Top 6 health concerns of Indians for 2017

Before we see the year off, here are a few of the top health concerns that led Indians to consult online doctors, as per a Lybrate Healthscape India 2017 report. Lybrate is India’s first largest online doctor consultation platform that connects doctors and patients through its health app and has produced the report after analyzing 80 million interactions that happened on the platform including booking of lab tests in 2017.

Infertility and Contraception: Vis-a- vis 2016, there’s been a whopping 290% jump in people consulting doctors online on issues like infertility and contraception. The breakup of enquiries city wise: Delhi (23%), Mumbai (32%) Kolkata (36%) and Ahmedabad (35%).

Adolescent and Behavioral psychology: Indians are becoming increasingly aware that we need to be not only physically fit but mentally fit as well. This has resulted in a massive 265% spike in the queries generated on adolescent and behavioral psychology. City wise queries came in as per the following statistics: Delhi (31%), Mumbai (31%), Pune (33%), and Bangalore (24%).

Following the notorious Blue Whale Challenge, several murder cases and child sex abuse instances, Indians have actively sought counseling not only for themselves but their children as well. How to deal with anger, frustration, depression, and stress has emerged as another major area of concern.

Saurabh Arora Founder and CEO, Lybrate says, “We all ignore our psychological health, not understanding that it is key to our overall good health. Being psychologically healthy saves us from a gamut of lifestyle-triggered diseases that have become a major concern for people across age-groups as also healthcare infrastructure in the country.”

Diabetes and Hypertension: India is on the verge of a diabetic and hypertension epidemic. These are borne out by the volume of enquiries as well. There has been a 205% increase in enquiries on these health issues. Bangalore (33%), Kolkata (32%), and Hyderabad (29%), Chennai (26%) were the top cities that queried about diabetes. Mumbai residents raised several concerns on hypertension.

Respiratory issues: There has been a remarkable 215% jump in Indians consulting doctors online on respiratory diseases. This is hardly amazing, considering the alarming levels of air pollution in Delhi and Bangalore. The winter months, specifically November have witnessed a peak in queries in this regard.

Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency: The massive chains of Fast food outlets across the country have placed junk food within easy reach of the India’s youth. Consequently, today’s youth hardly consumed the daily quota of Vitamins and minerals and instead overloaded themselves with unwanted calories, salt and sugar.

People from Kolkata and Chennai interacted with doctors on how to address Vitamin D and B12 deficiency.

Fitness and wellness: Mobiles have come to engage not only the mind, but the body as well. Unlike yesteryears, eyes have become glued to the mobile’s small screen instead of rubber or leather balls and hands clutch mobiles instead of tennis rackets or cricket bats. This has led to a spurt of questions (195%) on how to optimize health and wellness.