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·         Apollo unveils its annual report – Health of the Nation 2023 – highlighting the prevalence and growth of NCDs in India

·         Finds an increase in prevalence of early risk factors like Obesity and Dyslipidemia by 50% and 18% respectively between 2019 and 2022

·         ‘MIND HEALTH’ and Sleep emerge as a major unrecognized contributor to NCDs

·         Apollo also enhances ProHealth, a 100% doctor curated and AI-backed health program that captures one’s health status, personalizes tests, predicts risks and guides on a path to wellness, offering a one-stop preventive health solution, ending the era of generic health checks

Apollo, the world’s largest vertically integrated healthcare provider, has released its annual Health of the Nation report that deep dives into the prevalence and growth of NCDs and highlights the importance of the right preventive healthcare measures to ensure India stays healthy.

Dr Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, stated that “Preventive healthcare needs to become a national priority. Over the past 3 decades, non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death and suffering, contributing to 65% of deaths in India. NCDs affect not just health, but also productivity and economic growth. The estimated economic burden on India is expected be about $4.8 trillion by 2030. As the youngest and fastest growing major economy in the world, the health of our nation is a critical indicator of our future, and the health of our people will determine how effectively we live up to our full potential. What we need is a proactive and highly defined strategy to minimize the impact of NCDs. And the best solution lies in prevention.”

The increasing trend for NCDs and a significant rise in early risk factors

The rise in preventive screenings has also led to an increase in the diagnosis of early risk factors like Obesity and Dyslipidemia (cholesterol irregularities) among Indians across age groups. These are indication of the potential onset of chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension and a wake-up call for individuals to make early shifts in their lifestyle behaviors.

·         There is a 50% increase in the prevalence of Obesity among Indians between 2019 and 2022.

o   Obesity has seen an uptick in diagnosis in those less than 45 years of age by 43% and by 60% in people over the age of 45.

·         Dyslipidemia or Cholesterol irregularities has seen an 18% increase in prevalence among Indians between 2019 and 2022

o   This is also fueled by a significant increase in its prevalence among those over 45 years of age by more than 35%

Along with these early risk factors, we also see a rise in the prevalence of conditions like Diabetes and Hypertension.

·         Diabetes and Hypertension diagnosis have seen an 8% and 11% increase respectively between 2019-22

o    There is also an increasing risk of Hypertension amongst Indians over 45 years, its prevalence in diagnosis having increased from 14% to 16% in the last 3 years.

o    Chronic stress and anxiety increase the risk of incidence of hypertension by 1.5X and diabetes by up to 2X. Men with chronic stress have double the risk of incidence of diabetes than women.

We administered the PHQ9 Depression Questionnaire for about 2000 people with Type 2 Diabetes at Apollo Hospitals to understand their Mind Health status. Our analysis showed that with every one unit increase in age and BMI, PHQ9 the depression score also increases. About 50% had some form depression, and Diabetes along with any weight related comorbidity is an indicator to screen for depression.

·         The report also puts the spotlight on the importance of getting more frequent or extended health tests for conditions that are prevalent in our families

o    The report finds that Diabetes is prevalent in 1 in 3 people with a history of the condition in their family.

·         Healthy sleep is an important indicator of overall health.

o   In one study with 20,000 people, 47% have sleep problems and 52% have impairments in their mind health state, and 1 in 3 have both issues.

o   2 out of 3 individuals do not have an optimal gap between dinner and bedtime, which is critical for good quality sleep. It is either less than 1 hour or more than 2 hours, both scenarios leading to sub optimal sleep quality.

·         Impaired metabolism is also closely linked with digestive irregularities, such as gas/bloating, heaviness post-meal, burning sensation, belch/burp. The analysis found that 64% of people had digestive irregularities, going up to 81% amongst diabetics.

Many ‘Indias’ in one India

Our diversity in lifestyle has led to the emergence of different NCD trends across regions, likely impacted by our regional diet preferences.

·         While liver diseases saw maximum prevalence in East (at 50%), its lowest impact relatively is in the South (28%)

·         West has seen the least relatively the lowest prevalence of diabetes (15%) while South has the highest (27%)

·         Obesity trends have been similar across regions, ranging between 22-24%

·         Dyslipidemia (cholesterol) has the highest prevalence across all regions, with North seeing the most (48%), followed by West (41%), East (39%) and then South (37%).

Power of prevention

The silent epidemic of NCDs is behind 40% of all hospital stays. While there is an increase in Indians taking preventive screenings, these are still largely symptom led. Regular and comprehensive health checks, starting at a young age, can significantly reduce mortality rates, disease incidence as well as the frequency of hospital visits through our lifespan.

There is also a need to reimagine preventive health assessments and design them to be more suitable to the Indian population.

For instance:

·         The median age of breast cancer diagnosis from mammograms done at Apollo in the last year was 54-57 years; lower than that seen in mature markets (where the median age of detection is 62-65 years). This suggests an earlier onset of disease in Indian women, warranting annual screening for women from 40 years onwards.

o   According to clinically published sources, early diagnosis through preventive checks of breast cancer can reduce mortality rates by up to 30%.

·         Undetected sleep disorders often lead to chronic health conditions due to late diagnosis and oversight by the healthcare systems

o   Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is known to increase the risk of heart problems, and is often screened only in the obese (BMI > 30) and with neck circumference > 40cm

o   Apollo’s study of people with Type 2 suggests that intermediate to high risk of OSA occurs even at a lower BMI (26) in the population screened, with a majority (91%) having a neck circumference < 40cm, thus highlighting the need to screen for OSA rigorously, irrespective of the BMI, especially for high-risk cohorts like patients with Diabetes.

Enhanced ‘ProHealth’ by Apollo

In a bid to strengthen the preventive healthcare ecosystem, Apollo has launched an enhanced ProHealth, India’s most individualized preventive health program that brings together the power of AI to help individuals stay ahead of potential NCDs. Combined with Apollo’s pioneering experience of 40 years, the healthcare group has developed new technologies based on AI and ML for predicting risk scores and developing structured lifestyle programs with new models of care that lead to improved clinical outcomes.

What differentiates ProHealth:

1.       ProHealth is a 100% doctor designed health program

2.       It creates a first-of-its-kind health profile that determines the areas of concerns and custom designs a unique health check for every individual

3.       It integrates predictive health metrics through a sophisticated AI engine to determine potential areas of prevention

4.       In addition to the results, every individual also has access to health mentors to transform their lifestyle and make the program truly preventive in every sense

Technology is transforming the approach for dealing with health risks and enabling early detection, and therefore must be integrated in preventive screenings. With a firm belief that AI and big data will play a key role in predicting risks and delivering personalized health solutions, Apollo’s ProHealth today is India’s most individualized preventive health program. Apollo also strongly believes that a laundry list of tests is not an effective solution to get to the root of the problem. For instance, there is a clear data-driven correlation between diabetes-obstructive sleep apnea-heart problems OR weight related comorbidities & depression, however generic health checks are unable to deduce these. The need of the hour is true personalization and prediction, which forms the foundation of Apollo ProHealth. Additionally, by offering convenient access to health mentors as a part of ProHealth, every individual is empowered to take charge of their own health and create a long-term and permanent impact in the battle over NCDs.

Apollo ProHealth is backed by a predictive algorithm that captures one’s health status, predicts potential health risks and individualizes every health check. A personal health risk assessment is digitally available to every individual, post which they can visit the nearest Apollo facility to them to conduct the set of customized tests recommended for them.

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Declared as the winner in the category of ‘CSR in Aspirational Districts / Difficult Terrains’ (Eastern India) and ‘Contribution in National Priority Areas’ (Support to differently-abled) JSP has been selected for this coveted award after a rigorous three-stage selection process initiated by the Ministry based on its prescribed systems of nominations  New Delhi, 22nd August 2022: Adding another feather in its cap, Jindal Steel & Power (JSP) has been selected for the prestigious National CSR Award 2020 in two categories by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

As per an announcement recently by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Jindal Steel & Power, led by Shri Naveen Jindal, has been declared as the winner in the category of ‘CSR in Aspirational Districts / Difficult Terrains’ (Eastern India) and ‘Contribution in National Priority Areas’ (Support to differently-abled). JSP has been selected for this coveted award after a rigorous three-stage selection process initiated by the Ministry based on its prescribed systems of nominations by various Ministries, State Govt, three eminent Professional Institutes in India and Industry & Trade Chambers followed by Field verification and Grand Jury evaluation.

Commenting on the development, Chairman, JSP, Shri Naveen Jindal said, “We at JSP pursue Industry led inclusive development of our Nation partnering with the People and caring for the Planet. We have been implementing multidimensional Social development programmes under our CSR to improve the Quality of Life of the Community sustainably in the geography of our operational locations and beyond. The National CSR Award by the Ministry of Corporate Affair to JSP under two categories is indeed recognition of our philosophy of Passion for People. For us, it is always People First “.

Expressing her gratitude to the Government of India for recognizing Jindal Steel & Power with the National CSR Award, Smt. Shallu Jindal, Chairperson of JSP Foundation said, “We are humbled and encouraged that the Government of India has awarded us the highest recognition for our CSR programmes. As we emerge from the pandemic world, we are more aware of the crisis and needs that we are facing at various levels, in health, education, society and climate.

All our Programmes are completely aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and aim to develop a more equitable and developed balance for the people in this country. This award will continue to motivate us to accelerate our efforts in implementing sustainable and inclusive development programmes across India.”

WADI, one of the innovative projects by JSP reviewed for the National CSR Award is an Agro Horti Silvipasture-based project implemented on 500 acres of hilly land benefiting the tribal populace of Chhattisgarh’s Tamnar block in Raigarh district. Under JSP Foundation’s Project Sneh, JSP has significantly contributed to major reduction of malnutrition in more than 1200 Children in Pallahara block in Angul district of Odisha. Both these interventions were reviewed in the multilayer selection process for the National CSR Award in the category of ‘CSR in Aspirational Districts / Difficult Terrains’ (Eastern India) apart from the Project Vastalya to control IMR and MMR and other projects of women empowerment in the tribal predominant region of Tamnar. Similarly the JSP’s flagship programme ‘Asha the Hope’ was reviewed for the award in the category of ‘Contribution in National Priority Areas’ (Support to differently-abled). Through this project, implemented under the umbrella support of JSP Foundation, the company works for the rehabilitation and empowerment of differently abled, particularly people in the formative age group.

Through its CSR arm JSP Foundation, JSP has been implementing multi-faceted sustainable social development initiatives around its operational areas in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand as well as across India with focus on consistent Improvement of the Human Development Index and associated socio-economic development measures in rural and tribal areas.  This is the announcement of CSR award for 2020 . The awards announced for the very first year of the award in 2019 was delivered by the HE President of India in Vigyan Bhawan , New Delhi.

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• Five organs were harvested and donated to multiple hospitals to save several lives
• Faith in humanity was restored by the family in showing immense courage and strength in donating the organs
• Marengo CIMS Hospital expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the family who opted for the noble act of organ donation

 In an exemplary heroic and humanitarian act of nobility, a family which lost a young member to brain stroke decided to donate his organs to save several lives. Jayeshbhai Patel aged 35 years, was a factory worker. While working he collapsed and moving through various hospitals, the patient was brought to Marengo CIMS hospital where he was declared “Brain-dead”.

The family rose above their grief and sorrow to embrace humanity and donate the deceased family member’s organs to save four lives and restore the sight of one. One kidney, two lungs, two corneas and one liver were retrieved. Post the retrieval process, the organs were reached to patients over four states. This was a show of immense courage and strength by the family to restore faith in humanity. At Marengo Asia Healthcare, we believe every minute counts, every life matters. The importance of timely decisions taken in organ donation is paramount in contributing significantly to saving lives.

With Marengo CIMS Hospital armed with multiple organ transplant programs such as heart, lungs, kidney, and liver, the hospital is fast emerging as a preferred destination for organ transplants in India.

Dr Raajiv Singhal, Founding Member, MD & CEO, Marengo Asia Healthcare said, “Marengo Asia Healthcare expresses our heartfelt gratitude to the patient’s family who went beyond their intense grief to think of several other patients whose lives could be saved by their act of organ donation. Our gratitude to many more such families who overcome their sorrow to save many lives by donating organs of their deceased family member. Many patients die every year due to lack of organ donation. Organ donation can save 500,000 lives in India each year. When families come forward with such humanitarian act, the fact that organ donation is picking up is reiterated. We encourage people to become a part of such humanitarian acts that can save thousands of lives every year.”

The patient’s family said, “We realized the enormity of the number of lives that could be saved with this simple act of organ donation. We are encouraged by the fact that Jayeshbhai Patel will live through the people who have received his organs.”

With increased organ donation we can save more and more lives. India happens to be one of the top countries in organ transplant in the world and yet, we lag our western counterparts. In India, a huge disparity between demand of organs for saving lives and the organs donated is witnessed consistently. The increasing numbers in organ donation in India is just about picking up, the awareness having been low and other reasons working as deterrents being religious beliefs, spiritual beliefs, and a negative mindset towards organ donation. The recent increase has been an outcome of increased awareness on the noble act.

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Allo Health , India’s first digital health clinic for sexual wellness, announced the appointment of a technology leader Gaurav Gupta, as the CTO. In his new role, Gaurav will be responsible for leading and spearheading new efforts to build the holistic care platform and scaling the business.

Prior to this, Gaurav led the Labs and Billing team at Carbon Health, a chain of modern full-stack primary and urgent care clinics in the USA. Before Carbon, Gaurav was the CTO and Founding engineer at Eligible Inc, New York City, USA. Eligible provides a platform to securely process all insurance billing transactions, which powers some of the most innovative and advanced healthcare providers in the USA. As the CSO and security lead at Eligible, he extensively contributed to building highly available, scalable, reliable, secure, and HIPAA-compliant tech infrastructures. He was also instrumental in category expansion, automation in retail, and monetizing image inventory systems at Amazon. He was also part of the IBM Tivoli Solutions team, where he architected three solutions and published a patent with the US patent Office.

Speaking on the appointment, Pranay Jivrajka, CEO – Allo Health said, “I am thrilled to have Gaurav join the team. His appointment comes at a time when Healthcare technology is rapidly changing the ways patients receive care in India. His experience in building and scaling world-class technology teams will be enormously helpful in creating a user-first platform that makes sexual wellness care accessible to all. Welcoming Gaurav to embrace the new wave of digital care delivery with Allo Health.”

Speaking on his appointment, Gaurav Gupta, CTO, Allo Health said, “Allo Health is revolutionizing the way Sexual wellness care is delivered by bringing doctors, operators, and engineers under one roof. The numerous taboos and discourses associated with sexual wellness in India prevent people from seeking help or even talking about it. We had our first baby through IVF last year, and since then, my wife and I have been raising awareness and breaking taboos associated with fertility treatment. I always wanted to return to India and improve healthcare discovery, delivery, and management here. I am thrilled to be a part of a team working relentlessly to bring a paradigm shift in care delivery through advanced technologies and services. We aim to normalize sexual wellness and make it accessible to all. I am ecstatic to join Allo Health and do my bit in building India’s first digital health clinic for sexual wellness.”

Gaurav’s appointment underscores Allo Health’s mission to normalise sexual wellness for all and make sexual health care delivery accessible to all through technology. He is a graduate of IIT Varanasi with a recognized track record of conceptualising and realising scalable solutions across various industries like Health Tech, E-commerce, Tech Corps to name a few .

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Amid hectic work schedules, tentative vacay plans, and the never-ending to-do list that’s lingering on us, you’d agree that we are all doing the best we can to live the fullest and stay fit in our small but unique way. And days like, June 21, which is celebrated every year as International Yoga Day, act as a gentle reminder to embrace health and wellness. According to the Ministry of AYUSH, yoga is key to improving flexibility, strength, balance, and attaining harmony. And its popularity across the globe is proof enough. Handful of Walnuts What is important to remember here, however, is the fact that this ancient practice alone can’t help you achieve your health and fitness goals. Yoga and a nutritious, balanced diet go hand in hand, and eating the right foods ensure your body gets the essential nutrients it requires for optimal health – not just body but also mind. “Adding a handful of walnuts to your daily diet can set you off to a great start and fuel your brain and body,” says Naaznin Husein, renowned Nutritionist, Yoga Consultant, and Founder of Freedom Wellness Management. She further explains, “By a handful, I mean approx. 28g of walnuts that contain 4g protein, 2g fiber, and 2.5g plant-based omega-3 ALA. All these beneficial nutrients are known to support the health of our heart, brain, and gut.” Did you know that California walnuts are produced under stringent quality controls that exceed California inspection standards, reputed to be the world’s toughest? It’s a long road from planting a walnut orchard to delivering fresh, delicious walnuts to our local markets. Not only this, these wonderful crunchy and mildly sweet wonder nuts, when added to our daily diet, can help in overall wellness, shows research: 1) Say hello to a healthy heart Loaded with good fats (plant-based omega-3 ALA), walnuts, as part of a nutritious and balanced diet, may decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke.1  They help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and decrease blood pressure, two of the major risk factors for heart disease.2,3 2) Focus on immunity Walnuts are a good source of plant-based vitamin B, zinc, and selenium – the trio that boasts of the potential to ensure normal functioning of our immune system as per FSSAI’s Eat Right during COVID-19 guidelines.4 3) Weight maintenance Most of us exercise to lose weight and get into the perfect shape. While walnuts may not make you shed those extra calories, they sure help along the way. Research shows walnuts’ potential role in influencing appetite hormones that make you feel full for longer. Which, in turn, avoids unnecessary cravings.5 4) Reduce the risk of diabetes One of India’s most common and concerning diseases is diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes. It has been discovered that walnuts, as part of a healthy diet, may help manage diabetes and metabolic syndrome. A study representing more than 34,000 American adults suggests those who consume walnuts may have about half the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to adults who do not eat nuts.6 Here are some quick hacks Nutrition and Yoga expert, Naaznin Husein recommends to add walnuts into the daily diet regime: 1) Blend it into your pre-workout/post-workout smoothie to keep yourself energized. 2) Toss it into your salad or trail mix to transform them into an omega-3-rich meal/snack. 3) Add them to your curries and tikkas, and you can say goodbye to the cream for good. 4) Coat your meat and seafood with chopped walnuts for that extra crunch and nutrition quotient. 5) Indulge in a handful of walnuts to fix your mid-meal hunger pangs. References: 1Fleming JA, Kris-Etherton PM. The evidence for α-linolenic acid and cardiovascular disease benefits: comparisons with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. AdvNutr. 2014;5(6):863S-76S. doi: 10.3945/an.114.005850. 21FDA approved claim: Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, March 2004. One ounce of walnuts provides 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat, including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid, the plant-based omega-3. 32Kris-Etherton P. Walnuts decrease risk of cardiovascular disease: a summary of efficacy and biologic mechanisms. J Nutr. 2014; 10: 39:2S-8S. 4fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Guidance_Document_Eat_Right_07_06_2020.pdf 5Farr OM, Tuccinardi D, Upadhyay J, et al. Walnut consumption increases activation of the insula to highly desirable food cues: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over fMRI study. Diabetes ObesMetab. 2018;20(1):173-177. doi: 10.1111/dom.13060. 6Arab L, Dhaliwal SK, Martin CJ, et al. Association between walnut consumption and diabetes risk in NHANES. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2018;34(7):e3031. doi:10.1002/dmrr.3031.

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Breaking the barriers, Khashikha Vaddiraj, a Grade 9 student at Oakridge International School, Gachibowli, is creating awareness and encouraging women “to have a period with dignity”.

Oakridger Khashikha spreading awareness on Menstrual Health at one of her missions Samrakhsa

As part of her community project in MYP Grade 8, she educated adolescent girls and women on menstrual hygiene, its management and waste disposal, while suggesting solutions that would also uplift underprivileged women. Interacting with rural women in Warangal, Telangana, she was disheartened to hear about some terrible menstrual practices that could be extremely hazardous to women’s health. Through her surveys, she learnt that hygienic facilities, poor economic conditions, lack of awareness, shame, and social curbs were some of the barriers for rural women. “Menstrual hygiene is a multi-faceted issue, and the evidence compels us to address it in a holistic manner engaging not only adolescent girls and women but also the environment and society around them.” says Oakridger Khashikha.

Backed by her parents’ support, Khashika established Avadhi Foundation, an NGO committed to creating a positive impact, by educating adolescent girls and women to adopt effective and hygienic menstrual management practices that are safe for the body and mother earth.  She has also conducted multiple awareness sessions to promote Menstrual Hygiene at various institutions and communities.

Intrigued by the Sanskrit language, she has named her NGO as Avadhi, a Sanskrit word meaning “period” and she works for three Missions under the foundation.  Mission Sameeksha that seeks to break the silence over menstruation with awareness sessions in schools, colleges, orphanages, tribal areas, and underprivileged sectors. Mission Samraksha works to protect human health and the planet by gifting underprivileged women an ‘Avadhi Dignity Period Hamper’ with period panties, reusable cotton pads, a leak proof pouch, and an instruction leaflet. Mission Samseva aims to empower rural women with employment, by training them to stitch reusable cloth pads.

“I thank my school and teachers for molding me to lead various IB profiles throughout my education at Oakridge. Multiple activities, teaching-learning process, mentoring, and exposure to global issues at Oakridge have inspired me to go forward to serve society. All credit for my personality growth goes to my school and teachers,” said Khashikha.

“Out of shame and superstitions associated with this biological phenomenon, women are restricted irrespective of their social and economic status. I am immensely proud of Khashika for addressing this taboo subject and instilling confidence among underprivileged and uneducated women. Her efforts to address environmental hazards and empower women through employment is commendable,” said Principal, Hema Chennupaty.

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