(In the weekly Health Matters newsletter, Athira Elssa Johnson writes about getting to good health, and staying there. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)
How disabling is stress — the kind that quietly rewires metabolism, immunity, sleep, appetite, and mood and what does it mean for everyday health? This week, our stories converged on this concerning theme: metabolic health under pressure. Reports of rising diabetes risks among working-age adults, early signs such as acanthosis nigricans appearing more frequently, and calls for safer, more supportive workplaces painted a picture of a country where stress pathways, food environments, erratic schedules, and polluted air now shape disease in intersecting ways.
In this week’s Health Wrap, our expert diabetologist and endocrinologistDr. Usha Sriramexplained how stress itself is becoming a primary driver of diabetes in younger workforces. Building on that insight, I explore how long hours, fractured sleep, and a steady cortisol load have begun to mirror patterns once associated only with older age groups, a shift that feels as cultural as it is biological. With World Diabetes Day on November 14 highlighting this year’s focus on workplace wellness, the link between stress in professional settings and rising diabetes risk has never been more urgent.
Much of that reality is grounded by the voices in this week’s coverage. Dr. Sai Krishna Chaitanya P. outlines what workplaces can actually change — micro-breaks, flexible structures, smarter insurance policies, while Dr. Vishali Gupta reminds readers how fragile sight becomes when sugar remains chronically high. Stress threads through other reporting too: Dr. Abhishek Kulkarni’s piece on acanthosis nigricans frames it as a quiet but potent alarm for deep insulin resistance; U. Vijayabanu reflects on how psychology education is being reshaped through AI to speed up diagnosis of anxiety, depression and academic strain; and an IIT Madras study captures physiological markers of test anxiety, underscoring how easily academic pressure tips into dysfunction.
Mind and body interacted even more intricately in Reeteka Sud’s report on how stress primes a specific brain hub, causing people to freeze even when confronted later with unrelated fear cues. Another study, charted how learning processes fluctuate across phases of the female reproductive cycle — emphasising that cognition itself is rhythmic and hormonally responsive.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air reclaimed the spotlight. With the city recording a “severe” AQI of 414 for the second straight day, GRAP Stage III restrictions kicked in, and Shashi Tharoor , member of Lok Sabha, described the capital’s smog as a “wicked problem,” shaped by structural governance gaps and seasonal meteorology. The pollution’s toll showed up in hospital data too: Bindu Shajan Perappadannoted an 11% rise in treatment costs for severe respiratory and cardiac cases. As Serena Josephine M. explained, what starts in the atmosphere often ends in the arteries, making CT calcium scoring a more relevant tool in cardiac risk assessment than ever.
From air quality, the narrative shifted to another long-standing public-health challenge: tuberculosis. India’s TB incidence appears to be falling by 21% a year, according to WHO estimates, but global TB funding hovers at only a quarter of WHO targets. Ramya Kannan frames this contradiction withinIndia’s management of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) frameworks. The GLASS report—the WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System thatmonitors AMR patterns worldwide, providing standardised, comparable data on resistance trends. By highlighting India’s position against global benchmarks, it underscores both the progress achieved and the gaps that remain in stewardship and policy implementation, while our editorial cautions policymakers against equating progress with stability.
Scientific discoveries added yet another layer of intrigue, with Indian scientists, reporting a genetic “switch” inside the womb that may influence pregnancy outcomes. Another study mapped the touch-related sensations most capable of activating the nervous system, a finding with possible applications in trauma therapy, autism care and chronic pain. Even as an AI tool generated more than 5,000 alerts for disease surveillance, Dr. C. Aravinda’s explains why AI models struggle to discover new drugs added a dose of reality, reminding readers that computation alone cannot outpace biological complexity.
And across States, the week revealed uneven and often stark realities. In Tamil Nadu, M. Sabari reported allegations by a lorry driver who says he was dismissed after his employer learned of his HIV diagnosis and in another report we learnt about quality concerns around IV cannulas in government hospitals. Soibam RockySingh reported on the Delhi High Court reviving the rare-disease crowdfunding portal after private sponsors withdrew.
As our tail piece we have a detailed review of Ameer Shahul’s Vaccine Nation, that stood out for its clarity and urgency
The explainers this week ranged widely:
All you need to know about: metformin
Avishek Parui’s reading of anxiety in contemporary health cultures.
Dr. Ranganathan Jothi unpacked cerebral angiography;
Dr. Shrirang Ranade detailed how 3-D imaging is transforming complex heart surgery;
D. Balasubramanian reflected on the evolutionary roots of shared laughter;
Manjeera Gowravaram highlighted early immune changes linked to rheumatoid arthritis, hinting at preventive possibilities.
Dr. Usha Humbi on Epilepsy: Combating stigma, building awareness
Afshan Yasmeen on Rise in diabetic foot condition: Doctors now employ AI for early detection
Dr. Vipin M. Vashishtha on Why Hepatitis A deserves a place in India’s universal immunisation programme
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Published – November 18, 2025 03:48 pm IST
