AMJ

We invite submissions for our special edition on Cardiology

The modern medical facilities in India are of such good quality that the National Health Service of the UK is negotiating with many corporate hospitals in India to get their patients on the long waiting lists to be flown to India for elective surgery. Be that as it may, health is not contigent on the availability of medical technology but  contigent on basic provisions; clean water, three square meals a day, freedom from the effects of pollution and the skills to earn a living.

The authors suggest that the very high prevalence of anaemia  early in pregnancy (74.8%) is an indication of the failure of World Health Organisation and national programmes to tackle the issue in this group. Those pregnant for the first time are at greatest risk of developing anaemia. A highly significant association was found with the mother‘s age, educational and socio-economic status, religion, parity and Body Mass Index (BMI).

This study was in a rural setting in which there was a high prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women  (97.1%). The team report data that deploying a direct observer to monitor compliance improves the adherence to iron tablets. The mean haemoglobin was statistically significant in the study group at the last visit.

India is now an “ageing nation”. It has already entered the third stage i.e. the late expanding phase of demographic cycle. This expansion is attributed to the decreasing fertility and mortality rates due to the availability of better health care services. Health problems of geriatric people cause dependency and depression which when added to otorhinolaryngological problems, makes social interaction difficult. This study suggests that hearing loss is the most common geriatric otorhinolaryngological problem in this age group. 

The World Health Organisation estimates that 94% of diarrhoeal cases are preventable through interventions to increase the availability of clean water, and to improve sanitation and hygiene. This community based cross sectional study was conducted in Mangalore in South India. Seventeen percent of those surveyed  had a private water source The team found that 5% of the sample did not use any method to treat water in their households. All these belonged to lower socio economic groups and it could lead to higher chances of water borne diseases among them.

Arecanut chewing is considered a benign and socially acceptable habit by many Indians. Its chronic use contributes significantly to the high incidence of oral and oropharyngeal cancer in India. Apart from the carcinogenic potential, arecanut has been shown to be addictive and development of typical dependence symptoms associated with its usage has been described. Tobacco along with arecanut, slaked lime, catechu and condiments makes gutka. Aggressive advertising and marketing of gutka in small attractive and inexpensive sachets since early 1980s has greatly enhanced the sales of these products. This cross sectional study involved 392 children from a village in Southern India. The prevalence of areca nut usage among boys and girls was 27.3% and 6.1% and 2.4% for gutka. About 3/4th of the participants were unware of associated health hazards or thought these substances to be harmless.