It may be the cleanest and most pollution-free city in the country but that does not mean that all is well with Chandigarh residents - not when it comes to health.
A recent survey done by a private clinical laboratory on 12,000 blood samples of the city with a population of 1 million has found that the incidence of diabetes, anaemia, high cholesterol and hypothyroidism was higher than the national average. The findings were revealed Monday.The Chandigarh Clinical Laboratory (CCL) handles blood samples for analysis from 27 civil dispensaries, polyclinics and community health centres in this 114-square km city.
While 30 percent of the blood samples showed diabetic tendencies, 17 percent of the men and 25 percent women were found anaemic. Blood cholesterol levels were found high in nearly 50 percent of the 3,000 samples tested for this.
"The trend is disturbing for this clean city. We will organise free medical check-up camps in coming months and will get figures of exactly how healthy city residents are," CCL managing director R.R. Khanna said Monday.
Medical specialist P.R. Handa said more needs to be done by health authorities and people themselves to become healthier.
"The survey results are of those people who were referred for tests. When other residents are covered in the analysis, the actual health scene will emerge," Handa added.
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Source-IANS
LIN/J
