At least 58% of corporate staffers have one non-communicable disease: Study

48% carry risk of high cholesterol, 18% could become obese, said research by Apollo Hospitals

At least 56 per cent of corporate employees have one non-communicable disease (NCD), with 48 per cent seeing risk factors of high cholesterol and 18 per cent entail obesity risk, said a study called Health of the Nation conducted by Apollo Hospitals.

The study looked into the corporate employee data of at least 35,000 employees. There is variability across sectors, indicating that more sedentary corporate settings should consider ways to help their employees proactively reduce these risks, the study said.

“As we emerge from the shadow of Covid, it is imperative to bring the focus back on the pandemic of NCDs, a focus that faced a disruption impacting diagnosis and treatment for millions of patients.  Approach health as an investment and not as an expenditure,” said Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group .

“In India, NCDs kill 6 million people every year of which around 23 per cent are between 30-70 years of age. An analysis of the data from 380,000 responses to the COVID Scanner shows the criticality of addressing the NCD challenge using all the tools at our disposal. The data indicates a national prevalence for diabetes mellitus of around 7 per cent, over 8 per cent for hypertension, and around 2 per cent for COPD and asthma,” he added.

Key findings of the Health of the Nation 2022 report for Diabetes Mellitus show an increased prevalence in the southern and eastern parts of the country with an average national prevalence of 6.96 per cent . Urban areas showed a higher prevalence at 7.01 per cent as compared to rural areas with 6.70 per cent. The study also showed obesity in women over 35 years of age leading to poor diabetes control and increasing risk of heart disease and other complications. Data also indicated poor diabetes control in women with high cholesterol with a 0.5 increase in HbA1c diabetes marker levels.  

In Hypertension, the study showed a national prevalence of high blood pressure at over 8.18 per cent with a higher incidence in North and East India. Data also indicated that adult males between the ages of 36 to 50 years have a 36 per cent higher chance of developing hypertension than adult females in the same age range. Urban areas at 8.6 per cent showed a higher incidence as compared to rural areas with 7.58 per cent.

Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD) and asthma showed an incidence similar to global numbers at 2 per cent. Here, females between 36 to 50 years of age showed a 1.3 times higher chance of developing COPD as compared to males.