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Item Impact of Shifting Cultivation on Human Health at Lengpui and the Adjoining Villages, Mizoram, India(Indian Journal Of Science And Technology, 2023) Hilda Lalrinpuii; M C Lalropeki; Lallawmkimi LallawmkimiThe paper brings a study of impact of air pollution caused by jhum burning on human health in the study area.Item Adverse health impacts of cooking with kerosene: A multi-country analysis within the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology Study(Environ. Res., 2020) Raphael E. Arku; Michael Brauer; MyLinh Duong; Li Wei; Bo Hu; Lap Ah Tse; Prem K. Mony; P. V. M. Lakshmi; Rajamohanan K. Pillai; Viswanathan Mohan; Karen YeatesBackground: Kerosene, which was until recently considered a relatively clean household fuel, is still widely used in low- and middle-income countries for cooking and lighting. However, there is little data on its health effects. We examined cardiorespiratory effects and mortality in households using kerosene as their primary cooking fuel within the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Methods: We analyzed baseline and follow-up data on 31,490 individuals from 154 communities in China, India, South Africa, and Tanzania where there was at least 10% kerosene use for cooking at baseline. Baseline comorbidities and health outcomes during follow-up (median 9.4 years) were compared between households with kerosene versus clean (gas or electricity) or solid fuel (biomass and coal) use for cooking. Multi-level marginal regression models adjusted for individual, household, and community level covariates. Results: Higher rates of prevalent respiratory symptoms (e.g. 34% [95% CI:15-57%] more dyspnea with usual activity, 44% [95% CI: 21-72%] more chronic cough or sputum) and lower lung function (differences in FEV1 : -46.3 ml (95% CI: -80.5; -12.1) and FVC: -54.7 ml (95% CI: -93.6; -15.8)) were observed at baseline for kerosene compared to clean fuel users. The odds of hypertension was slightly elevated but no associations were observed for blood pressure. Prospectively, kerosene was associated with elevated risks of all-cause (HR: 1.32 (95% CI: 1.14-1.53)) and cardiovascular (HR: 1.34 (95% CI: 1.00-1.80)) mortality, as well as major fatal and incident non-fatal cardiovascular (HR: 1.34 (95% CI: 1.08-1.66)) and respiratory (HR: 1.55 (95% CI: 0.98-2.43)) diseases, compared to clean fuel use. Further, compared to solid fuel users, those using kerosene had 20-47% higher risks for the above outcomes. Conclusions: Kerosene use for cooking was associated with higher rates of baseline respiratory morbidity and increased risk of mortality and cardiorespiratory outcomes during follow-up when compared to either clean or solid fuels. Replacing kerosene with cleaner-burning fuels for cooking is recommended.Item Agriculture-nutrition linkages: A preliminary investigation for rural India(Outlook Agric., 2017) S. J. Balaji; Abimanyu Jhajhria; Sant Kumar; T. Kingsly Immanuelraj; Amit KarExploring linkages between agriculture, nutrition and human health has become an emerging field of research. Literature shows us both positive and negative externalities of agriculture on nutrition and health. Hence, the first step towards exploring agriculture-nutrition linkages would be establishing' the relationship between agriculture and nutrition, and thereby human health. This study, while doesn't explicitly model and estimate complex linkages, attempts to study the direction, strength and magnitude of agriculture on nutritional status in rural India. Using a panel data covering 1991-2012, the study explores the linkages at two stages. Analysis indicates a positive causality' of agriculture on human nutrition and the ordinary least squares estimates provide evidence for it. Fixed effects estimates confirm the positive causality' after controlling for the effects of several factors. The study concludes that agriculture has a significant positive influence on nutrition, and thereby on health.Item A qualitative study of mental health problems among children living in New Delhi slums(Transcult. Psychiatry, 2024) Prerna Martin; Emily E. Haroz; Catherine Lee; Paul Bolton; Kiran Martin; Rosemary Meza; Elizabeth Mccarthy; Shannon DorseyChildren living in urban slums in India are exposed to chronic stressors that increase their risk of developing mental disorders, but they remain a neglected group. Effective mental health interventions are needed; however, it is necessary to understand how mental health symptoms and needs are perceived and prioritized locally to tailor interventions for this population. We used an existing rapid ethnographic assessment approach to identify mental health problems from the perspective of children living in Indian slums, including local descriptions, perceived causes, impact, and coping behavior. Local Hindi-speaking interviewers conducted 77 free-list interviews and 33 key informant interviews with children and adults (N = 107) from two slums in New Delhi. Results identified a range of internalizing and externalizing symptoms consistent with depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in children. Findings included both common cross-cultural experiences and symptoms as well as uniquely described symptoms (e.g., madness or anger, pain in the heart and mind) not typically included on western standardized measures of psychopathology. Mental health problems appeared to be highly interconnected, with experiences such as harassment and fighting often described as both causes and impacts of mental health symptoms in children. Community perspectives indicated that even in the face of several unmet basic needs, mental health problems were important to the community and counseling interventions were likely to be acceptable. We discuss implications for adapting mental health interventions and assessing their effectiveness to reduce the burden of mental illness among children living in urban slums in India.Item A Critical Review on the Effect of Particulate Matter (PM) in Air on Public Health(Public Health Review : International Journal of Public Health Research, 2021) Debraj Mukhopadhyay; J. Swaminathan; Arun Kumar Sharma; Soham Basu; Parth Patel; Dattatreya MukherjeeAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), particulate matter (PM) contamination causesaround 800,000 premature deaths per year, ranking 13th in the world in terms of mortality.However, several findings revealed that the correlation is much stronger and more complicated thanpreviously believed. PM is an element of emissions comprised of very small, acidic, organiccompounds, metals, and particulate soil or dust particles or fluid droplets. The most consistent airquality component linked to human illness is PM, which is categorized by size. PM is likely to developcardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders due to the mechanisms of inflammation, overt andindirect coagulation activation, and direct translocation to the systemic circulation. The evidence onthe cardiovascular system that shows a PM effect is strong. Coronary incidence and mortality ratesin populations prone to long-term PM toxicity were significantly higher. Short-term acute emissionsincrease coronary incidence rates subtly within days of the pollution peak.Item A situation analysis of child delivery facilities at primary health centers (PHCs) in rural India and its association with likelihood of selecting PHC for child delivery(BMC Health Serv. Res., 2021) Akif Mustafa; Chander Shekhar; Neha ShriBackground Primary Health Centers (PHCs) are crucial in providing primary and secondary level healthcare services in rural India. Despite immense efforts and huge funding, a very small proportion of deliveries are carried out at PHCs. The present study aims to explore the availability of facilities at PHCs and its association with likelihood of delivering the child at PHC. Methods We extracted PHC level health infrastructure data from Health Management and Information system (HMIS) and created 'Facility Index' using exploratory factor analysis. We merged the 'Facility Index' with data of the 4th National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) to explore the relationship between availability of facilities and healthcare-seeking behavior. Bivariate analysis and multilevel logistic regressions were employed to analyze the association between Facility Index and the likelihood of delivering the child at PHC. Results Availability of facilities (Facility Index) was found to be positively associated with utilization of PHC for childbirth but up to only a certain level of Facility Index. Women living in districts with 'good' Facility index were having 2.45 (OR = 2.45; 95% CI: 2.12-2.84) times higher odds of delivering the child at PHC compared to women living in districts with 'very poor' Facility Index; however, the odds ratio decreased to 2.11 (95% CI: 1.83-2.43) for 'Very Good' Facility Index. The regression line and predicted probabilities also exhibited similar results. Conclusion Based on the findings, we conclude that improvement in availability and quality of facilities might help in improving healthcare utilization from PHCs up to a certain level.Item Agri-food innovations in the quest for food and environmental security(Front. Nutr., 2023) Monika Thakur; Miguel A. Prieto; Hao Huang