Non-communicable diseases and their impact on depression, anxiety, and stress among the geriatric population residing in old age homes in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are most prevalent among the elderly population. Mental illness and chronic disease conditions are of utmost significance when considering their implications on various aspects such as well-being, quality of life, cost of treatment, and longevity of the affected individuals. There is a paucity of data from India to assess the prevalence of NCDs and their relation to depression, anxiety, and stress among the elderly population. Aim: The present study aims to determine the prevalence of NCDs and their relationship with depression, anxiety, and stress (DASS) among the geriatric population that resides in senior citizen homes (Old age homes) in Chennai. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the elderly population in old age homes located in Chennai. The research was carried out through offline methods during the period of January 2023 to April 2023. A total of 311 participants were involved in this study who were aged 60 and older. DASS 21 was used to study depression, anxiety, and stress. Results: The overall prevalence of depression was 84.2%, anxiety was 49.2%, and stress was 55.9% among the study participants. The findings of the study show that there is a statistically significant association, the odds of diabetes were 2 times higher (OR- 2.082, 95% CI: 1.225-3.888), the presence of hypertension was nearly 4.1 times higher (OR- 4.116, 95% CI: 2.110-8.030) and the odds of the presence of visual impairment were nearly 1.8 times higher (OR-1.810, 95% CI: 0.976-3.357) in developing the symptoms of depression. Conclusion: Screening of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, etc. for DASS among the elderly population is recommended at regular intervals, as elderly people are considered to be the most vulnerable age group population, worldwide.

The burden of non-communicable diseases: A scoping review focus on the context of India.

The mortality rate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) contributes more in low-income and middle-income countries, also among individuals with lower socioeconomic status in high-income countries, making NCDs a big hurdle to minimizing global and national health disparities. Among 55 million fatalities worldwide in 2019, NCDs accounted for about 41 million (71%) deaths. The purpose of this scoping review was to comprehend the available literature on the burden of NCDs in India. This review included the studies that have been published between the period of 2009-2020. For this review, 18 full-text articles have been selected. A preliminary search was done to obtain articles from the search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, web of science, and Scopus. Our scoping review was focused on five major NCDs which are cardiovascular, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and stroke. In 2019, around 17.9 million individuals died from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is accounting for 32% of all deaths. As compared to Chandigarh and Jharkhand (0.12 million and 0.96 million, respectively) Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra (4.8 million and 9.2 million, respectively) have a higher percentage of the population affected by diabetes. In India, stroke is the fifth-significant cause of disability and the fourth-leading cause of fatality, which is accounting for 3.5 percent of all disabilities. India should construct a higher-level coordinating framework and devise an overarching policy or strategy tailored to NCDs. To limit risk factor exposure, it is necessary to emphasize health promotion and preventive actions.

Hygiene and mental health among middle school students in India and 11 other countries.

The Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) collects data from early adolescents who are approximately 13-15 years old and enrolled in middle schools (also known as junior secondary schools). We used logistic regression models to examine the associations between self-reported hygiene practices and mental health status as assessed by the 2007 India GSHS. Then, we used meta-analysis to compare the results from India with those from 11 other GSHS-participating countries in Asia and Africa (Djibouti, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Myanmar, the Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates). Among 7904 middle school students in India, 25.5% reported symptoms of depression, 8.6% reported loneliness, and 7.8% reported anxiety-related insomnia. Both males and females who reported symptoms of depression had an increased likelihood of poor hand and oral hygiene, including washing their hands rarely or never and brushing their teeth less than daily. The meta-analysis for this association yielded statistically significant pooled odds ratios for both boys and girls. In girls, loneliness was also associated with poor hand and oral hygiene. Reduced mental health status in adolescents may lead to worse hygiene behaviors and an increased risk of infections. Teachers, parents, healthcare workers, and other adults who observe suboptimal hygiene status in an adolescent should consider whether this indicates a mental health issue that requires clinical services.