{"id":56710,"date":"2025-10-13T22:42:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T17:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=56710"},"modified":"2025-10-15T11:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:39:12","slug":"india-disease-burden-shift-ncd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-10-2025\/india-disease-burden-shift-ncd","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Disease Burden Shifts From Infectious to Non-communicable Diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the latest <strong>Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report<\/strong> published in The Lancet, Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now account for nearly <strong>two-thirds of global deaths.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>And, from 1990 to 2023, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have <strong>increasingly become the dominant causes of death in India<\/strong>, overtaking infectious diseases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are Non-Communicable Diseases?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), or chronic diseases, are long-lasting conditions caused by a mix of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioural factors.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The major types include cardiovascular diseases (e.g., heart attacks, stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (asthma), and diabetes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Causes of the Shift<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Demographic Transition:<\/strong> Decline in fertility and rise in life expectancy makes ageing population more prone to chronic diseases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Urbanisation and Lifestyle Changes:<\/strong> Sedentary lifestyle, high-calorie processed foods, stress, alcohol and tobacco use.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental Factors: <\/strong>Rising air pollution, chemical exposure, and urban heat islands contribute to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Socio-economic Development:<\/strong> Shift from communicable disease control to lifestyle-driven diseases \u2014 \u201cdiseases of affluence.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health System Evolution: <\/strong>Success in immunisation and sanitation reduced infectious diseases \u2014 but preventive systems for NCDs lagged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<strong>Implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>High mortality : <\/strong>NCDs disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries, where nearly three quarters of global NCD deaths occur.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic burden: <\/strong>NCDs cost India nearly $250 billion in productivity loss annually (WHO estimate). Out-of-pocket health expenditure remains &gt;50%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Healthcare system pressure<\/strong>: Chronic disease management requires long-term care, diagnostics, and infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Consequences:<\/strong> Middle-aged population are affected which eventually affects working-age demographic dividend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reduced quality of life: <\/strong>NCDs often lead to disability, mental health challenges, and social isolation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Global Health Commitments: <\/strong>India\u2019s progress toward SDG-3.4 (reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030) remains slow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps Taken&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) <\/strong>supports screening, diagnosis, and treatment at district and community levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres <\/strong>promote preventive care and lifestyle counselling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-06-2022\/pradhan-mantri-bhartiya-janaushadhi-pariyojana-pmbjp\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-06-2022\/pradhan-mantri-bhartiya-janaushadhi-pariyojana-pmbjp\">Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana<\/a> <\/strong>provides affordable medicines for cardiovascular, diabetic, and cancer care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fit India Movement and Eat Right India <\/strong>encourage healthier lifestyles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Suggestions&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Experts like Dr. Soumya Swaminathan emphasizes that India&#8217;s rapid health transition, driven by delayed industrialisation, urbanisation, and globalisation, has led to an increase in NCDs.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With longer life expectancy but higher morbidity, there is now a critical need to prioritise healthy ageing and NCD prevention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Controlling NCDs requires reducing their modifiable risk factors through low-cost, effective strategies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach involving health, education, finance, and other sectors is essential for prevention and control.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/study-leading-cause-of-deaths-in-india-shifts-from-infectious-to-ncds-10303357\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In News<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">According to the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report published in The Lancet, Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now account for nearly two-thirds of global deaths.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>What are Non-Communicable Diseases?<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), or chronic diseases, are long-lasting conditions caused by a mix of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioural factors.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The major types include cardiovascular diseases (e.g., heart attacks, stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (asthma), and diabetes.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-10-2025\/india-disease-burden-shift-ncd\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":56686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/india-disease-burden-shift-ncd.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56710"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56844,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56710\/revisions\/56844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}