Background Physical aging increases the sensitivity to the effects of substance use, elevating the risk for cognitive impairment among older adults. Since studies on the association of substance use with cognitive ability in later years are scant in India, we aimed to explore the factors associated with cognitive impairment especially, alcohol consumption, smoking, and chewing tobacco later in life. Methods The present research used nationally representative data from Building a Knowledge Base on Population Aging in India (BKPAI) that was conducted in 2011, across seven states of India (N=9,453). Sample distribution along with percentage distribution was calculated for cognitive impairment over explanatory variables. For finding the association between cognitive impairment over explanatory variables, binary logistic regression models were estimated. Results About 16.5 percent of older adults in rural areas consumed smoked tobacco compared to 11.7 percent in urban areas. Nearly, 23.7 percent of rural older adults consumed smokeless tobacco in comparison to 16 percent in urban areas. Alcohol consumption was high among rural residents (7.9%) than urban counterparts (6.7%). The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 62.8% and 58% among older adults from rural and urban areas respectively. Older adults who smoked tobacco had a 24 percent significantly higher likelihood to have cognitive impairment with reference to older adults who did not smoke [OR: 1.24, CI: 1.02-1.49]. Moreover, older adults who consumed alcohol had a 30 percent significantly higher likelihood to have cognitive impairment [OR: 1.02, 1.65]. It was also found that older adults who had smoked along with consuming alcohol were at risk of worse cognitive outcomes than those who neither smoke nor drink alcohol [OR: 1.56, CI: 1.21-2.00] or consumed either of them unlike consuming smokeless tobacco only. Conclusion The encouragement of older people to stop smoking and smokeless tobacco use could be considered as part of a strategy to reduce the incidence of cognitive impairment. Further, appropriate measures should be taken for the detection of early stages of cognitive decline in older individuals and efforts should be made to improve the availability and quality of care for dementing older adults.

Background: Violence against women is considered a fundamental violation of women’s human rights. According to the World Health Organization, worldwide one-third of women experience some form of intimate partner violence. The present study aims to examine the association of dowry demand and other associated risk factors with physical, sexual, or emotional violence against married adolescent girls in two major states of India by using large representative data.Methods: Understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults (UDAYA) project survey data was used for this study. The effective sample size for the study was 4893 married adolescent girls. Descriptive statistics along with bivariate analysis was performed to examine the preliminary results. For analyzing the association binary logistic regression method was used.Results: The prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual violence was 28.6%, 22.9%, and 26.1% among married adolescent girls respectively. About 44% of married adolescent girls experienced any type of violence (emotional/physical/sexual). The prevalence of violence was significantly higher among girls who reported that dowry was demanded by their husbands (emotional-54%, physical-42.1%, sexual-39.6%, and any violence-68.4%). Results show that the likelihood of any violence was 3.66 times more likely among adolescent girls who reported that dowry was demanded by their husbands than their counterparts [OR: 3.66; CI: 3.06-4.37]. Other risk factors for intimate partner violence among adolescents included justifying wife-beating, low decision-making power, having a paid job, and longer marital duration.Conclusion: The results presented in this study suggest that policies that ensure equal inheritance and property rights for women and programs that help adolescent girls retain equal power and say in their family may be necessary to reduce their vulnerability to domestic violence.