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Objectives: Diabetes is a significant public health concern in India, with Kerala being labeled as the diabetes capital of the country. The study aims to evaluate the prevalence, treatment, and management of diabetes to examine the unmet need for care to propose cost-effective strategies. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a geographically defined cohort population in Ernakulam. Sample: This paper presents diabetes data of adults ≥30 years enrolled from the community cohort. The interviews were conducted with 997 participants at their residence. Measurement: Random blood glucose was assessed for each participant using a finger prick test. Results: The overall prevalence of diabetes was 30.1%, of which 4.1% of participants had undiagnosed diabetes. Among those with diabetes, 86.3% were aware of their diagnosis; among those aware, 86.5% were on treatment. Among those on treatment for diabetes, 54% achieved controlled blood sugar. Conclusion: The challenge in diabetes management is controlling the blood glucose levels of people who adhere to treatment. Younger employed females from lower-income quartiles have the highest risk. The study also raises questions about quality and strategies for medication compliance. The findings inspire future research on care needs, policies, and program responses to reduce the diabetes disease burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recent studies highlight the negative impact of social isolation and involvement in leisure activities on enhanced well‐being of individuals. However, there is dearth of evidence on relationship between social isolation and leisure activities on cognitive abilities and depression of older adults in the Indian context. The paper reports the impact of social isolation and leisure activities on cognitive functioning and depression of older adults. Methods: Data were collected from the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI), and 63,806 participants aged 45 years or above were considered for the study with adherence to the exclusion criteria. Multivariate analysis was carried out to analyse the group‐based differences. Results: Social isolation (F = 102.09, p < 0.01; η2 = 0.09) and leisure (F = 224.54, p < 0.01; η2 = 0.07) had a statistically significant impact on the cognition and depressive symptoms of participants. Socially isolated older adults with little involvement in leisure activities had the worst cognitive functioning (M = 32.76, SD = 4.41), whereas middle‐aged adults who were actively involved in leisure activities and experienced the least social isolation exhibited the best cognitive functioning (M = 32.76, SD = 4.41). However, leisure and age as independent factors did not have a significant impact on depression. Conclusion: Socially isolated participants, irrespective of age, and involvement in leisure activities exhibit poor cognitive functioning and are more likely to suffer from depression as compared to their counterparts. The findings of the study can be used to design intervention strategies aimed at reducing social isolation by incorporating leisure activities to ensure the optimal functioning of middle‐aged and older adults. Key points: Socially isolated older adults with least involvement in leisure activities reported the worst cognitive functioning.Socially isolated participants reported a positive association with depressive symptomatology.Both middle‐aged and older adults who engaged in leisure activities reported better cognitive functioning as compared to their counterparts who did not engage in any form of leisure activities.Leisure as an independent factor is not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background  Various risk factors for tumors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, and radiation, etc., were already identified. ABO blood group antigens are also present on epithelia, endothelia, and neurons. Recent evidence suggested the role of ABO antigens in the pathogenesis of certain malignancies. Materials   and Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care neurosurgical center in North India from January 2016 to December 2018. The hospital information system was used to obtain patient information while the blood center information system was used to collect blood group information. Brain tumors were majorly divided into cavernoma, glioma, meningioma, neuroma, pituitary adenoma, schwannoma, and others. Results  We found a total of 1,970 patients with brain tumors admitted during our study period. Most patients had glioma (33.55%), followed by pituitary adenoma (20.05%) and neuroma (2.23%). B blood group individuals had more prevalence of cavernoma, glioma, meningioma, pituitary adenoma, schwannoma, and others followed by O, A, and AB. Only association of O blood group with neuroma tumor was found statistically significant. Conclusions  Our patient population had blood group distribution similar to our general population and no significant association was observed by blood group antigens and brain tumors. Although neuroma was significantly associated with blood group O but the prevalence of neuroma in our patient population is very low hence large sample study is required to draw a firm conclusion regarding this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) co‐exist, often because of poor intakes and adversely impact health. Habitual diets were assessed in 300 school children (6–17 years old) recruited from two government schools by simple random sampling. Probability of adequacy (PA) for 11 micronutrients and mean probability of adequacy (MPA) was calculated. Haemoglobin, plasma ferritin, folic acid, vitamin B12 and C‐reactive protein were estimated. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to estimate magnitude and factors associated with MNDs. The contribution of fortified foods and/or supplements in addressing inadequacies and excessive intakes was modelled. The PA ranged from 0.04 for folate to 0.70 for zinc, and the MPA was 0.27. Prevalence of anaemia (53%), iron deficiency (57%; ID), iron deficiency anaemia (38%; IDA), folate deficiency (24%) and B12 deficiency (43%) was high. Dietary inadequacy of iron, zinc and a low MPA was associated with anaemia and IDA. Inclusion of double fortified salt (DFS), fortified rice (FR) or iron folic acid (IFA) supplements individually in habitual diet reduced probability of iron inadequacy significantly from 82% to ≤13%. Inclusion of DFS and FR simultaneously led to disappearance of iron inadequacy, but risk of excessive intake increased to 16%. Inclusion of DFS, FR and IFA together increased risk of excess iron intake to 40%. Nevertheless, intakes of folate and B12 remained inadequate even with FR and/or IFA. These results indicate a high risk of dietary MNDs in children and suggest need for more systematic intake measurements in representative sample and adjustment of iron dosages to avoid excessive intakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The present study was designed with the objective to study the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among adolescents and to explore the association of these disorders with Body Mass Index. Settings and Design: School setting and Cross-Sectional study design. Participants: 546 adolescents, aged 13-15 years, studying in public schools (n=5) in Delhi (Purposive sampling). Methods and Material: Anthropometric measurements: Height of the subjects was measured using a stadiometer in cm (to nearest 0.5cm). Weight was assessed using TANITA's Body Fat Monitor (UM-076). After gathering height and weight data, BMI (kg/m2) Z scores were calculated and classified into four categories: Underweight, Normal weight, Overweight and Obesity based on WHO's growth standards for BMI for age cutoffs. Mental Health Assessment: For this purpose, we used the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for ages 6-18 years; parent report version. Results: A V shaped curve (trend) was observed between the association of depression and anxiety scores in four BMI categories; with majority of the malnourished adolescents having higher scores for depression and anxiety symptoms. It was interesting to note that any deviation from normal weight, either underweight or overweight/obese was significantly associated with depression (p = <0.001) and anxiety (p = <0.001) scores. Conclusions: The study emphasizes the association between body weight and depression and anxiety symptoms among adolescents studying in public schools of Delhi. It adds to the growing body of research in the area of nutritional psychiatry which needs to be promoted for the prevention and management of these disorders through a healthy diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]