Chronic diseases increase in India, with economic impact: experts

Chronic diseases increase in India, with economic impact: experts
Some 60 million Indians may die due to chronic diseases in the next 10 years, and economic impact of such diseases for India was $9 billion in 2005 alone, experts said at a symposium in New Delhi on Feb. 17. They detailed the data at a symposium on cardiovascular diseases, stroke and diabetes. It was part of golden jubilee year programs on science and public health of All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Federal minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss opened the two-day symposium on Friday in the presence of well known health professionals from India, USA, Canada, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and , Nepal. Dr. Ramadoss released a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) titled, "Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment." The report states that some 17 million people die prematurely each year as a result of the global epidemic of chronic diseases. In the South East Asia region alone, 54 percent of all deaths are due to chronic diseases and as many as 89 million people will die of chronic disease in the region in the next 10 years. As many as 60 million of these deaths will be in India, according to the report. Compared with all other countries, India suffers the highest loss in potentially productive years of life, due to deaths from cardiovascular disease in people aged 35-64 years (9.2 million years lost in 2000). By the year 2030, this loss is expected to rise to 17.9 million years -- 940 per cent greater than the corresponding loss in the US, which has a population a third the size of India’s. India has the world’s largest population of diabetic patients, with an estimated 19.3 million in 1995 and projected 57.2 million in 2025.