India continues to be a global disease burden leader, after 75 years of freedom from the British Raj. Padma awardee doctors have now suggested ways to turn the country into a global healthcare leader
A group of Padma awardee doctors met to discuss methods to transform India into a worldwide healthcare leader, to focus on noncommunicable illnesses impacting the population, and to build on the health sector’s successes in the 75 years since independence.
Deliberating on the current state and rising incidence of diabetes in the country, Dr. Anoop Misra, chairman of the Fortis Centre for Diabetes, Obesity, and Cholesterol (C-DOC), stated that a 10-year commission with a dedicated mission is required to combat the diabetes epidemic because the current pattern of efforts in this direction needs to be reimagined.
“Though the National Diabetes Program has done a lot to battle diabetes in the country,” he stated, “a more organised plan is necessary to slow its rise.” Dr. Misra added to the Indian background, saying, “Younger individuals in India are acquiring diabetes, especially the fat ones, which is concerning.”
The National Diabetes Control Program established the age of 30 for diabetes screening in 2011, although given the rate of incidence, early screening and diagnosis of diabetes should begin at the age of 25.
He explained, “Lifestyle issues largely contribute to the occurrence of diabetes, and states such as Delhi and Kerala are considered to have a bad lifestyle, therefore the high rate of diabetes incidence recorded there.” Doctors discussed diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eye care, and other noncommunicable illnesses plaguing the Indian population during the recent Health4All exhibition, which was organised by HEAL Foundation and funded by Viatris.
Examining the development of eye care in India since independence, Dr Mahipal S Sachdev, ophthalmologist and head of Centre for Sight, a network of eye facilities, stated that India has achieved great progress in eye care over the previous three to four decades. The accuracy and outcome of eye care delivery has greatly improved.
He said, “Progress in the domains of cataract, refractive surgery, glaucoma, age-related retinal macular degeneration, and myopia degeneration is impending.”
Overall, eyecare in India has advanced quickly because every area of the eye can be viewed extremely well, laser therapy is accessible for precise treatment, and the reach for treatment has expanded due to advancements in diagnosis.”
Dr. Sachdev added to the advancement of technology by mentioning Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on eye care “The first way artificial intelligence has entered the field of cataract surgery is in the diagnostics of cataracts; for example, if you go to the mall and take a picture, it can determine the degree of opacity and the colour of the cataract to determine if surgery is necessary. “The use of AI may also mimic and see the quality decline of an individual’s eyesight,” he stated.
Concerning the evolution of interventional cardiology, Interventional and preventive measures
Dr. Balbir Singh, chairman of Cardiology at Max Hospitals, said, “India is at the forefront of research in cardiology internationally, but developing indigenous goods is what we are lacking and has to be addressed.”
Fainting due to arrhythmia, also known as syncope, is a sudden loss of consciousness in which anybody standing or sitting blacks out and falls owing to a loss of muscle tone. It can be as simple as in toddlers or as deadly as in adults, indicating that the person is at great risk of abrupt death. The prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has nearly doubled since the 1990s, which experts say is cause for concern. They should be looked into and treated. Syncope is one of the leading causes of sudden death. And sudden death is the leading cause of mortality in cardiac patients in India and throughout the world.”
Prof (Dr) Mohsin Wali, a cardiologist, stated that while the government has implemented several programmes to promote heart health, people are still not taking them seriously.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) performed a big survey and discovered that 45 percent of the population is inactive. “Even those who go to the gym do not focus on cardiac health; rather, they focus on bodybuilding,” Dr. Wali said. “Heart health includes rhythm disorders, vascular diseases such as hypertension, and vascular-related diseases such as strokes. Despite preventive education, there are many causes for the onset of CVDs such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, psychological stress, poor food consumption, alcohol, smoking, dyslipidaemia, and others.”
