In the last three decades till 2016, the country has witnessed nine-fold increase in ischaemic heart disease, four-fold in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, six-fold in stroke and four-fold rise in diabetes across the States.
As if, this is not enough. Painting the grim picture of the State-wise disease burden in the country in the last three decades, a report released here by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday noted that child and maternal malnutrition remain the single largest risk factor, responsible for 15 per cent of the total disease burden of India in 2016. It also pointed that contribution of air pollution to disease burden has remained high, with levels of exposure among the highest in the world.
As per the findings of the first ever comprehensive spread of diseases study and risk factors across every state of India from 1990 to 2016, utilising all available data, notes that every State in the country now has a higher burden from non-communicable diseases and injuries than from infectious diseases, the extent of which varies widely between the states.
A joint initiative between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry, the report says that though the disease burden due to child and maternal malnutrition has dropped in India substantially since 1990, it is still the single largest risk factor, responsible for 15 per cent of the total disease burden in India in 2016. This burden is highest in the major EAG (Empowered Action Group) States and Assam, and is higher in females than in males.
Child and maternal malnutrition contributes to disease burden mainly through increasing the risk of neonatal disorders, nutritional deficiencies, diarrhoeal diseases, lower respiratory infections, and other common infections.
As a stark contrast, the disease burden due to child and maternal malnutrition in India was 12 times higher per person than in China in 2016. Kerala had the lowest burden due to this risk among the Indian states, but even this was 2.7 times higher per person than in China. This situation after decades of nutritional interventions in the country must be rectified as one of the highest priorities for health improvement in India."
EAG comprises of eight States — Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Chhatisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal — which have lagged behind in containing population growth
The report also found that of the total disease burden in India in 1990, a tenth was caused by a group of risks including unhealthy diet, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and overweight, which mainly contribute to ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The contribution of this group of risks increased massively to a quarter of the total disease burden in India in 2016.
Speaking at the launch, Naidu said, "a systematic compilation of the burden of all diseases and the risk factors behind them is needed for each state of India to plan health and other services that address the specific situation of each state. This report by the India State-level Disease Burden Initiative provides these comprehensive estimates for each State from 1990 to 2016 for the first time in India, and offers insights into the health inequalities between the states of India.
"The findings show that the overall disease burden per person in some states of India is almost twice as much as in some other States, and the burden rate due to the leading diseases ranges five to ten times between the states."
The burden from 333 disease conditions and injuries and 84 risk factors were computed for each State of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016.