Probability of death by NCDs high in India: WHO

January 20, 2015 04:17 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 05:20 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

The probability of death between 30 and 70 years from four main non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — heart, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases — in India is 26 per cent, says the World Health Organisation.

In a report that flags the threat that NCDs pose to health, the WHO noted that 60 per cent of the 9,816,000 deaths in India in 2014 were on account of NCDs.

The highest number of deaths at 28 per cent was attributed to communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions, followed by cardiovascular diseases (26 per cent), chronic respiratory diseases (13 per cent), injuries (12 per cent), other NCDs (12 per cent), cancer (7 per cent) and diabetes (2 per cent).

In South-East Asia, the number of deaths on account of NCDs stands at 8.5 million and is expected to grow.

“While non-communicable diseases are a global public health challenge, nearly three quarters of the deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The problem is growing, particularly in the South-East Asia Region, where two of three deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases. Nearly half of deaths due to non-communicable diseases occur in the 30 to 70 year age group,” the WHO said in a statement.

Highlighting the risks, the WHO says a 30-year-old person living in the South-East Asia Region has 25 per cent chances of dying from one of the four main NCDs before his or her 70th birthday.

Pointing out that most of the premature NCD deaths are preventable, the WHO has suggested promoting “simple lifestyle changes and diet modifications” to prevent NCDs.

The recommendations include banning all forms of tobacco and alcohol advertising, reducing salt consumption, replacing transfats with polyunsaturated fats, promoting and protecting breastfeeding, early detection and treatment of high blood pressure and preventing cervical cancer through periodic screening.

The WHO report cautions that death toll owing to NCDs would mount to 52 million by the year 2030 from 38 million in 2012. “All governments must commit and set national NCD targets this year and implement policy and cost-effective interventions for prevention and control of major NCDs,” the report says.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.