African health sciences
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African health sciences · Jun 2005
Evaluation of CD4(+)/CD8(+) status and urinary tract infections associated with urinary schistosomiasis among some rural Nigerians.
Data on urinary schistosomiasis in Nigeria are mainly epidemological. The knowledge of co-infections of urinary schistosomiasis and other pathogens are important epidemiological tools for the control and health benefits of the rural dwellers. The granulomatous reactions in urinary schistosomiasis is CD4(+) dependent. The CD8(+) is cytotoxic to parasites and it is activated by CD4(+). These parameters therefore participate in the immune responses to urinary schistosomiasis. ⋯ The mean overall CD4(+):CD8(+) ratio of urinary schistosomiasis infected persons is 1.23 which is above the normal CD4(+):CD8(+) ratio of 1. The CD4(+):CD8(+) ratio and counts of the urinary schistosomiasis infected inhabitants were lower than the uninfected inhabitants. The positive correlation between the CD4(+):CD8(+) and the S. haematobium ova shows a relationship which indicate an increase of the CD4(+):CD8(+) as the intensity of infection increases. We report polyparasitism of S. haematobium and urinary tracts co-infections among some rural inhabitants in Ikpeshi, Nigeria. It is therefore imperative to incorporate the management of urinary tract infections in urinary schistosomiasis control programme.
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African health sciences · Jun 2005
Perception of peers' behaviour regarding sexual health decision making among female undergraduates in Anambra State, Nigeria.
High-risk sexual behaviours are prevalent in tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria, but little is known about the social influences that bear on the reproductive health decision-making and behaviour of the undergraduates. On the other hand, perceptions regarding the behaviour and influence of peers have been documented to be key social factors associated with reproductive health behaviour of young people. ⋯ Perception of sexual behaviour of peers and the nature of the pressure that peers exert support pre-marital sex. It appears peers would also respect and support the decision of those that choose to practice sexual abstinence.
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African health sciences · Jun 2005
The response inventory for stressful life events (RISLE) II: validation of the 36-item version.
A 36-item version of the Response Inventory for Stressful Life Events (RISLE) was derived from the longer 100 item version. The 36-item version may be more appropriate for use in larger population sample. ⋯ The 36-item RISLE appears to have good concurrent validity and may be a reasonable screening instrument for psychological distress in the Ugandan population. The results suggest that the RISLE alone is capable of screening for both depressive mood and suicidal ideation effectively at different cut-off points. Thus the RISLE is capable of achieving what normally takes two scales such as the BDI and BSS to do separately. However, further validation work is required using larger population samples in clinical interviews in prospective studies.