Page 10 - Health

International Day of Happiness 2024: It's all about importance of happiness

This day is committed to spreading awareness about the significance of happiness and prosperity. The day also aims to highlight the adverse impact of stress and other mental health issues

World Sleep Day 2024: Know the date, theme, history and importance

World Sleep Day is a yearly event coordinated by the World Sleep Society and aims to highlight the importance of sleep and the management of sleep problems

World Kidney Day 2024: All you need to know about kidney wellbeing

World Kidney Day will be celebrated on the second Thursday of March 2024 so this year it will fall on 14 March. The day is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of the health of kidneys

'Zero-food children' report attempt to sensationalise fake news: WCD

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development Tuesday denounced a recently published article on "zero-food children" in India, and labelled it as a deliberate and malicious attempt to sensationalise fake news. In a statement, the ministry said the article lacked primary research and made misleading assertions. The article referred to was published recently in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open. The study claimed the prevalence of "zero-food children" in India was at 19.3 per cent and drew attention to extreme food deprivation among children. It also ranked India as having the third-highest percentage of "zero-food children", after only Guinea (21.8 per cent) and Mali (20.5 per cent). In terms of numbers, the report claimed, India has the highest number of "zero-food children" at more than six million. Zero-food children is a term used to refer to children between six and 23 months old who did not consume any milk, formula or food in the last 24 hours. However, the ...

Covid has cut life expectancy globally, reversing past progress: Lancet

Global life expectancy dropped by 1.6 years between 2019 and 2021, a sharp reversal from past improvements, according to a research published in The Lancet journal. One of the first to fully evaluate demographic trends in the context of the first two years of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the study has published findings, which researchers said, could have implications for health systems, economies and societies around the world. The findings also included those of an ageing worldwide population. The study found that life expectancy declined in 84 per cent of countries and territories during this time. This demonstrated the "devastating potential impacts of novel pathogens", the researchers said. Places such as Mexico City, Peru and Bolivia experienced some of the largest drops, the study found. The researchers also found a marked increase in adult mortality rates globally during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, reversing past decreasing trends. However, child mortality cont

More than 70% of glaucoma cases go undetected in India, say experts

Around 11.2 million people aged 40 years and above in India have glaucoma but only 20 per cent of them are aware of it, experts said on the World Glaucoma Day on Tuesday. The numbers can be more as more than 70 per cent of cases go undetected. Glaucoma is a disease that affects the optic nerve and is the third most common cause of blindness in the country. It is known as the "sneak thief of sight," because there are no early symptoms. It is also the leading cause of irreversible blindness, affecting more than 80 million (one million=10 lakh) people worldwide. Dr Ikeda Lal, senior Cornea, Cataract and Refractory Surgery Specialist, at the Delhi Eye Centre and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here said glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, leading to progressive vision loss. Glaucoma typically presents with no symptoms in its early stages, making regular eye examinations crucial for early detection. "However, as the condition progresses, you may experience blurre

No Smoking Day 2024: All you need to know about best ways to quit smoking

No Smoking Day is celebrated every year across the world to spread awareness about the bad impacts of smoking. It urges individuals to stop smoking and promotes a smoke-free environment

Digital lab at fingertips: Neodocs aims to perform 100 mn tests in 3 years

The company employs diagnostic laboratory (lab) principles through a smartphone application (app) and a test card

Over 286,000 got respiratory illness in Afghanistan since Jan: WHO

On February 24, the WHO reported hundreds of deaths and infections due to respiratory illness in Afghanistan, coinciding with the onset of winter, according to the report

AyushMin gets rap for underuse of funds despite rising allocation

Expenditure for scheme stands at 74% and 85% of RE in FY24 and FY23

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day 2024: Importance, types and treatment

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day is devoted to raising awareness about the most recognized type of birth defect influencing babies globally. The day aims to raise issues of the CHDs patients

JN.1 Covid variant has increased transmissibility, immune escape: Study

The JN.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus not only spreads easily but also seems to resist immunity, according to a study that emphasizes the urgent need for strategies to address its threat to public health. The emergence JN.1 has sparked global concern due to its distinct genetic features and heightened infectivity. Carrying more than 30 spike protein mutations, including the hallmark Leu455Ser, JN.1 exhibits substantial potential for immune evasion. Researchers from The University of Tokyo, Japan, used genomic surveillance data from across France, the UK, and Spain, uncovering novel findings regarding the virological properties of JN.1. The study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, sheds light on the variant's potential to become the dominant lineage and alerts the global health community. The researchers found that the reproductive number of JN.1 was found to surpass that of its counterparts in the three countries studied, suggesting a potential global dominanc

BMC unveils highest ever Budget at Rs 59,954 cr with focus on health, infra

No new taxes were proposed on Friday in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Rs 59,954.75-crore budget for 2024-25, the highest ever, as it made special provisions for the coastal road project and proposed four new schemes, one of them for providing medicines free to patients at civic hospitals for which Rs 1,200 crore was set aside. The expenditure on the health budget was hiked to Rs 7,191 crore from Rs 6,309 crore in 2023-24 and a provision of Rs 340 crore was made for upgradation of footpaths, lanes and bylanes. A sum of Rs 100 crore was allocated for implementation of a scheme for women's security. The budgetary estimates were 10.5 per cent more than the 2023-24 amount of Rs 54,256.07 crore. The administration of India's richest civic body presented the budget for the next fiscal to municipal commissioner-cum-administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal at the BMC headquarters in south Mumbai. Chahal, a senior IAS officer, was appointed the BMC administrator by the Maharashtra ...

Rheumatoid Arthritis Day 2024: History, importance, signs and symptoms

Rheumatoid arthritis mainly influences the joints, causing pain, inflammation, and stiffness usually in body parts such as the fingers, ankles, feet, hands, wrists, knees, and toes

Glenmark, Pfizer launch Abrocitinib in India for Atopic Dermatitis

The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in India has risen over the past three decades, with approximately 5.9 per cent of adults affected, of which 4.4 per cent suffer from a severe form of the disease

Modi 2.0 expenditure: Govt spend on education, health remains low

Interest payments, subsidies account for big chunk of outlays

Child care costs are skyrocketing around the world: ECA International

In Japan, some businesses provide subsidised child care and family-friendly housing as part of employee benefit packages

King Charles III admitted to hospital for scheduled prostate operation

Britain's King Charles III was on Friday admitted to a private hospital here for treatment for an enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace announced. The procedure will be carried out at the London Clinic private hospital, where Catherine, the Princess of Wales, had surgery last week. The 75-year-old King visited the Princess of Wales in the hospital this morning, ahead of his own scheduled treatment. It is not yet known how long King Charles will remain in hospital. King Charles III had made his health problem public as a way of sending a message to other men to get their prostates checked. A statement from Buckingham Palace said the King was "delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness". He also thanked those who had "sent their good wishes," the BBC reported. The plan for King Charles to have a "corrective procedure" for his enlarged prostate was revealed by the palace last week. A benign prostate problem, which is non-cancerous,

Govt committed to transform healthcare landscape: Health minister Mandaviya

The government is committed to transform the country's entire healthcare landscape, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said Wednesday, highlighting that this dispensation opened several new AIIMS, raised the number of medical colleges to almost double and operationalised more than 10,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras. He was speaking after virtually inaugurating a Super Specialty Block at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He also laid the foundation stone of an All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) Satellite Centre in Kanpur. "This Super Specialty Block offering 12 super-specialty services will help people take these specialised services locally, saving their valuable time and resources," he said. On the AIISH Centre in Kanpur, he said it will be the first such state-of-the-art centre in North India which will not only train doctors but also provide care to people. It is the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that AIISH institutes be .

Novel approach identifies people at risk of developing TB: Lancet study

A novel approach to studying the progression of tuberculosis (TB) from infection to disease can identify and treat people at increased risk of developing the disease that current methods of testing would not, according to a study published in The Lancet Microbe journal. Researchers at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), UK, hope the findings could help with global efforts to reduce the spread of the disease. TB is a bacterial disease that causes significant lung damage and can, without treatment, be fatal. It is spread in aerosol by inhaling droplets containing the bacteria. Most people who become infected live with the infection and remain well. However, in a small proportion, the infection is not controlled and can progress to cause disease. Current tests of TB infection use either a skin test or a blood test, called an interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) to detect an immune response to the infection. However, .