Health

Northeast India`s Aizawl, East Khasi Hills, Papumpare, Kamrup Urban, and Mizoram consistently recorded the highest rates of cancer between 2015 and 2019, according to a study. The cross-sectional study used data from 43 population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) across India. Between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019, as many as 7.08 lakh cancer cases and 2.06 lakh deaths were reported from 43 PBCRs across India. Women accounted for a higher proportion of cancer cases, and men for deaths due to it. Women comprised 51.1 per cent of the total cancer cases and 45 per cent of the deaths. Men, on the other hand, accounted for 48.9 per cent of the disease incidents and 55 per cent of the deaths due to it. The study obtained population-at-risk data from the Census of India, and the findi...

More than 1 crore people globally live with a mental health disorder, and women account for over 53 per cent, according to new data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday. The WHO reports World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024 stated that conditions such as anxiety and depression inflict immense human and economic tolls and called for greater investment and action to scale up services to protect and promote people’s mental health. “Transforming mental health services is one of the most pressing public health challenges,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "Investing in mental health means investing in people, communities, and economies -- an investment no country can afford to neglect. Every government and every leader has a res...

A rare and life-saving kidney transplant was performed on a five-year-old boy in Bengaluru, with his 64-year-old grandmother stepping in as the donor, doctors at Fortis Hospitals said on Monday. According to Dr Mohan Keshavamurthy, Principal Director of Urology, Uro-Oncology, Uro-Gynaecology, Andrology, Kidney Transplant and Robotic Surgery at Fortis Hospitals, who led the procedure, this is possibly the youngest reported case of a grandmother-to-grandson kidney transplant in India. “Transplanting a much older person`s kidney into a small child presents unique challenges such as size disparity and heightened immune response in paediatric patients, which increases the risk of graft rejection,” he said. Dr Karthik Rao, Additional Director of Urology at Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road, ...

Surgery to treat chronic sinus disease can be more effective than antibiotics, according to a major clinical trial. The common symptoms of Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), or sinusitis, include a blocked and runny nose, loss of smell, facial pain, tiredness, and worsening of breathing problems, such as asthma. It’s often similar to the symptoms of a bad cold, but it can last for months or even years. The findings, published in the journal The Lancet, found that surgery was effective at relieving sinusitis symptoms, and trial participants who underwent surgery were still feeling better six months later. Of those who underwent surgery, 87 per cent said their quality of life had improved six months on. A three-month course of low-dose antibiotics was not found to be helpful, as there was no s...

Beta blockers, the standard treatment after a heart attack for the last 40 years, may offer no benefit for heart attack patients and can raise death risk in some women, according to a study on Saturday that called for a rejig into the standard treatment paradigm. Beta blockers are drugs commonly prescribed for a range of cardiac conditions, including heart attacks. It provides no clinical benefit for patients who have had an uncomplicated myocardial infarction with preserved heart function. The study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine and in the European Heart Journal, showed that women treated with beta blockers had a higher risk of death, heart attack, or hospitalisation for heart failur...

A Mediterranean-style diet, in combination with reduced caloric intake, moderate physical activity, and professional support for weight loss, may cut the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by 31&#37, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was published on August 25, 2025, in the Annals of Internal Medicine. "We`re facing a global epidemic of diabetes," said co-author Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Nutrition. "With the highest-level evidence, our study shows that modest, sustained changes in diet and lifestyle could prevent millions of cases of this disease worldwide," added Co-author Frank Hu. Prior research has linked the Mediterranean diet, which emp...

Metals, particularly nickel and vanadium, and sulphate particles -- components of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) -- can worsen asthma and lead to hospitalisation, according to a new study. The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, showed that for each decile increase in the pollutant mixture, asthma hospitalisations increased 10.6 per cent among children and 8 per cent among adults ages 19 to 64. Nickel, vanadium, sulfate, nitrate, bromine, and ammonium contributed the most weight to this association. "If we want to reduce asthma hospitalisations, these are the sources that need to be better controlled -- which we know how to do," said corresponding author Joel Schwartz, professor of environmental epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan Sc...

The global cholera situation is worsening, with outbreaks across 31 countries and a surging fatality rate, the World Health Organization said Friday. "Given the scale, severity, and interconnected nature of these outbreaks, the risk of further spread within and between countries is considered very high," it said. The UN health agency said the deteriorating outlook was "driven by conflict and poverty", with rural and flood-affected areas especially vulnerable to the disease -- an acute intestinal infection that spreads through food and water contaminated with bacteria, often from faeces. Between January 1 and August 17, the WHO tracked 409,222 cases and 4,738 deaths reported globally. While cases were down 20 percent on the same period last year, deaths were up 46 percent. Cholera is g...

Even a small amount of ultra-processed foods can lead to increased weight, hormone disruption, and poor sperm quality in men, finds a study. An international team of scientists has now discovered that people gain more weight on an ultra-processed diet compared to a minimally processed diet, even when they eat the same number of calories. The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, in humans also revealed that a diet high in ultra-processed foods introduces higher levels of pollutants that are known to affect sperm quality. “Our results prove that ultra-processed foods harm our reproductive and metabolic health, even if they’re not eaten in excess. This indicates that it is the processed nature of these foods that makes them harmful,” said lead author Jessica Preston, at the Uni...

There is no strong evidence to support the use of complementary and alternative treatments such as acupuncture and music therapy for autism, finds a study on Thursday. Researchers from the Paris Nanterre University, Paris Cité University in France and the University of Southampton in the UK showed that the safety of these treatments was rarely assessed. "Many parents of autistic children, as well as autistic adults, turn to complementary and alternative medicines hoping they may help without unwanted side effects," said Professor Richard Delorme, Head of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at Robert Debré Hospital in Paris. "However, it is necessary to carefully consider evidence from rigorous randomised trials before concluding that these treatments should be tried," Delorme added...