One in four Indians suffers from non-communicable diseases

Apart from air and water-borne diseases, India today has a new threat – the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in middle and low-income groups. This isn’t a problem faced by India alone. According to a detailed report by The Economist, low-income and lower-middle-income countries are facing an emerging NCD crisis that most healthcare systems in the developing world are ill-equipped to cope with. In 2015, India reported 26.7 crore individuals suffering from NCDs.

According to the report, developing nations now face a new challenge because of the increase in non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental illness, diabetes and chronic respiratory disorders.

The January report presented by The Economist is based on extensive data analysis and desk research, complemented by five in-depth interviews with experts on NCDs.

In 2015, 26.7 crore Indians suffer from NCDs. The data is divided as follows – 6.5 crore suffer from cardiovascular disease, 2.65 crore suffer from mental illness, and 3.11 crore suffer from respiratory disorders. The numbers for cancer and diabetes were not available, an 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.

Similarly, diabetes is growing alarmingly in India, home to more than 65,1 million people with the disease, compared to 50.8 million in 2010, according to numbers provided by the International Diabetes Federation.

NCDs killed 15 million people in developing nations in 2015, which is 3.8 million more than it did in 2000. During the same period, these nations saw a 28 per cent increase in individuals suffering from NCDs. According to numbers provided by 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.

According to a report published in Global Burden of Diseases published in The Lancet on October 6, 2016, the leading risk factors are high systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, ambient particulate matter, household air pollution, and unsafe water. According to The Lancet, smoking is a bigger risk factor for Indians than even cholesterol and iron deficiency.

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 World Health Organisation, Every year, roughly 58 lakh Indians die from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes. In other words, 1 in 4 Indians risks dying from an NCD before they reach the age of 70.

Source: World Health Organisation

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 and younger people."

But the country is not watching and waiting for the burden to grow. Instead, the Government of India is taking immediate action and targeting the greatest risk factors contributing to NCDs—unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, and air pollution.

In line with WHO’s Global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020, India is the first country to develop specific national targets and indicators aimed at reducing the number of global premature deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025. A National Multisectoral Action Plan that outlines actions by various sectors in addition to the health sector, to reduce the burden of NCDs and their risk factors, is in the final stage of development.

The global action plan offers a paradigm shift by providing a road map and a menu of policy options for Member States, WHO, other UN organisations and intergovernmental organisations, NGOs and the private sector which, when implemented collectively between 2013 and 2020, will attain 9 voluntary global targets, including that of a 25 per cent relative reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025.