Health

Amid continuing poor air quality in the national capital, doctors on Wednesday reported a rise in digestive issues like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).   Delhi-NCR`s air quality remained dangerously poor on Wednesday, nearing the `severe` category in several locations across the region. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi`s average air quality index (AQI) stood at 358 as of 7:30 a.m. The AQI surpassed 400, marking `severe` levels in areas like Bawana (412), Mundka (419), NSIT Dwarka (447), and Wazirpur (421). Air pollution is a known health risk that can lead to problems ranging from respiratory to cardiovascular to metabolic and even mental health. It is also a considerable threat to digestive health. “Long-term air poll...

Pregnancy can be accompanied with various health challenges in a woman’s life. One of these is the risk of arthritis, which can cause discomfort and pain. Arthritis causes pain and swelling in the joints, a condition that can be aggravated during pregnancy. This health challenge can present itself in different forms. In a conversation with mid-day.com, Dr. Vanitha Vaishnav, MBBS, MS, OBGYN (Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine), Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital, Bangalore, discusses the symptoms, effects and tips for managing arthritis during pregnancy. Symptoms of arthritis and its effect on pregnancy There are several signs that point towards arthritis. Dr. Vaishnav shares the following: Joint pain and stiffness: It`s common in affected areas, such as hands, knees, and hips, whic...

Driven by the rise in digital adoption, the enterprise-driven business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) mental health market in India is projected to reach approximately $3.9 billion by FY29, with demand expected to grow 1.7 times in the coming years, according to a new report.  Corporate and educational segments are leading this shift, recognising the critical role of mental health in productivity and educational success, according to the report from market research firm Redseer. “Currently, over 200 million people in India face mental health conditions, yet only 10-15 per cent seek professional help. The gap highlights the need for scalable, accessible solutions — a need that is being met with innovative, digital-first approaches,” said Jasbir Juneja from Redseer. To address the wide-r...

Love to wear sarees daily? Beware, draping it tightly may give you skin cancer, warned doctors in Bihar and Maharashtra on Wednesday.  After treating two women with this type of malignancy, doctors from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Wardha, and Madhubani Medical College and Hospital, in Bihar warned that tightly tied waist cord of the underskirt (petticoat) traditionally worn under a saree, particularly in rural parts of India, may cause continued friction linked to chronic inflammation, leading to skin ulceration, and in some cases, progress to skin cancer. The phenomenon has previously been described as “saree cancer,” but it is the tightness of the waist cord that’s to blame, the doctors pointed out in the study published in the BMJ Case Reports, and dubbed it as ‘petticoat canc...

Women with a history of concussion face a 25 per cent higher risk of having severe mental health issues after childbirth, according to a new study on Monday.  The research, led by a team of Canadian researchers, underscored the importance of identifying individuals with past concussions early in their prenatal care and highlighted the need for long-term, trauma-informed support to safeguard their mental health. “We found that individuals with a history of concussion were significantly more likely to experience serious mental health challenges, such as psychiatric emergency department visits or self-harm, in the years following childbirth,” said lead author Samantha Krueger, from McMaster University in Canada. Krueger noted that the link “was especially strong for people with no prior me...

A new study by researchers at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Monday showed a ‘hidden’ form of leprosy can silently affect the brain and spinal cord.  While leprosy is an ancient disease that often leads to disfiguring skin sores, a lesser-known form of leprosy -- pure neuritic leprosy (PNL) -- can inflict significant damage without any visible skin changes. This "hidden" form of leprosy primarily affects peripheral nerves, and is often undiagnosed. Not being diagnosed on time can lead to delayed treatment and potential disabilities. The study, published in the medical journal Acta Neurologica Belgica, challenges the conventional understanding of PNL as solely a peripheral nerve disease. It highlights the importance of assessing central nervous system involvement for early detection and treatmen...

Poor air quality may not only spike respiratory, cardiac, and mental health issues but can also lead to weight gain and obesity -- a precursor to several diseases, said doctors on Monday, even as the national capital saw worse pollution levels. On Monday, Delhi`s air quality further plummeted with the Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassing 400 in multiple parts of the national capital, placing it in the `severe` category. Areas including Anand Vihar (433), Ashok Vihar (410), Rohini (411), and Vivek Vihar (426) registered AQI levels above 400, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Other regions like Dwarka, Patparganj, Jahangirpuri, and Punjabi Bagh also recorded `severe` AQI levels. Different studies have proven that an increase in PM10 & PM2.5 leads to an increase i...

Amid concerns that sitting is the new smoking, a new study showed that being sedentary for over 8.5 hours daily or 60 hours a week while commuting, in office, or at home can make you age faster and raise significant health risks. Importantly, the study showed that a young age or 20 minutes of moderate activity like walking cannot buffer the effects. Instead, vigorous activity like running or cycling for 30 minutes daily can help, but not completely. Chandra Reynolds, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US, said that "sitting less throughout the day, getting more vigorous exercise, or a combination of both may be necessary to reduce the risk of premature ageing in early adulthood". The team analysed more than 1,000 peopl...

Hormonal changes caused during pregnancy can trigger the risk of psoriasis in about 10-20 per cent of women, said health experts on Saturday. Psoriasis is a commonly seen chronic autoimmune condition that causes skin inflammation, with thick, itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk, and even the scalp. The common symptoms are red patches, rashes, scaling of the skin, dry and cracked skin, itching, and soreness. It is caused due to an overactive immune system that causes inflammation. “Pregnancy is an exciting and life-changing phase for women. Though, it can often bring about various challenges for expectant mothers and one concerning problem is psoriasis. The hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy often lead to variations in immune response, which can trigger fl...

Smoking and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk have a dose-dependent association, with light ex-smokers having a CVD risk similar to that of never-smokers relatively soon after smoking cessation, a new study has revealed. For heavy ex-smokers, greater than 25 years might be required for the residual CVD risk to align with that of never-smokers, said the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study sought to find an answer to the question: How long does a person need to quit smoking to lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk? In the cohort study of extracted data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database with more than 53 lakh participants, ex-smokers who had accumulated less than 8 pack-years (PY) did not exhibit a significantly increased risk of CVD compa...