As per a new study, published in the medical journal The Lancet in October 2020, air pollution, high blood pressure, tobacco use, poor diet, and high blood sugar were the top five risk factors for deaths in India in 2019. The latest disease estimates, which are part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, showed that air pollution contributed to an estimated 1.67 million deaths, followed by high blood pressure (1.47 million), tobacco use (1.23 million), poor diet (1.18 million), and high blood sugar (1.12 million).
The researchers analysed 286 causes of death, 369 diseases and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories. It was observed that the interaction of Covid-19 with the continued global rise in chronic illness, including obesity, high blood sugar, and outdoor air pollution over the past 30 years has fuelled the number of Covid-related deaths.
In 2019, ischaemic heart disease with 1.52 million deaths, followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (8,98,000), stroke (6,99,000), diabetes (2,73,000), and cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases (2,70,000) were the leading contributors to deaths caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India.
According to the report, life expectancy in India has increased by more than a decade since 1990, rising from 59.6 years to 70.8 years in 2019—ranging from 77.3 years in Kerala to 66.9 years in Uttar Pradesh. But the increase in healthy life expectancy in India (60.5 years in 2019 has not been as dramatic as the growth of life expectancy), which means people are living more years with illness and disability.
Despite making considerable progress in health since 1990, child and maternal malnutrition remained to be the top risk factor for illness and death in India. Air pollution was found to be the second leading risk factor.
According to the researchers, the greatest cumulative impact on health comes from the striking rise in metabolic risks like high blood sugar, hypertension, and high cholesterol, which have risen 1.5 per cent a year since 2010, and account for nearly 20 per cent of total health loss worldwide in 2019.
The study noted that these metabolic risks have grown significantly by 50 per cent since 1990, and are responsible for a huge number of deaths globally— with high blood pressure contributing to 1 in 5 deaths (almost 11 million) in 2019, followed by high blood sugar (6.5 million deaths), high BMI (5 million), and high cholesterol (4.4 million).
Citing an example, the researchers said 58 per cent of the total disease burden in India is now due to non-communicable diseases, up from 29 per cent in 1990, while premature deaths due to NCDs have more than doubled from 22 to 50 per cent.
According to the study, hypertension is the third leading risk factor after air pollution, responsible for 10-20 per cent of all health loss in eight states in India, primarily in the south.
As per the lead author of the study, most of these risk factors are preventable and treatable, and tackling them will bring huge social and economic benefits. Unhealthy behaviours, particularly those related to diet quality, caloric intake, and physical activity, need to be changed.
Courtesy: Times Now, Oct 16, 2020; Financial Express