Is COVID-19 Sidelining NCDs?

The pandemic has affected the supervision of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) not only in terms of overshadowing their severity and hazards but also in prioritization of their therapeutic consideration. Although a number of initiatives are being carried out by the industry and government to address this, there is also the urgent need to build a national strategic framework for managing NCDs during a pandemic.

- Swati Shrivastava

India has seen a rapid socioeconomic transition in recent decades, which has resulted and reflected in a transition of disease epidemiological patterns. Mortality due to communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNDs) has seen a decline while that from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries has seen a rise. As per a study by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), NCDs contribute to 61.8 per cent deaths from major disease groups, an increase of approximately 25 per cent in the last 25 years.

With an average 9.7 million deaths in India in a year, NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer and diabetes fall in the top 5 disease groups contributing to mortality burden. NCDs continue to cast their effect while the country remains at its forefront to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has affected NCD supervision not only in terms of overshadowing their severity and hazards but also in prioritization of their therapeutic consideration.

Fear of contracting COVID-19 has forced people to stay isolated leading to postponement in seeking medical attention. Health authorities worldwide are of the opinion that coronavirus possesses higher threat to patients with comorbid conditions. For instance, underlying conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and chronic lung diseases are risk factors as SARS-CoV-2 leads to activation of the local renin angiotensin system (RAS) in lungs and heart predisposing comorbid patients to a cytokine storm.