Morning MEDtalks with Dr KK Aggarwal 22nd August 2018

Music in depression

Music-based therapeutic interventions can help improve mood — depression and perhaps also anxiety and emotional well-being overall, including quality of life — and they can also improve behavioral problems overall, but not in particular agitation or aggression (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, July 23).

NEET results show more students opting for non-clinical courses

NEET results over the years have shown more students are opting for non-clinical courses in medical and dental colleges. Sudhansh Pant, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said this during a conference on the "role of biomedical scientists in New India" organised by the National M.Sc Teachers Association (NMMTA), a representative body of non-medical teachers in non-clinical departments of medical and dental colleges in India (TOI - PTI, August 21, 2018).

Association of Flight Attendants

About 1 in 5 flight attendants say they have witnessed a passenger being sexually assaulted or had an assault reported to them. And nearly 1 in 5 flight attendants themselves say they have been sexually assaulted, and 70% say they have been sexually harassed in the air.

NVBDCP: Observe one dry day in a week

NVBDCP has appealed to the public to observe “one dry day in a week where water in all the containers around the house like flower pot bases, empty vessels, coolers, tyres, buckets etc. are emptied out into a dry area because dengue mosquitoes breed in stagnant clean water and the eggs hatch in a week.  All water filled vessels and tanks should be kept tightly covered and any rubbish lying around like plastic cups, old containers, tyres, coconut shells etc. should be thrown out and check around the compound every week.

NVBDCP asked the people to ensure that that everybody sleeps under mosquito nets, especially pregnant women and children, both during the day and night.

Tobacco quit-line on packs from 1^st September

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has issued a notification to print ‘QuitLine’ number on tobacco packets. The notification has been issued on April 03. Along with the Quit line – a helpline number to quit smoking, the government has asked the tobacco manufactures to put two set of pictorial warnings on the tobacco products as well

1. The Health Ministry has amended the ‘Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008’
2. During the rotation period, there shall be two images of specified health warning which shall appear consecutively on the package with an interregnum period of twelve months.
3. ‘Tobacco causes cancer’ and the word ‘Tobacco causes painful death’ shall appear in white font colour on a red background
4. The helpline number reading – ‘Quit today call 1800-11-2356’ shall appear in white font colour on a black background

Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS 2) findings

1. Prevalence of tobacco use has reduced by six percentage points.
2. The number of tobacco users has reduced by about 81 lakhs.
3. 28.6% of adults aged between 15 and above (26.7 crore) use tobacco in any form.
4. 19.9 crore adults in rural areas and 6.8 crore adults in urban areas use tobacco.
5. Every fifth adult (19.9 crore) uses smokeless tobacco and every tenth adult (10.0 crore) uses smokeless tobacco.
6. 3.2 crore adults resort to dual use of tobacco.
7. 19.0% of men, 2.0% of women and 10.7% (99.5 million) of all adults currently smoke tobacco.
8. 29.6% of men, 12.8% of women and 21.4% (199.4 million) of all adults currently use smokeless tobacco.
9. 42.4% of men, 14.2% of women and 28.6% (266.8 million) of all adults currently use tobacco (smoked and/or smokeless tobacco).
10. 55.4% of current smokers are planning or thinking of quitting smoking and 49.6% of current smokeless tobacco users are planning or thinking of quitting smokeless tobacco use.
11. 48.8% of current smokers were advised by health care provider to quit smoking and 31.7% of current smokeless tobacco users were advised by healthcare provider to quit use of smokeless tobacco.

Prince Aly Khan Hospital’s Health Service Aga Khan survey of school-going children on cigarette smoking

1. 27% children are addicted to cigarette smoking.
2. 6.3% children consume hookah.
3. 24% children are addicted to tobacco products.
4. 9% children smoke cigarette currently.
5. 16% children mix tobacco in supari and consume it.
6. 71% boys and 20% of girls are addicted to smoking.
7. 54% children of class 10 smoke.
8. 94% were aware of the consequences. Yet still, continue to smoke

(Source: mymedicalmantra.com, December 2017)

Resurgence of Black Lung Disease in the US

Analysis of data collected by the U.S. Department of Labor from 1970 to 2016 under the Federal Black Lung Program identified 4,679 cases of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). A total of 2,374 cases were identified during the 21-year period between 1996 and 2016, surpassing the 2,205 cases identified during the first 26 years of the program.

This increase is despite the fact that the number of coal miners working in the US declined by more than two-thirds between 1979 and 2016 (Kirsten Almberg, PhD, of the University of Illinois Chicago and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and colleagues, Annals of the American Thoracic Society)

How safe is hotel buffet?

Any type of food can cause food poisoning. One way this can take place is when food has been left out for too long, which can particularly be an issue when it comes to hotel buffets.

Different foods with different food safety risks are sometimes mixed or served together. The food left out for a long time and a large number of customers may eat the same food. So if there is a problem, there is a risk for a large scale outbreak.

Symptoms of food poisoning include feeling sick, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, a high temperature of 38C or above and generally feeling unwell. These can show a few hours after eating the contaminated food or even a few weeks later.

1. Avoid any uncooked food, apart from fruits and vegetables. Also, try not to mix up different food types by piling everything on one plate, remember you can always go back for another course.
2. Keep an eye out for signs of poor hygiene such as the presence of pests and flies or uncleaned surfaces. Consider whether the food is handled manually of whether there are enough utensils to handle the food without contaminating it.
3. The more foods require handling, the greater the risk they can pose, such as fresh fruit salads and fresh salads.  
4. Always wash your hands before eating and watch out for other customers mixing up utensils at the buffet as cross-contamination between food items can lead to illness.
5. A lot of stomach upsets on holiday are caused by overconsumption rather than food poisoning, so eat and drink in moderation.

Video to watch: TEDx Talk by Dr KK Aggarwal: Modern day doctor-patient relationship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9ml1vKK2DQ

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President HCFI

Vice President CMAAO