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Background: An essential and necessary component of any investigation into a sudden, suspicious death is the medico-legal autopsy. It's critical to understand the profile of medico-legal autopsy cases in order to ascertain the mortality rate from non-natural causes in a given area and addressing the demographic requirements in accordance with the region's unique mortality statistics. Material & Method: The present study was a retrospective study of autopsies performed at a tertiary care centre in southern Haryana, from January 2018 to December 2023. During this period a total of 886 medico legal autopsies were conducted. Relevant information and subjective data like age, gender, marital status & manner of death have been collected from medico legal autopsy register from January 2018 to December 2023. Results: It was observed that out of 886 cases male outnumbered females in ratio 2.06:1. Majority of the victims belonged to the age group 21-30 years. Majority of the deaths occurred due to poisoning (n=264, 29.79%), followed by road traffic accidents 26.74%. Conclusion: Majority of cases were in the 3rd decade of life, males outnumbered females. Poisoning and road traffic accidents were the leading cause of death. Public attention, awareness, preventive and remedial strategies should be undertaken to reduce similar incidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Road traffic accidents are preventable public health issues and are becoming more common. These accidents can be linked to a number of factors, including an increase in the number of vehicles on the roads, changes in daily life, a nasty habit of breaking traffic laws, anarchic traffic systems, and risky driving practices. Thoraco-abdominal injury in different forms is one of the major causes of mortality in the victims of fatal road traffic accidents. The aim of this study was to know the pattern of thoraco-abdominal injuries in victims of fatal road traffic accident cases. Material & Method: The present study was conducted at the tertiary healthcare centre in southern Haryana. Total of 75 cases of fatal road traffic accident cases were enrolled during one year of study period. The basic information about the deceased like age, gender, mode of travel of the victim was obtained from investigating officer narration and inquest papers. During autopsy, detailed examination of injuries was carried out and the autopsy findings were recorded and analyzed. Results: It was observed that out of 75 cases male outnumbered females in ratio 5.25:1. Majority of the victims belonged to the age group 21-30 years. The commonest injury of the thoracic region was rib fracture (41.3%). It was also observed that 17.3% of victims had pelvic fracture. Conclusion: Human error is a major contributing factor to fatal RTAs, which can be avoided in many cases. A more stringent licensing policy, particularly for four-wheelers, increased knowledge of traffic laws, the reduction of drug abuse and an appropriate road network that is in line with traffic volume can help to reduce the number of fatal road traffic accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well documented that the utilization of maternal healthcare services during pregnancy and childbirth plays a significant role in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. Disruptions in maternal healthcare services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been reported. However, there is a paucity of literature from rural areas, as most of the previous studies are either record-based or conducted in tertiary care centers. This study aimed to determine the proportion of women who received the recommended maternal healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic and to study various factors associated with the utilization of services. Material and Methods: In this community-based study, we assessed the utilization of maternal healthcare services among 520 women residing in the Ballabgarh Block of District Faridabad, Haryana, whose antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal period coincided with the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Domiciliary visits were made, and women were interviewed retrospectively regarding maternal healthcare services utilized by them. The antenatal care (ANC) cards were reviewed, and details were corroborated. Results: Full ANC was received by 15.3% of women, and 45% of women had less than four antenatal visits. 30.9% of participants had cesarean delivery. The proportion of cesarean delivery in private facilities was significantly higher than in government facilities [Odds Ratio (OR) (95% Confidence intervals (CI)) =10.04 (5.87-17.19); P < 0.001]. In multivariate logistic regression, gravidity was negatively associated with full ANC [OR (95% CI) =0.43 (0.25-0.74); P = 0.002]. Conclusion: Fewer women received the recommended maternal healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Detailed assessment of health systems and factors affecting routine healthcare services, during the pandemic, can help improve the readiness and response in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes distress associated with diabetes is an important under-appreciated domain of diabetes management. The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of diabetes distress among T2DM patients in Jhajjar district of Haryana, using widely accepted DDS-17 scale along with testing the scale's reliability through Cronbach's α. Material and Methods: This observational study with cross-sectional design was carried out among 503 T2DM patients in district, Jhajjar, Haryana. DDS-17 scale was used for diabetes distress assessment. Data entry and analysis were performed using appropriate software. Results: 37.97% subjects had diabetes distress either in moderate (DDS-17 Score ≥2) or severe (DDS-17 Score ≥3) form. English version of DDS-17 scale showed good internal consistency reliability (α = 0.79). Conclusions: This study conclusively showed that diabetes distress is very common among T2DM patients as more than one third of the T2DM patients had diabetes distress and diabetes distress scale (DDS-17) is an easy, well-accepted questionnaire with good reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Traditionally, women have been the chief respondents in most demographic and health surveys focusing on family planning; the role of men has been limited. However, in recent years there has been realization of the importance of men′s role in family planning. Aims and Objectives: To assess the levels of agreement and concordance between husbands and wives regarding reproductive intentions and contraception. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 200 randomly selected married couples (in the age range of 15-44 years) in village Dayalpur, Haryana. Data pertaining to reproductive intentions and contraception was collected and the level of agreement (kappa statistics) between husbands and wives was calculated. Results: The observed concordance was 67.5% for ideal family size, 84.5% for contraceptive attitude, 88.5% for fertility desire, 93.5% for unmet need, and 97% for report of number of currently living children. The adjusted kappa statistic varied from a low of 0.43 (P ≤ 0.001) (ideal family size) to a high of 0.96 ( P ≤0.001) (number of living children) with contraceptive attitude (0.7) ( P≤0.001), unmet need (0.88) ( P≤ 0.001), and current use of contraception (0.93) ( P ≤0.001) having kappa values in between. Overall, a greater degree of agreement was observed for reproductive health events as compared to family planning attitudes and intentions. An in-depth analysis of the responses in the current study provides further evidence of male domination in decision making. Conclusion: In surveys pertaining to reproductive health events, the wife′s response can be taken as proxy for the couple′s response, but for assessing family planning attitudes and intentions, there is a need to collect information from husbands and wives separately.

Background: Tobacco is the leading cause of mortality globally and in India. The magnitude and the pattern of tobacco consumption are likely to be influenced by the geographical setting and with rapid urbanization in India there is a need to study this differential pattern. Aim: The aim was to study the rural, urban, and urban-slum differences in patterns of tobacco use. Settings: The study was conducted in Ballabgarh block, Faridabad district, Haryana, and was a community-based cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in years 2003-2004 using the WHO STEPS approach with 7891 participants, approximately equal number of males and females, selected using multistage sampling from urban, urban-slum, and rural strata. Statistical Analysis: The analysis was done using the SPSS 12.0 statistical package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Direct standardization to the WHO world standard population was done to and chi-square and ANOVA tests were used for comparison across three study settings. Results: Self-reported tobacco use among males was as follows: urban 35.2%; urban-slums 48.3%; and rural 52.6% (P value P value Conclusion: The antitobacco policies of India need to focus on bidis in antitobacco campaigns. The program activities must find ways to reach the rural and urban-slum populations.

Research question : Is there agreement between husbands and wives regarding unmet need of family planning? Hypothesis : The unmet need of family planning is perceived more by women then their husbands. Objective : 1) To ascertain the unmet needs of family planning for husbands and wives. 2) To ascertain the level of agreement between husbands and wives regarding unmet needs of family planning. Design: A cross-sectional survey Setting: Dayalpur village in Intensive field practice area of Comprehensive Rural Health Services project (CRHSP), Ballabgarh, Haryana. Study Period: July 2003- June 2005. Participants included 200 married couples selected by simple random sampling. Statistical Analysis: Level of agreement between husbands and wives was analyzed using Kappa statistics. Results: Unmet need for family planning was 11% (22 out of 200) for husbands and 17.5% (35 out of 200) for wives. The difference was seen both in unmet need for spacing (M-3.5% vs. F-6%) as well as limiting family size (M-7.5% vs. F-11.5%). Overall, 93.5% concordance was observed amongst husbands and wives. In all the cases where disagreement was seen (6.5%), wives reported having unmet need for contraception whereas their husbands perceived none. The unadjusted Kappa statistic was 0.73 and prevalence adjusted Kappa was 0.88. Conclusion: Unmet need for family planning was significantly higher for wives compared to husbands. Despite high degrees of agreement amongst the couples, the nature of disconcordance reinforces the need for policy makers to take into account the perspective of men.

Fortification of staple food items with iron is a potential strategy to address anemia for a larger population. We reviewed studies to assess the impact of iron-fortified rice (IFR) on hemoglobin levels of individuals more than six months of age. We included studies assessing the effectiveness of IFR (with or without other micronutrients) conducted in any part of the world available in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, clinicaltrials.gov, International database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care (PROSPERO), unicef.org, and who.int databases and published from January 1, 1990 to April 1, 2019 (PROSPERO registration number: RD42020139895). We extracted the changes in hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and serum transferrin levels among the participants. Finally, data from 15 trials and their 21 subsets were analyzed. Mean difference in hemoglobin was 0.53 g/dl (95% CI: 0.26, 0.80, P < 0.001, I2 = 84%) in the IFR group compared to the control group. In the subgroup analysis after removing studies with small sample size and high risk for bias, a mean difference of 0.44 g/dl (95% CI: 0.20, 0.69, P < 0.001, I2 = 82%) was observed. No significant effect on serum ferritin or transferrin levels was observed. From this review it can be concluded that fortification of rice with iron can be adopted as an intervention to improve hemoglobin levels, especially in countries where rice is the major part food of staple diet. Research is needed on an optimal iron compound for fortification and the acceptance of IFR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lovastatin has been used in hypercholesterolemia and heart diseases for therapeutic as well as preventative purposes and it is naturally obtained from filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus through biotechnological approach. The additives in fungal media which enhances the fungal growth should also increase the production of lovastatin. Finger printing of Sahaj Vati, a herbo-mineral formulation comprising mixture of Plumbago zeylanica, Curcuma longa, Shilajeet, Commiphora mukul and Clerodendrum phlomidis powder to be added in medium for fungal growth. The fungal growth activity of both batches of Sahaj Vati was tested for fungal isolate of A. flavus by contact measure through hyphal development restraint test utilizing Potato dextrose agar (PDA) and SMKY medium followed by chromatographic and different techniques for standardization. Sahaj Vati has lower antifungal index & increased the fungal biomass and separation of compound was higher in mobile phase Benzene: Ethyl acetate: Pyridine: 5:4.9:0.1 & Hexane: Chloroform: Pyridine: 2.7:1. Sahaj Vati increased the growth and biomass of A. flauvs which may be used for natural production of lovastatin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The involvement of medical students in strategies to control Covid-19 might be considered to cope with the shortage of healthcare workers. We assessed the knowledge about Covid-19, willingness to volunteer, potential areas of involvement and reasons for hesitation among medical students towards volunteering. Methods. We did this cross-sectional study among under-graduate students at a tertiary care teaching hospital in New Delhi. We used a web-based questionnaire to elicit demographic information, knowledge of Covid-19, willingness to volunteer and reasons deterring them from working during the Covid-19 pandemic, and self-declared knowledge in six domains. Results. A total of 292 students participated in the study with a mean (SD) age of 19.9 (3.1) years. The mean (SD) knowledge score of Covid-19 was 6.9 (1.1) (maximum score 10). Knowledge score was significantly different among preclinical (6.5), paraclinical (7.18) and clinical groups (7.03). Almost three-fourth (75.3%) participants were willing to volunteer in the Covid-19 pandemic, though 67.8% had not received any training in emergency medicine or public health crisis management. Willingness to work was maximum in areas of social work and indirect patient care (62.3% each). Lack of personal protective equipment was cited as a highly deterring factor for volunteering (62.7%) followed by fear of transmitting the infection to family members (45.9%), fear of causing harm to the patient (34.2%) and the absence of available treatment (22.2%). Conclusions. A majority of the students were willing to volunteer even though they had not received adequate training. Students may serve as an auxiliary force during the pandemic, especially in non-clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]