The January report by The Economist presents extensive data, complemented by five in-depth interviews with experts on NCDs.
Indian health sector has a new threat — the rise of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in middle and low-income groups. According to a detailed report by The Economist, low-income and lower-middle-income countries, including India, are facing an emerging NCD crisis that most healthcare systems in the developing world are ill-equipped to cope with.
These non-communicable diseases include cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental illness, diabetes and chronic respiratory disorders.
The January report by The Economist presents extensive data, complemented by five in-depth interviews with experts on NCDs.
As per data from 2015, 26.7 crore Indians suffer from NCDs. Of these, 6.5 crore suffer from cardiovascular disease, 2.65 crore suffer from mental illness, and 3.11 crore suffer from respiratory disorders. While the numbers for cancer and diabetes were not available, Indian Council of Medical Research report in 2016 suggested that the country is likely to have over 17.3 lakh new cases of cancer and over 8.8 lakh deaths due to the disease by 2020 with cancers of breast, lung and cervix topping the list.
India is also home to more than 65.1 million people with diabetes, according to numbers provided by the International Diabetes Federation. In 2010, this figure stood at 50.8 million.
A report on Global Burden of Diseases published in The Lancet on October 6, 2016 lists high systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, ambient particulate matter, household air pollution, and unsafe water as the leading causes for NCD. The Lancet said smoking is a bigger risk factor for Indians than even cholesterol and iron deficiency.
As per figures in The Economist report, of all the people who die from NCDs in lower-middle-income countries, one-half are under the age of 70 and 25 per cent are younger than 60.
Iron-deficiency anaemia is the leading cause of years lived with disability in the case of India, followed by lower back and neck pain, sense organ diseases, and depression.
According to data provided by the WHO, about 58 lakh Indians die from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes every year. That makes one in four Indians at risk of dying from NCD before they reach the age of 70.
In a 2015 report, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asian Region, said, "heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases now affect younger people."
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