Registries that track medical conditions essential for research and policymaking: Soumya Swaminathan

Social and economic determinants of health, such as inadequate access to clean water, sanitation, and working conditions, disproportionately affect women — particularly those in physically demanding jobs, said Soumya Swaminathan, chairperson, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).

Ms. Swaminathan, inaugurating the WIN-ICON 2025, a two-day conference organised by the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry chapter of Women in Nephrology India (WIN-India) on Saturday, said the increasing heat, especially in India’s most temperature-vulnerable regions, added another layer of stress and impacted women who were already at a disadvantage due to socio-economic inequalities. She also stressed the importance of registries for tracking medical conditions and their use in health research and policymaking. The lack of detailed registries in India, she pointed out, made it difficult to track disease burden and other important health metrics.

The conference saw the participation of around 300 nephrologists, researchers, and healthcare professionals from across India and abroad.

This year’s theme was ‘Practising advanced, evidence-based nephrology with impactful collaboration’.

Shyam Bansal, Secretary, Indian Society of Nephrology, said women nephrologists had been at the forefront of advancing the field.

Plethora of events

The conference featured academic sessions led by national and international faculty, panel discussions on clinical challenges, workshops on onconephrology, pathology, and dialysis technology, and a quiz competition for postgraduate students.

Arpita Ray Choudhary, president, Indian Society of Organ Transplantation, Vasundhara Raghavan, founder, Kidney Warriors, Manisha Sahay, president, WIN-India, Swarnalatha Guditi, secretary, WIN-India, Jayalakshmi Seshadri, organising chairperson, WIN-ICON 2025, and Ranjanee Muthu, organising secretary, WIN-ICON 2025, were among those present.