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Background: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and Anemia are important public health nutritional problems in India. Objective: To assess nutritional status and prevalence and correlates of undernutrition, anemia, and VAD among children. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out adopting systematic random sampling. Information on socio-demographic particulars was collected and 20 µL blood was collected for hemoglobin and free-flowing drop on Whatman filter paper for Vitamin A estimation. Hemoglobin was estimated using indirect cyanmethemoglobin and Vitamin A by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Nutritional status was assessed using the WHO Child Growth Standard. Results: The overall prevalence of anemia and VAD was 68% and 59%, respectively, while underweight, stunting, and wasting was 30%, 55%, and 11%, respectively, among under 5 year children. Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed no significant association of anemia and VAD with any sociodemographic variables, while the odd of stunting was four times higher among children of mothers engaged in labor and two times among children from low-income group, while underweight was two times higher among children from households not having sanitary latrine. Exclusive breastfeeding was observed to be associated with undernutrition among infants. Conclusions: Anemia, VAD, and stunting were high among children. Low intakes of green leafy vegetables and milk and milk product may be the reasons for the higher prevalence of anemia and VAD. There is a need to strengthen supplementation of iron and folic acid tablets and Vitamin A and also public distribution system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Till 2016, India was the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world, second only to China. However, in June 2017, the factsheet release of Global Adult Tobacco Survey-2 showed a 6% point decline in the prevalence of tobacco use among adults (>15 years) in the country. Materials and Methods: This is a form of ecological study where trends in aggregate prevalence of tobacco use at country level (using secondary data) were studied in relation to corresponding policy actions over a period of two decades. Results: The results have shown that initial policy actions since the cigarettes act of 1975 till prevention of food adulteration Amendment act of 1995 were largely targeting cigarettes, and so smoking prevalence among men was constantly declining. On the other hand, smokeless tobacco use was increasing among both men and women and reached a peak in 2009--2010. After that, the government took strict policy actions including Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Gutka ban in 2011. There were other persistent efforts, which are discussed in this paper. As a result, a transition has occurred in relation to tobacco epidemic in India. Conclusion: The paper has been concluded with a note that there is no room for complacence and we have a noncommunicable disease action goal to further decline the prevalence of tobacco use in the country to <24.22% by the year 2025. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The WHO defines LBW as "Birth weight less than 2500 grams" regardless of gestational age. Being born with a low birth weight also incurs enormous economic costs, including higher medical expenditures and social service expenses, and decreased productivity in adulthood. Objective: To study distribution of newborns' according to pregnancy related factors and its association with newborns' birth weight. Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study. New-borns delivered at study institute were considered as study participants. Estimated final sample size was 500. Guardians (mothers) were face-to-face interviewed and also recorded data were collected from the case file and Mother and Child Protection Card. Results: Prevalence of LBW newborns was higher in mothers with late ANC registration, <4 ANC visits, chronic medical conditions, infection during pregnancy, PIH, anemia, consuming tobacco, exposure to second hand smoke, LSCS/Assisted delivery, in female newborns', current pregnancy birth order number more than 2, in pre term newborns' and mothers with bad obstetric history. Conclusion: Create awareness and adoption of suitable family planning methods. Need to do early (within 12 weeks) ANC registration with minimum four ANC visits for better pregnancy outcome. Effective tracking and suitable intervention provided to improve current pregnancy outcome. Health care professional should pay special attention to high-risk pregnancy. Develop social culture in such a way that females are neither addicted nor exposed to any tobacco containing products in their life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Injuries have become a major public health concern. Recent data show that globally over 5 million people lose their life due to injury every year. Especially in low- and middle-income countries, people living below the poverty line are drastically scathed due to injuries. Objective: The objective of this paper is to find the magnitude and risk factors of fall among the elderly in India. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was done by using Google Scholar and PubMed. Results: The selected studies revealed that the prevalence of fall ranges from 26% to 37% across various regions, fall injuries are associated with poor vision, vertigo, imbalance, fear of falling, history of fall, presence of osteoarthritis, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and depression. This study has shown the risk of fall was higher among female elderly population. Conclusion: The major contributing factors for fall injuries are aging, visual impairment, previous history of fall, depression, and gait problem. Females have a higher risk of fall comparatively to males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Food insecurity is a matter of public health concern as it is associated with adverse health outcomes particularly among vulnerable population. Accessibility and availability of nutritious and culturally appropriate food is paramount to achieve zero hunger. To assess the prevalence of household food insecurity, to estimate the household dietary diversity and its association with household food insecurity. Material and Methods: Using multistage sampling 381 rural households were surveyed. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and House hold Dietary Diversity Scale were used as study instruments. Chi square test was used to compare the two groups and P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Prevalence of household insecurity was 33.3% (127) among the surveyed households and 8.1% (31) had severe food insecurity. The mean HFIS score was 6.85 ± 4.82. The household Dietary diversity score was 8.14 ± 1.54 for food secure and 6.51 ± 1.38 for severely food insecure households. There was a statistically significant difference in intake of milk and milk products, fruits, eggs and meat/poultry among food secure and insecure households (P < 0.001 respectively). Conclusion: Food insecurity was high in rural households and was associated with lower dietary intake of foods from protein group, necessitating a need to reinforce the food security programmes in rural India with focus to enhance protein rich diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The infant and child mortality rates are considered as sensitive indicators of living and socioeconomic conditions of a country. The infant mortality rate is regarded as most of the revealing measures of how well a society is meeting the needs of its people. Objective: The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of seasonal variations on the infant mortality in some selected districts of Jammu Division, J&K. Methodology: In the present study, infant mortality data were collected for the 6 consecutive years (2013--2018) from different health centers of four districts of Jammu Division and Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), J&K. The seasonal variations of overall infant deaths were analyzed using the monthly mortality data collected for the study period. Poisson regression model was employed to measure the seasonal effects on the overall infant deaths. Data analysis was done using software IBM SPSS 24.0. Results: In this study, a total of 4443 infant deaths were recorded from selected districts of Jammu Division, J&K, from the year 2013--2018. The prevalence of infant deaths was extremely high in the month of January as compared to the reference month June. Furthermore, the parameter estimates for each of the months along with 95% Wald confidence interval were calculated. Conclusions: The present study concludes that seasonal variations significantly affect the infant mortality in Jammu Division, J&K, India. The policymakers must consider the effect of seasons on infant mortality as children in their 1st year of life are more susceptible toward environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current recommendation in India to commence first dose of measles immunization is at 9 months of age. The effectiveness of measles vaccination is greatly impacted by the level of maternal measles antibody (MMA) during infancy. Objectives: To find the prevalence of MMA and to study the maternal and infant factors associated with persistence of MMA among the infants in a Indian rural community. Methodology: Dried blood spot sample was collected before vaccination among infants aged 9 months and above when they came for first dose of measles vaccine to assess measles-specific maternal IgG antibody titers by enzyme immunoassay. Maternal and child factors influencing persistence of MMA were collected by interviewing the mothers. Association between various factors affecting seropositivity was tested using univariate logistic regression analysis and strength of association is reported as risk ratio with 95% confidence interval. Results: Based on the qualitative estimation among all the recruited children (250) in the study, 4 (1.6%) infants showed the presence of MMA whereas 25 (10%) of children had MMA on quantitative estimation. The effect of maternal factors, child nutrition, and sociodemographic factors on the presence of MMA was not found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The prevalence of persistent MMA (IgG titer ≥200 mlU/ml) among the infants aged 9-12 months was 10%. The choice of vaccinating infants at the end of 9 months for the first dose of measles vaccine is justified as the remaining (90%) of infants were susceptible for measles infection at this age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Injuries are considered as an emerging public health problem in India. Globally every year, injuries kill more than 5 million people, and by 2020, injuries will be the third-leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The study aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of nonfatal home injuries among the elderly in Tamil Nadu. Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 1139 elderly (60 years and above), sampled from three districts of Tamil Nadu, India. Probability proportional to size sampling technique was used for sampling; a pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: Prevalence of nonfatal home injuries among elderly within the past 1 year was 14.6% (12.5–16.7 at 95% confidence interval), (n = 1003), among those injured, 94.5% were unintentionally injured and 5.5% were of intentional nature. When classified according to the types of injuries, majority of them had fall injuries (6.7%) followed by minor domestic injuries (5.4%), animal-related injury (0.2%), burn injuries (1.1%), road traffic injury (0.4%), and suicide attempt (0.8%). Majority of the respondents were in the age group of young-old, 60–69 years of age (84%), and there was more number of males (55%) in the study. Conclusion: The study reveals that nonfatal home injuries among elderly are an emerging public health problem, unintentional injuries contribute to the majority of the injuries, fall was the single largest contributor for all injuries among elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Burnout syndrome refers to a combination of physical fatigue and emotional exhaustion, which, in turn, affects the working efficiency of a person. In India, factors such as extensive working hours, poor facilities, and physical and emotional abuse of doctors by patients and seniors lead to the high prevalence of occupational burnout among medical practitioners. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 300 resident doctors working in public sector hospitals across Mumbai. The "Copenhagen Burnout Inventory" questionnaire was utilized to assess the prevalence of burnout. Questionnaires were made available personally or electronically. Burnout was recorded on three parameters, personal burnout, work-related burnout, and client-related burnout. Results: The average working hours recorded was 88 h/week. About 56.66% (n = 170) showed scores that indicate burnout. About 66.67% of respondents showed personal burnout, 57.14% had work-related burnout, and 16.67 had client-related burnout. Conclusion: The high prevalence of burnout syndrome among resident doctors in public sector hospitals is alarming as it not only takes a toll on the physical and mental health of the medical practitioners but also reduces their working efficiency and motivation. Stress management strategies should be propagated in hospitals to encourage work and personal life balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The major focus of studies related to health among tribes in India has been on malnutrition. The world is in the stage of epidemiological transition, and noncommunicable diseases are overtaking the communicable diseases not only in general but also among the tribal population. Objectives: A cross-sectional study was conducted to find out the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension among the tribal population. Methodology: A house-to-house survey using a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted in three randomly selected tribal villages. Participants aged 18 and above from both genders were included. Blood pressure was recorded and random blood sugar was estimated for all the participants. Chi-square test was used to study association for categorical variables and one-way ANOVA and Student's t-test were used to study association for continuous variables. A P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 952 tribal people were interviewed. About 40.2% were males and 59.8% were females. About 82.2% were Illiterate. 18.9% were underweight compared to 8.8% who were overweight or obese. The prevalence of diabetes was 3.8% (36 participants) of which 77.8% was newly detected. Increasing age was associated with diabetes. Overall, prevalence of hypertension was 16.7% (159 participants) of which 62.9% were newly detected. Age, gender, body mass index, and literacy status were associated with the presence of hypertension. Only eight participants had both diabetes and hypertension. Conclusion: Noncommunicable diseases burden in tribal population is as high as in the general population. Effective strategies to prevent this have to be devised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Prevalence of under-nutrition is very high in India. Under-nutrition is a result of interplay between different immediate, underlying, and basic causes. The study was conducted with the objective to identify significant predictors of stunting, wasting, and underweight. Methods: Cross-sectional studies with 2299 children from five high-burden pockets of four Indian states were conducted. Primary data on their anthropometric measurements along with their households' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics were collected. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the predictors of stunting, wasting, and underweight. Results: Results show very high prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight in all five regions covered in the study. Multivariate analyses show that food security, use of toilets, and low body mass index status of mothers were the major predictors of stunting and underweight among children. Acute respiratory infection disease was the major predictor of underweight and diarrhea was the major predictor of stunting. Younger children (<24 months) had lower odds of underweight and stunting compared to older children (24-59 months). The analyses showed higher odds of wasting among male children. Regional variations were also seen in the study with higher odds of underweight and wasting in Khuntpani block and higher odds of stunting in Naraini block. Conclusion: The above findings indicate that for comprehensively addressing child under-nutrition, it is very important to address maternal nutrition, improve food security, and reduce poverty status, provide better water and sanitation facility to the community, control infections, and address regional disparity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elder abuse is a serious problem that has adverse consequence on health. Still, research on elder abuse is sparse in India. Aims: This study aimed to find the nature, prevalence, and factors such as depression and physical problems associated with elder abuse in an urban North Indian community. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 222 elders with 97 males, aged 60 years or older residing in an urban community of Delhi. Elders were assessed for abuse by modified Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale questionnaire, Geriatric Depression Scale, and self-reported questions on health problems. Results: Mean age of the study population was 66.3 ± 4.2 years. The overall prevalence of any type of elder abuse was 24.3%. Psychological abuse was the most common type (22.9%) followed by financial abuse (5.8%), physical abuse (1.4%), and anti-constitutional abuse (nil). Among the abused, nearly 20% experienced more than one type of abuse. Thirty-seven women (30%) and 17 men (18%) reported elder abuse. Low income (