Cardiovascular diseases are still the predominant cause of deaths in India, accounting for close to one-third of total deaths, as per the recently released Report on Causes of Death: 2021–2023 by the Registrar General of India under the Sample Registration Survey (SRS).
The report, which was made public on Wednesday, indicated that NCDs ranked as the leading cause of mortality, accounting for 56.7% of total deaths. Communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional conditions contributed to 23.4%, compared to 55.7% and 24% in the years 2020–2022, which were affected by COVID.
Cardiovascular Disease Remains on Top
Cardiovascular disease as a single entity accounted for 31% of deaths, remaining India's most killing health challenge. It was followed by
- Respiratory infections (9.3%)
- Malignant and other neoplasms (6.4%)
- Chronic respiratory diseases (5.7%)
- Digestive diseases (5.3%)
- Fever of unknown origin (4.9%)
- Unintentional injuries other than road accidents (3.7%)
- Diabetes mellitus (3.5%)
- Genitourinary diseases (3%)
The report also indicated that injuries accounted for 9.4% of the deaths, and ill-defined causes accounted for 10.5%, an indication of gaps in health diagnosis and data.
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Age-Specific Trends
Causes of mortality differ widely across age groups. For young people between 15–29 years, the top cause was intentional injuries (suicide). For people above 30 years, cardiovascular diseases became the top cause.
What Are the Greater Implications for Health
Experts in health indicate the results indicate India's increasing dual disease burden, where infectious diseases continue to persist but lifestyle-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancers are increasingly exerting their impact.
The report of SRS is based on direct reporting and gives a thorough analysis of mortality patterns with respect to age, sex, residence, and geographic zone, providing useful information for public health planning.