A Study of Diabetes among Inmates of Old Age Homes in Mysore City

The human population is graying, and with it concerns about the aged have been growing. Even as birth rates fall steeply, improved healthcare systems have contributed to unprecedented longevity levels. The challenges of taking care of the elderly now increasingly face developing nations. The boundary of old age cannot be defined exactly because it does not have the same meaning in all societies. The United Nations International Assembly on Ageing has taken 60 years as the boundary to define old age.1 Globally, the number of older persons (aged 60 years or over) is expected to be more than double, from 841 million people in 2013 to more than 2 billion in 2050. Presently, about two-thirds of the world’s elderly live in developing countries. By 2050, nearly 8 in 10 of the world’s older population will live in the less developed regions.2 India, as the second most populous country, is witnessing an “aging revolution.” The major issues in India aging are: rapid growth of older segment; feminization of aging; poverty in old age; high growth of 80 + group and decline in family support base.

The Efficacy of Exercise in Reducing Depressive Symptoms among Cancer Survivors: A Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the efficacy of exercise to reduce depressive symptoms among cancer survivors. In addition, we examined the extent to which exercise dose and clinical characteristics of cancer survivors influence the relationship between exercise and reductions in depressive symptoms. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search identifying randomized controlled trials of exercise interventions among adult cancer survivors, examining depressive symptoms as an outcome. We calculated effect sizes for each study and performed weighted multiple regression moderator analysis. RESULTS: We identified 40 exercise interventions including 2,929 cancer survivors. Diverse groups of cancer survivors were examined in seven exercise interventions; breast cancer survivors were examined in 26; prostate cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma were examined in two; and colorectal cancer in one. Cancer survivors who completed an exercise intervention reduced depression more than controls, d(+) = -0.13 (95% CI: -0.26, -0.01). Increases in weekly volume of aerobic exercise reduced depressive symptoms in dose-response fashion (β = -0.24, p = 0.03), a pattern evident only in higher quality trials. Exercise reduced depressive symptoms most when exercise sessions were supervised (β = -0.26, p = 0.01) and when cancer survivors were between 47-62 yr (β = 0.27, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Exercise training provides a small overall reduction in depressive symptoms among cancer survivors but one that increased in dose-response fashion with weekly volume of aerobic exercise in high quality trials. Depressive symptoms were reduced to the greatest degree among breast cancer survivors, among cancer survivors aged between 47-62 yr, or when exercise sessions were supervised

Limit points of sequences of moving maxima

Let {X-n, n greater than or equal to 1} be a sequence of independent random variables (r.v.'s) with the common distribution function (d.f.) F. Define the moving maxima Y-k(n) = max(Xn - k(n + 1), Xn - k(n + 2),..., X-n) where k(n) is a sequence of positive integers. Under certain conditions on F and k(n), the set of all almost sure limit points of sequences of properly normalised Y-k(n) is obtained

Suspected Dengue Pattern Recognition - A Shewhart Approach

Dengue is one of the most important emerging diseases of the tropical and sub-tropical regions, affecting urban areas. In view of this, we study the pattern of suspected dengue rather than the dengue itself in Mysore district government hospital as Mysore being one of the dengue endemic districts of India. A total of 736 patients declared as suspected dengue by the hospital authorities were considered for the study. Data were separated into three sets based on the year of occurrences and analyzed using Phase technique, Shewhart technique, C chart, Poisson tests for counts. In Phase I, suspected dengue in 2011 was in control with the upper control limit at 5. In phase II, there was an upward shift in the process i.e for 2012 with process mean 2.346 cases per inspection unit. It was very clear from phase III that the most of the points were above the revised control limits and hence the 2013 process was a highly significant upward shift in process mean of 2013. A preventive care technique should be given the importance in the region to monitor the situation in future

School Dropout: Do Reasons Remain The Same Across Generations?

Discontinuing education has major social, economic and health implications. Parents who drop out from school are often unable to motivate their children to continue their schooling. Thus school dropout becomes a vicious intergenerational issue. Hence a study was undertaken to examine the reasons for school dropout across two generations with the objective to determine the reasons for school dropout among school age children and their parents in an urban slum.Results: It was found that 40.3% (N=118) of adult males (fathers) were dropouts and 43.7% of (N=128) adult females (mothers) were dropouts. The reasons varied widely between the genders (p<0.05). A major reason for school dropout which persists across the generations is the lack of interest in studies. This indirectly suggests that there is a lack of motivation to continue education which is persisting across generation. Generating interest in continuing schooling needs efforts from parents as well as authorities to break the intergenerational cycle of school dropout

Is Tuberculosis a Spot inside or outside?

Objectives: 1. To find out the proportion of patients who encountered stigma in their families. 2. To describe various forms of stigma experienced by the patients.Methodology: 200 TB patients who were registered for treatment under RNTCP during 3rd quarter of 2014 in Mysore district were interviewed. The interview was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire at their place of residence.Results: Out of 200 patients interviewed, 150 were males and 50 were females. 132 patients out of 200 (66%) faced stigma within their families (p value <0.05). Patients also faced social isolation and were deserted by their families. Also, there were instances where married female patients were forced to undergo treatment at their parents’ houses.Conclusion: A significant majority of patients with tuberculosis were found to have been stigmatized within their own families, showing that TB is indeed a spot inside as well as outside. Such stigmatization may act as a major barrier in achieving the control of tuberculosis. There is an urgent need for the program to take necessary steps to overcome stigma against the disease in the community