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Anaemia severely impacts physical and mental abilities, raises health risks, and diminishes the quality of life and work capacity. It is a leading cause of adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternal mortality, especially in developing nations like India, where recent data on anaemia from National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-4) (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-21) indicate a tremendous rise. Anaemia is a marker of poor nutrition and health, and socio-economic factors such as gender norms, race, income, and living conditions influence its impact. As a result, there are disparities in how anaemia affects different segments of society. However, existing research on health inequity and anaemia often employs a single-axis analytical framework of social power. These studies operate under the assumption that gender, economic class, ethnicity, and caste are inherently distinct and mutually exclusive categories and fail to provide a comprehensive understanding of anaemia prevalence. Therefore, the study has adopted the theoretical framework of intersectionality and analysed the NFHS-5 (2019-21) data using bivariate cross-tabulations and binary logistic regression models to understand how gender, class, caste, and place of residence are associated with the prevalence of anaemia. The results suggest that the women of Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes (SC) share a disproportionate burden of anaemia. This study confirms that economic class and gender, geographical location, level of education, and body mass index significantly determine the prevalence of anaemia. The ST and SC women who are economically marginalised and reside in rural areas with high levels of poverty, exclusion, and poor nutritional status have a higher prevalence of anaemia than other population groups. Thus, the study suggests that intersections of multiple factors such as caste, class, gender, and place of residence significantly determine 'who is anaemic in India'.

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Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of the adult population of the Bhoi community of Nimapara block in Puri district of Odisha. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 433 adults Bhois using a multistage randomized sampling method in Nimapara Block of Dhanua Gram Panchayat, Puri District. Data were collected using the modified WHO Oral Health Assessment Form, 2013. Number and percentages were derived using MS Excel and SPSS package version 26.0. Comparison between discrete and continuous data was done using the Chi-square test and ANOVA. The P value of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean Decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) for all study participants was 3.94 ± 3.106. The average DMFT scores for males and females were 3.89 ± 2.938 and 4.0 ± 3.30 respectively. The average shallow and deep pocket presences were 1.20 ± 0.680 and 1.90 ± 0.310, respectively. The mean calculus was 2.13 ± 0.476. The highest loss of attachment of 6 to 8 mm was seen in 92 (21.2%) subjects. Conclusion: The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases was high. As there is a lack of knowledge about oral hygiene maintenance, proper health education should be administered.

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BACKGROUND: The persistently high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity among historically marginalised social groups, such as adolescent Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in India, can be attributed, in part, to the low utilisation of full antenatal healthcare services. Despite efforts by the Indian government, full antenatal care (ANC) usage remains low among this population. To address this issue, it is crucial to determine the factors that influence the utilisation of ANC services among adolescent SC/ST mothers. However, to date, no national-level comprehensive study in India has specifically examined this issue for this population. Our study aims to address this research gap and contribute to the understanding of how to improve the utilisation of ANC services among adolescent SC/ST mothers in India. DATA AND METHODS: Data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey 2015-16 (NFHS-4) was used. The outcome variable was full antenatal care (ANC). A pregnant mother was considered to have 'full ANC' only when she had at least four ANC visits, at least two tetanus toxoid (TT) injections, and consumed 100 or more iron-folic acid (IFA) tablets/syrup during her pregnancy. Bivariate analysis was used to examine the disparity in the coverage of full ANC. In addition, binary logistic regression was used to understand the net effect of predictor variables on the coverage of full ANC. RESULTS: The utilisation of full antenatal care (ANC) among adolescent SC/ST mothers was inadequate, with only 18% receiving full ANC. Although 83% of Indian adolescent SC/ST mothers received two or more TT injections, the utilisation of the other two vital components of full ANC was low, with only 46% making four or more ANC visits and 28% consuming the recommended number of IFA tablets or equivalent amount of IFA syrup. There were statistically significant differences in the utilisation of full ANC based on the background characteristics of the participants. The statistical analysis showed that there was a significant association between the receipt of full ANC and factors such as religion (OR = 0.143, CI = 0.044-0.459), household wealth (OR = 5.505, CI = 1.804-16.800), interaction with frontline health workers (OR = 1.821, CI = 1.241-2.670), and region of residence in the Southern region (OR = 3.575, CI = 1.917-6.664). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the study highlights the low utilisation of full antenatal care services among Indian adolescent SC/ST mothers, with only a minority receiving the recommended number of ANC visits and consuming the required amount of IFA tablets/syrup. Addressing social determinants of health and recognising the role of frontline workers can be crucial in improving full ANC coverage among this vulnerable population. Furthermore, targeted interventions tailored to the unique needs of different subgroups of adolescent SC/ST mothers are necessary to achieve optimal maternal and child health outcomes.

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Scheduled Caste (SC) women, one of India's most oppressed and neglected population groups, are the most vulnerable to intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV, on the other hand, is less common among women in the General category. No study has been conducted to measure the gap in IPV between these two groups. This study is an attempt to fill this gap. This study aims to comprehensively explore the factors that underlie and explain the gap in IPV between SC and General women. Information on 10,168 ever-married SC and 9695 ever-married General women aged 15-49 from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey was analyzed. The Fairlie decomposition (Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition modified for binary outcomes) was used in this study to explain the gap in ever experience of IPV prevalence between SC and General women. About 37.3% and 24.4% of ever-married SC and General women in India suffered either physical or mental or sexual violence from their husbands. The large part of the gap in IPV between SC and General women was due to differences in husbands' alcohol consumption (26.33% gap), wealth index (24.48% gap), controlling behavior by husband (24%) and parental IPV (15.87% gap). With the introduction of appropriate interventions and programs, these gaps can be reduced. Interventions aimed at reducing alcoholism should be emphasized.

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Oppari-the folksong of Tamil Nadu and North-Eastern parts of Sri Lanka, is known as the Tamil song of mourning. The practice of women singing oppari is prevalent in the suburban and rural spaces of Tamil Nadu. They form a circle, weep, beat their chest, wail and jump on the beats of Parai (single-sided drum) music on the death of a member of a family as reported by Srinivas (Oppari: An art of Weeping, Wailing and Lamenting, 2019). The women in the region express their grief over the death of their beloved with the lyrics of oppari songs. Of late, professional oppari singers, including both female and male, have been invited to rural and urban Tamil Nadu on the death of a member in the well-off families to mourn for the deceased person. This distinctively South Indian genre of weeping songs has evolved with time. The lyrics of the oppari songs have been blended with the essence of the periodical changes. The content, context, and presentation of the oppari songs have been playing important roles to reflect the makeovers of times. This study attempts to understand the reflection of times in the lyrics of oppari songs by assiduously employing semiotic analysis. The analysis of the words of the content, context indicated and presentation of subject, period, and expression in lyrics of the oppari songs has been made in the paper. The analysis of three oppari songs gives some significant ideas about the different times of history.

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Background: In Odisha, the scheduled castes account for 17.13% of the overall population. In spite of prioritizing the oral health status of children globally, oral diseases continue to be a major public health problem in India. Due to lack of literature and baseline data, the aim of the study was to assess the oral health status of children of Bhoi scheduled caste of Nimapara block in Puri district of Odisha. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 208 Bhoi children who were enrolled using a multistage randomized sampling method in Nimapara Block of Dhanua Gram Panchayat, Puri District. Information on sociodemographic details and oral health status were collected using the modified WHO Oral Health Assessment Form for children, 2013. Number and percentages was derived using MS Excel and SPSS package version 26.0. Comparison between discrete and continuous data was done using Chi-square test and ANOVA. P value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean DMFT and dmft of the total study participants were 1.28 ± 1.159 and 2.53 ± 1.058, respectively, and these findings were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Among the age group of 6-12 years, the mean number of sextants with bleeding and calculus were 0.66 ± 0.476 and 0.62 ± 0.686, respectively, and among 13-15 years aged group, they were 0.86 ± 0.351 and 1.52 ± 0.688. Mild fluorosis was detected in the study population. Dental trauma was seen in 21% of the Bhoi children. Conclusion: Most of the participants had poor oral hygiene and the prevalence of dental caries was high. As there is lack of knowledge about oral hygiene maintenance, proper health education should be administered. Under these circumstances, the implementation of preventive programs such as pit and fissure sealants, atraumatic restorative restorations can be implemented to reduce the dental caries.

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AIM: To study the genetic structure of the Scheduled Caste population of Rajasthan and its relationship with Indian and global populations using expanded 20 CODIS STR loci (autosomal) markers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Blood samples of 226 healthy, unrelated adult individuals of the Scheduled Caste population of the Indian state of Rajasthan were taken from the routine casework of authors after obtaining written informed consent. Autosomal STR markers included in PowerPlex® Fusion 5 C and GlobalFiler™ PCR amplification kits were used to explore the genetic diversity of the studied population. Amplicons were separated using Genetic Analyser 3500XL as per the recommended protocol. RESULTS: Observed heterozygosity for the studied population ranged from 0.681(CSF1PO) to 0.881 (D1S1656).Combined Discrimination Power and Combined Exclusion Power were observed as 1 and 0.9999999852, respectively. The highest Discrimination Power was observed for the locus D1S1656. In the population comparison test, Nei's Da distance-based Neighbor-Joining (NJ) dendrogram revealed two significant clusters of geographically close Indian and East Asian populations along with a few small groups of outlier populations. CONCLUSION: The matching probability for 20 STR markers was observed as 7.02 × 10-24 and paternity index as 5.55 × 107. These values play a key role in forensic applications.The studied population showed a higher genetic affinity with geographically closer populations than the distant ones. This caste-based population data is expected to play an important role in forensic DNA applications and genetic studies.

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Pulses (also known as legumes) are important in achieving nutrient adequacy in India due to their quality protein content. This study compared district-level pulse production and consumption across India, and household and district-level determinants of pulse intake, including availability, accessibility and affordability, using multi-level models in nationally representative datasets for 2011-12. The per capita consumption was about 50% of recommended intake (80 g/day), even in high-producing districts. District-level pulse production was associated with household pulse intake (2.73 × 10-8 [5.19 × 10-9, 4.94 × 10-8]) and market accessibility (-0.0077 [-0.0133, -0.0021]). Affordability (absolute price of pulse) was also associated with household intake. While agricultural policies relating to pulses have been oriented towards improving pulse output and productivity, forward-looking policies to improve pulse intake should focus on demand-side factors, such as improved market accessibility and the affordability of pulses relative to other foods.

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Sickle hepatopathy is an umbrella term describing various pattern of liver injury seen in patients with sickle cell disease. The disease is not uncommon in India; in terms of prevalence, India is second only to Sub-Saharan Africa where sickle cell disease is most prevalent. Hepatic involvement in sickle cell disease is not uncommon. Liver disease may result from viral hepatitis and iron overload due to multiple transfusions of blood products or due to disease activity causing varying changes in vasculature. The clinical spectrum of disease ranges from ischemic injury due to sickling of red blood cells in hepatic sinusoids, pigment gall stones, and acute/chronic sequestration syndromes. The sequestration syndromes are usually episodic and self-limiting requiring conservative management such as antibiotics and intravenous fluids or packed red cell transfusions. However, rarely these episodes may present with coagulopathy and encephalopathy like acute liver failure, which are life-threatening, requiring exchange transfusions or even liver transplantation. However, evidence for their benefits, optimal indications, and threshold to start exchange transfusion is limited. Similarly, there is paucity of the literature regarding the end point of exchange transfusion in this scenario. Liver transplantation may also be beneficial in end-stage liver disease. Hydroxyurea, the antitumor agent, which is popularly used to prevent life-threatening complications such as acute chest syndrome or stroke in these patients, has been used only sparingly in hepatic sequestrations. The purpose of this review is to provide insights into epidemiology of sickle cell disease in India and pathogenesis and classification of hepatobiliary involvement in sickle cell disease. Finally, various management options including exchange transfusion, liver transplantation, and hydroxyurea in hepatic sequestration syndromes will be discussed in brief.

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Despite the vast literature on health care expenditures (HCE) and health care financing strategies (HCFS) in low- and middle-income countries, there is limited evidence of gender disparity in HCFS for inpatient care. We examined gender disparities in HCE and HCFS for inpatient care among adults aged 15 and older in India which is widely known for gender-based discrimination in sex-selective abortion, nutrition, and access to health care. Using data from a nationally representative large-scale population-based survey, we investigated the relationship between the gender of adult patients and HCE as well as sources of health care financing. Simple percentage distribution, cross-tabulation, a two-level random intercept model, and multinomial logit regression were used to examine the role of gender in HCE and sources of health care financing for inpatient care. Average HCE is lower for women in adult age groups, regardless of the type of disease and duration of stay in the hospital. This result remained unchanged after controlling for other background variables of the patients. Women are also discriminated against more when health care has to be paid for by borrowing, sale of assets, or contributions from friends and relatives (distressed financing). Multinomial logit results show that the probability of distressed financing is less for females than for males (borrowing: ß = -0.27; confidence interval [CI], -0.37 to -0.17; P = .001; selling assets/contribution from friends and relatives: ß = -0.27; CI, -0.39 to -0.14; P = .001). The predicted probability of using health care financing implies that the health of adult men is considered to be more important, in terms of resorting to distressed financing, than that of adult women HCE on adult women inpatients is systematically lower than that of adult men inpatients. Further, women in India have less access to inpatient care through distressed HCFS.

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The caste system is a complex social stratification system which has been abolished, but remains deeply ingrained in India. Scheduled Caste (SC) women are one of the historically deprived groups, as reflected in poor maternal health outcomes and low utilisation of maternal healthcare services. Key government schemes introduced in 2005 mean healthcare-associated costs should now be far less of a deterrent. This paper examines the factors contributing to this low use of maternal health services by investigating the perceptions, health-seeking behaviours and access of SC women to maternal healthcare services in Bihar, India. Eighteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with SC women in Bihar. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis and presented using the AAAQ Toolbox. Main facilitating factors included the introduction of accredited social health activists (ASHAs), free maternal health services, the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), and changes in the cultural acceptability of institutional delivery. Main barriers included inadequate ASHA coverage, poor information access, transport costs and unauthorised charges to SC women from healthcare staff. SC women in Bihar may be inequitably served by maternal health services, and in some cases may face specific discrimination. Recommendations to improve SC service utilisation include research into the improvement of postnatal care, reducing unauthorised payments to healthcare staff and improvements to the ASHA programme.

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This study was carried out to ascertain the allelic frequency of α(+)-thalassemia (α(+)-thal) in Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations of the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Random blood samples of Scheduled tribe (267) and Scheduled caste (168), considering the family as a sampling unit, were analyzed for the presence of the -α(3.7) (rightward) (NG_000006.1: g.34164_37967del3804) and -α(4.2) (leftward) (AF221717) deletions. α(+)-Thal was significantly higher in the Scheduled tribals (77.9%) as compared to the scheduled caste population (9.0%). About 58.0% scheduled tribals carried at least one chromosome with the -α(3.7) deletion and 20.0% scheduled tribals carried the -α(4.2) deletion. Frequency for the -α(3.7) allele was 0.487 in the scheduled tribal populations in comparison to 0.021 in scheduled castes. Allelic frequency for -α(4.2) was 0.103 and 0.024, respectively, in the above communities. No Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for α-thal gene (p < 0.05) was detected in the tribal population, indicating the presence of selection pressures in favor of α-thal mutation and adaptation.

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To compare the Scheduled Caste (SC) & Scheduled Tribe (ST) students with general students regarding their school and family background, personality profile and personal problems, a stratified systematic sample of 261 medical students was taken who filled up their individual set of questionnaires consisting of semistructured sociodemographic proforma, Personality Trait Inventory (PTI) and Students Personal Problems Index. Statistically significant differences were observed when schooling, family income, parents education and occupation and academic performance of general, SC and ST students were compared. Although no statistical differences on personality trait were observed, on activity and cyclothymic personality trait SC and ST students scored less, whereas, they scored more on depressive tendency, emotional instability and social desirability personality traits. The personal problems were different in three groups and also the number of attempts made to pass their professional examinations. Intervention measures have been suggested.