Human beings are social species which require safe and secure social surroundings to survive. Satisfying social relationships are essential for mental and physical well beings. Impaired social relationship can lead to loneliness. Since the time of dawn, loneliness is perceived as a global human phenomenon. Loneliness can lead to various psychiatric disorders like depression, alcohol abuse, child abuse, sleep problems, personality disorders and Alzheimer's disease. It also leads to various physical disorders like diabetes, autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and cardiovascular diseases like coronary heart disease, hypertension (HTN), obesity, physiological aging, cancer, poor hearing and poor health. Left untended, loneliness can have serious consequences for mental and physical health of people. Therefore it is important to intervene at the right time to prevent loneliness, so that physical and mental health of patients is maintained.

Relationship between loneliness, psychiatric disorders and physical health ? A review on the psychological aspects of loneliness.

Background: Among the chronic rheumatic diseases, hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent and is a leading cause of pain and disability in most countries worldwide. Its prevalence increases with age and generally affects women more frequently than men. OA is strongly associated with aging and heavy physical occupational activity, a required livelihood for many people living in rural communities in developing countries. Determining region-specific OA prevalence and risk factor profiles will provide important information for planning future cost effective preventive strategies and health care services. Materials and Methods: The study was a community based cross sectional study to find out the prevalence of primary knee OA in India which has a population of 1.252 billion. The study was done across five sites in India. Each site was further divided into big city, small city, town, and village. The total sample size was 5000 subjects. Tools consisted of a structured questionnaire and plain skiagrams for confirmation of OA. Diagnosis was done using Kellgren and Lawrence scale for osteoarthritis. Results: Overall prevalence of knee OA was found to be 28.7%. The associated factors were found to be female gender (prevalence of 31.6%) (P = 0.007), obesity (P = 0.04), age (P = 0.001) and sedentary work (P = 0.001). Conclusions: There is scarcity of studies done in India which has varied socio geographical background and communities. We conducted this study for analyzing the current prevalence of OA in different locations. This study has evidenced a large percentage of population as borderline OA; therefore, it depends mainly on the prevention of modifiable risk factors to preserve at ease movement in elderly population through awareness programs.

Epidemiology of knee osteoarthritis in India and related factors.

Loneliness, which describes the deficit between an individuals’ expectation of the quality and/or quantity of social relationships and the actuality, is associated with poor quality of life, negative health outcomes and, in some cases, increased use of statutory services. Within Great Britain few studies have examined the prevalence of loneliness amongst older people from ethnic minorities. In this exploratory study we consider the prevalence of loneliness amongst older people, those aged 65 years and over, from the key minority groups growing old in Britain (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, African Caribbean, and Chinese) and draw explicit comparisons for these groups with the prevalence of loneliness reported for the general population and with older people in their countries of origin. We use two data sources: the Ethnicity and Loneliness Survey, a study of 300 minority elders aged 65+ living in the community, provides our prevalence estimates and secondary analysis of a study of 169 South Asian elders (aged 65+) undertaken in Birmingham to validate our prevalence rates for the Indian and Bangladeshi populations. We identified very high rates of reported loneliness, ranging from 24% to 50% amongst for those elders originating from China, Africa, the Caribbean, Pakistan and Bangladesh whilst those from India approximated to the norms of 8–10% for Britain. These results suggest that it is feasible to research loneliness amongst minority communities in Britain; that the levels of loneliness are, with the exception of the Indian population, very much higher than for the general population but are broadly comparable with rates of loneliness reported for older people in their countries of origin. There is a rich research agenda to be developed in extending our understanding of loneliness in later life amongst the increasingly culturally and ethnically diverse older population of Great Britain.

Loneliness and Ethnic Minority Elders in Great Britain: An Exploratory Study

Background: Estimates of health problems of the elderly in developing countries are required from time to time to predict trends in disease burden and plan health care for the elderly. Developing countries have a poor track record of equitable distribution of health care. Marginalized groups living in urban slums and rural villages have poor penetration of health services. Aims: To identify the geriatric health problems in samples drawn from a slum and a village, and also to explore any gender and urban–rural difference morbidity. Subject and Methods: A communityâÂÂbased crossâÂÂsectional study was carried out by house to house survey of all people aged over 60 years in an urban slum and a village in the field practice area of a teaching hospital. The total elderly population in these two areas was 407, with an almost equal representation from urban slum and rural area. Information (most of them selfâÂÂreported) was collected in a preâÂÂtested instrument, which has been used earlier in a World Health Organization multicentric study in India. Categorical variables were summarized by percentages. Associations were explored with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Female elders outnumbered the male elders; widows outnumbered widowers. Tobacco use was very high at 58.97% (240/407). Visual impairment (including uncorrected presbyopia) was the most common handicap with prevalence of 83.29% (339/407), with males more affected than females (OR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.32âÂÂ4.87). Uncorrected hearing impairment was also common. Urinary complaints were also more common in males (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 0.93âÂÂ3.04). More rural elders were living alone than their urban counterpart (OR = 2.87, 95% CI 1.23âÂÂ6.86). History of weight loss was higher in the rural areas, while tendency to obesity was higher in the urban areas. An appreciable number 29.2% (119/407) had unoperated cataract. Prevalence of hypertension was 30.7% (125/407); 12% (49/407) had diabetes; 7.6% (31/407) gave history of ischemic heart disease, males more than females (OR = 3.75, 95% CI 1.62âÂÂ8.82). A large proportion, 32.6%, (133/407) had dental problems. Almost half of the population gave history of depression. Conclusion: A large number of unmet health needs, such as unoperated cataract, uncontrolled hypertension, uncorrected hearing impairment and tobacco use, exist in marginalized groups. Health interventions for these are needed in developing countries. Preventive services such as tobacco cessation campaigns among the elderly should also get priority.

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Health Problems Among the Elderly: A Cross.Sectional Study

Curcuma longa Linn. is widely used for the treatment of disorders associated with inflammation and was evaluated for its safety and efficacy in the treatment of painful knee osteoarthritis (OA). This was a randomized, single blind, placebo-controlled trial. Total of 120 patients (37 males and 83 females) with primary knee OA received either placebo (400 mg twice daily) or NR-INF-02 (500 mg twice daily) or glucosamine sulphate (GS) (750 mg twice daily) alone or combination of NR-INF-02 and GS for 42 days. The efficacy was assessed during treatment period, on day 21 and day 42. The decrease in severity of pain symptom and function of affected knee as primary efficacy outcome measure was assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scale, respectively. The clinical examination of affected joint was measured by an orthopaedic specialist and using a Clinician Global Impression Change (CGIC) scale. The analysis of post-treatment scores following administration of NR-INF-02 using VAS, WOMAC, and CGIC at each clinical visit showed significant decrease (p < 0.05) compared to placebo. NR-INF-02 treated group showed a significant (p < 0.01) decrease in use of rescue medication, along with clinical and subjective improvement compared to placebo. The tolerability and acceptability profile of NR-INF-02 was better during the trial period. The study demonstrates safety and efficacy of NR-INF-02 as a useful treatment option for patients with primary painful knee OA.

Safety and efficacy of Curcuma longa extract in the treatment of painful knee osteoarthritis: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

An epidemiological study of correlates of osteo-arthritis in geriatric population of UT Chandigarh

Research Question: What are the health-related problems of the aged and why do they feel lonely? Objective: To study the health-related problems and loneliness among the elderly in different micro-environment groups. Participants: Aged persons of age 65 years and above. Setting: Urban and rural area of Chandigarh. Design: Cross-sectional. Statistical Analysis: t-test and Z test. Results: During the study, it was found that out of the total 361 aged persons of Chandigarh, 311 (86.1%) persons reported one or more health-related complaints, with an average of two illnesses. The illness was higher among the females (59.5%) as compared to males (40.5%). The main health-related problems were disorders of the circulatory system (51.2%), musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (45.7%). It was also found that loneliness was prevalent more in females (72.8%) as compared to males (65.6%). Loneliness was more prevalent among persons who lived alone (92.2%) as compared to those who lived with their spouse (58.9%) or when husband and wife lived with the family (61.4%). It was higher among the widows (85.2%) and widowers (75.8%) who lived with the family as compared to the aged who lived with the spouse (58.9%) and the aged husband and wife who lived with the family (61.4%). Conclusion: Special geriatric services should be started in the hospitals as the majority of the aged have one or more health-related problems. The aged persons should be involved in social activities to avoid loneliness among them.

A study of health problems and loneliness among the elderly in Chandigarh

Methods : The study was conducted in Union Territory of Chandigarh, a modern city in Northern India having a population of over 0.8 million 362 subjects over the age of 65 years were interviewed after having being selected through stratified random technique covering 7937 family members in 1882 houses. Objectives : This community based study assessed the prevalence of obestity and associated factors among elderly population. Results : Overweight (BMI>25kg/m2) was observed among 120 subjects (33.14%), obestity (BMI>30) in 28 (7.54%) of the elderly. 14.36% elderly subjects were undernourished (BMI<18.5)) Over weight/obesity was higher among females (42.1%) than males (20.9%). Prevalence of hypertension was 82.5% among overweight elderly in comparison to 45.87% among non-overweight/obese. Similarly probable diabetes was 15.0% and 9.92% in overweight and non-overweight elderly, respectively. Conclusion : Overweight among one-third elderly reveals existence of a high prevalence. Higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes among overweight elderly was observed. There is an urgent need to adopt multidisciplinary approach to weight control by awareness compaign and adopting strategies to increase physical activity and changing eating behaviour.

An Epidemioiogical Study of Obesity among Elderly in Chandigarh

Efficacy of Syndromic Approach in Management of Reproductive Tract Infections and Associated Difficulties In A Rural Area of Chandigarh

Background: Establishment of a cancer registry is the first step in cancer control, and population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) are considered the gold standard for providing information on cancer incidence and mortality at population level. Materials and Methods: Earlier surveys reported a high prevalence of cancer in Punjab state. To address this issue and to provide reliable data on cancer incidence and mortality, four PBCRs were set up in Punjab and Chandigarh in year 2013 covering a total population of 4.5 million with PBCR Chandigarh and SAS Nagar, predominantly urban (covering 2.9 million population) and Mansa and Sangrur, predominantly rural (covering 2.6 million population). Results: Among males, Chandigarh and SAS Nagar have the age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) of 93.5 and 73.5/100,000, respectively, whereas PBCR Mansa and Sangrur have age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) of only 45.3 and 43.7/100,000, respectively. Similarly, in females, PBCR Chandigarh and SAS Nagar have the ASIRs of 105.0 and 104.5/100,000, respectively, which was almost 2 times that seen at PBCR Mansa (55.8/100,000) and Sangrur (52.8/100,000). The incidence of breast cancer in females was 4–5 times higher in urban registries as compared to rural ones, whereas incidence of lung cancer was 4–7 times higher in urban registries. The most common cancer was lung cancer among males and breast cancer among females at PBCR Chandigarh and SAS Nagar, whereas it was esophagus among males and cervical cancer among females at PBCR Mansa and Sangrur. Conclusion: There were wider urban–rural differences with respect to incidence and pattern of cancers among the four registries which may be due to urbanization, lifestyle, and environmental factors which need to be explored further. Cancer incidence and pattern of cancer in Punjab are comparable with rest of the country.

Urban–rural differences in cancer incidence and pattern in Punjab and Chandigarh: Findings from four new population-based cancer registries in North India

Sps Bhatia

Papers

An epidemiological study of correlates of osteo-arthritis in geriatric population of UT Chandigarh

A study of health problems and loneliness among the elderly in Chandigarh

An Epidemioiogical Study of Obesity among Elderly in Chandigarh

Efficacy of Syndromic Approach in Management of Reproductive Tract Infections and Associated Difficulties In A Rural Area of Chandigarh

Urban–rural differences in cancer incidence and pattern in Punjab and Chandigarh: Findings from four new population-based cancer registries in North India