Non-communicable diseases cause 61% of deaths in India: WHO report

Cardiovascular Diseases Most Lethal Killers

Nearly 61% of deaths in India are now attributed to non-communicable diseases (NCDs),

including heart disorders, cancer and diabetes, according to data released by the World

Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday .Almost 23% of the population is at risk of

premature death due to such diseases.

The UN agency has warned countries, including India, against premature deaths caused by

NCDs and said governments must immediately step up efforts to tackle them. “Limited 

national progress has been made in the fight against NCDs -primarily cardiovascular and

chronic respiratory diseases, cancers and diabetes -which are the world's biggest killers, and

claim the lives of 15 million people aged 30 to 70 years annually,“ the WHO said.

According to the data, NCDs are responsible for 70% of deaths worldwide. In India, diseases

like cancer, diabetes and heart problems were estimated to have killed a total of 58,17,000

people in 2016. While the percentage of deaths from NCDs is still lower in India as compared

to many other countries, experts are concerned the burden is rapidly increasing because of

changing lifestyles and factors like pollution, and tobacco and alcohol consumption.

Four risk factors responsible for a significant proportion of these diseases are tobacco use,

unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and harmful use of alcohol. The major metabolic risk

factors are obesity , raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose and raised blood cholesterol

levels, the report says.

Cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, and hypertension) contribute to 45%

of all NCD deaths, followed by chronic respiratory disease (22%), cancer (12%) and diabetes

(3%).

Cancer, diabetes and heart diseases alone account for 55% of all premature deaths in India in

the age group of 30-69 years.

“Bolder political action is needed to address constraints in controlling NCDs, including the

mobilisation of domestic and external resources and safeguarding communities from

interference by powerful economic operators,“ said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 

director general of WHO.

Of late, the health ministry has initiated several measures to tackle the increasing burden of

NCDs. For instance, the ministry has started a massive free door-to-door screening

programme for early detection of cancer, heart disorders and diabetes. The programme,

flagged off in February , aims to cover 200 districts by 2018.The government has also started

schemes to set up cancer centers across the country. While 31 such hospitals have already

been built, 49 more are to be set up by 2020.

Source : The Times of India