BHUBANESWAR: Witnessing an alarming rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Odisha has acquired an unsolicited place among high burden states and ranked fifth in cancer prevalence and deaths in the country.
While the number of new cases and deaths due to cancer doubled in India from 1990 to 2016, Odisha has surpassed the national average on both counts. Cancer incidence in India rose from 63.4 cases per one lakh population in 1990 to 81.2 per lakh in 2016 and during the same period, cases increased from 68.6 to 83.6 per lakh in the State.
Nearly 72 persons per lakh population in Odisha lose their lives to cancer every year against the national average of around 62. Breast, stomach, colon and rectum, lips and oral cavity and cervical cancer are the top five among women of Odisha while among men, stomach, lungs, pharynx, oral along with colon and rectum cancer are the most prevalent.
The findings of the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2016 by the India State-level Disease Burden Initiative Collaborators has brought to the fore the trends in all of the major diseases and risk factors in every State using a single robust framework.
Cancer spreading fast in Odisha
The disease-specific study reports were published in the Lancet Global Health Journal on Wednesday.
The study has ranked Odisha second among high burden states in terms of stroke, 12 in diabetes and 17 in ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Odisha has registered a whopping 62.2 per cent increase in stroke cases from 399 in 1990 to 647 per lakh population in 2016 and 72.8 per cent rise in IHD from 999 in 1990 to 1,726 in 2016.
The State has also experienced a concerning rise of over 45 per cent in diabetes with prevalence increasing from 4.3 persons in a lakh in 1990 to 6.8 in 2016. There are nearly 21 lakh people suffering from the diabetes in the State, as per the estimate. Being overweight is a major cause of diabetes and Odisha scores worse on the front with 146 per cent increase from 6.8 to 16.9 per 100 persons within 25 years.
The findings proffer ample evidence towards planning state-specific strategies to control the escalating magnitude of NCDs, co-author of the collaborative study and Director, Regional Medical Research Centre Bhubaneswar, Dr Sanghamitra Pati said.
“The cumulative impact of risk factors like tobacco, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, obesity etc is showing on the fast worsening health indices. This emphasises the need for setting up effective risk factor surveillance complemented with early diagnosis and initiation of treatment. Health promotion should include weight control, healthy nutrition, tobacco cessation. Doctors including physical activity in their prescriptions along with medications could be a major step,” she said.
Strengthening primary care to deliver comprehensive services encompassing prevention, diagnosis and management is pivotal, she added.