A new Lancet study finds an alarming trend in India's health map: the nation has experienced an increase in deaths due to chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) between 2010 and 2019. The increase was larger, particularly among women aged over 40, with heart disease, diabetes, and strokes dominating.
Public health experts caution that lifestyle changes, an ageing population, and unequal access to healthcare are driving this trend. The study suggests that India has to double up on prevention, early detection, and improved healthcare delivery in order to stem the growing burden of NCDs.
Also read: Indian women more vulnerable to chronic disease mortality than men, finds Lancet study
What the Lancet study found
The Lancet report indicates that the chances of death from an NCD before age 80 increased in India in the last decade. The rise was especially steep among women: from 46.7% in 2001 to 48.7% in 2019. Men saw a rise as well, but the rise was less pronounced compared to women.
Globally, the trend was the opposite, though. Mortality from non-communicable diseases dropped in around 80 per cent of the countries, which is home to more than 70 per cent of the world population, from 2010 to 2019. This data shows India's exception from global advances. Experts attribute declines worldwide to improved health systems, early detection, and better treatment access, all areas India has yet to catch up with.
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Which diseases are driving the increase
Heart disease and diabetes are still the largest contributors to growing NCD deaths in India. Chronic kidney disease, which is commonly associated with diabetes, is also becoming a leading factor. Furthermore, diseases like stroke and lung cancer are still killing people at an alarming rate.
The report points out that health problems related to lifestyle are increasing in number. Unhealthy diets, inadequate exercise, and little knowledge about preventive treatment are driving the increase. If nothing is done, experts predict, the figures will keep rising.
Why are women more at risk
The research identifies that women above 40 are being affected the most. They have experienced the highest increase in deaths due to NCDs compared to men. Experts attribute this to a number of reasons, among which is delayed diagnosis, lack of access to preventive care, and social circumstances that tend to relegate women's healthcare to the bottom of the agenda.
Lifestyle changes, such as diet and occupational stress, could also be contributing to this. On the contrary, men have only shown a minimal increase in risk, attributable in part to more intensive detection and treatment in certain aspects of health care.
What India needs to do now
Health experts assert that India needs to take immediate measures to reverse this trend. More robust public health policies, early screening programmes, and greater investments in rural healthcare infrastructures are vital measures. There is also a necessity for public awareness campaigns on a large scale to persuade individuals to take timely check-ups for conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
The research also poses questions regarding the quality of India's health statistics, which are cited by researchers as "very low." This implies that the actual size of the issue could be even larger than indicated, highlighting the need for health surveillance systems to be improved.
India's rise in NCD deaths is an alarm. While most countries are actually decreasing deaths from chronic disease, India is on the opposite trajectory. Women are shouldering the burden of this reversal, and unless drastic measures are implemented, with increased access to healthcare, early diagnosis, and lifestyle modification, the situation may further deteriorate.
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