New Delhi: Apollo has released its annual Health of the Nation report that deep dives into the prevalence and growth of NCDs and highlights the importance of the right preventive healthcare measures to ensure India stays healthy.
Dr Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, stated that “Preventive healthcare needs to become a national priority. Over the past 3 decades, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have become the leading cause of death and suffering, contributing to 65 percent of deaths in India. NCDs affect not just health, but also productivity and economic growth. The estimated economic burden on India is expected to be about $4.8 trillion by 2030. As the youngest and fastest growing major economy in the world, the health of our nation is a critical indicator of our future, and the health of our people will determine how effectively we live up to our full potential. What we need is a proactive and highly defined strategy to minimise the impact of NCDs. And the best solution lies in prevention.”
The increasing trend for NCDs and a significant rise in early risk factors
The rise in preventive screenings has also led to an increase in the diagnosis of early risk factors like Obesity and Dyslipidemia (cholesterol irregularities) among Indians across age groups. These are indication of the potential onset of chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension and a wake-up call for individuals to make early shifts in their lifestyle behaviors.
There is a 50 per cent increase in the prevalence of Obesity among Indians between 2019 and 2022
Obesity has seen an uptick in diagnosis in those less than 45 years of age by 43 per cent and by 60 per cent in people over the age of 45
Dyslipidemia or Cholesterol irregularities has seen an 18 per cent increase in prevalence among Indians between 2019 and 2022
This is also fueled by a significant increase in its prevalence among those over 45 years of age by more than 35 per cent
Along with these early risk factors, we also see a rise in the prevalence of conditions like Diabetes and Hypertension.
Diabetes and Hypertension diagnosis have seen an 8 per cent and 11 per cent increase respectively between 2019-22
There is also an increasing risk of Hypertension amongst Indians over 45 years, its prevalence in diagnosis having increased from 14 per cent to 16 per cent in the last 3 years
Chronic stress and anxiety increase the risk of incidence of hypertension by 1.5X and diabetes by up to 2X. Men with chronic stress have double the risk of incidence of diabetes than women
Apollo administered the PHQ9 Depression Questionnaire for about 2000 people with Type 2 Diabetes at Apollo Hospitals to understand their Mind Health status. The analysis showed that with every one unit increase in age and BMI, PHQ9 the depression score also increases. About 50 per cent had some form depression, and Diabetes along with any weight related comorbidity is an indicator to screen for depression.
The report also puts the spotlight on the importance of getting more frequent or extended health tests for conditions that are prevalent in our families
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