Although, technical support these hospitals consist of a heterogeneous population coming from different backgrounds, they cannot be used to predict the overall situation in the country. Furthermore, convenient sampling was employed, which may have led to selection bias, and hence is not truly representative of the population under study. However, since this was just an observational study, the sampling method did seem to fulfill its purpose. Another limitation that could have affected the outcome of our study is the possibility of recall bias with regard to vaccination status. However, since our main aim was to elucidate the reasons for non-vaccination, recall bias may not have played a significant role. Conclusion The most common primary reason for non-vaccination, i.e.

lack of knowledge, indicates that the ongoing advertisement campaigns have partially failed to achieve the success desired, whereas the most common secondary reason, i.e. religious taboos, implies that many people believe that vaccination is forbidden in religion, a misconception that is further propagated by religious leaders. Hence, there is dire need to promote awareness among the masses in collaboration with NGOs, and major religious and social organizations. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests. Authors�� contributions AS conceived the topic of the study and was involved in designing the study and analyzing data. BI, AE, MR, HS, HA, JN, SA, MZ, TW, WW and AA were involved in data collection. AS was involved in drafting the initial manuscript.

BI, AE, MR, HS, HA, JN, SA, MZ, TW, WW and AA critically revised the manuscript, and their names are listed in decreasing order of their contributions. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Health symptoms attributed to environmental agents are an extensive occupational and public health problem. Apart from toxic and allergenic substances, symptoms are commonly attributed to chemicals and biological materials (e.g., mold) that generate odor and sensory irritation (e.g., pungency), to electrical equipment that generate electromagnetic fields (EMF), and to mechanical phenomena that generate sound. Health effects of exposure to strong EMF are well documented, and such exposure is controlled by regulations and guidelines [1]. However, there is no existing evidence for health effects from low-level EMF exposure.

Instead there is evidence for a nocebo effect in triggering acute health effects [2-4]. Nevertheless, health problems evoked in the presence of electrical equipment is a concern. Clinical diagnoses for these environmental intolerances (EI) include multiple chemical sensitivity Cilengitide (MCS) [5], nonspecific building-related symptoms (sick building syndrome) [6], idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) [7], and sound sensitivity (hyperacusis) [8]. As many as 6.

86, P < 0.01) Table 2 Correlation between vitamin A level with zinc and biochemical parameters Table 3 shows the effect of background characteristics of patients on vitamin A levels. The vitamin A levels was insignificantly (P > 0.05) higher in the age group of 31-40 years of patients (0.80 �� 0.27 ��mol/l, 95% selleckchem Dorsomorphin CI = 0.71-0.90) as compared to below 20 years (0.79 �� 0.23, 95% CI = 0.69-9.00), above 50 years (0.78 �� 0.27, 95% CI = 0.65-0.91), 20-30 years (0.76 �� 0.20, 95% CI = 0.72-0.79) and 41-50 years (0.74 �� 0.19, 95% CI = 0.66-0.82). The vitamin A levels were significantly (P = 0.001) higher in male (0.82 �� 0.23, 95% CI = 0.77-0.86) patients as compared to females (0.71 �� 0.20, 95% CI = 0.67-0.75). There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the levels of vitamin A between married and unmarried patients.

Table 3 Vitamin A levels by background characteristics of the patients Table 4 presents the results of multivariate linear regression analysis determining the effect of serum zinc levels on vitamin A adjusted for age, sex, and BMI of the patients. The adjusted regression coefficient for the serum zinc level remained same as in unadjusted analysis, which was 1.35 (P < 0.0001) indicating that there was no confounding effect of age, sex, and BMI of the patients in the level of vitamin A. Table 4 Effect of serum zinc levels on vitamin A levels adjusted for age, sex, and BMI of the patients DISCUSSION Zinc deficiency affects the host defenses in a variety of ways and it results in decreased phagocytosis and leads to a reduced number of circulating T-cells and reduced tuberculin reactivity, at least in animals.

[21] In vitro cellular killing by macrophages was found to be reduced during zinc deficiency and rapidly restored after zinc supplementation.[22] Zinc has essential role in vitamin A metabolism. Zinc supplementation has a beneficial effect on vitamin A metabolism, which has an important role in TB. An adequate supply of zinc may also limit free radical membrane damage during inflammation.[23] In the present study, a total of 208 TB patients were assessed for their status of zinc level and its association with vitamin A level. The serum zinc and vitamin A levels among the patients were 9.60 (��0.86) ��mol/l Cilengitide and 0.77 (��0.22) ��mol/l respectively. However, Hb, WBC, ESR and serum albumin were 10.02 (��1.33) g/dl, 10076.01 (��1822.67) cell/mm3, 14.50 (��2.95) mm/h and 3.40 (��0.32) g/dl respectively. A study from Rwanda reported vitamin A deficiency among adults with TB. Concentration of vitamin A was found lower in TB patients than controls;[24] however, in an Indian study, the low vitamin A levels observed in TB patients returned to normal at the end of anti-tuberculosis treatment without vitamin A supplementation.

In 2008, the EU27 average LE at birth was estimated to be 74.9 years for males and 81.4 years for females (Table currently (Table1).1). Further gains are projected mostly from lower mortality at older ages. Increasing trends of life expectancy do not however pre-empt a healthy longevity. In 2008 on EU27 average healthy life years (HLY) at birth was estimated as 60.6 years for men and 61.8 years for women (Table (Table1).1). The significant gap between HLY and LE exist among all Member States (MSs) for both men and women – in 2008 14.4 years for men and 19.6 for women – as shown in Figures Figures11 and and2.2. The healthy years represented around 81% and 76% of the total life expectancy at birth for men and women respectively (Table (Table1).1).

Values for LE and HLY at birth showed significant differences among Member States, however the spread of HLY at birth was much greater than of LE, observing a gap of nearly 18 years for men and 20 years for women (Table (Table22). Table 1 Life expectancy and healthy life years at birth within the European Union, 2008 and projections under different scenarios for 2020 Table 2 Health inequalities between Member States within the EU measured by HLY gap, 2008 and projections under different scenarios for 2020 Such inter-country differences in values of LE and HLY across the EU make it difficult to model any EU level projections. Compression of morbidity Under this scenario, the study predicted that life expectancy and HLYs for men would grow on average at nearly same 2-year pace by 2020 (Table (Table1).1). For women, LE and HLYs would increase on average by 1.

6 and 1.4 years accordingly by 2020. The expected years with disability would remain unchanged (14.4 years for men; 19.8 years for women by 2020). The HLY/LE ratio would improve from 80.8% to 81.3% for men and from 75.9% to 76.4% for women. In relative terms (HLY/LE%), the remaining healthy lifespan would increase only by 0.5% for both men and women. This scenario foresees a very slight reduction of health inequalities among the MSs, namely the HLY gap, which is defined as the difference between the highest and lowest HLY, would decrease by 1.4 years for men and by 1.2 years for women, reaching 16.3 years and 18.4 years respectively (Table (Table22). Expansion of morbidity Similar to the previous scenario, life expectancy would increase by 2.1 years and 1.

6 years for men and women respectively by 2020, while HLYs would remain unchanged (Table (Table1).1). The expansion of morbidity would imply an increase in the expected years with disability of 2.1 years in men and 1.6 years in women. This would result in a deterioration of the HLY/LE AV-951 ratio for both men and women from 80.8% to 78.6% and from 75.9% to 74.5% respectively. The proportion of life in good health would be reduced: 2.2% and 1.4% loss of good health for men and women respectively.