Role of various causes of death in diverging life expectancy in Kerala, India

Background: Life expectancy at birth is an indicator of mortality conditions and health conditions. Mortality happens due to many causes. The multiple-decrement life table is used widely in human actuarial literature and provides statistical expressions for mortality in which the cause elimination is used. Cause elimination life tables address the hypothetical question of what a cohort’s mortality experience would be if a particular cause of death were eliminated. The goal of this study is to estimate the potential gain in life expectancy after complete elimination of certain causes of death in Kerala, India for the year 2018. Methods: The data for the study was taken from annual vital statistic report, Kerala, 2018. Life table method was used for estimating the potential gain in life expectancy after eliminating certain causes of deaths. Results: The elimination of deaths due to heart diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases, accidents and suicides resulted a gain of 7.18 years, 6.90 years, 8.04 years, 6.72 years and 7.09 years respectively. The results show that in 2018, for Kerala, the highest gain in life expectancy was due to elimination of respiratory diseases, followed by other causes of death. The present study shows that heart diseases and respiratory diseases are the causes which are more affected among Keralites. Conclusions: Effective intervention needs to be implemented in Kerala so as to reduce the risk of the diseases, which would result in the increase of life expectancy at birth

Prevalence and Correlates of Functional Limitation Among Elderly in Kerala

Performance of IADL could be closely related to biological variables such as age and sex. Since women outnumbered men among the sample population, it is hopeful to conclude that elderly women can be relished with functional independence, but in the advancement of their age, they have to suffer a lot. The results of the study showed that the extended life year is accompanied by increased demands on health care delivery systems as more part of life may be spent with some functional limitation. The prevalence of physical disability in elderly persons with functional limitation is, therefore, important for policy development in the care of the elderly. The most effective way to reduce the proportion of the population with disabilities is to delay the onset of disabilities. Living independently in familiar surroundings surely promotes a better aging and the development of living environments together with functional ability exert a profound influence on active aging. In Kerala situation, geriatric care should be focused on the necessities of elderly women since they have to live more years with functional limitation and disability than males. The number of people surviving into old age is increasing. The growth of the elderly population is expected to escalate in the coming years with respect to the general population. Longevity of people may result in poor health status, disability and loss of functional health. Information on disability is very important in responding to the care of the elderly

HEPATOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF CAPPARIS SEPIARIA STEM AGAINST CARBON TETRACHLORIDE-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICTY IN RATS

The hepatoprotective effect of the alcohol extract of Capparis sepiaria Linn.(Capparaceae) stem against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced toxicity was studied in albinorats. The rats were given daily pretreatment with alcohol extract of C. sepiaria (100 mg/kg) andthe standard silymarin (25 mg/kg) orally for 7 days. The toxicant used on 7th day was CCl4 at adose of 1.25 ml/kg as 1:1 mixture with olive oil. The extract produced significant (p<0.01)reduction in the elevated levels of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT),total bilirubin (TB) and rise of decreased total protein level when compared with the toxiccontrol