10-Year-old Paramedic Teaches Adults Lifesaving Skills and CPR as ‘The Mini Medic’

10-yo paramedic Jack Dawson teaches lifesaving skills – SWNS

Meet the 10-year-old paramedic who teaches adults life-saving procedures as an in-demand mini-medic.

Jack Dawson was just two-years-old when it became obvious he was interested in becoming a paramedic.

His grandfather owns a first response company in Staffordshire, England, and Jack would ride along in his ambulances with the flashing blue lights. By age three, he would start “randomly performing CPR on his teddies, pumping the bear’s chest”.

“So, at the same time he was learning to speak, my husband and I decided to teach him first aid,” said his mother, Danielle. “He was like a sponge. He just picked everything up so quickly.”

Jack, quickly grasped the act of CPR, understanding the different recovery positions, and learned how to use a defibrillator.

Then, at age seven, the youngster started to lead workshop sessions of his own, overseen by his father and other trainers for their charity, Tamworth Have A Heart, which aims to make automatic defibrillators publicly accessible and train people to use them confidently.

Jack teaches both children and adults how to perform CPR and use defibrillators, while also patrolling his town centre and checking that the public defibrillators’ pads and batteries are up to date and fit for use. (Watch a demonstration at the end of the article…)

“His motto was ‘if I can save a life, then you can’,” says Danielle.

The sessions often draw 20-40 people and sometimes Jack gives presentations teaching in front of 100 people.

10-yo mini-medic Jack Dawson teaches lifesaving skills to adults – SWNS

He does step-by-step walkthroughs on how to perform CPR with practice dummies laid on the floor, informing people about the dangers—including “looking into patients airways before pumping, in case of vomit or blood”. He gives tutorials on how to operate defibrillators which are used to revive someone from sudden cardiac arrest.

“He absolutely loves teaching,” Danielle told SWNS news agency. “I’ve never seen him so confident before and the fact he’s helping people to save a life determines him even more.”

“People are very surprised. He gets a lot of positive feedback and even special requests to teach people.

“I think people appreciate the information coming from a child, as it makes them think that if a 10-year-old can do it, then they can.”

Under the name ‘Mini Medic’, Jack has a YouTube channel and a page on TikTok posting medical tutorials and training nights for those unable to attend.

As a result of his community work, the 10-year-old is a finalist for Children of Courage Birmingham Awards.

Looking forward, Danielle said he’s enthusiastic about going to university and being a paramedic. “It’s all he thinks about!”WATCH the video below from the news agency SWNS.com… 10-Year-old Paramedic Teaches Adults Lifesaving Skills and CPR as ‘The Mini Medic’

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Three Children Receive ‘the Best Christmas Present Ever’ – Bionic Arms

Colette Baker, Finley Jarvis, and Zoey Pidgeon-Hampton with their new Open Bionics arms – credit: SWNS

Three children were overjoyed after receiving ‘the best Christmas present in the world’—bionic arms.

Zoey Hampton-Pigeon, Finley Jarvis, and Colette Baker were given their new ‘life-changing’ Hero Arms on December 12th thanks to the fundraising work of a woman whose own child needed a prosthetic years ago.

Sarah Lockey saw her daughter Tilly lose both hands to meningitis. Today though, Tilly is a confident young woman who wears two Hero Arms daily, who hosts, together with her mom, a fundraising campaign every year called the Big Hero 3, which selects three random children across the UK to receive a prosthetic made by the Open Bionics Foundation.

Advanced, intuitive, robust, and light, the Hero Arm is “the world’s most affordable advanced multi-grip prosthetic arm,” according to the Foundation. The Hero Arm is available in over 801 locations across the US for below-elbow amputee adults and children aged 8 and above, and all throughout the UK where it is manufactured.

This year, the Big Hero 3 campaign raised £20,000. Two other charitable foundations, along with an anonymous donor, made up the rest of the £40,000 required, allowing Finley, Colette, and Zoey to have what will probably be the best Christmas ever.

To wit, Colette’s mom Alyse said her daughter ‘screamed’ when she found out she was not only receiving a Hero Arm, but would get one before Christmas.

“For Ettie, she’s excited about being able to do things like handstands, ride her bike without an adaption, and tying her shoes,” she said. “As parents, we are excited about these things too, but also all the other ways the Hero Arm will change Ettie’s life.”

Zoey was born with a missing limb, which the family discovered during an ultrasound in the 20th week.

“When Zoey was born she saw several specialists but there are no answers about why this happened to Zoey, it’s just one of those things,” said her father Thomas.

His daughter is an active young girl and member of a gymnastics club. She goes to swimming lessons and loves trampolining, but she’s most looking forward to being able to use a jump rope.

“A Hero Arm will make such a massive difference to her independence enabling her to do all these tasks, as well as her beloved skipping, without relying on help from others.”

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The last child is Finley Jarvis—born with no hand due to his mom being involved in a serious car accident whilst carrying him.

“Finn is a happy-go-lucky boy—he is kind, fearless, and extremely switched on,” said his father Ben. “He is now 11 and about to attend Brymore Academy secondary school—an agricultural school. With this opportunity of a Big Hero Arm the possibilities for him to excel are endless.”

MORE HERO ARM RECIPIENTS:

Lockey said she and Tilly are hoping to do another campaign next year if any donors who want to get involved to help are interested.“It is just incredible for three children to benefit and for their families all to meet and fundraise together,” Lockey said. Three Children Receive ‘the Best Christmas Present Ever’ – Bionic Arms

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Vaccination rates among Australian teens are dropping. Here’s how we can get back on track

Prostock-studio/Shutterstock Archana Koirala, University of Sydney; Bianca Middleton, Menzies School of Health Research; Fiona Russell, The University of Melbourne; Katrina Clark, Indigenous Knowledge, and Sophie Wen, The University of Queensland

Australia has a successful adolescent immunisation program, routinely achieving high vaccine coverage for teenagers.

However, recent data shows the number of Australian teens receiving the recommended vaccines for their age group has fallen over three years during the COVID pandemic.

So how much have adolescent vaccination rates dropped, and why might this be? And how can we get back on track?

The vaccines teens need – and why they need them

The National Immunisation Program provides a series of free vaccinations for Australian teenagers. These are:

• a booster vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (dTpa), usually offered in year 7
• the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, also usually offered in year 7
• a meningococcal ACWY vaccine, offered in year 10.

These vaccines are primarily delivered through school-based immunisation programs and health services such as general practices.

They protect teenagers themselves from diseases, but also help reduce the spread of these diseases in the community.

For example, 2024 has seen a surge in whooping cough (pertussis) cases nationally. Although adolescents won’t necessarily get very sick with whooping cough, they can spread the disease. So the dTpa vaccine helps to protect vulnerable populations, including young babies.

HPV is a leading cause of genital warts and cervical cancer. Giving the HPV shot to young teenagers, before they might be exposed to the virus through sexual activity, provides the best protection against cervical cancer.

And older teenagers and young adults are among those at highest risk of meningococcal disease, which can be fatal. They’re also most likely to carry meningococcal bacteria in their nose and throat, and to spread it to others.

A modest but concerning decline

The most recent Annual Immunisation Coverage Report from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) shows a drop in vaccination coverage among teenagers between 2022 and 2023, while the previous report shows a drop from 2021 to 2022.

For example, the proportion of teens who had received their adolescent dose of dTpa in the year they turned 15 decreased from 87.3% in 2021, to 86.9% in 2022, to 85.5% in 2023.

Meanwhile, the proportion who had received one dose of meningococcal ACWY vaccine by age 17 fell from 76.1% in 2021, to 75.9% in 2022, to 72.8% in 2023.

Vaccination coverage among Indigenous teenagers dropped by similar amounts. For example, the proportion of Indigenous teens who had received one dose of meningococcal ACWY vaccine by age 17 fell from 66.7% in 2021 to 65.6% in 2022 to 62.3% in 2023.

Overall, in 2023, around one in four 18-year-olds hadn’t received all three of the nationally recommended adolescent vaccines.

Adolescent vaccinations are primarily delivered through school-based programs. VH-studio/Shutterstock

These figures show a decline in vaccination coverage among teenagers over three years. This comes after several years of generally increasing coverage before the COVID pandemic.

While the decline has been modest, the downward trend is concerning. It leaves more teenagers – and members of the wider community – vulnerable to serious infectious diseases.

Why is vaccination coverage decreasing among teenagers?

There are likely to be many contributing factors.

Although extended school closures and consequent disruption to school vaccination programs at the height of the pandemic likely played a role, these occurred almost exclusively in Victoria and New South Wales. So they can’t fully explain the ongoing drop in adolescent vaccination coverage across the country.

We don’t have good published data on what influences vaccine acceptance among teenagers. But given parents or guardians need to complete a consent form for their child to get vaccinated at school, we may be able to extrapolate from some of the challenges relating to childhood vaccination uptake.

The trends among teenagers have been consistent with a fall in the rates of younger children who are fully vaccinated. In 2023, 92.8% of one-year-olds were fully vaccinated, down from 94.8% in 2020. At five years old, the coverage rate in 2023 was 93.3%, down also from 94.8% in 2020.

A recent survey into barriers to childhood vaccination in Australia indicates a high proportion of parents who choose not to vaccinate young children have concerns about vaccine safety (48%) and effectiveness (40%). It’s possible the COVID pandemic has hindered vaccine acceptance.

Practical access barriers may also be hampering adolescent immunisation coverage. These might include lack of knowledge among parents about vaccines or immunisation schedules, complicated parental consent processes, school absenteeism, and lack of awareness of immunisation services outside school-based programs.

The NCIRS report for 2023 showed low HPV coverage for adolescents living in socioeconomically disadvantaged and remote locations. This suggests logistics such as transport may also play a role, especially for teens who miss vaccination during the school-based program.

How can we improve things? And what can parents do?

We need research to better understand the factors influencing vaccine uptake among adolescents. This can help us design and implement strategies to improve vaccination coverage in this age group.

For example, understanding the factors influencing HPV vaccination uptake among Indigenous adolescents and ensuring equitable access to targeted and culturally appropriate HPV vaccine education strategies has significantly improved vaccination coverage for this group. HPV vaccine coverage for Indigenous women aged 17 to 25 is now higher than for the general population.

We need to better understand the barriers to vaccination among adolescents. SeventyFour/Shutterstock

Parents can support their teenagers by talking to them about the importance of immunisation, listening to their concerns and answering any questions they may have. Consent forms will generally include information about the vaccine and the disease it protects against.

If your child misses out on receiving their vaccinations at school or doesn’t attend school, families can access free National Immunisation Program vaccines from their GP, pharmacy, local council or other health services.

Specialist immunisation services are also available in most states and territories. These services are for children and adolescents who are in high-risk groups or for families who are concerned about vaccinating their children.

Teenagers are the next generation of parents, and their attitudes towards immunisation will influence coverage rates of their children in the future. This is yet another reason we need to successfully address any concerns or barriers for this group around vaccination.

Archana Koirala, Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist, University of Sydney; Bianca Middleton, Senior Research Fellow, Menzies School of Health Research; Fiona Russell, Senior Principal Research Fellow; paediatrician; infectious diseases epidemiologist; vaccinologist, The University of Melbourne; Katrina Clark, Aboriginal Immunisation Manager at Hunter New England Population Health, Indigenous Knowledge, and Sophie Wen, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Five healthy diet staples that may interact with prescription drugs

Grapefruit juice may cause some prescription drugs to accumulate in the body. KudPhotoCreate/ Shutterstock Dipa Kamdar, Kingston University

One of the most popular new year’s resolutions is making a commitment to healthier eating. Whether that’s eating more fruits and vegetables, cutting down on meat consumption or even becoming a vegetarian or vegan a few days a week.

While there are many benefits that can come from following a healthier diet, it’s important that any diet changes are made carefully. This is especially true if you’re someone who takes a prescription drug, as many health food staples can negatively interact with them.

Here are some common foods and drinks interactions you should know about:

1. Grapefruit juice:

To break down some prescription drugs in the body, the liver uses enzymes called cytochrome P450. But grapefruit juice contains chemical compounds called furanocoumarins which can block the action of these enzymes. If this happens, some drugs can accumulate in the body.

This includes ciclosporin, a drug that’s commonly used to prevent organ transplant rejection and manage symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and skin conditions such as psoriasis. A build-up of ciclosporin can cause many side-effects, ranging from mild nausea and vomiting to kidney and liver damage.

Statins, often used to treat high cholesterol levels and prevent heart attacks and strokes, can also be affected by grapefruit juice through the same mechanism. Increased statin levels in the body can raise the risk of side-effects, including muscle breakdown, which is rare but serious.

Many other drugs can potentially interact with grapefruit juice as well – including amlodipine (a common high blood pressure drug) and sildenafil (an erectile dysfunction drug). If you take any of these prescriptions drugs, it’s best to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before drinking even small amounts of grapefruit juice. It may even be best to avoid it altogether.

2. Pomegranate and cranberry juice:

Many fruits and fruit juices – especially from the citrus family – can affect the breakdown of drugs in the liver.

Pomegranate juice is also shown to block the liver enzymes which break down the anticoagulant drug warfarin. The drug is used to prevent blood clots from forming in people with heart arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation or deep vein thrombosis.

Some reported cases suggest that pomegranate juice might increase the international normalised ratio (INR – the time taken for blood to clot) in patients taking warfarin. This means patients may be at higher risk of bleeding.

Pomegranate juice may also affect other drugs, such as tacrolimus, an anti-rejection drug used in organ transplants.

Similarly, a number of case reports suggest cranberry juice can also affect warfarin. There has been one reported death of a patient from bleeding after they had drunk cranberry juice for two weeks prior while taking warfarin.

But results from various studies are mixed – with some showing cranberry affects warfarin in the body while others don’t show any effect. Because of this, it may be worth checking the INR more often if you drink these juices or consider that any fluctuations in INR may be due to fruit juices.

3. Green leafy vegetables:

Spinach, broccoli and kale are often hailed as healthy foods because they’re filled with nutrients while being low in calories. However, they’re also high in vitamin K, which is needed to activate certain clotting factors (proteins in the blood which help it clot).

This may be problematic for patients taking warfarin. Warfarin works by blocking vitamin K in order to prevent blood clots from forming. But eating foods rich in vitamin K can lower your INR and increase the risk of developing a blood clot.

The vitamin K in leafy green vegetables, such as kale, may counteract warfarin. masa44/ Shutterstock

It’s important to have a healthy diet – but be sure to monitor your INR levels or speak to your doctor if you do introduce more vitamin K-rich foods into your diet.

4. Milk:

Milk and dairy-rich foods such as cheese and yoghurt are all good sources of protein and calcium – a mineral required for healthy bones.

But these foods can affect the absorption of some drugs in the gut. This includes antibiotics such as some tetracyclines and ciprofloxacin. The calcium in the milk can bind to the antibiotic, meaning it cannot be absorbed into the bloodstream. This means the body will not get the full dose of antibiotic – making it harder for it to fight the infection.

Other drugs affected by dairy include levothyroxine, a drug used for patients with low thyroid levels.

But as these interactions happen in the gut, this means you can still have dairy even if you take these drugs. In most cases, you just need to leave at least a two-hour gap either before or after taking the drug before consuming dairy.

5. Beans:

Beans are considered healthy as they’re high in fibre and vitamins and minerals. Beans are also a great source of plant-based protein.

But soybeans, broad beans (fava beans) and snow peas may be high in tyramine. While tyramine is a substance naturally found in the body and in certain foods (such as aged cheeses, cured meats and fermented foods), it can interact with the antidepressant phenelzine.

Phenelzine is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressant (MAOI), which is less commonly used nowadays. The drug blocks enzymes which break down tyramine in the body. If patients eat tyramine-rich foods, this may result in high levels of tyramine, potentially leading to a dangerous rise in blood pressure. Only MAOI antidepressants, such as phenelzine, isocarboxazid, tranylcypromine, are affected by tyramine.

A healthy diet can improve your overall health in many ways. Just be sure to consult with a doctor of pharmacist before drastically changing your diet – particularly if you take prescription medications.

Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Drug companies pay doctors over A$11 million a year for travel and education. Here’s which specialties received the most

Monster Ztudio/Shutterstock Barbara Mintzes, University of Sydney and Malcolm Forbes, Deakin University

Drug companies are paying Australian doctors millions of dollars a year to fly to overseas conferences and meetings, give talks to other doctors, and to serve on advisory boards, our research shows.

Our team analysed reports from major drug companies, in the first comprehensive analysis of its kind. We found drug companies paid more than A$33 million to doctors in the three years from late 2019 to late 2022 for these consultancies and expenses.

We know this underestimates how much drug companies pay doctors as it leaves out the most common gift – food and drink – which drug companies in Australia do not declare.

Due to COVID restrictions, the timescale we looked at included periods where doctors were likely to be travelling less and attending fewer in-person medical conferences. So we suspect current levels of drug company funding to be even higher, especially for travel.

What we did and what we found

Since 2019, Medicines Australia, the trade association of the brand-name pharmaceutical industry, has published a centralised database of payments made to individual health professionals. This is the first comprehensive analysis of this database.

We downloaded the data and matched doctors’ names with listings with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). We then looked at how many doctors per medical specialty received industry payments and how much companies paid to each specialty.

We found more than two-thirds of rheumatologists received industry payments. Rheumatologists often prescribe expensive new biologic drugs that suppress the immune system. These drugs are responsible for a substantial proportion of drug costs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

The specialists who received the most funding as a group were cancer doctors (oncology/haematology specialists). They received over $6 million in payments.

This is unsurprising given recently approved, expensive new cancer drugs. Some of these drugs are wonderful treatment advances; others offer minimal improvement in survival or quality of life.

A 2023 study found doctors receiving industry payments were more likely to prescribe cancer treatments of low clinical value.

Our analysis found some doctors with many small payments of a few hundred dollars. There were also instances of large individual payments.

Why does all this matter?

Doctors usually believe drug company promotion does not affect them. But research tells a different story. Industry payments can affect both doctors’ own prescribing decisions and those of their colleagues.

A US study of meals provided to doctors – on average costing less than US$20 – found the more meals a doctor received, the more of the promoted drug they prescribed.

Pizza anyone? Even providing a cheap meal can influence prescribing. El Nariz/Shutterstock

Another study found the more meals a doctor received from manufacturers of opioids (a class of strong painkillers), the more opioids they prescribed. Overprescribing played a key role in the opioid crisis in North America.

Overall, a substantial body of research shows industry funding affects prescribing, including for drugs that are not a first choice because of poor effectiveness, safety or cost-effectiveness.

Then there are doctors who act as “key opinion leaders” for companies. These include paid consultants who give talks to other doctors. An ex-industry employee who recruited doctors for such roles said:

Key opinion leaders were salespeople for us, and we would routinely measure the return on our investment, by tracking prescriptions before and after their presentations […] If that speaker didn’t make the impact the company was looking for, then you wouldn’t invite them back.

We know about payments to US doctors

The best available evidence on the effects of pharmaceutical industry funding on prescribing comes from the US government-run program called Open Payments.

Since 2013, all drug and device companies must report all payments over US$10 in value in any single year. Payment reports are linked to the promoted products, which allows researchers to compare doctors’ payments with their prescribing patterns.

Analysis of this data, which involves hundreds of thousands of doctors, has indisputably shown promotional payments affect prescribing.

Medical students need to know about this. LightField Studios/Shutterstock

US research also shows that doctors who had studied at medical schools that banned students receiving payments and gifts from drug companies were less likely to prescribe newer and more expensive drugs with limited evidence of benefit over existing drugs.

In general, Australian medical faculties have weak or no restrictions on medical students seeing pharmaceutical sales representatives, receiving gifts, or attending industry-sponsored events during their clinical training. They also have no restrictions on academic staff holding consultancies with manufacturers whose products they feature in their teaching.

So a first step to prevent undue pharmaceutical industry influence on prescribing decisions is to shelter medical students from this influence by having stronger conflict-of-interest policies, such as those mentioned above.

A second is better guidance for individual doctors from professional organisations and regulators on the types of funding that is and is not acceptable. We believe no doctor actively involved in patient care should accept payments from a drug company for talks, international travel or consultancies.

Third, if Medicines Australia is serious about transparency, it should require companies to list all payments – including those for food and drink – and to link health professionals’ names to their Ahpra registration numbers. This is similar to the reporting standard pharmaceutical companies follow in the US and would allow a more complete and clearer picture of what’s happening in Australia.

Patients trust doctors to choose the best available treatments to meet their health needs, based on scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness. They don’t expect marketing to influence that choice.

Barbara Mintzes, Professor, School of Pharmacy and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney and Malcolm Forbes, Consultant psychiatrist and PhD candidate, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Weight-loss drugs draw Americans back to the doctor

FILE PHOTO: Injection pens and boxes of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy are shown in this photo illustration in Oslo, Norway, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Victoria Klesty/Illustration

By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) -Powerful weight-loss drugs are expanding use of U.S. health care as patients starting prescriptions are diagnosed with obesity-related conditions or take the drugs to become eligible for other services, health records and discussions with doctors show.

An exclusive analysis of hundreds of thousands of electronic patient records by health data firm Truveta found slight, but measurable, increases in first-time diagnoses of sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes within 15 days of an initial prescription for a GLP-1 weight-loss drug between 2020 and 2024.

In addition to obesity-related conditions, some patients are being prescribed the drugs to lose weight and become eligible for services, including organ transplants, fertility treatments or knee replacements, according to interviews with seven doctors and five other health experts.

Lung transplant patient Bensabio Guajardo and the team at UChicago Medicine’s ACTNOW weight loss clinic pose for a picture at the clinic, in Chicago, March 2023. Mark Black/UChicago Medicine/Handout via REUTERS

“This is a population that previously felt stigmatized by health care providers and often didn’t return. But now that they’re actually seeing themselves get healthier, asking clinicians questions and engaging more, I do think we’re seeing new patients,” said Dr. Rekha Kumar, a New York endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist.

Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro have been shown to lead to average weight loss of at least 15%.

Andrew Friedson, director of health economics at the Milken Institute and three other experts said the impact of the drugs on overall healthcare use is not yet clear. The new diagnoses could mean higher initial spending, but early detection could save costs down the line, he said.

Dr. Courtney Younglove, an obesity medicine specialist and founder of Heartland Weight Loss clinic in Overland Park, Kansas, said she has referred obesity patients for long-delayed pap smears and other routine care, including colonoscopies. Many overweight patients avoid doctors and routine tests for years due to the stigma and bias they often encounter, she said. “A lot of people with obesity don’t do a lot of preventive health maintenance.”

‘THE COURAGE TO ASK’

Phil, a 43-year-old Chicago technology executive who asked for his full name to be withheld for privacy reasons, generally avoided doctors before receiving a GLP-1 prescription from a telehealth provider in early 2023.

He said he told his regular physician about the medication months later, after he had lost more than 30 lbs, and was taken aback by her supportive response. He decided then to advocate more for himself and ask for help with other conditions, including addiction and mental health.

“It gave me the courage to ask,” he said.

The Truveta analysis found that for every 1,000 patients with a first-time GLP-1 prescription, 42 were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within 15 days in 2024, up from 32 in 2020. Over the same period, the number of sleep apnea diagnoses per 1,000 patients rose to 11 from 8 and the number of cardiovascular disease diagnoses increased to 15 from 13.

The most obese patients were twice as likely as people who were less overweight to receive a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and three times as likely to be diagnosed with sleep apnea, the Truveta data showed.

The analysis was based on 33,630 first-time GLP-1 prescriptions for overweight or obese patients in 2020 and 224,496 in the first 10 months of 2024.

Lilly declined to directly comment on the data, saying in an emailed statement “it is important that adults living with obesity receive appropriate diagnosis and access to evidence-based care.”

Novo Nordisk also declined to comment directly, noting its aim “to address unmet needs for a wider range of patients.”

QUALIFYING FOR SURGERIES

ResMed, which sells sleep apnea devices, had revenue growth of 11% for its fiscal year ending in June – a trend the company attributed in part to the GLP-1 drugs.

The medications are “bringing people into primary care like never before,” ResMed CEO Michael Farrell said at the company’s recent shareholder meeting.

A Truveta analysis earlier this year found that since 2020 people were being started on GLP-1s despite having less severe markers of disease, including BMI, which suggested the drugs are becoming more broadly used as preventative tools.

In addition to treatment of things like sleep apnea, the weight-loss drugs could lead to more joint replacements, said Sara Mallatt, director of healthcare research at market analysis firm AlphaSense.

“As people’s BMIs come down, they’ll be eligible for surgeries they wouldn’t otherwise,” she said. “No one is saying this is happening in a meaningful way right now, but we think it will.”

University of Chicago Medicine last year launched a weight-loss clinic aimed at helping prospective organ transplant patients lose weight to qualify for surgery, with the GLP-1 drugs playing a key role.

“Before they had a place to send these patients, which is our clinic, the scheduler would just say, ‘hey, what’s your weight, what’s your height, what’s your BMI,’ and if they didn’t fit their criteria, they would just tell them to lose weight on their own,” said Anesia Reticker, the center’s clinical pharmacist specialist.

Retired Indiana steelworker Bensabio Guajardo, 68, was prescribed Ozempic at the clinic in 2023 when he was deemed too obese for a double lung transplant needed to keep him alive after pulmonary fibrosis made breathing increasingly difficult.

“It helped me a lot. It took my cravings away,” Guajardo said. After losing around 90 pounds and stopping the drug ahead of a successful surgery in May, his doctor put him back on it to control high blood sugar.

Reticker said the program has received about 100 referrals over the past year from transplant centers in the Chicago area.(Reporting By Deena Beasley; Additional reporting by Chad Terhune in Los Angeles and Patrick Wingrove in New York; Editing by Caroline Humer and Suzanne Goldenberg)Weight-loss drugs draw Americans back to the doctor

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Shortsightedness is on the rise in children. There’s more we can do than limit screen time

Asada Nami/Shutterstock Flora Hui, The University of Melbourne

Myopia in children is on the rise. The condition – also known as shortsightedness – already affects up to 35% of children across the world, according to a recent review of global data. The researchers predict this number will increase to 40%, exceeding 740 million children living with myopia by 2050.

So why does this matter? Many people may be unaware that treating myopia (through interventions such as glasses) is about more than just comfort or blurry vision. If left unchecked, myopia can rapidly progress, increasing the risk of serious and irreversible eye conditions. Diagnosing and treating myopia is therefore crucial for your child’s lifetime eye health.

Here is how myopia develops, the role screen time plays – and what you can do if think your child might be shortsighted.

What is myopia?

Myopia is commonly known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness. It is a type of refractive error, meaning a vision problem that stops you seeing clearly – in this case, seeing objects that are far away.

A person usually has myopia because their eyeball is longer than average. This can happen if eyes grow too quickly or longer than normal.

A longer eyeball means when light enters the eye, it’s not focused properly on the retina (the light-sensing tissue lining the back of the eye). As a result, the image they see is blurry. Controlling eye growth is the most important factor for achieving normal vision.

Myopia is a common vision problem. Alexander_P/Shutterstock

Myopia is on the rise in children

The study published earlier this year looked at how the rate of myopia has changed over the last 30 years. It reviewed 276 studies, which included 5.4 million people between the ages of 5–19 years, from 50 countries, across six continents.

Based on this data, the researchers concluded up to one in three children are already living with shortsightedness – and this will only increase. They predict a particular rise for adolescents: myopia is expected to affect more than 50% of those aged 13-19 by 2050.

Their results are similar to a previous Australian study from 2015. It predicted 36% of children in Australia and New Zealand would have myopia by 2020, and more than half by 2050.

The new review is the most comprehensive of its kind, giving us the closest look at how childhood myopia is progressing across the globe. It suggests rates of myopia are increasing worldwide – and this includes “high myopia”, or severe shortsightedness.

What causes myopia?

Myopia develops partly due to genetics. Parents who have myopia – and especially high myopia – are more likely to have kids who develop myopia as well.

But environmental factors can also play a role.

One culprit is the amount of time we spend looking at screens. As screens have shrunk, we tend to hold them closer. This kind of prolonged focusing at short range has long been associated with developing myopia.

Reducing screen time may help reduce eye strain and slow myopia’s development. However for many of us – including children – this can be difficult, given how deeply screens are embedded in our day-to-day lives.

Green time over screen time

Higher rates of myopia may also be linked to kids spending less time outside, rather than screens themselves. Studies have shown boosting time outdoors by one to two hours per day may reduce the onset of myopia over a two to three year period.

We are still unsure how this works. It may be that the greater intensity of sunlight – compared to indoor light – promotes the release of dopamine. This crucial molecule can slow eye growth and help prevent myopia developing.

However current research suggests once you have myopia, time outdoors may only have a small effect on how it worsens.

Sunlight may play a role in slowing myopia progression. Allan Mas/Pexels

What can we do about it?

Research is rapidly developing in myopia control. In addition to glasses, optometrists have a range of tools to slow eye growth and with it, the progression of myopia. The most effective methods are:

• orthokeratology (“ortho-K”) uses hard contact lenses temporarily reshape the eye to improve vision. They are convenient as they are only worn while sleeping. However parents need to make sure lenses are cleaned and stored properly to reduce the chance of eye infections

• atropine eyedrops have been shown to successfully slow myopia progression. Eyedrops can be simple to administer, have minimal side effects and don’t carry the risk of infection associated with contact lenses.

You can monitor your child’s eye health and vision with regular eye tests. 4 PM production/Shutterstock

What are the risks with myopia?

Myopia is easily corrected by wearing glasses or contact lenses. But if you have “high myopia” (meaning you are severely shortsighted) you have a higher risk of developing other eye conditions across your lifetime, and these could permanently damage your vision.

These conditions include:

• retinal detachment, where the retina tears and peels away from the back of the eye

• glaucoma, where nerve cells in the retina and optic nerve are progressively damaged and lost

• myopic maculopathy, where the longer eyeball means the macula (part of the retina) is stretched and thinned, and can lead to tissue degeneration, breaks and bleeds.

What can parents do?

It’s important to diagnose and treat myopia early – especially high myopia – to stop it progressing and lower the risk of permanent damage.

Uncorrected myopia can also affect a child’s ability to learn, simply because they can’t see clearly. Signs your child might need to be tested can include squinting to see into the distance, or moving things closer such as a screen or book to see.

Regular eye tests with the optometrist are the best way to understand your child’s eye health and eyesight. Each child is different – an optometrist can help you work out tailored methods to track and manage myopia, if it is diagnosed.

Flora Hui, Honorary Fellow, Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Melbourne School of Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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How air pollution is contributing to cancers in India

New Delhi, (IANS): Increased exposure to carcinogens in the air is increasing the incidence of cancers of the lungs, bladder, breast, prostate, and blood, said health experts on National Cancer Awareness Day on Thursday.

National Cancer Awareness Day is observed on November 7 every year in India to raise awareness about the growing cancer burden in the country and inspire action towards prevention, early detection, and treatment.

India is home to over 1.4 billion people. Lifestyle changes, tobacco use, poor dietary habits, and inadequate physical activity are leading to a rapid surge in cancer cases.

About 800,000 new cancer cases are expected each year, with tobacco-related cancers accounting for as much as 35-50 per cent of all cancers in men and 17 per cent in women, According to estimates from the Health Ministry.

“Cancer rates are rising in India and have seen an upward trend in annual incidence rate. Currently, India records more than 14 lakh new cancer patients every year, and close to 9 lakh people die of it annually,” Dr. Abhishek Shankar, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at AIIMS, Delhi, told IANS.

He attributed this rise to an increase in the "use of tobacco, alcohol, infections like HPV, Hepatitis virus and Helicobacter pylori, lifestyle changes, environmental factors, poor diets, and sedentary lifestyles".

While lifestyle factors play a major role, environmental changes -- particularly rising air pollution -- are also significant.

“India’s high levels of air pollution, especially PM2.5 exposure, are linked to rising lung cancer rates, including cases in non-smokers. Water and soil contamination from industrial pollutants increase risks for various cancers, impacting communities in industrial areas,” Shankar said.

The air quality in Delhi-NCR remained alarmingly poor on Thursday. As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the average Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city was recorded at 362.

There is also substantial evidence from studies of humans and experimental animals as well as mechanistic evidence to support a causal link between outdoor (ambient) air pollution, especially PM 2.5 in outdoor air, with lung cancer and breast cancer incidence and mortality.

“It has a risk for other cancer types, such as bladder cancer, prostate cancer, leukaemia (blood cancer) but in limited numbers. Outdoor air pollution may also be associated with poorer cancer survival, although further research is needed,” Shankar said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified outdoor air pollution as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence to conclude that it causes cancer in humans.

Air pollution in India is primarily caused by emissions from vehicles, industrial activities, and burning of biomass.

Dr Sajjan Rajpurohit, Senior Director - Medical Oncology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, told IANS that these pollutants contain carcinogenic substances such as benzene, formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Prolonged exposure to these substances can lead to cellular mutations and the development of cancer.

“Particulate Matter (PM2.5) is also one of the most harmful components of air pollution. The tiny particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream,” Rajpurohit said.

The health expert noted that children, the elderly, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. Their increased susceptibility can lead to higher cancer rates in these groups, exacerbating the public health crisis.

Shankar called for a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet, regular exercise, and avoiding tobacco and alcohol along with reducing PM-2.5 exposure.

Dr. Sachin Trivedi, Director- Medical Oncology, HCG Cancer Center, also stressed the need for early detection for better treatment outcomes.He called for “regular screenings for breast, lung, colorectal, and oral cancers to help effectively manage cancer”. How air pollution is contributing to cancers in India | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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Is stress turning my hair grey?

 

Oksana Klymenko/Shutterstock Theresa Larkin, University of Wollongong

When we start to go grey depends a lot on genetics.

Your first grey hairs usually appear anywhere between your twenties and fifties. For men, grey hairs normally start at the temples and sideburns. Women tend to start greying on the hairline, especially at the front.

The most rapid greying usually happens between ages 50 and 60. But does anything we do speed up the process? And is there anything we can do to slow it down?

You’ve probably heard that plucking, dyeing and stress can make your hair go grey – and that redheads don’t. Here’s what the science says.

What gives hair its colour?

Each strand of hair is produced by a hair follicle, a tunnel-like opening in your skin. Follicles contain two different kinds of stem cells:

• keratinocytes, which produce keratin, the protein that makes and regenerates hair strands
• melanocytes, which produce melanin, the pigment that colours your hair and skin.

There are two main types of melanin that determine hair colour. Eumelanin is a black-brown pigment and pheomelanin is a red-yellow pigment.

The amount of the different pigments determines hair colour. Black and brown hair has mostly eumelanin, red hair has the most pheomelanin, and blonde hair has just a small amount of both.

So what makes our hair turn grey?

As we age, it’s normal for cells to become less active. In the hair follicle, this means stem cells produce less melanin – turning our hair grey – and less keratin, causing hair thinning and loss.

As less melanin is produced, there is less pigment to give the hair its colour. Grey hair has very little melanin, while white hair has none left.

Unpigmented hair looks grey, white or silver because light reflects off the keratin, which is pale yellow.

Grey hair is thicker, coarser and stiffer than hair with pigment. This is because the shape of the hair follicle becomes irregular as the stem cells change with age.

Interestingly, grey hair also grows faster than pigmented hair, but it uses more energy in the process.

Can stress turn our hair grey?

Yes, stress can cause your hair to turn grey. This happens when oxidative stress damages hair follicles and stem cells and stops them producing melanin.

Oxidative stress is an imbalance of too many damaging free radical chemicals and not enough protective antioxidant chemicals in the body. It can be caused by psychological or emotional stress as well as autoimmune diseases.

Environmental factors such as exposure to UV and pollution, as well as smoking and some drugs, can also play a role.

Melanocytes are more susceptible to damage than keratinocytes because of the complex steps in melanin production. This explains why ageing and stress usually cause hair greying before hair loss.

Scientists have been able to link less pigmented sections of a hair strand to stressful events in a person’s life. In younger people, whose stems cells still produced melanin, colour returned to the hair after the stressful event passed.

4 popular ideas about grey hair – and what science says

1. Does plucking a grey hair make more grow back in its place?

No. When you pluck a hair, you might notice a small bulb at the end that was attached to your scalp. This is the root. It grows from the hair follicle.

Plucking a hair pulls the root out of the follicle. But the follicle itself is the opening in your skin and can’t be plucked out. Each hair follicle can only grow a single hair.

It’s possible frequent plucking could make your hair grey earlier, if the cells that produce melanin are damaged or exhausted from too much regrowth.

2. Can my hair can turn grey overnight?

Legend says Marie Antoinette’s hair went completely white the night before the French queen faced the guillotine – but this is a myth.

 

It is not possible for hair to turn grey overnight, as in the legend about Marie Antoinette. Yann Caradec/Wikimedia, CC BY-NC-SA

Melanin in hair strands is chemically stable, meaning it can’t transform instantly.

Acute psychological stress does rapidly deplete melanocyte stem cells in mice. But the effect doesn’t show up immediately. Instead, grey hair becomes visible as the strand grows – at a rate of about 1 cm per month.

Not all hair is in the growing phase at any one time, meaning it can’t all go grey at the same time.

3. Will dyeing make my hair go grey faster?

This depends on the dye.

Temporary and semi-permanent dyes should not cause early greying because they just coat the hair strand without changing its structure. But permanent products cause a chemical reaction with the hair, using an oxidising agent such as hydrogen peroxide.

Accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and other hair dye chemicals in the hair follicle can damage melanocytes and keratinocytes, which can cause greying and hair loss.

4. Is it true redheads don’t go grey?

People with red hair also lose melanin as they age, but differently to those with black or brown hair.

This is because the red-yellow and black-brown pigments are chemically different.

Producing the brown-black pigment eumelanin is more complex and takes more energy, making it more susceptible to damage.

Producing the red-yellow pigment (pheomelanin) causes less oxidative stress, and is more simple. This means it is easier for stem cells to continue to produce pheomelanin, even as they reduce their activity with ageing.

With ageing, red hair tends to fade into strawberry blonde and silvery-white. Grey colour is due to less eumelanin activity, so is more common in those with black and brown hair.

Your genetics determine when you’ll start going grey. But you may be able to avoid premature greying by staying healthy, reducing stress and avoiding smoking, too much alcohol and UV exposure.

Eating a healthy diet may also help because vitamin B12, copper, iron, calcium and zinc all influence melanin production and hair pigmentation.

Theresa Larkin, Associate Professor of Medical Sciences, University of Wollongong

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Do you have a mental illness? Why some people answer ‘yes’, even if they haven’t been diagnosed

Olly/Pexels, Jesse Tse, The University of Melbourne and Nick Haslam, The University of Melbourne

Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders have become more prevalent, especially among young people. Demand for treatment is surging and prescriptions of some psychiatric medications have climbed.

These upswinging prevalence trends are paralleled by rising public attention to mental illness. Mental health messages saturate traditional and social media. Organisations and governments are developing awareness, prevention and treatment initiatives with growing urgency.

The mounting cultural focus on mental health has obvious benefits. It increases awareness, reduces stigma and promotes help-seeking.

However, it may also have costs. Critics worry social media sites are incubating mental illness and that ordinary unhappiness is being pathologised by the overuse of diagnostic concepts and “therapy speak”.

British psychologist Lucy Foulkes argues the trends for rising attention and prevalence are linked. Her “prevalence inflation hypothesis” proposes that increasing awareness of mental illness may lead some people to diagnose themselves inaccurately when they are experiencing relatively mild or transient problems.

Foulkes’ hypothesis implies that some people develop overly broad concepts of mental illness. Our research supports this view. In a new study, we show that concepts of mental illness have broadened in recent years – a phenomenon we call “concept creep” – and that people differ in the breadth of their concepts of mental illness.

Why do people self-diagnose mental illnesses?

In our new study, we examined whether people with broad concepts of mental illness are, in fact, more likely to self-diagnose.

We defined self-diagnosis as a person’s belief they have an illness, whether or not they have received the diagnosis from a professional. We assessed people as having a “broad concept of mental illness” if they judged a wide variety of experiences and behaviours to be disorders, including relatively mild conditions.

We asked a nationally representative sample of 474 American adults if they believed they had a mental disorder and if they had received a diagnosis from a health professional. We also asked about other possible contributing factors and demographics.

Mental illness was common in our sample: 42% reported they had a current self-diagnosed condition, a majority of whom had received it from a health professional.

People with greater mental health literacy and less stigmatising attitudes were more likely to report a diagnosis. Mental Health America/Pexels

Unsurprisingly, the strongest predictor of reporting a diagnosis was experiencing relatively severe distress.

The second most important factor after distress was having a broad concept of mental illness. When their levels of distress were the same, people with broad concepts were substantially more likely to report a current diagnosis.

The graph below illustrates this effect. It divides the sample by levels of distress and shows the proportion of people at each level who report a current diagnosis. People with broad concepts of mental illness (the highest quarter of the sample) are represented by the dark blue line. People with narrow concepts of mental illness (the lowest quarter of the sample) are represented by the light blue line. People with broad concepts were much more likely to report having a mental illness, especially when their distress was relatively high.

People with greater mental health literacy and less stigmatising attitudes were also more likely to report a diagnosis.

Two interesting further findings emerged from our study. People who self-diagnosed but had not received a professional diagnosis tended to have broader illness concepts than those who had.

In addition, younger and politically progressive people were more likely to report a diagnosis, consistent with some previous research, and held broader concepts of mental illness. Their tendency to hold these more expansive concepts partially explained their higher rates of diagnosis.

Why does it matter?

Our findings support the idea that expansive concepts of mental illness promote self-diagnosis and may thereby increase the apparent prevalence of mental ill health. People who have a lower threshold for defining distress as a disorder are more likely to identify themselves as having a mental illness.

Our findings do not directly show that people with broad concepts over-diagnose or those with narrow concepts under-diagnose. Nor do they prove that having broad concepts causes self-diagnosis or results in actual increases in mental illness. Nevertheless, the findings raise important concerns.

First, they suggest that rising mental health awareness may come at a cost. In addition to boosting mental health literacy it may increase the likelihood of people incorrectly identifying their problems as pathologies.

Inappropriate self-diagnosis can have adverse effects. Diagnostic labels may become identity-defining and self-limiting, as people come to believe their problems are enduring, hard-to-control aspects of who they are.

Some people may incorrectly identify their problems as a mental illness. Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

Second, unwarranted self-diagnosis may lead people experiencing relatively mild levels of distress to seek help that is unnecessary, inappropriate and ineffective. Recent Australian research found people with relatively mild distress who received psychotherapy worsened more often than they improved.

Third, these effects may be particularly problematic for young people. They are most liable to hold broad concepts of mental illness, in part due to social media consumption, and they experience mental ill health at relatively high and rising rates. Whether expansive concepts of illness play a role in the youth mental health crisis remains to be seen.

Ongoing cultural shifts are fostering increasingly expansive definitions of mental illness. These shifts are likely to have mixed blessings. By normalising mental illness they may help to remove its stigma. However, by pathologising some forms of everyday distress, they may have an unintended downside.

As we wrestle with the mental health crisis, it is crucial we find ways to increase awareness of mental ill health without inadvertently inflating it.

Jesse Tse, PhD Candidate at Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne and Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, The University of Melbourne

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Indian American physicians announce Global Health Summit details, discuss action plan in US, India

President of AAPI Dr. Satheesh Kathula, speaking at the Indian Consulate in NY, Sept. 29, 2024, curtain raiser and press meet to announce the Global Health Summit in India, and action plans of AAPI in US and India. PHOTO: Kripa Prasad, ITV Gold

The American Association of Physicians from India held a preparatory meeting Monday, September 29, 2024 at the Indian Consulate in New York to discuss the upcoming AAPI Global Healthcare Summit to be held in New Delhi October 19 and 20, 2024, and to discuss AAPI’s vision and action plan in the US and in India.

The press conference-cum-curtain raiser was led by Dr. Satheesh Kathula, president of AAPI, as well as Dr. Hetal Gor, trustee, and attended by other physician leaders including, and Padma Shri recipient Dr. Sudhir Parikh, a veteran AAPI senior advisor, and chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media/ITV Gold.

Dr. Satheesh Kathula, president of AAPI, and Dr. Hetal Gor, member, Board of Trustees of AAPI, provide details about the upcoming Global Health Summit in India, and AAPI’s action plan for initiatives in India and US, September 29, 2024, at the Indian Consulate in New York. PHOTO: ITV Gold

Dr. Kathula and Dr. Hetal Gor, briefed the media on AAPI’s ongoing activities in the United States and India, and noted that the upcoming summit aims to bring together healthcare professionals, policymakers, and industry leaders to address the prevention of cancer and heart attacks in the Indian population with lifestyle modification and technology.

Dr. Kathula gave details about AAPI’s 3 main initiatives in the US this year – 1. Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Drive; 2. Raising awareness about increased physical activity and honoring veterans simultaneously through the ‘Million Miles of Gratitude’ initiative; 3. Preventing heart attacks in the Indian American community.

Dr. Kathula thanked the media for attending and for providing support for several decades to AAPI, urging them “to help to get the message out, in reaching out to the general public here, the Indian diaspora and in India, especially for providing health education on preventive measures.”

Padma Shri recipient Dr. Sudhir Parikh gesturing as he speaks at the AAPI press meet, September 29, 2024, at the Indian Consulate in New York, as President of AAPI Dr. Satheesh Kathula looks on. PHOTO: Kripa Prasad, ITV Gold

Dr. Parikh offered the help of his media outlet, and gave additional recommendations for AAPI to initiate, maintaining that India’s needs in healthcare had changed over the decades.

Two or three decades ago, AAPI used to send Xray Machines and MRI Machines to India, but “Now India needs more than that. India needs an exchange program for the medical students,” Dr. Parikh said, as well as observers for the medical students. “AAPI can have some structured body that can provide observership to those students,” he recommended. Additionally, AAPI could organize exchange of the faculty from India and grow it into a global force. The Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, GAPIO, was trying something similar with faculty exchange which will provide the younger generation state of art education from the Western countries. Dr. Parikh assured AAPI of his full support as a doctor and as a media person.

AAPI has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of India Droupadi Murmu as Guests of Honor at GHS 2024, as well as Health Minister J.P. Nadda.

AAPI leaders, President of AAPI Dr. Satheesh Kathula, and Padma Shri recipient Dr. Sudhir Parikh, with India’s Consul General in New York Binaya S. Pradhan, Sept. 29, 2024, during the curtain raiser for the Global Health Summit, and Leadership conference. PHOTO: ITV Gold

Earlier during the day, AAPI conducted an AAPI Leadership Retreat at the Indian Consulate in New York City, attended by Consul General Binaya S. Pradhan. The panel included several distinguished figures from various fields, including Dr. Sanjeev Kaul, Chief of Trauma; Sudeep Kapur, a magistrate; Manee Kamboji, owner of a highly successful IT company; Natalie McKenzie, a health and fitness coach and podcaster; Jyoti Soni, a catering and wedding planner with over three decades of experience in the culinary industry; and AAPI leaders.

AAPI leaders Dr. Satheesh Kathula, 3rd from left, and Dr. Hetal Gor, 3rd from right, and other attendees with India’s Consul General in New York Binaya S. Pradhan, 4th from left. PHOTO: ITV Gold

Consul General Pradhan, in his address highlighted his long association with AAPI since 2005. Highlighting the recent meetings India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with top CEOs from the United States during his recent visit, Pradhan emphasized that India’s potential is “not only appreciated by the ordinary people of the United States, but even by the industry, and that’s probably the reason why all these industry entities are now present in India in a much bigger way. So it’s going to be leading to bigger investment back within India.”

Pradhan lauded the contributions of “a strong Indian association of Doctors, AAPI. We feel so lucky that we have their strong presence, of this fraternity in this country. And I’m sure, going forward, you are going to be an anchor. You will be bringing the relationship between India and the United States much closer, especially in the healthcare sector.”

AAPI leaders meet the press at the Indian Consulate in New York Sept. 29, 2024. PHOTO: Collage provided by AAPI

Pradhan told AAPI that “My expectation, my request has been that, this is the time for you to rethink about how you contribute back home in India. I know all of you, individually and collectively, do a lot of good work back home in India.”

A section of the audience at the Sept. 29, 2024, AAPI curtain raiser at the Indian Consulate to announce Global Health Summit in India, and action plans of the organization. PHOTO: Kripa Prasad, ITV GoldNoting that India’s economy is undergoing a massive transformation today. “The Indian people are not looking for help in meeting their basic needs, but would expect a strong association like yours to help them to touch their aspirations. You have access to the best of the medical technologies in this country. You can think about what you can do to touch the aspirations of the people, by using the technology, and reach a much larger number of people in India.” Indian American physicians announce Global Health Summit details, discuss action plan in US, India

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