Disease burden initiative in India
The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative is a collaboration between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), IHME, and experts from across India.
Photo by Adnan Abidi, Reuters.
What are the major findings?
The per person disease burden, measured as disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rate, dropped in India by 36% from 1990 to 2016, but there are major inequalities among the states with the per person DALY rate varying almost two-fold between them.
- The results show that non-communicable diseases and injuries together have overtaken infectious and childhood diseases in terms of disease burden in every state of the country, but the magnitude of this transition varies markedly between the poor states and the wealthier states.
- In the wealthiest states, this transition took place about 30 years ago, but in the poorest states this transition has taken place only over the past few years.
- It is important to note, though, that diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory infections, iron-deficiency anemia, neonatal disorders, and tuberculosis still continue to be major public health problems in many poorer northern states.
The contribution of most major non-communicable disease categories to the total disease burden has increased in all states since 1990. These include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health and neurological disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, cancers, and chronic kidney disease.
The contribution of injuries to the total disease burden has also increased in most states since 1990, with the leading ones being road injuries, suicides, and falls.
Overall, the state-specific DALY rates for many leading individual disease conditions vary five- to 10-fold between the states, and major differences are also observed for individual diseases between neighboring states that are at similar levels of development.
The study highlights undernutrition, air pollution, and a group of risks causing cardiovascular disease and diabetes as the major risk factors contributing to health loss in the country.
A group of risk factors including unhealthy diet, high blood pressure, high fasting plasma glucose, high cholesterol, and overweight have increased in every state of India; these risks together now contribute a quarter of the total disease burden in the country.
GBD India Compare
Photos from the dissemination of findings
Findings from the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative were presented at an event hosted in New Delhi on November 14, 2017. Many national and state-level policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders participated in this event.
Release of the report of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative
Honorable Vice-President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, Shri J P Nadda, Smt Anupriya Patel; Dr Vinod Paul; Shri J V R Prasada Rao; Dr Soumya Swaminathan; Dr K Srinath Reddy; Dr Christopher Murray; and Dr Lalit Dandona.
Honorable Vice-President of India Shri M Venkaiah Naidu discusses health trends
Honorable Vice-President of India Shri M Venkaiah Naidu discusses the changing health trends in India, the major health status differences between the states of India described in the report, and the need for evidence-based health planning.
Release of the report of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative
Honorable Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare of India Shri J P Nadda talks about the need for planners and experts in each state to use the findings in the report and to engage with the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative.
Honorable Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel discussing the need for state-level policy
Smt Anupriya Patel, Honorable Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, discusses how the findings highlight that states require quite different policy approaches according to the nature of the disease burden and risk factors each state is facing.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan provides an overview of the Initiative
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Director-General of ICMR, provides an overview of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative.
Dr Lalit Dandona presents key findings
Dr Lalit Dandona, Director of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative, who is Distinguished Research Professor at PHFI and Professor at IHME, presents the key findings of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative.
Dr K Srinath Reddy delivers the vote of thanks
Dr K Srinath Reddy, President of PHFI, delivers the vote of thanks and concluding remarks at the dissemination event of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative.
India country profile
Country profiles provide an overview of findings from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), including forecasts for population size, life expectancy, causes of death, and more. They are generated using over 80,000 data sources to produce the most scientifically rigorous estimates possible.
View India profile
