Chronic diseases in India account for about 53 per cent of all deaths and 44 per cent of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) with estimates of such deaths likely to register a sharp increase of over 8 million by 2020 from less than 4 million pre 2000 era, according to a paper brought out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) & ASSOCHAM.
In a paper on 'Working Towards Wellness: An Indian Perspective', it has been stated that India's loss in terms of losing potentially productive years due to deaths from cardiovascular diseases in people aged between 35-64 years is one of the highest in the world. By 2030, the loss is expected to rise to 17.9 million years which is 940 per cent more than the loss estimated in the USA.
In India, diabetic nephropathy is expected to develop in 6.6 million of the 30 million patients suffering from diabetes. Number of people with hypertension is expected to see a quantum leap from an estimated 118.2 million in 2000 to 213.5 million in 2025.
Taking the larger perspective of world scenario, the paper warns that deaths from chronic diseases worldwide are expected to increase by 17 per cent over the next 10 years, from 35 million to 41 million, caused largely by an ageing population and increasing numbers of people exposed to risk.
Deaths from infectious diseases, maternal and peri-natal conditions and nutritional deficiencies combined are projected to decline by 3 per cent over the same period.
It also points that chronic disease is not restricted to developed nations or older populations: chronic disease is growing fastest in low-income countries; almost half of those who die from chronic diseases are below 70 years of age.
In 2005, an estimated 35,000,000 people across the world died from diseases which included cardiovascular disease (stroke and heart disease), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. This is double the number of deaths from all infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, maternal and peri-natal conditions and nutritional deficiencies put together. It is also estimated that of the 64 million estimated deaths in 2015, a staggering 41 million will be from chronic diseases.
Only 3 per cent of all health expenditure in the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was directed at prevention and public health in 2004.
Between 2007 onwards and until 2030, India is likely to experience more deaths of people in the age group of 35-64 than USA, China and Russia.
As globalization and urbanization converge in India to make chronic disease a significant problem, the corporate sector needs to take a close look at effective Workplace Wellness Programmes to tackle the situation along with the Government.
Chronic diseases are not restricted to the developed world, nor do they affect the elderly people only Economic burden from the diseases are manifold and affects all levels of society including individuals, families, communities and the nation.
Effective interventions are possible at a reasonable cost and emphasis should be on primary prevention which occurs even before the disease has been detected to improve health standards without heavy reliance on a sophisticated health system, which is often not available in developing countries.
There are still a lot of gaps in existing knowledge in relation to the developing countries and there is an urgent need to find out more on the economic consequences of the diseases, public-policy rationales and the cost effectiveness of interventions.