BHUBANESWAR: Stroke claims more lives of women than men in Odisha. Nearly 8 per cent of all premature deaths among women in the State is caused by stroke, surpassing men in the proportionate mortality, a study by the Million Death Study Collaborators comprising international and national researchers has found.Odisha has been included in the high burden states for female stroke deaths along with Assam, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and North-Eastern states. Stroke mortality in 30-69 age group comprised about three fifths of all cardiovascular deaths in these states against 25 per cent (pc) in the remaining low-burden states, the research published in Lancet Global Health journal has revealed.
Alarmingly, female stroke mortality in Odisha has increased fast from 6.4 pc in 2001-04 to 7.6 pc in 2010-13 even as death among males has reduced from 7.3 pc to 6.3 pc during the corresponding period. Close to 67 women in one lakh population are dying prematurely due to stroke against nearly 61 males.
“Cardiovascular disease caused more than 2.1 million deaths in India in 2015 at all ages, or more than a quarter of all deaths. At ages 30–69 years, of 1.3 million cardiovascular deaths, 0.9 million (68.4 pc) were caused by ischaemic heart disease and 0.4 million (28.0 pc) by stroke. At these ages, the probability of dying from ischaemic heart disease increased during 2000–15, from 10.4 pc to 13.1 pc in men and 4.8 pc to 6.6 pc in women. A third of premature stroke deaths occurred in the North-Eastern states, inhabited by a sixth of India’s population, where rates increased significantly and were three times higher than the national average,” the study led by Prof Prabhat Jha of University of Toronto reported.
Public health experts in the State also corroborate the findings. It is true that Odisha has got high burden of hypertension, heart attack and stroke because of high average salt intake, tobacco consumption, high carbohydrate intake and lifestyle changes in people. High incidence of diabetes as a comorbidity is also a major contributor to the rising mortality, former state nodal officer, National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), Dr PKB Patnaik said.
“Incidence of stroke in rural population of Odisha is astoundingly high with 2:1 ratio in comparison to urban areas. Lack of awareness and seriousness attached to women’s health in the society is a major factor. Most often, hypertension in women in rural society is overlooked and uncontrolled blood pressure leads to heart attack or haemorrhagic stroke and consequent fatality,” Dr Patnaik, who has worked extensively in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the State, said.
However, the spread of NPCDCS interventions that focuses on raising awareness in the community, sensitising people on prevention and population screening for NCDs is hoped to bring changes.
With early detection and better management, incidence of cardiovascular diseases and stroke will fall and many lives will be saved, he stated.