The prevalence of chronic diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and mental illness is increasing at an alarming rate according to a recent study of department of health.
Like other countries in the world, one-third of people are at risk of two or more chronic diseases.
These diseases are behind 5,80,000 deaths per year in the country, which is 67 percent of total deaths.
The information was disclosed in a recent report of the Department of Health.
Additional Director General (Planning and Development) Professor Dr AHM Enayet Hossain said, “Eating inadequate vegetables and fruits, low physical exercise, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, alcoholism, tobacco consumption, etc., were identified as risk factors for such diseases.”
Therefore, most diseases can be prevented if people become aware at the early stage, he pointed out.
The study also revealed that 30 per cent of fatality is caused by heart disease, 12 per cent cancer, 10 per cent breast cancer, 3 per cent diabetes and 12 percent by other diseases.
In this regard, health expert Dr Mahbubul Alam said, “Treatment of long-term diseases is expensive. So, every year millions of people go below the poverty line in order to meet the medical cost. Many patients go to India for better treatment”
It severely disrupts the socio-economic development of the country. That is why non-communicable diseases need to be considered very seriously for attaining sustainable development goals, he added.
Earlier, health minister Zahid Maleque said, at present, people infected with various diseases including cancer, diabetes and cirrhosis are seen almost at every home. The main reason for this is unscientific lifestyle.”
The minister suggested that people should not consume heavy fat, oils and sugary foods.
Medical Specialist Motaleb Ahmed at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) said, ‘most of the people do not exercise, neither take proper food at the right time. As a result, these diseases have become common in our society.”
So now there is no alternative to public awareness, besides the government should also take multi-dimensional plan for the prevention and control of these fatal diseases, he added.
According to the World Health Organization recommendations - the reasons for non-communicable diseases are tobacco consumption, smoking, unhealthy oily foods, excess salt, physical inactivity, alcoholism, etc.
If these behaviours exist in someone's lifestyle, then they will be more prone to suffer from various diseases.
Since these long-term diseases occur once in a lifetime, we should place more emphasis on preventing them rather than curing. If everyone in society, the media, political, social and religious leadership work together only then will there be success in dealing with the emerging epidemic of both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
