30 October, 2013

'Having kids early' cause of infant mortality

Researchers have revealed that having children early and in rapid succession are major factors fueling high infant mortality rates in the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal andPakistan, where one in 14 births to young mothers ends with the death of the child within the first year. 

Anita Raj, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the Center on Gender Equity and Health at University of California, San Diego, and colleagues said younger maternal age (under 18 years old) and short intervals between pregnancies (under 24 months) accounted for roughly one-quarter of the infant mortality rate among young mothers in India and Pakistan, a percentage that represents almost 200,000 infant deaths in 2012 for those two nations alone. 

In Bangladesh, only the short inter-pregnancy interval was linked to infant mortality while in Nepal, only young motherhood was associated with infant death. 

Infant mortality is a significant public health issue in South Asia. 

According to United Nations data, the infant mortality rate worldwide is 49.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. In Pakistan, it is 70.90; India, 52.91; Bangladesh, 48.98 and Nepal, 38.71. By comparison, the infant mortality rate in the United States is 6.81 and just 1.92 in Singapore, lowest in the world. 

The new infant mortality findings are based upon analyses of national demographic and health surveys taken in the four countries. 

Raj noted the comparisons may be somewhat skewed by imperfect comparisons. 

She said that the findings still underscore concerns about the social consequences of child marriage and young motherhood. 

In a study published last year, she and colleagues reported that more than 10 million girls under the age of 19 marry each year worldwide, usually under the force of local tradition and social custom. Almost half of these compulsory marriages occur in South Asia. 

The findings are published online in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

30.10.2013

How to manage diabetes in 5 steps

It's a common fact that once you manage to lower your sugar level you need to control in and maintain it so that it doesn't spike.

Besides following a diabetic diet, there are few important parameters that you should have in place. To help you out and to chalk a diabetescontrol plan we have Dr. Shalini Jaggi, Senior Consultant at Action Diabetic Centre, Delhi based Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute. She tells us five basic ways to control and manage diabetes effectively.

How to manage diabetes

Taking regular medications and going for periodic check-ups with doctors helps keep diabetes under control.

Following a strict diet keeps diabetes under check. A person with diabetes should follow a diet which is low in carbohydrates, high in fiber and contains adequate amounts of proteins, vitamins and minerals and avoid fatty foods and sweets. He/she should also take frequent small meals (5 meals pattern).

A person with diabetes should engage in some brisk physical exercise daily for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Such lifestyle modifications keep the disease in control to a great extent.

To keep one's diabetes in check, a person should do a self monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) level.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

30.10.2013

Run if you can’t fly, walk if you can’t run, crawl if you can’t walk. But all means keep moving

Martin Luther King Jr