Health

Love to lather your children with lotion to keep their skin hydrated? Beware, a new study has linked personal care products like lotions and conditioners with increased levels of chemicals known to cause hormonal disruptions in their bodies. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Environmental Health Perspectives Journal, showed that lotions, hair-care products like shampoos and conditioners, and sunscreens contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals called phthalates, posing severe health risks in children. A team of researchers led by George Mason University, in the US, examined urine samples of children aged between 4 and 8 years from 2017 to 2019, and found increased levels of mono-benzyl phthalate, Monoethyl phthalate, monobutyl phthalate. These chemicals cause hormonal changes in me...

Ganesh Chaturthi is a time of celebration for many but with festivities come a lot of song, dance and music too. With a vibrant atmosphere filled with loud music throughout the city to honour Bappa and seek his blessings, experts say it is important to be aware of the effect of loud sounds. The joy of celebrations can quickly become distressing, as the high volume of sounds during the festivities poses a risk of ear damage for 20 per cent of individuals. Many may experience noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), discomfort, pain, or ringing in their ears. To safeguard your hearing and enjoy the celebrations without issues, it`s advisable to limit exposure to loud sounds by using noise-canceling headphones or ear muffs and distancing yourself from the source of loud sound. Ganeshotsav is celeb...

Including fungal pathogens is crucial in the fight against deadly antimicrobial resistance, which is rapidly becoming a public health threat worldwide, according to a study published in The Lancet journal on Friday.  The study, led by scientists at the universities of Manchester in the UK, Amsterdam, and the Westerdijk Institute in the Netherlands, showed that most fungal pathogens identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are either already resistant or rapidly acquiring resistance to antifungal drugs. These fungal pathogens account for around 3.8 million deaths a year. The study, which comes ahead of the UN meeting on AMR later this month, calls for including resistance developed in many fungal pathogens to curb AMR. The scientists argued that focussing on bacteria alone will...

If you are suffering from chronic pain in your body, it may be time to actively work towards losing that belly or abdominal fat, suggests research on Wednesday. Reducing belly fat may help reduce chronic musculoskeletal pain particularly if it’s at multiple body sites, especially in women, revealed the study, published in the open-access journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. Musculoskeletal pain, which affects about 1.71 billion people globally, affects bones, joints, ligaments, tendons or muscles. Previously published research has shown that obesity is associated with musculoskeletal pain, but it’s unknown if excess fat tissue is linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain at multiple body sites, said researchers from the universities of Tasmania and Monash in Australia. “Abdomina...

Children whose families use screens a lot tend to have weaker vocabulary skills, and video games have the biggest negative effect on kids’ brain development, according to a study on Thursday. Scientists from Estonia surveyed the parents of more than 400 children about their screen use, their children’s screen use, and their children’s language skills. The findings, published in the Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, found that parents who use screens a lot also have children who use screens a lot and that children’s higher screen time is associated with poorer language skills. “The research shows that during the first years of life, the most influential factor is everyday dyadic face-to-face parent-child verbal interaction,” said lead author Dr Tiia Tulviste of the University of Tar...

 More young people die by suicide in India than in other countries, said experts on World Suicide Prevention Day on Tuesday.  World Suicide Prevention Day is observed every year on September 10 to raise awareness and fight stigma. The theme this year is “Changing the narrative on suicide”. It has been estimated that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among the late adolescent age groups (15–19 years) in India. According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), more than 40 per cent of all cases of suicides are among young adults below the age of 30. “In India, the magnitude of the young people dying by suicide is unfortunately very high. The number of young people who died by suicide in India is almost double in comparison to the global average. Approximately 160...

People suffering from common laryngopharyngeal dysfunction like chronic cough, hoarseness, recurrent throat clearing, especially after Covid, may be at significant risk of developing a heart attack or stroke, warns a study on Wednesday.  Researchers from the University of Southampton observed a reduction in baroreflex sensitivity -- a measure of how much a person`s heart rate changes in response to changes in blood pressure -- in patients with throat symptoms. The team noted that the findings could be explained by the Vagas nerve -- which controls the autonomic nervous system -- prioritising protection of the airways over less urgent functions, such as blood pressure regulation. “Our immediate survival depends on the throat being able to separate air and food passages each time we swall...

With over 170,000 lives lost annually due to suicide in India, it is imperative to focus beyond mental health to prevent suicide cases in the country, said an expert in a new study published in The Lancet journal on World Suicide Prevention Day, on Tuesday.  Suicide is a major public health challenge, with more than 700,000 deaths each year globally. India has one of the highest number of suicide deaths. World Suicide Prevention Day is observed every year on September 10 to raise awareness about the importance of reducing stigma and encourage open conversations to prevent suicides. The theme this year is “Changing the narrative on suicide”. In line with the theme, a new six paper Series published in The Lancet Public Health, argues that a change in the narrative is needed to move from p...

Apart from the much-anticipated iPhone 16 series, Apple also launched the Apple Watch Series 10 and new features for AirPods Pro 2 at the ‘It’s Glowtime’ event on Monday in California. The company has added groundbreaking health features to its newly-launched Apple Watch which will deliver sleep apnea notifications, while its AirPods Pro 2 will feature the world’s first all-in-one hearing health experience. “With Apple Watch, we continue to offer our users the ability to uncover important health conditions with new sleep apnea notifications. And on AirPods Pro, powerful features put users’ hearing health front and centre, bringing new ways to help test for and receive assistance for hearing loss,” said Sumbul Desai, MD, Apple’s vice president of Health, in a statement. The sleep apnea d...

National strategies aimed at preventing suicide should include measures to address social issues to prevent people from reaching "crisis point," even as clinical services for those in crisis are critical, argue authors of a new six-paper series published in The Lancet Public Health journal.The international team of authors, including those from the Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, called for a change in the narrative around suicide -- to move away from presenting it as a purely mental health issue and acknowledge the impact of social risk factors, such as poverty, domestic violence, addictions and isolation.This was particularly relevant for India, which released the National Suicide Prevention Strategy in November 2022, and grounded most of its proposed solutions within the m...