A community based survey of congenital heart disease was carried out on a random sample of 11,833 children below 15 years in Delhi, India. Congenital heart disease was diagnosed on clinical history and/or clinical examination. Out of the examined sample, 50 were found suffering from congenital heart disease, giving an overall prevalence of 4.2/1000 (4.6/1000 in boys and 3.7/1000 in girls). The prevalence rate was slightly higher than other studies carried out in the country. The reason is obvious. The present study is community based while other studies were hospital or school based. The type of lesions were similar to those reported from other studies. The lesions in order of frequency were ventricular septal defect (46%), atrial septal defect (18%), patent ductus arteriosus (14%), Fallot's tetrology (10%), aortic stenosis (4%), and pulmonary stenosis (4%). Like other studies ventricular septal defect was the commonest lesion. The prevalence rate was higher in the age group 0-4 years and 5-9 years in boys whereas it was higher in adolescent age group (10-14 years) in girls.

Objective-To determine the prevalence and predictors of smoking in urban India.Design-Cross sectional. Setting-Delhi, urban India, 1985-6. Subjects-Random sample of 13 558 men and women aged 25-64 years.Main outcome measure-Smoking prevalence; subjects who were currently smoking and who had smoked > 100 cigarettes or beedis or chuttas in their lifetime were defined as smokers.Results-45% (95% confidence interval 43.8 to 46.2) of men and 7% (6.4 to 7.6) of women were smokers. Education was the strongest predictor of smoking, and men with no education were 1.8 (1.5 to 2.0) times more likely to be smokers than those with college education, and women with no education were 3.7 (2.9 to 4.8) times more likely. Among smokers, 52.6% of men and 4.9"!. of women smoked only cigarettes while the others also smoked beedi or chutta. Compared with cigarette smokers, people smoking beedi or chutta were more likely to be older and married; have lower education, manual occupations, incomes, and body mass index; and not drink alcohol or take part in leisure exercise.Conclusion-There are two subpopulations of smokers in urban India, and the prevention strategy required for each may be different. The educated, white collar cigarette smoker in India might respond to measures that make nonsmoking fashionable, while the less educated, low income people who smoke beedi or chutta may need strategies aimed at socioeconomic improvement.Diabetes and Arthritis Epidemiology Section,

There was high prevalence of hearing loss in the study sample. Urgent interventions are required to identify individuals with hearing loss so that its serious complications can be reduced.