40 Million Death Per Year Due to Non Communicable Disease : WHO

• Non Communicable disease are the most dangerous diseases which usually last for a prolonged period

• The driving forces of NCDs are rapid unplanned urbanisation, globalisation of unhealthy lifestyle and ageing of population

• Facts reveal that the chronic diseases start at a premature age

June 27, 2017: Non-Communicable diseases (NCD) are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behaviours factors. There are four main types of NCD namely, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases and diabetes.

According to the World Health Organization, every year 14 million people die due to the non-communicable diseases. Cardiovascular diseases are the most prominent factors for causing the maximum deaths (17 million) which are followed by cancers (8.8-million), respiratory diseases (3.9-million), and diabetes (1.6-million).

Also Read: "Dual-Disease Burden"? India's Great Healthcare Challenge and Opportunity

NCDs usually occur more in developing or underdeveloped countries and is mostly affect the people of older age groups but the facts say that the maximum number of deaths is in the age group of 30-69, which suggests that the chronic diseases start at a premature age. This makes everyone vulnerable to the diseases in form of unhealthy diet choices, no physical activity and usage or exposure to tobacco smoke or alcohol.

The driving forces of these NCDs are rapid unplanned urbanisation, globalisation of unhealthy lifestyle and ageing of the population. WHO said that the important way to put pressure on growing NCDs is by emphasising the need for reducing the risk factors associated with these diseases. Monitoring growth of NCDs and their risk is important for guiding policies by the government.

There is a need from all the sectors to come together to find ways to reduce the risks of NCDs with investing in better management of NCDs. This would include the detecting and treating these diseases and providing care to people in need and a need for high impact essential NCD interventions have also become necessary.

WHO also mentioned the importance of timely treatment saying, if a person is diagnosed early and treated, it would amount to lesser treatment costs than what would be used for advanced treatments.

Prepared by Sumit Balodi of NewsGram. Twitter: @sumit_balodi