Apollo launches India’s first pediatric health assessment on chronic, lifestyle diseases in children

Apollo has launched an industry-first pediatric ProHealth Programme to combat the increasing trend of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among children and adolescents, the integrated healthcare provider said on Tuesday.

The Pediatric ProHealth Programme curates tests to assess the child based on his or her family history and age group and also conducts routine tests, the hospital said in a release here.

Sathya Sriram, CEO – Preventive Health, Apollo, said timely preventive screenings could help identify risk factors due to family history, genetics, or environmental factors and ensure early intervention to combat and reverse the impact of NCDs.

Indira Jayakumar, Medical Director of Apollo Shine Foundation said, “we are witnessing a disturbing increase in everything from pre-diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome - which can be associated with fatty liver disease and irregular lipid levels.'' During the screening by Apollo Shine Foundation, an over threefold increase in obesity incidence among children compared to five years ago was noticed. ''There was also a significant increase in the rates of depression and anxiety diagnoses among teenagers over the past five years due to academic pressure, needing help,'' Jayakumar said.

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