When it comes to sleep, how much is enough? And on World Sleep Day, ask yourself: am I getting enough sleep and should I worried about snoring How much sleep you get is important for a number of reasons. Sleep affects a number of different health indicators, from healthier ageing to better weight management to […]
health
Do leprosy fears in Nepal have implications for India?
Nepal could be inching towards a leprosy resurgence, a decade after it declared elimination of the disease. The situation in Nepal mirrors that of its neighbour to the south. India, too, declared eradication of leprosy. Yet, in recent years, the disease has displayed symptoms of a resurgence. The 2017-18 period saw 90,709 leprosy cases reported […]
What drives India’s diabetes crisis?
Diabetes cases in India are rising. Some studies suggest that it is India’s fastest growing disease. India housed an estimated 72 million cases of diabetes in 2017. This figure is expected to increase considerably to 134 million by 2025. A victim of its own success? The reasons for this rapid increase in diabetes cases are […]
Tamil Nadu rocked by Gutkha scam. What you need to know
The gutkha scam has been making headlines in Tamil Nadu, where senior officials including the health minister have been implicated in a multi-crore corruption scandal involving bribes paid by chewing tobacco companies. Officials stand accused of accepting bribes paid by manufacturers of gutkha, a chewing tobacco mixture which has been banned in Tamil Nadu since […]
Why CO2 will cause a malnutrition crisis in India
Tens of millions of Indians face nutritional deficiencies in the coming decades because of carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution, a recent study suggests. Rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are killing crop quality in India. This means commonly consumed foodstuffs in the country, such as rice and wheat, will lose much of their nutritional value. This […]
Pesticide poisoning kills first farmer in Maharashtra this year
Is lack of pesticide awareness killing our farmers? Vijay Sardar – a resident of Dahigaon in the Akola district of the state – was admitted to Government Medical College (GMC) in Akola on August 7th with contact pesticide poisoning. He died five days later, aged 32. As of August 17th, there have been an additional […]
How Type 1 diabetes lowers life expectancy
Type 1 diabetes can reduce life expectancy if onset occurs when the patient is young, claims a study recently published in The Lancet. In India, diabetes numbers are surging. Disconcertingly, rates are increasing among India’s young population. It was recently revealed that around 97,000 children in India suffer from type 1 diabetes. In Delhi alone […]
HIV hotspots in the northeast: A threat to national progress?
India’s efforts to tackle HIV is bearing fruit. The numbers of new HIV infections, AIDS-related deaths and people living with HIV all fell substantially. However, the success did not come without a caveat. India may be making progress against HIV but experts have warned it is not yet on course to meet targets of reducing […]
Landfill garbage dumping trashes Indians’ health
“It is dirty everywhere”, this is how Amish Das describes his home: Boragaon, a landfill site which sprawls across 94 acres of wetland in Guwahati City in northeastern Assam. Amish, whose story was recounted in a feature for The Independent last year, has lived in Boragaon his entire life. His living is made through scavenging, […]
What’s the hepatitis burden in India?
Less than one tenth of people infected with hepatitis are aware of it – and fewer than a tenth of those who are aware receive the necessary treatment. These were the grim figures issued by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh ahead of World Hepatitis Day this year. Dr Singh – the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional […]