Apollo’s annual report lays thrust on preventive health, calls it a national priority

New Delhi: Apollo Hospital Group has released its annual Health of the Nation report that deep dives into the prevalence and growth of NCDs and highlights the importance of the right preventive healthcare measures to ensure India stays healthy.

Dr Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, stated that “Preventive healthcare needs to become a national priority. Over the past 3 decades, non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death and suffering, contributing to 65% of deaths in India. NCDs affect not just health, but also productivity and economic growth. The estimated economic burden on India is expected be about $4.8 trillion by 2030. As the youngest and fastest growing major economy in the world, the health of our nation is a critical indicator of our future, and the health of our people will determine how effectively we live up to our full potential. What we need is a proactive and highly defined strategy to minimize the impact of NCDs. And the best solution lies in prevention.”

The increasing trend for NCDs and a significant rise in early risk factors

The rise in preventive screenings has also led to an increase in the diagnosis of early risk factors like Obesity and Dyslipidemia (cholesterol irregularities) among Indians across age groups. These are indication of the potential onset of chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension and a wake-up call for individuals to make early shifts in their lifestyle behaviours. There is a 50% increase in the prevalence of Obesity among Indians between 2019 and Obesity has seen an uptick in diagnosis in those less than 45 years of age by 43% and by 60% in people over the age of 45.

Dyslipidemia or Cholesterol irregularities has seen an 18% increase in prevalence among Indians between 2019 and 2022 This is also fueled by a significant increase in its prevalence among those over 45 years of age by more than 35%

Along with these early risk factors, it also sees a rise in the prevalence of conditions like Diabetes and Hypertension. The diagnosis of these diseases has seen an 8% and 11% increase respectively between 2019-22.

There is also an increasing risk of Hypertension amongst Indians over 45 years, its prevalence in diagnosis having increased from 14% to 16% in the last 3 years.

Chronic stress and anxiety increase the risk of incidence of hypertension by 5X and diabetes by up to 2X. Men with chronic stress have double the risk of incidence of diabetes than women.