Importance of Non- Communicable Diseases
(source: NPCDCS)
India is going through rapid demographic, environmental and lifestyle related transitions. This has resulted into significant transitions in magnitude and pattern of diseases across the country. While communicable diseases and reproductive and nutritional disorders are on the decline, there is upsurge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including heart diseases, chronic lung diseases, cancer and diabetes. 60% of deaths are caused by NCDs in India. More than half of deaths due to NCDs are pre-mature affecting productive population.
Our Effective control of NCDs is important due to social and economic implications caused by premature deaths and disabilities. Hypertension and diabetes are two leading NCDs in terms of magnitude as one in four adults has high blood pressure and one in ten has high blood sugar in the country. As these diseases are generally “silent” for many years, it is important to identify them at early stages though screening. Similarly, cancers need to be detected early as these may be curable in initial stages. It was with this background that decision was taken to organize population based screening for Diabetes, Hypertension and common cancer.
Burden of CVD in India (source: NPCDCS)
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally; taking an estimated 17.9 million lives (32% of global deaths) each year (WHO, 2022). Heart attacks and Stroke account for 85% of these deaths. The mortality and morbidity due to Myocardial Infarction accounts for more than 15% mortality per year among STEMI and Non-STEMI patients. The ischemic heart disease/ STEMI is the highest-ranking cause of premature death in terms of number of years of life lost.
In India, CVDs are estimated to account for about 28.1% of deaths. Ischemic Heart Diseases and Strokes account for 80% of all CVDs. Contribution of CVDs to Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) is also highest at 14.1%, including 8.7% DALYs caused by Ischemic Heart Diseases (IHD) alone. STEMI is estimated to account for more than 2.5 million cases annually in India (approximately 40% of myocardial infarctions)