High time to prioritise preventive & rehabilitative care to support Healthy Aging: Dr Sushil
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Highlighting one of the important, though often overlooked, relationship between retirees and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and its associated risk factors, Dr. Sushil Sharma conducted a health check up cum awareness camp in collaboration with Central Government Pensioners Welfare’s Association at Day care cum wellness centre, Exhibition ground, Jammu.
At the outset, he informed that though the potential health effects of retirement are largely neglected in the policymaking but there is a growing body of academic literature on the health effects of retirements. Numerous studies across the world concluded that retirees had a higher risk of being diagnosed with CVD than working people.
Retirement may influence the development of CVD through behavioral pathways, such as changes in smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet. These health behaviors themselves are risk factors for CVD, and can affect other CVD metabolic risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension.
Moreover, retirees’ CVD risk may also be influenced by retirement-related changes in mental and physical health.
Dr. Sushil emphasized that numerous studies echoed increased leisure time following retirement responsible for promoting sedentary behavior. However, there is strong evidence that retirement increases adiposity measures among those especially retired from physically demanding jobs.
Studies conducted to evaluate the association between anthropometric variables and CVD risk factors unequivocally concluded that retirees have a higher risk for CVD than non-retirees and weight and body mass index are the major determinants.
Going forward, it will be important to further explore the mechanisms potentially linking retirement and CVD since the mechanisms differ from countries to countries, gender, socio-economic status, type of family, ageing and unhealthy behaviours viz., intake of alcohol, smoking and poor diet. Additionally, a sustained government support and a sense of belongingness and collaboration among families, communities, institutions of civil society, and the insurance sector helps in addressing the changing lifestyles, healthcare costs and regulating certain modifiable risk factors for CVD among retirees.
It’s high time to prioritize preventive and rehabilitative care to support healthy ageing for all retirees, who once served our society with utmost dedication and sincerity, he added.
More than 150 individuals were screened, evaluated for Cardiovascular , Orthopedics and Eye related problems. Blood Sugar, Lipid Profile ,HBA1C Levels were screened besides ECG. Free medicines were also given as per the requirements
Management Committee of the Central Govt. Pensioners Welfare Association Kuldeep Khuda ( President), K B Jandial ( Gen. Secy), O P Sharma (Treasurer) expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Sushil and his team for organising Medical Cum Health awareness camp .
Others who were part of this camp include Dr Rajinder Singh (Consultant Orthopaedics), Dr Dhaneshwer Kapoor, Dr Anjumand Nazir, Dr Shagufta Iqbal, Dr Romana Mir , Dr Tapan Sharma, Dr Rukhsana Kouser, Dr Neharika Verma and Dr Kritika.
Paramedics and Volunteers includes Kamal Sharma, Ranjeet Singh, Rajkumar, Manav Sharma, Maninder Singh, Milan Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Rajinder Singh , Gourav Sharma and Vikas Kumar.
