Latest news with #PLOSGlobalPublicHealth
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Odisha among top 12 states with highest female sex workers and men who have sex with men : NACO
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha is among the top 12 states in the country to have the highest concentration of both female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM). According to the programmatic mapping and population size estimation (PMPSE) conducted by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in 2022, the state recorded an estimated 24,620 FSWs and 5,977 MSM. The estimation has been published in the recent issue of peer-reviewed journal PLOS Global Public Health. As many as 2,113 hotspots and 190 network operators in the state were mapped during the survey. The hotspots included brothel, lodge/hotel, street, railway station, bus-stand, park, marketplace, under the bridge, highway, spa and abandoned area. The state has two FSWs per 1,000 adult women and about 88.6 per cent (pc) operate through physical hotspots such as homes or street locations. Around four per cent are exclusively linked to network operators, and 7.4 pc are found in rural villages under the link worker scheme (LWS).
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Karnataka, Delhi, AP among 5 states with highest number of female sex workers, says study
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi and Telangana have the highest concentration of Female Sex Workers (FSW) in the country, according to a study. Karnataka is at the top of the list with 15.4 per cent, followed by Andhra Pradesh (12.0 per cent), Maharashtra (9.6 per cent), Delhi (8.9 per cent) and Telangana (7.6 per cent), the programmatic mapping and population size estimation (PMPSE) said. The five "were States with highest size of FSW contributing around 53.0 per cent of total FSW key population size in the country," it said. The number of FSW per 1000 adult women was highest in Arunachal Pradesh (17.24), followed by Delhi (15.46), Goa (11.67), Chandigarh (10.10) and Karnataka (8.34). Observing that India has the world's second-largest HIV burden, the study said key populations of female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), hijra/transgender (H/TG) people, and people who inject drugs (PWID), are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. The community-led PMPSE was carried out in 651 districts of 32 states and Union Territories of India. The goal was to identify the hotspots, network operators, and estimate the size of key population groups, said the study, published in PLOS Global Public Health. The PMPSE estimated a total of 9,95,499 FSWs, 3,51,020 MSM, 2,88,717 PWIDs, and 96,193 H/TG individuals. PMPSE for FSWs identified 43,579 hotspots and 10,718 network operators. FSWs were further reported in a total of 16,095 villages, it said. Slightly more than half (55.1 per cent) of the hotspots were home-based, followed by 16.1 per cent street-based locations and 5.9 per cent brothel-based. Highest number of hotspots in PMPSE were mapped in Karnataka (around 20.0 per cent of the total hotspots), followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra (around 8.0 per cent each), Madhya Pradesh (around 7.0 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (around 6.0 per cent). In Telangana, there were around 38 FSWs per hotspot, highest in the country followed by 29 FSWs per hotspot in Andhra Pradesh and 26 FSWs per hotspot in Delhi, Meghalaya and West Bengal, it said. The PMPSE reported presence of FSWs in 642 districts of the country. With an estimated 2.54 million people living with HIV (PLHIV), India ranks as the country with the second largest population of PLHIV globally, the study said. The National AIDS and STD Control Programme (NACP) has successfully responded by restricting the epidemic. Through its comprehensive and pointed initiatives, nearly 44 per cent reduction in new HIV infections and a remarkable 79 per cent decline in AIDS-related deaths from 2010 to 2023 has been estimated in India. "Despite the significant success achieved so far, there is no place for complacency and the program implementation must continue with equal vigour and energy in the years to come," it said. HIV prevalence among key populations (KPs) remains significantly higher than the overall adult prevalence, said the study, part of the Surveillance and Epidemiological activities of the National AIDS and STD Control Programme of the central government. The study further said mapping and population size estimation are pivotal to an evidence-based response to HIV/AIDS in settings with concentrated epidemics.
Euronews
18-05-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Teens with high screen time more likely to be depressed, sleep poorly
Teenage girls who spend more time on their phones are more likely to sleep badly and have signs of depression, researchers in Sweden found. The study included 4,810 Swedish students aged 12 to 16. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute monitored their screen time habits, sleep patterns, and symptoms of depression over a one-year period. Both girls and boys spent three to four hours per day on their devices, above the two- or three-hour limit that Sweden's public health agency recommends for teenagers. But at the roughly same level of screen time, teen girls had an average depression score that was twice as high as among boys. The findings, published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health, confirmed that high screen time leads to sleep 'displacement,' meaning people fall asleep ater than they would on the body's natural schedule. Among teen girls, screen-driven displacement impacted their sleep quality, how long they slept and their chronotype, or the natural inclination of the body to sleep at a certain time. Teen girls were also more likely to report symptoms of depression – but this wasn't the case for boys. 'Our results do suggest that less… screen time seems healthier, in line with previous World Health Organization statements,' the authors said. If people lowered their screen time, 'the high burden of depressive states among young Swedish women, and maybe young men, would likely decrease,' they added. The findings are in line with previous research that followed 45,000 Norwegian university students, and found a strong relationship between screen time in bed, insomnia symptoms, and shorter sleep duration. But other researchers urged caution and for more studies to be done before jumping to any conclusions. Notably, the Swedish analysis doesn't establish that high screen time causes poor sleep and depression – just that they are correlated. The study has some other limitations. The teenagers reported their own screen time, 'a method known for its unreliability,' Chris Ferguson, a professor of psychology at Stetson University in the US who wasn't involved with the study, said in a statement. Even so, other scientists said the findings could help make the case for national guidelines on smartphone use on school nights. Ben Carter, a professor of medical statistics at King's College London who was not involved with the study, said such guidelines could 'empower parents and help adolescents improve their sleep and prevent daytime sleepiness'. That's especially important, he said in a statement, because 'sleep in the development of adolescents is essential'.
Axios
24-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Driving with COVID linked to higher crash risk
Driving with a case of COVID raised the odds of having a car crash about as much as being at the legal threshold of DUI or running a red light, according to an analysis of pandemic-era public health and transportation records from seven states. Why it matters: Even mild COVID infections can cause "brain fog" and other impairment, affecting a person's ability to concentrate, reason and solve problems. That's cause for warning people with COVID-19 that they should minimize driving, and even having states screen for long COVID at the time of license renewal, author Baran Erdik, a physician and professor at American Vision University, wrote in PLOS Global Public Health. What they found: Driving while infected with COVID, as measured by a PCR lab test, brought a 25% increase in crash risk. That is comparable to the rates associated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% — or the legal threshold for driving under the influence in many states. It's also consistent with odds linked to habitual speeding or running red lights. Being vaccinated didn't appear to deliver added protection against crashes. Some earlier studies that have linked vaccine hesitancy with a higher risk of accidents. Between the lines: The increase in crash risk was driven by recent infections and not connected to long COVID rates. States that had extended mask mandates like Connecticut were found to have had prolonged periods of lower crash rates. The study drew on crash data from Texas, Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia and Washington state from 2020 to 2023 and federal COVID test and positivity rates. The big picture: Multiple studies have examined the pandemic's effects on traffic safety. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety last year found dangerous behavior like speeding, not using seatbelts and impaired driving contributed to a rise in fatal crashes compared with pre-pandemic times. It concluded there was a 17% jump in traffic deaths (nearly 17,000 additional fatalities) between May 2020 and the end of 2022 than would have been expected under pre-pandemic trends. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has suggested that people who continued to drive during the pandemic may have engaged in riskier behavior, including speeding and not wearing seatbelts. While past analyses didn't directly attribute the rise in crashes and fatalities to COVID-19 beyond government-imposed "stay-at-home" orders, they may have correctly identified a trend without recognizing the role of the virus as a contributing factor, Erdik wrote. He told Axios the U.S. typically doesn't require medical clearance for a driver's license, but that a questionnaire at the time of a renewal about whether a person had long COVID would be appropriate.
