Women in Delhi are catching up with men in an unusual field -- avoiding burn injuries. A positive trend has reduced the burn injury burden by over 40 percent in the national capital.

According to a fresh study carried over 17,000 patients in Delhi, the male-female divide in burn injuries is almost becoming extinct. While before 2000, the ratio was five women to every four men suffering burns, after 2000, the ratio is almost 1:1.

'The awareness level among women in Delhi has increased. This is perhaps the key reason for a gradual decline of burn admissions have fallen by 43.14 percent,' R.B. Ahuja, the study's chief researcher and head of the department of burns at Maulana Azad Medical College, told IANS.

The study said while while in phase one (1993-2000), at least 1,400 people were getting admitted to the hospital every year, the number has gone down to 795 in phase two (after 2000).

'There has been a decline in the number of females getting burnt in the second phase of the study with the overall female to male ratio changing. The absolute decrease in the yearly female admissions was nearly 57 percent in the 16-35 age group,' Ahuja added.

Ahuja said that the overall mortality during phase one was 51.8 percent but with medical science's advancement and people getting more aware about the problem, the death rate has gone down to 40.2 percent.

India is hosting a two-day global burn and plastic surgery conference beginning Sunday. More than 1000 delegates from 75 countries will participate in the event aiming at disseminating knowledge to better this stream of health care.

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