Due to ovarian insufficiency, some women attain menopause at an early age due to lifestyle factors and hormonal imbalances. Menopause occurring before the age of 40 is premature and between 40 and ...44 years age is early, since the natural age of menopause lies between 45 and 50. The study estimated the prevalence of both premature and early menopause, and examined the potential associated factors that could trigger its occurrence in India. The National Family Health Survey, conducted during 2019-2021, was used to fulfil the study objective. The study sample was divided into two parts, with age group 15-39 and 40-44 for estimating premature and early menopause, respectively. Cox-proportional hazard model was used for the multivariate analysis. The estimated prevalence of premature menopause is 2.2% and early menopause is 16.2%. Lower educational level, poor economic condition, smoking, fried food consumption, early age at menarche are some of the significant explanatory factors. In India, both the proportion and the absolute number of post-menopausal women are growing, therefore it is critical to revamp public reproductive healthcare facilities to include menopausal health segment in women's health as well. Future detailed micro-studies would help in better understanding of the premature or early menopausal cases.
Menopause occurring before the age of 40 is premature and between 40 and 44 years age is early, since the natural age of menopause lies between 45 and 50. The endocrine changes that come with ...menopause include an erratic decline in estrogen levels which affects the brain. Thus, leading to changes in cognitive function in the longer term due to the menopausal transition. The study aims to explore the effect of premature and early menopause on cognitive health, and psychosocial well-being. The moderated multiple mediation hypothesis of the study is that the effect of premature or early menopause is mediated by depression and insomnia, while all the pathways are moderated by smoking habits.
The study utilized Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), 2017-2018, Wave 1 data. The sample of 31,435 women were aged 45 and above and did not undergo hysterectomy. A moderated multiple mediation model was used to understand the association between premature or early menopause (X), insomnia (M1), depression (M2), moderator (W), and cognitive health (Y), while controlling for possible confounders.
Premature menopause was negatively associated with cognition (β:-0.33; SE:0.12; p < 0.05), whereas positively associated with insomnia (β:0.18; SE:0.03; p < 0.001) and depression (β:0.25; SE:0.04; p < 0.001). There is a moderating effect of smoking or tobacco consumption has a significant moderating effect on the pathways among premature menopause, depression, insomnia and cognition. When the same model was carried out for early menopause (40-44 years), the results were not significant.
The findings emphasize the fact that smoking is associated with premature menopause, depression and insomnia. Women who experienced premature menopause has lower cognitive scores, depressive symptoms and insomnia symptoms, which were higher among those who consumed tobacco. The study, strongly recommends the dissemination of information on the negative effects of tobacco consumption and making more informed choices to maintain a healthy life. More research into various methods and therapy is needed to determine the relationship between the age of early menopause and their psychosocial well-being.
Concern for public health has been growing with the increasing volume of cases of COVID-19 in India. To combat this pandemic, India has implemented nationwide lockdowns, and unlocking phases continue ...with certain restrictions in different parts of the country. The lockdown has required people to adopt social-distance measures to minimize contacts in order to reduce the risks of additional infection. Nevertheless, the lockdown has already impacted economic activities and other dimensions of the health of individuals and society. Although many countries have helped their people through advanced welfare protection networks and numerous support aids, several emerging economies face specific difficulties to adapt to the pandemic due to vulnerable communities and scarce resources. However, certain lower-income countries need more rigorous analysis to implement more effective strategies to combat COVID-19. Accordingly, the current systematic review addresses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in India in relation to health and the economy. This work also provides further information on health inequalities, eco-nomic and social disparities in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns and also contributes pragmatic suggestions for overcoming these challenges. These observations will be useful to the relevant local and national officials for improving and adopting novel strategies to face lockdown challenges.
Objective
The current study aims to understand premature and early menopausal age in association with chronic conditions.
Methods
The present cross‐sectional study analyzed nationally representative ...data from LASI (Longitudinal Aging Study in India) from 2017 to 2018. Bivariate analysis including cross‐tabulation and χ2 tests were performed. Further multiple regression analysis was performed, using the generalized linear model of logit link.
Results
Approximately 2533 (8%) older women reported that they had experienced premature menopause (before age 40), while 3889 (12.4%) reported having early menopause (age 40–44). The likelihood of a woman with premature menopause developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is 15% higher (adjusted odds ratio AOR, 1.15; P < 0.05) than those who do not experience premature menopause, while women with early menopause have a 13% higher risk (AOR, 1.13; P < 0.05). For women who experienced premature menopause and were also smokers, the probability of developing CVDs was higher. Other chronic diseases such as bone or joint problems, diabetes, and eye vision problems were also shown to be significant health problems among women who had premature ovarian failure.
Conclusion
Our results show significant association between women with premature or early depletion of ovarian function and chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, bone or joint problems, vision problems, and neurological or psychiatric disorders at their later life ages. Comprehensive strategies in the form of lifestyle changes may regulate hormonal levels and allow the body to reach menopause at the appropriate age.
Synopsis
The loss of ovarian function at an early age causes an alteration on the functioning of the organ systems that leads to chronic health conditions.
The objective of this research is to explore national institutional arrangements for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), describe the roles of different stakeholders in SDG implementation, and ...identify where gaps may lie at national and regional level. This paper analysed initiatives taken by seven South Asian countries towards implementing the health‐related SDGs thus far. The analysis for the paper is based on the findings of a research project on ‘Research Institutions and the Health SDGs: Building Momentum in South Asia’ conducted in seven South Asian countries led by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan and study conducted by country research teams in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The extent to which SDGs have been localized and implemented varies across the South Asian countries. While, Bangladesh and Bhutan have initiated the adoption of SDGs with development plans and programs, others have established national level institutional structures and coordination channels. An overarching concern is inadequate ownership of the SDGs by the sub‐national governments for implementation and coordination. The level of engagement of non‐state stakeholders such as non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, think tanks, research institutes, academia, and media, however, varies across countries. This engagement ranges from raising awareness, to consultations, membership in committees, and planning and policymaking.
Though it is a bit premature to comment on what works and what not in the process of implementation of the SDGs in the South Asian context; early uptake of nationalized SDG policies at the sub‐national and local levels show promise.
Population dynamics and determinants of poverty are associated in a way that affects access to resources which influence health. The popular belief often is that population growth causes problems ...including poverty. Scientific arguments, however, have fairy well established that it is the nature of development, which is important to ensure availability, access and utilization of resources, services and opportunities for different population groups. Population growth is an insufficient explanation for denial of access to resources because development disparities across the globe render different populations exposed to vulnerabilities of varied kinds. Disparities in health between different social groups are the function of the unequal way in which the determinants of health are distributed in society. Beyond its effects on health, inequality has far reaching consequences on social trust and cohesion affecting social institutions; and also on mortality and health outcomes. Factors such as income, employment status, housing, education, social position, and social exclusion have direct and indirect bearings on health over lifetimes. In many countries there is evidence of a social gradient in health, with those in more advantaged positions enjoying generally better health and lower mortality. In India, caste is an important axis on which discrimination and denial occur causing poor health outcomes. In terms of income and social indicators, India is one of the most unequal countries in the world. The present paper endeavours to understand the determinants of disparity among population groups across countries which influence access to health care with special reference to India.
Population dynamics and determinants of poverty are associated in a way that affects access to resources which influence health. The popular belief often is that population growth causes problems ...including poverty. Scientific arguments, however, have fairy well established that it is the nature of development, which is important to ensures availability, access and utilization of resources, services and opportunities for different population groups. Population growth is an insufficient explanation for denial of access to resources because development disparities across globe render different populations exposed to vulnerabilities of varied kinds. Disparities in health between different social groups are the function of unequal way in which the determinants of health are distributed in society. Beyond its effects on health, inequality has far reaching consequences on social trust and cohesion affecting social institutions; and also on mortality and health outcomes. Factors such as income, employment status, housing, education, social position, and social exclusion have direct and indirect bearings on health over lifetimes. In many countries there is evidence of a social gradient in health, with those in more advantaged positions enjoying generally better health and lower mortality. In India, caste is an important axes on which discrimination and denial occurs causing poor health outcome. In term of income and social indicators, India is one of the most unequal countries in the world. The present paper endeavours to understand the determinants of disparity among population groups across countries which influence access to health care with special reference to India.
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