Prevalence of Severe Malnourishment Among Under-Five Children in a Rural Cohort of Eastern India

In statistical epidemiology and health sciences, two essential metrics—prevalence and incidence—are fundamental for understanding disease dynamics within a population. These measures enable public health officials, epidemiologists, and researchers to assess the burden of diseases, allocate resources effectively, and design impactful public health policies and interventions.
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...

Anorexia nervosa is a complex and severe eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of weight gain, an unrelenting pursuit of thinness, and a distorted body image. It often leads to dangerously low body weight relative to an individual's age and height. This disorder is marked by significant physical and psychological consequences, making it one of the most life-threatening psychiatric illnesses.
Symptoms and Physical Effects
Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...

Biases can arise at various stages of research, from study design and data collection to analysis and interpretation. Recognizing and addressing these biases is essential to ensure the validity and reliability of epidemiological findings.Broadly speaking, biases in epidemiology fall into three main categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding. A more detailed description of possible biases is:  

During the initial hours of fasting, the body uses up its glycogen stores as an energy source. Once these glycogen reserves are depleted, the body begins breaking down stored triglycerides and structural proteins. During this stage, glycerol becomes a key substrate for gluconeogenesis, while free fatty acids undergo beta-oxidation to provide energy for tissues, such as skeletal muscle. In the fasting state, the body spares protein breakdown as much as possible to conserve muscle and structural...

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a numerical value derived from a person's weight and height, used to categorize individuals into weight ranges. It is calculated using the formula: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Obesity is a health condition characterized by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue that poses health risks, often diagnosed with a BMI ≥ 30. This excess fat storage occurs when surplus dietary calories are converted into triglycerides and stored in...

Proteins are broken down into amino acids during digestion. Unlike fats and carbohydrates, which are stored for later use, proteins are not. Instead, amino acids are either used to produce ATP through oxidation or contribute to the creation of new proteins for the growth and repair of the body. Any surplus amino acids from the diet are converted into glucose or triglycerides rather than excreted.
Amino acids play various roles in the body once they are absorbed into cells. They are restructured...