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Heart disease, stroke among top killers in India

India has witnessed an alarming rise in the occurrence of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancers in the past 25 years, a series of new studies published on Wednesday in The Lancet and its associated journals have revealed.
Detailed estimates of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and suicide show that their prevalence has gone up in every Indian state between 1990 and 2016, but there is vast variation among states.
Detailed estimates of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and suicide show that their prevalence has gone up in every Indian state between 1990 and 2016, but there is vast variation among states.
The prevalence of heart disease and stroke has increased by over 50% from 1990 to 2016 in India, with an increase observed in every state. The contribution of these diseases to total deaths and disease burden in the country has almost doubled in the past 25 years. Heart disease now is the leading individual cause of disease burden in India, and stroke is the fifth leading cause.
Heart disease and stroke together contributed to 28·1% of total deaths in India in 2016 —compared with 15·2% in 1990. Heart disease contributed 17·8% of total deaths and stroke contributed 7·1% of total deaths. The proportion of deaths and disability from heart disease was significantly higher in men than in women, but was similar among men and women for stroke. Deaths due to cardiovascular diseases rose from 13 lakh in 1990 to 28 lakh in 2016.
The number of prevalent cases of cardiovascular diseases has increased from 2.57 crore in 1990 to 5.45 crore in 2016. The prevalence was the highest in Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, and West Bengal.
More than half of the total cardiovascular disease deaths in India in 2016 were in people younger than 70 years. “This proportion was the highest in less developed states, which is a major cause for concern with respect to the challenges posed to the health systems. Reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases in the economically productive age groups requires urgent action across all states of India,” the researchers have observed.