Annals of Allied Health Sciences

INTEGRATING CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSES IN COHORT STUDIES: A METHODOLOGICAL ADVANTAGE IN POPULATION HEALTH RESEARCH

2025-05-06T08:59:26+00:00

Robust study designs that can fully capture the relationships between exposures, risk factors and health outcomes are frequently used in population health research. Among the various research approaches and strategies available, cohort studies follow groups over time and are considered as gold standard to determine the temporal associations and assess the risk factors for the disease. However, integrating cross-sectional study analyses within the cohort study can offer a significant methodological benefit which can improve both the depth and breadth of the results. The cross-sectional studies, which are observational studies that collect data from a population at a single time point and at the same time measure the exposures and outcomes. Cross-sectional studies can effectively reveal relationships and prevalence rates and offer insights into population burdens of disease, however unable to infer causality. By using this approach, the researchers can benefit from the advantages of both the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by employing this strategy, which ultimately improve our understanding of the dynamics of population health.

The cross-sectional studies are useful because they look at data at a single point in time and can provide quick insights into how exposures and outcomes relate to one another at certain developmental stages or under particular environmental conditions. It is highly beneficial for large-scale cohort studies that collect extensive data on a regular basis. The integration of cross-sectional analyses within the cohort studies offers several advantages e.g.,

Timely Insights: The researchers and policymakers can address urgent and critical health issues without waiting for the complete longitudinal data to mature, since cross-sectional snapshots offer quick assessments of the population's health state.

Exploration of Hypotheses: Preliminary findings from the cross-sectional data can inform future longitudinal hypotheses and can guide for more targeted and focused investigations.

Subgroup Analysis: The analyses can facilitate to explore or examine the specific subgroups by age, gender, geographical location and allow researchers to uncover health disparities in the population.

Cost-Effectiveness: From financial perspectives, cross-sectional studies within the cohort studies are cost-effective, resource-efficient, particularly when longitudinal follow-up is ongoing but incomplete and therefore it can provide a way to extract valuable information without additional data collection efforts and costs.

Data Validation: Findings of the cross-sectional study can help to validate and ensure the consistency and reliability of observed associations, which can support longitudinal trends.

Ethical and Privacy Concerns: Repeated data collection for cross-sectional studies can raise issues around consent and data security, however studies within cohort studies do not require separate ethical clearance and consents.

Even though there are several advantages to incorporate cross-sectional analyses into cohort designs, however the researchers should be careful to identify and tackle several methodological obstacles to ensure the validity of the findings, it is essential to control for confounding variables. The participants who remain in the cohort at a certain point in time may differ from those, who lost to follow-up. This survivor bias can affect the cross-sectional estimates if not handled properly. Due to the limitations of cross-sectional study design, it is not possible to determine the chronological order of the exposure and results, in contrast to longitudinal analysis. Therefore, interpretations of the results should be done with caution, particularly when drawing conclusions.

These significant advantages can be seen in various domains of population health research such as environmental health, maternal and child health, or in mental health studies. Further, the integration is greatly enhanced by data science tools and techniques. Machine learning approaches i.e., Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression, Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) regression and random forests allow researchers to identify key predictors in high-dimensional datasets. Additionally, visualization techniques can highlight trends and associations that might be missed using traditional methods. Multilevel modeling and generalized estimating equations can account for clustering and repeated measures, improving the robustness of cross-sectional inferences within longitudinal frameworks. Bayesian approaches also offer flexible modeling of uncertainty and prior knowledge, making them suitable for mixed-method designs.

In conclusion, the integration of cross-sectional study within cohort study is methodologically sound approach which improves the usefulness, effectiveness, and responsiveness of population health research. Relying on the strengths of both study designs can help researchers to get in-depth understanding of health dynamics and can support timely public health interventions. To produce practical, evidence-based insights that can enhance health outcomes and lessen disparities among the populations, hybrid analytical approaches will continue to be crucial as population health concerns continue to change.

PREVALENCE OF ABO/RH BLOOD TYPES AMONG FEMALES WITH EATING DISORDERS IN HYDERABAD, PAKISTAN: AN ANALYSIS UTILIZING THE EAT-26 QUESTIONNAIRE

2025-05-13T12:50:28+00:00

Objective: To assess the proportion of various blood groups and how those groups relate to one another.

Material & Methods: The current study was conducted by the Department of Physiology at Sindh University Jamshoro from June 2023 to December 2023 after obtaining ethical review. A total of 210 (n = 210) female participants took part in the study. The study pinpoints the prevalence of eating disorders with reference to junk food and/or breakfast-taking habits in adolescent females. A survey was conducted using the EAT-26 questionnaire, which was distributed in different restaurants in Hyderabad. A score greater than 20 was considered positive for the eating disorder. The blood groups were evaluated by the glass slide method (antigen-agglutination test) with the use of Anti-Sera A, Band O (Rapid Labs UK). The test was repeated to minimize the error.

Results: The proportion of Eds was 38.57% in the B blood group, with an odds ratio of 1.78 and a P value of 0.36 showing no significance between blood groups. The B blood group was predominant.

Conclusion: It is concluded that blood group B is associated more with eating disorders.

FREQUENCY OF THORACIC SPINE STIFFNESS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH MUSCULOSKELETAL PAINS AT REHMAN MEDICAL INSTITUTE PESHAWAR: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

2025-05-13T12:47:31+00:00

Objective: To determine the frequency of thoracic spine stiffness and its association with musculoskeletal pains.

Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with musculoskeletal disorders visiting the physical therapy department of the Rehman Medical Institute for the period of August to December 2023. 73 participants were recruited through convenience sampling techniques. The participants were assessed through physical examination test, Nordic questionnaire and Numeric Pain Rating Scale. SPSS version 22 was used for analysis.

Results: Most of the participants (42.5%) were in the age group of 26-40 years from which 58.9% of participants were male and 58.9% participants had a healthy BMI. Majority of them were office workers and 47.9% of them had back pain. Neck pain was experienced by 20.5% of the participants, lower limb pain by 17.8% and upper limb pain by 13.7% of the participants. Majority of the participants had rounded shoulders 46.6%, and 58.9% presented back dysfunction. Most of the participants had upper thoracic spine stiffness (38.4%).

Conclusion: The current study concludes that there is no association between thoracic Spine stiffness and musculoskeletal disorders. However, there was a high frequency of Thoracic Spine stiffness in individuals with Musculoskeletal disorders.

FREQUENCY OF CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE AMONG PAROUS WOMEN ATTENDING TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN HYDERABAD

2025-05-12T15:36:46+00:00

Objective: To determine the frequency of total contraceptive usage and various contraceptive methods usage among parous women attending Isra University Hospital Hyderabad.

Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Isra University Hospital Hyderabad from 1^st January 2023 to 31^st May 2024.Total 375 women were included fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Informed consent was taken from all women. History regarding contraception was taken and all the data regarding demographic variables & contraceptive usage among parous women were entered in the predesigned Questionnaire. The data was filled out by face-to-face interview. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 28.

Results: Mean age of participants was 36.5+5.15 years. 197 (52.53%) women were using contraception, while 178 (47.47%) were not using any contraceptive. Women residing in rural locality were significantly found associated with non-usage of contraception (p-value 0.001). Non usage of contraception was significantly found in Illiterate and lower educational status women (p-value 0.001). It was found that contraceptive usage was more in Multiparous 111 (56.34%) and grand -multiparous women 71(36.04%), while only few primiparous women 15(7.62%) had history of contraceptive usage.

Conclusion: It is concluded that more than half of women had history of contraceptive usage. Poor socioeconomic status and lower educational level were resulting in non-usage of contraceptives.

NURSES KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES REGARDING ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS AND PRESCRIBING CASCADES REPORTING IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS, PESHAWAR

2025-05-13T11:13:47+00:00

Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of nurses’ regarding adverse drug reactions and prescribing cascades reporting in tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in tertiary care hospitals, Peshawar. The Rao soft online sample size calculator was used to determine the sample size of 224. A pre-designed, structured questionnaire was used to collect data via convenient sampling technique. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis.

Results: Majority of the participants (54.5%) had average knowledge. Only a few participants (21.4%), knew the term prescribing cascade. A considerable percentage of respondents (83.5%) agreed that ADRs reporting is their professional responsibility. Moreover, 52.2% of the respondents revealed that no ADR was reported by them during their practice and 78.1% reported that they haven’t filled in an ADR reporting form. Majority of the participants (65.2%) had poor practices regarding ADRs and prescribing cascades reporting. Nurses’ knowledge was significantly associated with age (P=0.009) and years of experience (P= 0.038).

Conclusion: Nurses had average knowledge, ambivalent attitude and poor practices. It highlights a significant gap in both knowledge and practice related to ADRs and prescribing cascades reporting.

SONOGRAPHIC EVALUATIONS OF THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL GESTATIONAL DIABETES ON FETAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT DURING THIRD TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY

2025-06-22T00:17:36+00:00

Objective: To determine the role of ultrasound in detecting congenital abnormalities in fetus complicated with maternal gestational diabetes.

Material & Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on patients presenting with gestational diabetes mellitus at Fatima Memorial Hospital Shadman, Lahore. The study was conducted from August 2024 to December 2024. The sample size was 59. A self-designed proforma was used for data collection. Women with gestational diabetes, aged 18-45 years, were included in this study.

Results: Mean age of participants was 32 years with age range 18 to 45 years. 40 (67.79%) were detected with fetal congenital abnormalities. Out of these 40 patients, 13(32.5%) were found to have macrosomia, 4(10%) were found to have growth restriction, 7(17.5%) were found to have fetal death, 2(5%) were found to have respiratory distress syndrome, and 14(35%) were found to have premature baby.

Conclusion: Ultrasound is the best imaging modality in the diagnosis of fetal congenital abnormalities in patients with maternal gestational diabetes mellitus complication.