India losing productivity worth billions of dollars due to cancer

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are losing billions of dollars in productivity due to cancer, according to a research paper published in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology. India ranks second in such losses.

The emerging economies collectively lost nearly $46.3 billion in 2012 on account of cancer-related deaths that could have been prevented with proper treatment and adequate infrastructure, said the paper.

India recorded a total productivity loss of $6.7 billion in 2012 due to cancer, representing 0.36% of the GDP. This figure is second only to South Africa which recorded $1.9 billion, comprising 0.49% of its GDP.

While the cost per death of productivity lost in India was under $20,000, the lowest among the BRICS countries, the highest productivity losses – $0.74 billion – because of the lip and oral cancers is alarming. China too recorded a loss of nearly $8 billion in productivity annually due to tobacco smoking.

"The use of smokeless tobacco, often combined with betel quid, can be attributed to almost 50 per cent of oral cavity cancers in India," said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, oncosurgeon at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.

Gender disparity in lifestyle factors such as smoking tobacco too played a big role. Smoking prevalence among males and females was found to be 23 per cent and 2 per cent respectively in India.

Dr P Gupta, director of Healis-Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, Navi Mumbai, and a co-author of the paper wrote, "The very different patterns of workforce participation by gender in BRICS countries serve to exacerbate the gender disparity in productivity losses."

In India and China, the lost productivity costs per leukaemia death are relatively high (5 per cent of the total), perhaps because of lack of access to advanced treatment, Dr Gupta said. "The costs and logistical difficulties in implementing screening and treatment programs highlight the importance of prevention in relation to cancer in the BRICS countries."

Programmes for tobacco control, alcohol control and cancer screening would go a long way in finding amenable solutions for India, researchers said.

CRIPPLING BLOW

• India recorded a total productivity loss of $6.7 billion in 2012 due to cancer, representing 0.36% of the GDP
   
• Cost per death in productivity lost in India was under $20,000
   
• The highest productivity loss – $0.74 billion – was due to the lip and oral cancers
   
• Use of smokeless tobacco, often combined with betel quid, can be attributed to almost 50 per cent of oral cavity cancers in India, say experts

Source: Journal of Cancer Epidemiology