Background Snakebite is possibly the most neglected of the NTDs (Neglected Tropical Diseases). Half of the global deaths due to venomous snakebites, estimated at 100,000 per year, occur in India. The only representative data on snakebite... more
Background Snakebite is possibly the most neglected of the NTDs (Neglected Tropical Diseases). Half of the global deaths due to venomous snakebites, estimated at 100,000 per year, occur in India. The only representative data on snakebite available from India is the mortality data from the RGI-MDS study (Registrar General of India- 1 Million Death Study) and another study on mortality from the state of Bihar. Incidence data on snakebite is available for 2 districts of the state of West Bengal only. Hospital-based data on snakebite admissions and use of ASV are gross underestimates as most snakebite victims in rural India depend more on alternate treatment methods which do not get represented in National registries. The proposed study is a multi-centric study to determine the incidence, morbidity, mortality and economic burden of snakebites in India covering all 5 geographical zones of the country. Protocol A community level surveillance for snakebite covering 31 districts in 13 state...
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BACKGROUND Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a growing concern among the adult population in India, particularly among the urban poor. The challenge of this group is a combination of risk factors including an urbanized lifestyle, poor access... more
BACKGROUND Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a growing concern among the adult population in India, particularly among the urban poor. The challenge of this group is a combination of risk factors including an urbanized lifestyle, poor access to healthcare, and financial limitations, leading to high levels of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. OBJECTIVE The current study aims to address this challenge by designing, developing, and piloting a tailored, mobile-enabled interactive digital health intervention to enhance self-management of MetS among individuals living in urban slums of New Delhi, India. METHODS The study employs mixed methods, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection to design and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention that is built on a multifactorial model in improving the self-management of MetS. Data will be collected at baseline and 12 months from the urban slums of Delhi. RESULTS The findings will be disseminated to both national and international audiences through peer-reviewed publications. The results will contribute to our understanding of the interplay of risk factors in MetS and the impact of tailored digital health interventions in addressing this challenge. CONCLUSIONS The study is expected to provide valuable insights into the role of digital health interventions in enhancing self-management of MetS among the urban poor population. CLINICALTRIAL
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BACKGROUND Background: Well-being is a multidimensional concept and has been extended to many areas. Student well-being has garnered attention over the last decade due to raised concerns. Digital health interventions have the potential to... more
BACKGROUND Background: Well-being is a multidimensional concept and has been extended to many areas. Student well-being has garnered attention over the last decade due to raised concerns. Digital health interventions have the potential to enhance and improve student well–being. OBJECTIVE Objective: The objective of the study is to design, develop and pilot test a digital health platform to enhance student well-being. METHODS Methods: A sample size of five thousand participants will be recruited across Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, India. Students will be enrolled from, Parul University, Vadodara, Gujarat, and Panimalar Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, (PMCHRI), Panimalar Engineering College, Panimalar Institute of Technology and Panimalar College of Nursing, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Current undergraduate and graduate students consenting to participate will be recruited using convenience sampling from these institutes. The study will collect baseline data to construct the student well-being index. Based on the risk profile, a random subset of the population will be provided access to the digital health intervention that will deliver tailored interactive messages addressing the various dimensions of well-being among undergraduate and graduate students. The eligible study participants will be of 18 years and older, enrolled in these institutes, and willing to give their consent to participate in the study. RESULTS Results: The proposed research is an unfunded study. The enrolment of the individuals in study will begin from October 2022. Data gathered will be analyzed using SAS v9.3 and results will be reported as 95% CI and p-values. CONCLUSIONS Conclusions: The proposed study will help to determine the factors affecting well-being among college students and help in designing digital health intervention to improve the well-being of the undergraduate and graduate students. CLINICALTRIAL
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Research Interests: Tamil and Public Health
The increase in communicable and non-communicable disease incidence and prevalence, changing population demographics, along with concerns about pandemics, natural disasters, and wars, have highlighted the challenges faced by health... more
The increase in communicable and non-communicable disease incidence and prevalence, changing population demographics, along with concerns about pandemics, natural disasters, and wars, have highlighted the challenges faced by health systems. The study aims to identify data on publicly posted public health jobs available to applicants eligible to work in India to identify the public health and allied fields workforce needs, skills, and expertise in India. A cross-sectional study was done in June–July 2021. The data was collected from eleven common job portals in India. Descriptive and content analysis was done to identify the most common job titles, educational level preferred/desired, skills, and experience required in the public health jobs in India. In total 382 unique public health and related fields jobs were analyzed. Job postings were most commonly classified as manager (n = 68), officer/lead (n = 61), analyst (n = 49), and consultant (n = 44). Around one-fifth of the jobs were...
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BACKGROUND Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) likely require a longer period of care, for which healthcare systems must acquire technologically advanced solutions to enhance patient care. Swasthya Pahal (health for all) is an innovative,... more
BACKGROUND Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) likely require a longer period of care, for which healthcare systems must acquire technologically advanced solutions to enhance patient care. Swasthya Pahal (health for all) is an innovative, interactive, multilingual, standalone, and internet-enabled computer-based program that aims to improve the self-management of NCDs. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study is to determine the usefulness, acceptance, and effectiveness of the Swasthya Pahal program in hospital and community settings in both rural and urban areas of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This objective can be met by generating risk factor profiles of individuals enrolled and enhancing their self-management of NCDs using a portable health information kiosk that employs the SMAARTTMmodel. METHODS A quantitative study will be conducted on a convenient sample of 2800 individuals from the selected hospital and community settings in rural (n=1400) and urban areas (n=1400) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. ...
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Introduction: Acknowledging the promising role of information and technology, a study was planned to determine the effect of personalized human-centered dietary decision support system (PHCDDSS) on dietary knowledge, attitude, practice... more
Introduction: Acknowledging the promising role of information and technology, a study was planned to determine the effect of personalized human-centered dietary decision support system (PHCDDSS) on dietary knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP), and mean fasting blood sugar (FBS) among participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Materials and Methods: A community-based randomized control trial was conducted among 400 individuals with T2DM randomized into the 12-month intervention group (PHCDDSS) and 400 to the control (usual care) group. Results: In the control and intervention groups, 84.7% and 87.0% participants completed the follow-up at the end of 12 months. Mean knowledge score showed a significant (P = 0.00) declining trend (from 28.3 to 22.2) in the control group, but increasing (from 28.9 to 35.4) in the intervention group. Unlike knowledge, mean attitude score observed a significant declining trend in both the groups but less in the intervention group. The mean FBS (in mg/dL) trend was found to be insignificantly declining in control (199.2–195.4) and intervention (194.8–183.1) groups but the decline was relatively less in control when compared with the intervention group. Conclusion: In study participants, PHCDDSS proved to be effective in improving knowledge and attitude toward role of diet in managing T2DM. The intervention showed promising effect in reduction of mean FBS and proportion of individuals with sugar control.
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BACKGROUND A podcast is an obscure method of disseminating information through audio to the mass. Nowadays, the podcast is an emerging new portable technology and is a valuable resource that provides unlimited access for promoting health... more
BACKGROUND A podcast is an obscure method of disseminating information through audio to the mass. Nowadays, the podcast is an emerging new portable technology and is a valuable resource that provides unlimited access for promoting health in participants. OBJECTIVE The study aims to determine the usefulness and effectiveness of the SANGYAN podcast as a digital health intervention to address misinformation related to COVID-19 and other health conditions among individuals of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. METHODS An intervention study will be conducted with 500 participants from PMCHRI and RHTC in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Individuals 18 years and older residing in the selected urban and rural settings will be recruited. Usability and effectiveness of the SANGYAN podcast will be assessed by System Usability Scale (SUS) and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8). RESULTS Descriptive analysis of the gathered data will be performed using SAS v9.1. Results will reported at 95% CI and P<0.05. The ...
BACKGROUND Health inequity is interlinked with good health and well-being of an individual. Digital health interventions have the potential to reduce the existing health inequities. OBJECTIVE The study aims to identify determinants of... more
BACKGROUND Health inequity is interlinked with good health and well-being of an individual. Digital health interventions have the potential to reduce the existing health inequities. OBJECTIVE The study aims to identify determinants of social, economic, and health inequity in diverse settings to enhance Healthy Eating and Active Living. It further aims to design and develop a digital health intervention HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living) incorporating framework of human centred design to enhance Healthy Eating and Active Living among rural and urban population groups of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. METHODS A prospective, 3-year cohort study will be conducted. The study aims to recruit 6350 individuals across rural and urban settings of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A total of eleven sites have been selected for participation in the study. Data will be gathered for sociodemographic, economic inequity, HEAL profile, depression, anxiety and stress, well-being, sources of health information, perceived a...
Objective- India has seen a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. Examine spatiotemporal variation of COVID-19 burden Tracker across Indian states and union territories using SMAART RAPID Tracker. Method: We used SMAART RAPID Tracker to visually... more
Objective- India has seen a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. Examine spatiotemporal variation of COVID-19 burden Tracker across Indian states and union territories using SMAART RAPID Tracker. Method: We used SMAART RAPID Tracker to visually display COVID-19 spread in space and time across various states and UTs of India. Data is gathered from publicly available government information sources. Data analysis on COVID-19 has been conducted from March 1 2020 to October 1 2020. Variables recorded include COVID-19 cases and fatality, 7-day average change, recovery rate, labs and tests. Spatial and temporal trends of COVID-19 spread across Indian states and UTs is presented. Result: The total number of COVID-19 cases were 63, 12,584 and total fatality was 86,821 (October 1 2020). More than 85,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported. There were 1,867 total COVID-19 labs throughout India. More than half of them were Government labs. The total number of COVID-19 tests was 76,717,728 and total r...
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Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Cognition, Executive Function, Canada, Humans, and 15 moreHemodialysis, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Prevalence, Middle Aged, Cognitive impairment, Adult, Odds ratio, Cross Sectional Studies, Neurosciences, Logistic Models, Cognition disorders, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Multicenter Studies as Topic, and Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Background: The present paper describes the key challenges and opportunities of mixed method telephonic data collection for mental health research using field notes and the experiences of the investigators in a multicenter study in ten... more
Background: The present paper describes the key challenges and opportunities of mixed method telephonic data collection for mental health research using field notes and the experiences of the investigators in a multicenter study in ten sites of India. The study was conducted in public and private hospitals to understand the mental health status, social stigma and coping strategies of different healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.Methods: Qualitative and quantitative interviews were conducted telephonically. The experiences of data collection were noted as a field notes/diary by the data collectors and principal investigators.Results: The interviewers reported challenges such as network issues, lack of transfer of visual cues and sensitive content of data. Although the telephonic interviews present various challenges in mixed method data collection, it can be used as an alternative to face-to-face data collection using available technology.Conclusions: It is im...
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Background COVID-19 has inundated the entire world disrupting the lives of millions of people. The pandemic has stressed the healthcare system of India impacting the psychological status and functioning of health care workers. The aim of... more
Background COVID-19 has inundated the entire world disrupting the lives of millions of people. The pandemic has stressed the healthcare system of India impacting the psychological status and functioning of health care workers. The aim of this study is to determine the burnout levels and factors associated with the risk of psychological distress among healthcare workers (HCW) engaged in the management of COVID 19 in India. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020 by telephonic interviews using a web-based Google form. Health facilities and community centres from 12 cities located in 10 states were selected for data collection. Data on socio-demographic and occupation-related variables like age, sex, type of family, income, type of occupation, hours of work and income were obtained was obtained from 967 participants, including doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, emergency response teams, lab personnel, and others directly involved in COVI...
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IntroductionPoor pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in infants born to COVID-19 positive mothers have been reported, but there is insufficient evidence regarding subsequent growth and development of these children. Our study aims to explore... more
IntroductionPoor pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in infants born to COVID-19 positive mothers have been reported, but there is insufficient evidence regarding subsequent growth and development of these children. Our study aims to explore the effect of in-utero exposure to SARS-CoV-2 on pregnancy outcomes and growth and development of infants.Methods and analysisA multicentric ambispective cohort study with comparison group (1:1) will be conducted at six sites. A total of 2400 participants (exposure cohort, n=1200; comparison cohort, n=1200), ie, 400 participants from each site (200 retrospectively; 200 prospectively) will be included. Exposure cohort will be infants born to women with documented COVID-19 infection anytime during pregnancy and comparison cohort will be infants born to women who did not test positive for SARS-CoV-2 anytime during pregnancy. All infants will be followed up till 1 year of age. Anthropometric measurement, age of attainment of developmental milestones and...
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Background COVID-19 vaccines are considered to be a key to limiting and eliminating the infectious disease. However, the success of the vaccination program will rely on the rates of vaccine acceptance among the population. Objective This... more
Background COVID-19 vaccines are considered to be a key to limiting and eliminating the infectious disease. However, the success of the vaccination program will rely on the rates of vaccine acceptance among the population. Objective This study aims to examine the factors that influence vaccine hesitancy and vaccine acceptance, and to explore the unintended consequences of COVID-19 infections. The study will further explore the association between sociodemographic characteristics; health status; COVID-19–related knowledge, attitude, and practices; and its influence on vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among individuals living in urban and rural settings of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the southern state of India. Methods A cross-sectional study will be conducted between January 2021 and January 2023. A sample of approximately 25,000 individuals will be recruited and enrolled using a nonprobability complete enumeration sampling method from 11 selected urban and rural settings of Chennai. The...
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Nutrition informatics (NI) is the effective retrieval, organization, storage, and optimum use of information, data and knowledge for food-and-nutrition-related problem-solving and decision-making. There is a growing opportunity to... more
Nutrition informatics (NI) is the effective retrieval, organization, storage, and optimum use of information, data and knowledge for food-and-nutrition-related problem-solving and decision-making. There is a growing opportunity to facilitate technology-enabled behavioral change interventions to support NI research and practice. This paper highlights the changing landscape of food and nutrition practices in India to prepare a NI workforce that could provide some valuable tools to address the double burden of nutrition. Management and interpretation of data could help clarify the relationships and interrelationships of diet and disease in India on both national and regional levels. Individuals with expertise in food and nutrition may receive training in informatics to develop national informatics systems. NI professionals develop tools and techniques, manage various projects and conduct informatics research. These professionals should be well prepared to work in technological settings...
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Background: Type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the leading lifestyle-related chronic disease as its prevalence is expected to rise up to 24.0% in the world by 2025, which was only 6.3% in year 2003. Objective: To understand the... more
Background: Type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the leading lifestyle-related chronic disease as its prevalence is expected to rise up to 24.0% in the world by 2025, which was only 6.3% in year 2003. Objective: To understand the high-altitude and low-altitude differentials for DM and diabetic retinopathy (DR) prevalence in a sub-Himalayan state of North India. Methods: The study was carried out in the Shahpur block of Kangra district (altitude 2,404 feet) and the Spiti block of Lahaul and Spiti district (altitude 12,500 feet) of Himachal Pradesh. Results: Among diabetics, the prevalence of DR was observed to be high (18.1%) in low landers and low (5.0%) in high landers. DM was more of a problem among low landers with a prevalence of 12.3% when compared to high landers (7.2%). Overall, the odd ratio of DR was twice as high (2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-2.3) among patients with an unsatisfactory level of HbA1c (>8.0%) adjusted for gender, age group, smoking status and...
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AIMS To assess oral hygiene knowledge, perceptions and practices, and assess oral hygiene status among school settings in rural Chennai, India. METHODS A pilot cross sectional study was done during August-September, 2013 in a rural school... more
AIMS To assess oral hygiene knowledge, perceptions and practices, and assess oral hygiene status among school settings in rural Chennai, India. METHODS A pilot cross sectional study was done during August-September, 2013 in a rural school in Chennai, South India. A convenient sample of 100 secondary (6-8 standards) and higher secondary (9-10 standards) school students was taken. A modified version of previously validated questionnaires was used to gather information on socio-demographic characteristics; oral hygiene knowledge, perceptions and practices; oral health utilization and perception on impacts of oral health on daily life. Oral Hygiene Index- Simplified (OHI-S) was used to assess oral hygiene status. RESULTS Average age of participants was 13 years with 50% of participants being females. Nineteen per cent knew that teeth had to be cleaned with toothbrush and toothpaste. Seventeen per cent brushed twice a day. Females had more knowledge, perceptions, and practices than males...
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BACKGROUND: Oral diseases such as dental caries and gingival diseases affect about 80% of the school students worldwide. The study was taken up with the aim to evaluate the prevalence of dental caries and treatment needin the School going... more
BACKGROUND: Oral diseases such as dental caries and gingival diseases affect about 80% of the school students worldwide. The study was taken up with the aim to evaluate the prevalence of dental caries and treatment needin the School going children of NagrotaBagwan Block of Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh.METHODOLOGY: A total number of 3069 school children studying inninety six government primary schoolsof study area were enrolled in the study.The data wascollectedto find outdental caries and treatment need using dentition status and treatment need index (WHO diagnostic criteria, 1997). Data analysis was done using t- test for continuous variables and Chi-square test for categorical data.RESULTS:The overall caries prevalence of subjects was 58.4% with high caries prevalencein females as compared to males and in 9-12 years age group as compared to 5-8 years age group.The mean dmft/DMFT was 2.05±4.13 and 2.56±4.20 in 5-8 years and in 9-12years age group, respectively. Treatmentneedob...
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Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are subsets of sleep-disordered breathing. Awareness about OSA and its consequences amongst the general public as well as the majority of primary care physcians... more
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are subsets of sleep-disordered breathing. Awareness about OSA and its consequences amongst the general public as well as the majority of primary care physcians across India is poor. This necessiated the development of the INdian initiative on Obstructive sleep apnoea (INOSA) guidelines under the auspices of Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. OSA is the occurrence of an average five or more episodes of obstructive respiratory events per hour of sleep with either sleep related symptoms or co-morbidities or ≥ 15 such episodes without any sleep related symptoms or co-morbidities. OSAS is defined as OSA associated with daytime symptoms, most often excessive sleepiness. Patients undergoing routine health check-up with snoring, daytime sleepiness, obesity, hypertension, motor vehicular accidents and high risk cases should undergo a comprehensive sleep evaluatio...
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The purpose of this article is two pronged; first, to identify and report public health implications of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and second, to report challenges uniquely faced by the citizens of India from a... more
The purpose of this article is two pronged; first, to identify and report public health implications of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and second, to report challenges uniquely faced by the citizens of India from a population health perspective. We have done both while closely examining epidemiological data that is accessible via SMAART's RAPID Tracker. This policy informatics platform is a live database aimed to track the geospatial spread of the COVID-19 outbreak and policy actions globally and is administered collaboratively by CUNY's Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and a global, non-profit public health incubator. Infectivity, incidence, and recovery rates were computed and graphical representations of epidemiological datasets were studied. We have discussed a plausible conceptual framework based on the principles of population health informatics for countries with similar characteristics to build a stronger public and community health fo...
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Introduction: Acknowledging the promising role of information and technology, a study was planned to determine the effect of personalized human-centered dietary decision support system (PHCDDSS) on dietary knowledge, attitude, practice... more
Introduction: Acknowledging the promising role of information and technology, a study was planned to determine the effect of personalized human-centered dietary decision support system (PHCDDSS) on dietary knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP), and mean fasting blood sugar (FBS) among participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Materials and Methods: A community-based randomized control trial was conducted among 400 individuals with T2DM randomized into the 12-month intervention group (PHCDDSS) and 400 to the control (usual care) group. Results: In the control and intervention groups, 84.7% and 87.0% participants completed the follow-up at the end of 12 months. Mean knowledge score showed a significant (P = 0.00) declining trend (from 28.3 to 22.2) in the control group, but increasing (from 28.9 to 35.4) in the intervention group. Unlike knowledge, mean attitude score observed a significant declining trend in both the groups but less in the intervention group. The mean FBS (in mg/dL) trend was found to be insignificantly declining in control (199.2–195.4) and intervention (194.8–183.1) groups but the decline was relatively less in control when compared with the intervention group. Conclusion: In study participants, PHCDDSS proved to be effective in improving knowledge and attitude toward role of diet in managing T2DM. The intervention showed promising effect in reduction of mean FBS and proportion of individuals with sugar control.
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COVID-19 vaccine is regarded as the most promising means of limiting the spread of or eliminating the pandemic. The success of this strategy will rely on the rate of vaccine acceptance globally. The study aims to examine the factors that... more
COVID-19 vaccine is regarded as the most promising means of limiting the spread of or eliminating the pandemic. The success of this strategy will rely on the rate of vaccine acceptance globally. The study aims to examine the factors that influence COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, intention, and hesitancy. PubMed was searched comprehensively for articles using the keyword “COVID-19 vaccine surveys.” Of the 192 records, 22 studies were eligible for the review. Eighty-two percent of these studies were conducted among the general population. Gender, age, education, and occupation were some of the socio-demographic variables associated with vaccine acceptance. Variables such as trust in authorities, risk perception of COVID-19 infection, vaccine efficacy, current or previous influenza vaccination, and vaccine safety affected vaccine acceptance. Globally, in March 2020, the average vaccine acceptance observed was 86% which dropped to 54% in July 2020 which later increased to 72% in September ...
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Background Early childhood caries (ECC) has reached epidemic proportions affecting millions of children worldwide. Its prevention becomes imperative owing to the significant morbidity and financial implications involved with its... more
Background Early childhood caries (ECC) has reached epidemic proportions affecting millions of children worldwide. Its prevention becomes imperative owing to the significant morbidity and financial implications involved with its treatment. The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), launched in India to provide mid-day meals, pre-school education and primary healthcare to children, can be utilised to counsel and deliver oral health education to mothers. The purpose of the study is to compare the effect of an oral health care package (OHCP) with usual care on the change in dental disease status among 1 to 3-year-old children at Anganwadi centres (AWC) in periurban areas of Chandigarh and rural areas of Cuttack, Orissa over a follow-up period of three years. Methods Two geographically distant ICDS blocks would be selected at each of the two study sites and would be randomly allocated to intervention and control group. Closely located AWCs under each of the selected blocks shall co...
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Other Contributors (names listed alphabetically): A. Muruganathan, A. Shaheer Ahmed, Abrol Raman, Agarwal A.K., Agarwal Ashish, Ahluwalia Gautam, Athavale Amita U., Bhansali Anil, Bhasin Dinkar, Bhattacharjee Hemanga K., Chawla Rajesh,... more
Other Contributors (names listed alphabetically): A. Muruganathan, A. Shaheer Ahmed, Abrol Raman, Agarwal A.K., Agarwal Ashish, Ahluwalia Gautam, Athavale Amita U., Bhansali Anil, Bhasin Dinkar, Bhattacharjee Hemanga K., Chawla Rajesh, Devnani Preeti, Garg Ajay, Gaur S.N., Godbole Gauri, Goyal Vinay, Gupta K.B., Jain Sanjay, Jena Ashok, Jha Saket, Jha Sushil D., Joshi Shashank, Kamath Sandhya, Khatiwada Saurav, Kohli Mikashmi, Koul Parvaiz, Kumar Atin, M. Nandhini, M. Vignesh, Makode Sagar R., Mehndiratta M.M., Mehta Manju, Mishra Narayan, Moses Isaac Christian, Munjal Y.P., N. Ramakrishnan, Nadkar Milind Y., Naik Ramavath Devendra, Pati A.K., Pawar Satyajit, P.B. Sryma, Preetam C., Raj Swaroop K., Ranjan Piyush, Rasalkar Pavan, Reddy Harish, Roy D.J., Roy Prasun, Sagar Rajesh, Sahoo R.C., Samaria J.K., Sanas B.B., Sarabhai Vikram, Shah S.N., Shanmugam Krishnan, Sharma Sanchit, Sinha Sanjeev, Singhal Rajinder, Soneja Manish, Subramanian Krishnnan A, T. Mohan Kumar, Thakkar Alok, Tiw...
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BACKGROUND Human-centered dietary decision support systems are fundamental to diabetes management, and they address limitations of existing diet management systems. OBJECTIVE The objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the use of... more
BACKGROUND Human-centered dietary decision support systems are fundamental to diabetes management, and they address limitations of existing diet management systems. OBJECTIVE The objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the use of an interactive telephone-linked Personalized Human Centered Decision Support System for facilitating the delivery of personalized nutrition care for diabetic patients METHODS A Quasi-experimental trial was conducted between the period of June and December, 2018. Study participants were recruited from: Community Health Center, Dharamshala, Kangra (urban population); and Model Rural Health Unit, Haroli Block, Una (rural population). Eligible participants included: adults aged 30 years and above; having both controlled and uncontrolled diabetes; agreeing to participate in the study; available for follow-up interview; and having telephone or computer at home. Diabetic status assessed by physician diagnosis. Individuals with mental or physical challenges ...
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Background: Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scale measures cognition using specific elements that can be isolated, defined, and subsequently measured. This study was conducted with the aim to analyze the factorial structure of MMSE... more
Background: Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scale measures cognition using specific elements that can be isolated, defined, and subsequently measured. This study was conducted with the aim to analyze the factorial structure of MMSE in a largely, illiterate, elderly population in India and to reduce the number of variables to a few meaningful and interpretable combinations. Methodology: Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed post-hoc on the data generated by a research project conducted to estimate the prevalence of dementia in four geographically defined habitations in Himachal Pradesh state of India. Results: Questions on orientation and registration account for high percentage of cumulative variance in comparison to other questions. Discussion: The PCA conducted on the data derived from a largely, illiterate population reveals that the most important components to consider for the estimation of cognitive impairment in illiterate Indian population are temporal orient...
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The loss of function mutations (biallelic) in frataxin (FXN) has primarily been implicated in Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), an autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia. The protein product of FXN is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein... more
The loss of function mutations (biallelic) in frataxin (FXN) has primarily been implicated in Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), an autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia. The protein product of FXN is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein required for the biogenesis of iron- clusters (Fe-S). FRDA is characterized by neurological and non-neurological features which show variable expression in affected individuals. An inverse relationship has been demonstrated between GAA repeat size and age at onset and explains 50% variability of the age at onset. MtDNA variations and haplogroups could be one of the contributory factors to explain the remaining heterogeneity in FRDA, since mitochondrial oxidative stress is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of FRDA. In our study, targeted resequencing of the D-loop and coding region of mitochondrial genes (ND1-6 and ATP) was conducted in 30 genetically confirmed FRDA patients and 62 ethnicity-matched unrelated healthy controls to identify the...
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Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are subsets of sleep-disordered breathing. Awareness about OSA and its consequences amongst the general public as well as the majority of primary care physcians... more
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are subsets of sleep-disordered breathing. Awareness about OSA and its consequences amongst the general public as well as the majority of primary care physcians across India is poor. This necessiated the development of the INdian initiative on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (INOSA) guidelines under the auspices of Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. OSA is the occurrence of an average five or more episodes of obstructive respiratory events per hour of sleep with either sleep related symptoms or comorbidities or ≥ 15 such episodes without any sleep related symptoms or comorbidities. OSAS is defined as OSA associated with daytime symptoms, most often excessive sleepiness. Patients undergoing routine health check-up with snoring, daytime sleepiness, obesity, hypertension, motor vehicular accidents and high risk cases should undergo a comprehensive sleep evaluation....
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The loss of function mutations (biallelic) in frataxin (FXN) has primarily been implicated in... more
The loss of function mutations (biallelic) in frataxin (FXN) has primarily been implicated in Friedreich&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s ataxia (FRDA), an autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia. The protein product of FXN is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein required for the biogenesis of iron- clusters (Fe-S). FRDA is characterized by neurological and non-neurological features which show variable expression in affected individuals. An inverse relationship has been demonstrated between GAA repeat size and age at onset and explains 50% variability of the age at onset. MtDNA variations and haplogroups could be one of the contributory factors to explain the remaining heterogeneity in FRDA, since mitochondrial oxidative stress is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of FRDA. In our study, targeted resequencing of the D-loop and coding region of mitochondrial genes (ND1-6 and ATP) was conducted in 30 genetically confirmed FRDA patients and 62 ethnicity-matched unrelated healthy controls to identify the functionally important mtDNA variations and to trace the mitochondrial lineage of Indian FRDA patients. Cumulative mitochondrial SNP scores were computed for the identified variations in the functional region and haplogroups were determined by Haplogrep. A significantly higher load of overall mitochondrial variations (with a trend toward the coding region) per individual was noted among FRDA cases rather than controls (p-value&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;0.03). A non-synonymous variation (p. L237M) in ND2 was over-represented among FRDA cases (p-value 0.04). This variation has a reported association with longevity and myocardial infarction. We also observed over-representation of H haplogroup (Caucasian mitochondrial haplogroup) among FRDA patients. We have not observed the influence of mitochondrial variations and haplogroup upon age at onset of FRDA. Overall, our study identifies the functionally important variations and mitochondrial lineage of Indian FRDA cases and, that underscores the importance of studying the role of mitochondrial genome variations in FRDA.
Research Interests:
Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STI) include a group of diseases of diverse infectious etiology. Technological development has made the health information easily accessible to the general community through the internet.... more
Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STI) include a group of diseases of diverse infectious etiology. Technological development has made the health information easily accessible to the general community through the internet. Objective: To evaluate the usability, accessibility, and reliability of information related to Sexual transmitted infection on the internet. Methods: The three search engines: Google, MSN/Bing, and Yahoo were used to search sexually transmitted infection and sexually transmitted diseases related information. We used previously validated LIDA tool that allows measuring the quality of health website's usability, accessibility and reliability. The first 20 web links provided by each search engine were analyzed and quality of STI related health information was assessed for various website categories including .Org, .Com, .Gov and others. Analysis was performed using SAS v9.1. Results: Results showed high accessibility scores in comparison to the usabilit...