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Objective: The present study aimed to find out the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH] D) status as well as their association among rural elderly women of West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly women residing at Amdanga Block, North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal, India, from April 2014 to August 2018. A total of 236 randomly selected rural elderly women aged between 60 and 70 years of age were included. Serum 25(OH)D, blood pressure (BP), waist circumference (WC), fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides (TGs), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured using standard procedures. MS was defined as per the International Diabetes Federation, 2005 (for Asian-Indians) criteria. Statistical tests were done using SPSS software. Results: The prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency (VDD)/Vitamin D insufficiency was 53.5%. The prevalence of MS was 34%. Of all the studied elderly having MS, 23.2% and 34% were Vitamin D insufficient and deficient, respectively. Among the studied women, 18.3% and 45% with WC ≤80 cm; 21.4% and 42.9% with FBG >100 mg/dl; 22.8% and 33.7% with TG ≥150 mg/dl; 22.1% and 31.1% with HDL-C <50 mg/dl; and 22% and 34.2% with BP ≥130/85 mm of Hg had Vitamin D insufficiency and VDD, respectively. Significant statistical association was found between WC (P = 0.003) and MS (P = 0.008) with serum 25(OH)D status using Chi-square test (P = 0.01). Significant negative correlation existed between WC, MS, and serum 25(OH)D level. MS itself found to predict the serum 25(OH)D level significantly. Conclusion: 25(OH)D had significant inverse and direct relationship with MS and WC. Low 25(OH)D may be one of the potential risk factors for developing MS in elderly women or vice versa.

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Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) decreases the morbidity in psychiatric illnesses, reduces drug requirement during maintenance, which leads to improvement in quality of life (QOL) in a shorter duration of time. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of ECT and its impact on the QOL in patients suffering from affective disorders and schizophrenia treated with ECT and pharmacotherapy compared to patients treated with pharmacotherapy alone. Materials and Methods: Thirty consecutive patients diagnosed as per ICD 10 DCR criteria suffering from affective disorder or schizophrenia admitted to the psychiatric ward of a tertiary care hospital needing ECT were compared with equal number of age, sex, and diagnosis matched patients treated by medication alone. All patients gave informed consent. Pro forma containing demographic and clinical details was recorded. Positive and negative syndrome scale, Beck's Depression Inventory II, and short form-36 (SF-36) were applied to all the individuals at the time of admission, 3 months' and 6 months' post-ECT. Results: The ECT group showed a significant improvement in severity and QOL at 3 months' follow up (P < 0.0001), followed by a steady continuation in improvement at 6 months as compared to the non-ECT group, which showed very steady improvement throughout the 6 months (P < 0.0001). Henceforth, a rapid improvement in the severity was found to be associated with the ECT group. Both the domains of QOL, i.e., SF-36 physical component summary and mental component summary were dependent on the severity of illness. Improvement in the severity led to a betterment in the QOL scores in all the patients. Conclusion: ECT along with psychotropic medications gives better results in terms of reducing the severity of the disease. Along with reducing the severity, it also helps the patient to achieve a better QOL.

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Background: Today, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has evolved into a modern procedure with a benign side effect profile, which is performed under anesthesia and the administration of muscle relaxants, but the negative view of this treatment is held not only by the general lay public but also by the medical professionals including nurses. Aims: Our aim was to assess the knowledge about and attitude toward ECT in nursing students. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which knowledge about ECT and attitude toward this treatment was assessed in nursing students using ECT knowledge and attitude questionnaires. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results: A total of 54 3^rd-year nursing students were included in the study. More than half (59.3%) reported the primary source of information as media. None of our students had full knowledge about ECT, i.e., score of 31. The mean knowledge score was 16.22 ± 3.36, with a range of 10–21. They were more knowledgeable about the consent, side effects, and procedure part of the questionnaire compared to indications and effectiveness parts of it. Negative attitude toward ECT was highly prevalent. The mean score on attitude questionnaire was −7.5 ± 3.61, with a range of 0 to −12. More than three-quarters of our students had negative attitude in 12 out of 16 items. Total score on knowledge questionnaire and total score on attitude questionnaire were correlated positively (r_s= 0.442,P < 0.001). Conclusion: There is a deficiency in knowledge and highly prevalent negative attitude toward ECT among nursing students which needs to be rectified so that ECT becomes a more acceptable treatment procedure.

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Giant cell tumor (GCT) of bone, although benign in its nature, is aggressive in its course. It has a predilection for the epiphysis of long bones. Although it can affect any vertebra in the body, it has propensity to affect the fixed spine more than the mobile segments. It occurs infrequently above the sacrum, and involvement of the cervical spine is still rarer. However, sparse case reports of upper cervical spine GCT have been reported in literature. We report a case of GCT involving the C7 and D1 vertebrae in a 50-year-old woman who presented with the features of compressive myelopathy. She underwent corpectomy of C7–D1 with cage fixation and cervical plating via an anterior approach. The patient showed significant neurological improvement postoperatively.

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Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA-VSD) and pulmonary blood supply arising from the aorta in the form of major aortopulmonary collateral circulation (MAPCAs) surviving in the adulthood is a rare occurrence. It is usually fatal in the infancy without surgical repair. We report the case of a 25-year-old female with clinical and imaging findings of PA-VSD. She had previous episodes of cyanosis and exertional breathlessness which she could tolerate without much hampering of day-to-day activity. The current presentation was due to symptoms of bacterial infection which led to the diagnosis of the underlying complex cardiovascular malformation.

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Schwannomas are relatively rare neoplasm and even rarer in the pediatric age group. The nerve sheath tumors originating from the nerves of the neck are extremely rare. We report a 4-year-old girl presenting with a history of an asymptomatic neck swelling for 6 months. The child was meticulously evaluated with imaging and fine-needle aspiration cytology. Complete surgical excision was done, and the histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. The child was completely recovered without any morbidity. Here, we present this case of schwannoma as it is rarely seen in the pediatric age group where the child was recovered completely. Hence, there is a possibility for complete cure and without complications of schwannoma in the neck of a child after complete excision of the tumor.

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Hypoplasia of the right hepatic lobe is a rare and usually asymptomatic anomaly, which sometimes may be associated with portal hypertension but rarely with retroperitoneal fibrosis. We report one such rare case of hypoplastic right hepatic lobe associated with portal hypertension and retroperitoneal fibrosis. A 45-year-old nonalcoholic male presented with a chief complaint of hematemesis. Serum investigations were normal and inconclusive, so computed tomography was performed which showed right hepatic lobe hypoplasia, esophageal varices, and retroperitoneal fibrosis. Since all other causes of acquired liver atrophy had been ruled out, we considered this case to be of congenital origin. Although it is a rare anomaly, it should be kept in mind to avoid fatal surgical complication.

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Precocious puberty is the onset of physical and hormonal signs of pubertal development before the age of 9 years in males and 8 years in females. A 2-year 9-month-old Indian male child was brought to the hospital with complaints of excessive growth of pubic hair and increase in penile length for 2 months. On local examination of the genitalia, pubic hair was ++, his penile length was 9 cm, and testicular volume was >4 mL. The Sexual Maturity Rating score was A1P2T4. Serum testosterone levels – 592.76 mmol/L; serum luteinizing hormone – 2.18 IU/L; and serum follicle-stimulating hormone – 4.69 IU/L. His X-ray of the left wrist showed bone age >6 years. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed an ill-defined, T2-hyperintense mass involving the right half of the tuber cinereum. A diagnosis of central precocious puberty due hypothalamic hamartoma was made. During the course of his admission, he was given injection leuprodex 3.75 mg intramuscularly once in 28 days. He was discharged with a plan to follow-up on outpatient basis.

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Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is gradually surging particularly among Asian Indians. Documented data on comparative studies based on different definitions with respect to MS prevalence among college students are few. Aim: The aim of this is to find the validity and degree of agreement between three different diagnostic criteria recommended by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III), and the Consensus definition for Asian Indians (CDAI). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 477 college students aged 18–24 years of Kolkata selected by systematic random sampling from August 2011 to December 2014. Three different criteria, i.e., IDF, NCEP-ATP III, and CDAI, were used. Individuals signed a consent form before the study. Using IDF as a reference standard, validity of other criteria was measured by sensitivity and specificity. Cohen's kappa (κ) coefficient was used to identify the degree of agreement between three different definitions. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, version 19.0. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of MS among college students was highest using the CDAI criteria (5.7%), followed by the IDF criteria (4.5%) and the NCEP-ATP III criteria (2.9%) being significantly higher in females (P ≤ 0.05). Using IDF as a reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and likelihood ratio of positive test for CDAI were 100%, 98.9%, 81.5%, 100%, and 90.9, respectively; whereas, for the NCEP-ATP III criteria, these were 45.5%, 99.1%, 71.4%, 97.4%, and 50.56, respectively. IDF presented “almost perfect” agreement in relation to the CDAI with κ of 0.892 (95% CI: 0.798–0.986, P = 0.000) and “moderate” agreement with respect to the NCEP-ATP III criteria with κ of 0.539 (95% CI: 0.339–0.739, P = 0.000). Conclusion: At least 2.9% of the Kolkata college students studied had MS. The CDAI criteria were superior to the NCEP-ATP III criteria for predicting MS in this population, when compared with the IDF criteria.

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Background: Obesity is considered as one of the major noncommunicable diseases of the modern world. It is considered as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. This study was planned to find the prevalence and predictors of central obesity and its relationship with serum lipids. Materials and Methods: This was a community-based observational cross-sectional study among 388 participants aged 18–49 years in an area of Kolkata from 2016 to 2018. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire along with anthropometry, blood pressure measurement, and relevant blood tests (fasting blood sugar and lipid profile). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 16.0, and logistic regression was done to determine the strength of association between central obesity and different risk factors. Linear trends between waist circumference (WC) and serum lipids were evaluated to explore the bidirectional relationship between the two. Results: Central obesity was present among 66% of study participants. Female gender, high per capita income, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, decreasing high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and hypertension were found as predictors of central obesity. A statistically significant bidirectional association was found between serum lipids (triglycerides (TGs) and HDL-C) and WC. Conclusion: Central obesity was found as an important public health problem which is related to diet, lifestyle, gender, income, and other comorbidities. TG and HDL-C seemed to have bidirectional relationship with WC, and high WC may be considered as surrogate indicator for dyslipidemia (especially low HDL-C and high TGs level).

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Background of Study: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multisystemic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia and damage to vital organs most notably the exocrine tissue and islet cells. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is a glycolipid antigen produced by the exocrine pancreas. Thus, it could be a useful indicator of the intensity of cellular damage to the exocrine pancreas by disease conditions such as DM. Aim: This was a case–control study aimed at evaluating the serum level of CA 19-9 as a diagnostic tool in patients with DM. Materials and Methods: A total of 90 patients aged 20–70 years were randomly selected in this study. They comprised 50 diabetic individuals as test patients and 40 aged-matched apparently healthy individuals as controls. The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were determined spectrophotometrically using the glucose oxidase method, whereas the serum level of CA 19-9 was estimated photometrically using the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. Results: There was a statistically significant elevation of CA 19-9 in patients with DM compared to the nondiabetic individuals (P < 0.05). The correlation coefficient between CA 19–9 levels and age in patients with DM showed a nonsignificant positive relationship (r = 0.265, P = 0.063). A nonsignificant positive correlation was also observed when the mean level of CA 19-9 was correlated with the mean plasma level of FPG in patients with DM (r = 0.021, P = 0.884). Conclusion: The significantly elevated serum level of CA 19-9 along with its positive correlation with FPG indicates the need for a careful evaluation of blood glucose regulation while suggesting that CA 19–9 could be a suitable marker to predict chronic inflammatory complications in patients with DM. Hence, further evaluation with a duration of diabetes and glycemic control using glycated hemoglobin to ascertain the relevance of CA 19–9 in glycemic control in individuals with DM.

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Background: Diabetes mellitus, a chronic noncommunicable disease, is associated with long-term damage of multiple organ system with its long-term complications and significantly impacts upon the quality of life (QoL) of affected patients. Methods: A survey was carried out on 245 patients during thirty sessions of diabetes outpatient department at multispecialty hospitals, among which 228 patients agreed for the participation. A final survey was carried on 200 patients, whereas 28 patients did not fit into the criteria. Further evaluation was carried out using the World Health Organization QoL-BREF questionnaire in Hindi, English, and Marathi versions. The mean score and total score of domains were calculated to check the QoL of the patients. Results: Almost 72% of the participants mentioned good QoL in physical domain with 18% mentioning average QoL. Around 35% mentioned excellent QoL in psychological domain with 46% mentioning good QoL. Around 55% mentioned good QoL in social domain. Majority of participants mentioned good (23%) to excellent (71%) QoL in environmental domain. The physical domain demonstrated a mean score of 66.6 ± 9.303 (min 44, max 94). The psychological domain demonstrated the mean score of 70.9, ±15.558, (min 5, max 94). The social domain demonstrated the mean score of 75.96, ±15.245, (min 31, max 100). The environmental domain demonstrated the mean score of 82.19, ±13.211, (min 31, max 100). Conclusion: Overall patients mentioned average-to-good QoL in physical, psychological, and social domain, and a majority of patients had good QoL in environmental domain.

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Introduction: Facial acanthosis nigricans (FAN) is a term used synonymously and interchangeably with metabolic melanosis and metabolic melasma. FAN is described as brown-to-black macular pigmentation with blurred ill-defined margins, commonly found on the forehead and zygomatic and malar areas with varying degrees of textural changes ranging from mild roughness to frank verrucous appearance of the affected areas. Aims and Objective: (i) The aims and objectives were to study the clinical patterns of FAN; (ii) to determine the prevalence of obesity, dyslipidemia, and blood sugar levels in patients of FAN; and (iii) to determine the association of body fat percentage (BFP) with sex, body mass index (BMI), serum triglycerides, and waist circumference (WC). Materials and Methods: This was a prospective descriptive study. One-hundred patients of FAN were included in the study that carried out over a period of 1 year. The BMI and WC of the included patients were used as parameters of obesity. BFP, lipid profile, and blood sugar levels were measured. Data were also obtained on the basis of history and clinical examination. Results: The patterns of facial pigmentation seen included the forehead and zygomatic (43%), zygomatic and malar (16%), involving the forehead (32%), and diffuse darkening of the face (9%). Overall periorbital and perioral darkening were seen in 22% of the patients, while acanthosis nigricans of other sites was found in 65% of the patients. Eighty-eight patients (88%) reported exposure to sunlight of >2 h. Twenty-one percentage of patients were overweight and 61% obese on basis of the BMI, WC was high in 62% of the patients, and BFP was high in 74% of the patients. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were low in 50% of the cases, while hypertriglyceridemia was found in 38% of the cases. However, no derangement of blood sugar levels was found in any patient. A significant statistical association was found between high BFP with male sex (P = 0.004), high BMI (P = 0.0002), high WC (P < 0.001), and low serum HDL levels (P = 0.039). Conclusion: We document an increased prevalence of obesity, deranged lipid profile, and high BFP in patients presenting with FAN, and it should be considered a cutaneous marker of obesity. Furthermore, a simple tool such as BFP can be used to screen patients of FAN for obesity.

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Background: Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disorder associated with cognitive dysfunction. Battery of papers has revealed that diabetes causes detrimental effects on range of cognitive functions. Therefore, the present study has been undertaken to assess, in a randomized manner, the impact of structured exercise therapy on various domains of cognition in young adults newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the age group of 20–45 years. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Research Laboratory, Department of Physiology, JN Medical College attached to Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital and MRC, Belagavi. As per eligibility criteria, a total of 148 newly diagnosed T2DM patients in the age group of 20–45 years were enrolled from the outpatient department, department of medicine, after obtaining institutional ethical clearance and informed consent from the patients. The patients were then divided randomly into diabetic controls and interventional group. The interventional group was asked to perform structured exercise therapy. Sociodemographic and cognitive functions (by PGI Battery of Brain Dysfunction) and glycated hemoglobin were evaluated at baseline and the end of 6 months for the study groups. Socio-demographic and cognitive functions (by PGI Battery of Brain Dysfunction) and glycated hemoglobin were evaluated at baseline and the end of 6 months for both of the study groups. Whereas, additionally in the interventional group, various parameters were studied for the four times i.e at the baseline, end of the 2^nd, 4^th, and 6^th months. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 20.0 (Armonk, NY, IBM Corp., USA) was used for appropriate statistical analysis. Results: A significant improvement was observed in cognitive functions in the interventional group at the end of 6 months with structured exercise therapy.P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Conclusions: Exercise therapy along with dietary control and antidiabetic medications has a positive influence on cognitive functions.

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Background: The WHO global database on anemia for 1993–2005, covering almost half of the world's population, estimated the prevalence of anemia worldwide at 25%. India is one of the countries with anemia as a serious public health concern. Nearly 50% of the pregnant women in India and 51% in Uttar Pradesh were shown to be anemic as per the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015/16). Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine (1) the prevalence of anemia in women attending the Antenatal Outpatient Department of District Combined Hospital, Chakia, Uttar Pradesh and (2) the association of sociodemographic variables with anemia. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study, wherein information regarding hemoglobin (Hb) levels and other variables of 631 antenatal women were taken from the records. Anemia was classified as per the WHO and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for Hb levels. Results: The prevalence of anemia was 92% using the WHO criteria and 87.6% with CDC criteria. About 63.2% of women had moderate anemia (WHO), of which 59.3% were between age group of 22 and 30 years, 61.4% were second gravidas, 60.7% came in the second trimester, and 59.8% had ≥1 live birth. There was association with blood types as well. Conclusion: Early antenatal registration, diagnosis, and management of anemia are important due to high prevalence of moderate anemia in the study area.

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Aims: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out with an aim to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of health-care professionals in adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting. Materials and Methods: The study involved health-care professionals (doctors, pharmacists, and nurses) from Navodaya Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Raichur, during the period from September 2018 to November 2018. Data were collected using especially designed questionnaire form consisting of questions regarding KAP of ADR reporting. Results: Of 100 study population, doctors were more in number (52%) followed by pharmacists (28%) and nurses (20%). Spontaneous reporting system was not much familiar to health-care professionals as a common method used in ADR reporting (53%). Majority of the health-care professionals admitted their responsibility to report ADR (58%). Awareness about nearby ADR monitoring center, Pharmacovigilance Program of India (PvPI) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, ADR PvPI app, and ADR reporting form, among health-care professionals were 48%, 12%, 40%, and 47%, respectively, which can be correlated with unsatisfactory awareness among the study population. About 52% of the study population had a neutral response to the question whether ADR reporting is a professional obligation to them. About 38% of the population think that ADR reporting is time-consuming with no outcome, and 31% of the study population expressed a neutral response to the same question. Most of the study population believed that all serious ADRs are known before a drug is marketed (56%). The practice of ADR reporting was low among health-care professionals (61%) though majority of them came across through patients experiencing ADRs (67%). Difficulty in decision-making was the main factor causing ADR underreporting (32%), followed by lack of time (25%). Conclusions: This study revealed that majority of health-care professionals have insufficient knowledge and less positive attitude which resulted in low ADR reporting.

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Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the appropriateness of use and quality as well as outcomes of primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction (MI) in a single center without percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) capability. Background: Primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) increases the rates of patency of the infarcted artery, improves survival rates, and reduces the rates of reinfarction and strokes as compared to thrombolysis. Methods: This is a hospital-based prospective study involving 77 patients. Primary PTCA was done by emergency transfer to PCI center at earliest. Results: Male patients outnumbered females (77% vs. 22%). Patients in the age group of 45–69 years constituted around 70.0% of the total ST-elevation MI patients. Majority of the patients (90%) presented with chest pain. During coronary angiography, it was found that the major culprit coronary was the right coronary (42.85%) followed by the left anterior descending artery (36.36%). A majority of the patients in the study group were found to have single-vessel disease (57.14%), and only five of the patients had triple-vessel disease (06.49%). Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors were given to 41 patients (53.24%) as an adjuvant therapy. Conclusion: Primary angioplasty is very appropriate and feasible with a good outcome for the management of patients with acute ST-elevation MI even in a center where the facility of cardiac catheterization is not available. Our patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction who were shifted to a center having cardiac catheterization laboratory and subsequently managed with primary angioplasty showed good response and outcome in terms of mortality and morbidity over a follow-up of 1 year.

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Introduction: Cervical spine injuries account for 3% of all polytrauma patients and can lead to quadriplegia, significant functional loss, and permanent disability. A large spectrum of such cases requires surgical decompression and reconstruction with variable neurological outcomes. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to critically review the subaxial cervical spine injury cases managed surgically with different types of implants at a tertiary level armed forces hospital and analyze their postoperative outcomes. Methods: A prospective analysis of patients (n = 85) of subaxial cervical spine injury was carried out between October 2014 and December 2017. The last patient of our study on July 17 was followed for 5 months. Surgical decompression and stabilization were done in 71 patients whereas 14 patients were managed conservatively. Pre- and post-operative neurological outcome was assessed by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score. Results: There were 81 men and 04 women whose mean age was 39 years (range 16–78 years). The most common cause of injury was road traffic accidents (45%, n = 38). C5-C6 was the most common site of injury 46% (n = 39). ASIA Grade C (n = 27, 32%) was the most common presentation. Seventy-one cases were treated surgically; 95% (n = 68) of through the anterior approach, 2 by the posterior approach and one by a combined approach. Of the 44 patients operated within 24 h of injury, 19 (43%) had a two-grade improvement in their ASIA scores, 5 (11%) had a one-grade improvement and the remaining 20 showed no change. Only one patient out of 27 patients operated 24 h after the injury showed improvement in ASIA grade. Conclusion: Subaxial cervical spine injuries are complex and a definite treatment algorithm is still a work in progress. However, early surgical decompression and stabilization lead to good neurological outcome in the majority of cases.

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Context: Tobacco use is the forerunner among the most serious public health issues threatening the world. Problem is compounded by the fact that most of tobacco users indulge in tobacco from adolescence. More than one-fourth of young men in India consume tobacco. The National Health Policy 2017 aims to reduce the prevalence of tobacco usage by 15% by 2020. To achieve this goal, the youth must be targeted to abstain from tobacco. Aim: To study the correlates of the knowledge and consumption of tobacco in adolescent males. Settings and Design: This was a cross-sectional study in a school in an urban slum in Western Maharashtra. Methodology: The study was conducted in a school in an urban slum on 394 adolescent males using pretested self-administered questionnaire. All the participants gave assent. Ethical permission from the institutional ethics committee was taken. Statistical Analysis Used: Percentages and Pearson's Chi-square test were done using SPSS 20. Results: The proportion of adolescents having knowledge about hazards of tobacco was 65.2%, while the prevalence of tobacco use was 24.4%. Tobacco usage was found to be significantly associated with the usage in family; paradoxically, the adolescents who witness tobacco use at home were more likely to have knowledge about hazards of tobacco. Knowledge about harms of tobacco use was found to be significantly associated with educational status of mother. Conclusion: Important correlates of knowledge about hazards of tobacco usage were the type of family, maternal education, as well as usage of tobacco in family.

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Introduction: In India, like in other developing countries, the most susceptible time for the initiation of tobacco is during youth, i.e., in the age group of 15–24 years. Therefore, the current study was conducted with an objective to assess the knowledge of harmful effects of tobacco consumption and tobacco control laws among male youths in a resettlement colony of Delhi. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2010–2011 in Kalyanpuri, a resettlement colony in Delhi, India. The study included males aged 15–24 years residing in the study area at the time of survey. A semi-structured interview schedule was designed in Hindi to elicit the information on tobacco use, knowledge about its harmful effects, and tobacco control laws. Data were collected from 811 youths using systematic random sampling methods. Results: Current tobacco users were significantly (P < 0.05) more aware about the harmful effects of tobacco, i.e., weakness (30.7% users vs. 18.7% nonusers), addiction (12.9% users vs. 7.5% nonusers), and asthma (16.0% users vs. 39% nonuser) as compared to tobacco nonusers. Current tobacco users were also more aware about all tobacco control laws, i.e., health warning written on packets (97.8 users vs. 93.5% nonusers), tobacco could not be sold to <18 years of age (67.1% users vs. 32.3% nonusers), smoking is banned in public places (57.8% users vs. 19.7% nonusers), tobacco should be sold 100 yards away from schools (9.8% users vs. 1.8% nonusers), and pictorial health warnings on packets as compared to tobacco nonusers (4.9% users vs. 1.6% nonusers). All these results were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Most current users were having more knowledge about most of the harmful effects of tobacco on health as compared to nonusers. Likewise, current tobacco users were more aware about tobacco control laws as compared to nonusers.

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