Health

‘India is the diabetic capital of the world, is only going to get worse from here.’- revealed a Mumbai-based ophthalmologist during a virtual press interaction on Friday, stressing the urgent need to address the silent yet devastating complications of retinal diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy. With at least 1 in 5 adults estimated to have diabetes in India, and the ever-changing lifestyle and dietary shift of the younger age groups especially, Ophthalmologists are raising concern over the increasing incidence of diabetic retinopathy among young adults, with cases now being detected within just three to five years of a diabetes diagnosis. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood sugar levels damage the blood vessels in the retina. It was once considered a condition only affecting o...

Mental well-being is central to preventing chronic and non-communicable diseases, especially heart disease, experts said on Friday.  India has recently seen a significant rise in the number of heart diseases, especially among young adults and even children. “If we want to address India’s heart health crisis, we need to shift from a curative mindset to cultivating genuine health-seeking behaviour across our families, schools, and communities,” said Rajesh Bhushan, former Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, at a city-based event held ahead of the World Heart Day on September 29. The expert urged the need for integrating mental health into the healthcare regimen. He also urged schools to foster mental well-being in children. “Alongside regular exercise and stress management,...

Yearly deaths from cancer could rise by nearly 75 per cent in the next 25 years to 18.6 million with a country`s economic growth and an increasingly ageing population being major driving factors, according to a global study published in The Lancet journal. New cases of cancer are estimated to increase by 61 per cent to 30.5 million in 2050. Researchers also estimated that since 1990, deaths from cancer increased 74 per cent to 10.4 million and new cases more than doubled to 18.5 million in 2023, with majority of those living in low and middle-income countries affected. India was found to see a jump of 26.4 per cent in cancer rates between 1990-2023 -- among the highest in the world. China was found to see a fall in rates by 18.5 per cent. The team added that more than 40 per cent of de...

A new survey has highlighted how sleep deprivation, early onset of chronic diseases, and neglect of preventive care are undermining productivity during employees’ most productive years. It also reveals a critical disconnect. While companies are investing heavily in wellness programs, the outcomes are not matching the scale of investment. The survey is a part of The India Workplace Wellbeing Report 2025: From Access to Outcomes, released by Truworth Wellness, a corporate wellness solution provider, based on health data from over 46,000 employees across industries, offers an in-depth view into the hidden health risks shaping India’s workforce and the urgent need for organisations to move from one-size-fits-all wellness initiatives to measurable, targeted outcomes. The key findings of the r...

Researchers at the National Institute of Technology Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) have developed a low-cost and indigenous force plate that enhances gait profiling and enables better development of footwear and treatment strategies to reduce heel pain.  Heel pain is one of the most widespread foot ailments in adults. It is often linked to overloading of the plantar fascia -- a band of tissue that supports the arch of the foot. However, in many cases, changes in the heel pad -- a fatty tissue under the heel can also cause the problem. This issue acts as a shock absorber when we stand, run, or walk. With too much stress, the heel pad loses its cushioning ability to the foot, causing pain and discomfort. The condition can also be caused by aging, injury, obesity, diabetes, and ill-fitting shoes. ...

Scientists have discovered that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) silently starts years earlier, long before symptoms appear, an advance that may pave the way for earlier treatment and prevention.  RA is a debilitating autoimmune disease that causes painful joint inflammation and damage. The new research, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, reveals that during the early phase of RA, the body fights an autoimmune battle invisibly. This wasn`t a localised joint inflammation, but rather a body-wide inflammatory state that resembles what`s seen in people with active RA. "Overall, we hope this study raises awareness that rheumatoid arthritis begins much earlier than previously thought and that it enables researchers to make data-driven decisions on strategies to disrupt disease...

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Jodhpur have leveraged the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to better identify childhood malnutrition.  The new method, published in the open-access journal MICCAI, addresses one of the most pressing global health challenges -- the accurate and scalable assessment of childhood malnutrition. The study introduced DomainAdapt -- a novel multitasks learning framework that dynamically adjusts task weights using domain knowledge and mutual information. This allows the system to more accurately predict key anthropometric measures such as height, weight, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), while simultaneously classifying malnutrition-related conditions such as stunting, wasting, ...

Gleneagles Hospital Mumbai, in collaboration with Medtronic, hosted a medical conclave on Sunday, Taj the Trees at Mumbai. The event highlighted the Hub & Spoke model of healthcare delivery and showcased the latest AI-driven advancements in patient care. With more than 100 doctors, neurosurgeons, neurologists, radiologists, physicians and critical care specialists present at the event, the primary objective of this conclave was to showcase the AI-powered Hub & Spoke Model and how it aims to make advanced neurointerventional treatment accessible to patients even in distant suburbs of the city. The model aims to tackle three major challenges in India’s stroke care: Firstly, the delay in diagnosis due to lack of specialists at smaller centers. Next, the limited access to advanced ...

The US government has announced controversial guidance on the prevention and treatment of autism in children.New health recommendations aim to discourage pregnant women from taking the painkiller paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen and by the brand name Tylenol, to prevent autism.The recommendations also include using the drug leucovorin to treat speech-related difficulties that children with autism sometimes experience.So what is leucovorin and what does the science say about its ability to treat autism? What is leucovorin?Leucovorin is a form of folic acid, a B vitamin our bodies usually get from foods such as legumes, citrus fruits and fortified grains.The medication is most often used in cancer treatment. It`s typically used alongside the chemotherapy drug fluorouracil, a cancer ...

US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that the use of acetaminophen (commonly known as Tylenol) during pregnancy could be "associated with a very increased risk of autism," a statement that contradicts decades of medical research and expert consensus supporting the safety of the drug for pregnant women, CNN reported. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stated that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would soon notify physicians to limit the recommendation of Tylenol during pregnancy unless "medically necessary," such as for the treatment of fever, adding, "if you can`t tough it out." According to CNN, researchers broadly agree that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is caused by a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors, and the data regarding any potential link...