Archive for category: News

Vijayawada: Upset and frustrated over the government’s continued ignorance towards their basic demands, doctors working at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the state have announced a hunger strike on October 3, suspending outpatient services if their demands, on issues such as promotions, allowances, increments, and other service-related concerns, are not addressed.   

Calling the doctors’ demands ‘unjustifiable’, the health department has deployed doctors from district and teaching hospitals to the PHCs to ensure zero disruption in providing medical services to the patients. The department has also urged the doctors to resume their duties and call off the strike. 

This comes after talks between the doctors and the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare failed to yield a resolution. Recently, the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare invited APPHCDA leaders for a discussion regarding their concerns. However, when the meeting did not yield any results, the doctors decided to intensify their protest. 

Also read- Andhra Pradesh doctor suspended over patient death at PHC

Doctors under the Andhra Pradesh Primary Health Centres Doctors Association (APPHCDA) recently submitted a strike notice to the Director of Public Health, Dr P Padma Sasidhar, and higher authorities, giving the government a five-day window to address their demands before launching agitation.

The association has planned a series of protests, including sit-ins at the district centres on September 30, October 1, and 2, to step up pressure on the government.

“Our demands are genuine and repeatedly ignored. Without immediate resolution, we will escalate with a hunger strike in Vijayawada beginning on October 3,” APPHCDA President Ravindra Naik told PTI.

He said that for 2025–26, the in-service PG quota was reduced to 15 per cent in only seven branches, compared to 20 per cent across all branches last year.

The doctors have demanded a uniform 15 per cent in-service quota across all specialities for the next three years to ensure fairness for Primary Health Centre (PHC) doctors pursuing postgraduate courses.

Another demand is time-bound promotions, noting that PHC doctors have served 20 years without advancement. In comparison, District Speciality Hospital (Andhra Pradesh Vaidya Vidhana Parishad) doctors were promoted within just three years of service.

The association also highlighted the absence of tribal allowances for PHC doctors working in remote forest areas, while District Speciality Hospital doctors have been receiving these benefits for two years.

Further demands include a mobile medical services allowance and other service-related issues, the association said.

However, the state government mentioned that a recent GO has allotted 15% clinical and 30% non-clinical PG seats for in-service doctors. Therefore, the government claimed that the protest is unjust. Approximately 1,000 PG doctors will join duties from November, vacancies in secondary hospitals will be filled by 2027, and teaching hospitals by 2028, said the government. 

In case the doctors continue with their hunger strike on October 3, the services at the PHCs will be severely hit, as 1 lakh patients a day on average, particularly in rural and tribal areas, receive their treatment from these centres, report TNIE. 

To ensure that the centres run smoothly without disruption, the health department deployed 1,014 PG students, senior residents, and MBBS tutors, and 1,017 MBBS doctors from other hospitals to the PHCs. 

Also read- Madras HC rejects plea for doctor’s appointment at PHC, says it’s a departmental matter

A study conducted at the University of Helsinki found that children and adults who follow a vegan diet had on average adequate intakes of calcium and vitamin D, nutrients important to bone health, but their bone metabolism differed from those who follow an omnivorous diet.

The MIRA2 study conducted at the University of Helsinki investigated bone metabolism and the intakes of nutrients critical to bone health, such as calcium, vitamin D and protein. The study involved children residing in Helsinki aged between two and seven who followed a vegan, vegetarian or omnivorous diet, as well as their caregivers.

The study subjects following a vegan diet adhered almost without exception also to the recommendations on the consumption of dietary supplements and fortified foods, and they had on average adequate vitamin D and calcium intakes. The children on a vegan diet had higher vitamin D intake than those on an omnivorous or a vegetarian diet due to more active consumption of vitamin D supplements with higher doses. On average, vitamin D status measured from blood was also adequate in all diet groups.

The study found that the more plant-based diets, namely vegan and vegetarian ones, were in adults associated with higher concentrations of bone formation and resorption markers, which may indicate accelerated bone metabolism. In contrast, more plant-based diets among children were associated with higher parathyroid hormone concentrations, which have been associated with more active bone resorption. While these observations can indicate long-term adverse effects on bone health, their clinical significance is unclear.

“The calcium naturally occurring in plant-based foods is fairly poorly absorbed. In fact, the widespread vitamin D and calcium fortification of plant-based dairy alternatives in Finland is important for the adequate intake of these nutrients among vegans and, consequently, for their bone health,” says Docent Suvi Itkonen from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki.

Many international studies have raised concerns about the potential adverse effects of vegan diets on bone health. However, these studies have typically targeted populations where vitamin D intake is low, the selection of vegan products on the market is narrow, and the consumption of fortified foods or dietary supplements is less widespread than in Finland.

Vegan diets require careful planning especially for children

The researchers found that vegans and vegetarians had lower protein intake compared to those who followed an omnivorous diet, although on average it was adequate. Proteins are composed of amino acids.

“It’s possible that the poorer absorption and different amino acid composition of plant-based proteins compared to animal proteins partly explain the observed differences in bone metabolism, but more research is needed on the topic. In fact, we will next investigate amino acid intake among the MIRA2 subjects and the amino acid composition of vegan diets,” Itkonen says.

The MIRA2 dataset was collected in Helsinki, where vegan food in daycare centres and various vegan food products are abundantly available. The families who participated in the study were well versed in guidelines for vitamin D supplementation and fortified food consumption.

“People in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area live in a kind of veggie bubble. Due to that one has to keep in mind that the findings of the study are not directly applicable to the populations of other regions or countries,” Itkonen points out.

The nutrition recommendations published last autumn emphasise a predominantly plant-based diet, restricting meat consumption and moderating milk consumption. If a food is entirely excluded from the diet, it is important to replace it with nutritionally comprehensive alternatives. When planning a vegan diet for children and adolescents, a visit to a registered dietitian is recommended.

“In terms of bone health, it is essential when consuming plant-based drinks and yoghurt-like products to choose the option fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Children should take a daily vitamin D supplement throughout the year. If the daily diet contains no margarines, dairy products or plant-based drinks fortified with vitamin D, and if fish is eaten less than 2–3 times per week, it’s important to ensure adequate vitamin D intake, especially during the dark season, by taking a vitamin D supplement. Among vegans, the need for vitamin D supplementation is common,” Itkonen notes.

Reference:

Itkonen, S.T., Hovinen, T., Kettunen, E. et al. Bone and mineral metabolism in 2–7-year-old Finnish children and their caregivers following vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous diets. Eur J Nutr 64, 276 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-025-03758-y

A randomised placebo-controlled Finnish study showed that aspirin therapy does not provide significant relief for people suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps who are hypersensitive to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The results of a joint study performed by the University of Eastern Finland, University of Helsinki and HUS Inflammation Center were published in the Allergy journal.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-exacerbated respiratory disease (N-ERD) typically involves hypersensitivity to anti-inflammatory drugs, asthma, and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Nasal polyps are caused by excess growth of the nasal mucous membranes. Hospitals have been treating this disorder with long-term aspirin (ASA) therapy for approximately 15 years.

“ASA therapy is affordable, but there hasn’t been sufficient evidence of its effectiveness. Obtaining information on the effectiveness of treatment is important because several biologic medications currently available to treat the symptoms are effective but also very expensive,” says Professor Sanna Toppila-Salmi from the University of Eastern Finland, who led the study.

The study involved administering aspirin desensitization therapy to 26 patients with N-ERD, asthma and severe CRSwNP and then randomising them into groups taking either aspirin or a placebo orally for 11 months.

“No differences in symptoms or lung function was found between the aspirin and placebo groups at the end of therapy. There were signs that ASA therapy could slightly reduce nasal polyps and improve quality of life related to nasal symptoms compared to a placebo, but the difference was not statistically significant,” says Doctoral Researcher Alma Helevä from the University of Helsinki.

There was also no difference between the groups concerning how many courses of cortisone were needed during exacerbation phases.

Based on the results, only 25% of patients who received aspirin could be classified as benefiting from the therapy, and 18% of patients in the aspirin group had to stop the treatment due to side effects. The side effects – such as respiratory symptoms, worsening of asthma, abdominal symptoms or increased bleeding tendency – occurred in 56% of the participants who received aspirin, but also in 30% of those who received a placebo.

“Based on this study, ASA therapy did not have a significant effect compared to a placebo, and a significant number of patients also suffered adverse effects. A small number of patients benefited from the therapy, but at this time it is not possible to identify which patients who are hypersensitive to NSAIDs would benefit from ASA therapy,” stated the researchers.

Reference:

Alma Helevä, Annina Lyly, Viljami Salmi, Mika Mäkelä, Paula Kauppi, Anu Laulajainen-Hongisto, Lena Hafrén, Paula Virkkula, Mikko Nuutinen, Sanna Toppila-Salmi, Efficacy of ASA Therapy After Desensitization on CRSwNP Patients With Asthma and N-ERD—A Randomized Clinical Trial, Allergy, https://doi.org/10.1111/all.16679

Researchers have found in a new study that vitamin D deficiency independently increased the risk of respiratory infections in preschool children, especially in vulnerable groups. Hence, targeted screening and supplementation may help reduce early childhood morbidity.