THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala along with Tamil Nadu has become the hub of non-communicable diseases (NCD) with the largest dominance of cardiovascular and lifestyle diseases when compared to other states. This has been revealed in the first-of-its-kind ‘’India state level disease burden’’ study. The state is said to be at higher risk of heart diseases, stroke and diabetes and the combination of these risks was highest, according to the report.
Noting that the above risks increased massively to a quarter of the total disease burden in the country in 2016, it said the risk factors have increased in every state since 1990. Despite Kerala at a higher risk for NCD, the study notes that the state was much healthier than any other state. The study was conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The report said life expectancy at birth improved in the country but there were major inequalities between states. Kerala again topped with respect to life expectancy where men enjoyed 73.8 years and females 78.7 years of life expectancy.
Kerala also tops in respect of having the lowest burden due to child and maternal malnutrition. “Even this was 2.7 times higher per person than in China,’’ the report said. Though the disease burden due to child/maternal malnutrition has dropped in India substantially since 1990, the report points out that it was still the single largest risk factor, responsible for 15 per cent of the total disease burden. It has also been pointed out that the country should give the highest priority for addressing malnutrition.
When compared to other states, Kerala also boasts of having the lowest infant mortality rate. The Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) – a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death – was lowest in Kerala and Goa.
However, the rates of unhealthy diet, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and high body mass index in 2016 were high in Kerala, the report said.
With respect to Tuberculosis, Kerala has the lowest burden but has twice the per capita burden as Sri Lanka and China. However, the report said India has an exceptionally high burden of tuberculosis contributing the largest number of new cases annually than any other country in the world.