ZCZC
BSS-11
NCD-DEATH
Non-communicable diseases becomes epidemic
DHAKA, May 31, 2019 (BSS) – Abu Taher, 45, was a financially solvent one
who had almost everything like land, pond and cash money, to lead a decent
life.
He died of a sudden cardiac arrest a few years ago, leaving his six-member
family in plight. His death had forced the future of his four school children
into uncertainty. Living in marginal Gobaria village in Kishoreganj, Taher
used to take unhealthy diet such as red meat and smoke cigarette, which
contributed to his untimely death.
One year after Taher’s death, his neighbour Abul Kasem, 38, also suffered
from a heart attack, but he luckily escaped the death that time after he was
sent to a hospital.
Kasem also used to take unhealthy diet and smoke cigarette and that is why
he has now been suffering from the chronic disease. Nowadays, he has to spend
a huge amount of money as treatment cost per month to survive from the
disease.
Like Kasem, a huge number of people in the country are suffering from non-
communicable diseases (NCDs) and many die of the chronic diseases.
NCDs, also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are
the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and
behaviours factors.
The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and
stroke, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and asthma and diabetes.
A survey report titled ‘Bangladesh NCD Risk Factor Survey 2018’ revealed
at a press conference in the capital on Wednesday showed that NCDs cause 60
percent deaths every year in Bangladesh while about 97 percent people are at
risk of NCDs.
The survey identified six risk factors of NCDs — tobacco use, consuming
less fruits and vegetables, insufficient physical activity, being overweight,
high blood pressure and high cholesterol level in blood.
The National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) under the
Health and Family Welfare Ministry with support from the Non-Communicable
Disease Control (NCDC) Division and the World Health Organization (WHO)
carried out the cross-sectional survey among adult population (aged 18-69)
across all the divisions of the country from September 2017 to June 2018.
The survey shows about 70 percent people have at least two of the risk
factors, while over 68 percent males and 73 percent females have two of the
six risk factors.
About 70 percent people of the country are suffering from high blood
pressure. Of the country’s total population, 70.8 percent have never checked
their blood glucose level. Among men, 73.6 percent have never measured blood
glucose level, while the rate among women is 68.5 percent.
Over 20 percent people are overweight, and five and a half percent of the
total population are obese, according to the survey.
Highlighting the findings of the survey at the press conference, principal
researcher Prof Dr Baizid Khoorshid Riaz said the adult people in the country
are at high risk of NCDs due to obesity, for taking extra salt and tobacco
and alcohol and taking unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.
He said about 71 percent people of the country are at risk of one or two
reasons, while most of them at risk of three or four more reasons. The survey
suggested preventing and controlling NCDs, prioritising primary healthcare,
ensuring availability of and access to fruits and vegetables round the year
through effective strategies and promoting physical activity.
Speaking at the press conference, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the
NCDs become endemic in the country as the chronic diseases cause 60 percent
deaths every year here.
As the country’s 70 percent people never check their blood cholesterol
level, he said, they do not know when they will suffer from stroke, heart
attack, diabetics and kidney failure.
NCDs disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries
like Bangladesh. People of all age groups, regions and countries are affected
by NCDs.
According to the WHO, NCDs kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to
71 percent of all deaths globally.
Each year, 15 million people die from a NCD between the ages of 30 and 69
years, while over 85 percent of these “premature” deaths occur in low- and
middle-income countries. Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths,
or 17.9 million people annually, followed by cancers (9.0 million),
respiratory diseases (3.9 million), and diabetes (1.6 million).
BSS/SPL/MRI/RY/1545 hrs