rural status and SE...

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in school children in Baddi- Barotiwala, Himachal Pradesh, India. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Government schools among 1059 government school children aged 4- 15 years. The study was conducted from October 2009 to March 2010 during the school hours. The demographic detail was carried on a structured ...

BACKGROUND The four common non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 80% of NCD-related deaths worldwide. The four NCDs share four common risk factors. As most of the existing evidence on the common NCD risk factors is based on analysis of a single factor at a time, there is a need to investigate the co-occurrence of the common NCD risk factors, particularly in an urban slum setting in sub-S...