Lancet Study Warns of Rising Deaths from Chronic Diseases Among Young Indians—Here’s Why It’s Happening

India is among the top countries where chances of dying from a chronic disease like heart disease or cancer have increased among youngsters, despite the rates showing a decline in four out of every five countries in the last decade, a breakthrough analysis published in The Lancet has shown. Among youngsters in India, the report says women are hardest hit by a bigger increase in risk, mostly with heart disease and diabetes. “Deaths from most causes of chronic disease increased in India, with heart disease and diabetes contributing heavily,” read the study, led by scientists from the UK’s Imperial College, London. According to the study, where scientists worked with researchers from the World Health Organisation, they took the initiative to estimate

the risk of dying from chronic diseases for at least 185 countries. “From 2010 to 2019, the probability of dying from an NCD (non-communicable disease) between birth and 80 years of age decreased in 152 (82 per cent) of 185 countries for females and in 147 (79 per cent) countries for males; it increased in the remaining 33 (18 per cent) countries for females and 38 (21 per cent) countries for males,” the authors wrote. “Among the largest countries—regions other than high-income western countries—non-communicable disease mortality declined for both sexes in China, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, and Brazil, and increased for both sexes in India and Papua New Guinea,” they added. Across most countries, deaths due to cancer and heart disease—including heart attacks and strokes—had reduced, which were the biggest contributors to declines in death rates from chronic disease, the researchers said.

Why are Indians more prone to chronic diseases?

Experts believe the risk of death from chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart attack is rising rapidly among young Indians due to changing lifestyles, which include unhealthy diets, sedentary behaviour, and spiking stress levels – all of which are combined with genetic predispositions and the early onset of these conditions. There is a massive increase in consumption of processed foods along with extremely high rates of obesity and pre-diabetes, lack of regular health screenings, and a tendency to ignore symptoms – all of which are major contributing factors. Doctors say most youngsters usually underestimate the risks and fail to recognise the warning signs of heart disease or even high blood sugar levels. Also, many young adults do not get regular health check-ups, which allows risk factors like high cholesterol or blood pressure to go unnoticed until a major event happens. According to statistics, more than 77 million people in India live with diabetes, and the condition is increasingly affecting younger individuals – even those in their late 20s and early 30s. Type 2 diabetes damages blood vessels and accelerates the buildup of fatty deposits in arteries – a process called atherosclerosis, which significantly raises the risk of heart attacks as well. What especially concerns experts is that Indians develop diabetes even at lower body weights and younger ages than other populations, due to genetic predisposition and higher levels of visceral fat. This means that even those who appear relatively fit may be silently at risk.