Premature deaths in India: Study

An analysis published in The Lancet Global Health, which looked at about 9.7 million deaths in India in 2017, found that every condition that was common in one part of India was uncommon elsewhere. The Northeastern states, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh account for 44% of India’s cancer burden . In 2017, India had 486 million DALYs (disability-adjusted life years, a measure of the number of years lost due to ill health or disability). The ratio of DALYs to the 9.7 million deaths was about 50 to 1. More than three quarters of deaths and DALYs occurred in rural areas, and males accounted for 54·3% of all DALYs. At all ages, the DALY rate per 100 000 population was 36,300, but rates were higher among rural residents and among males. DALY rates in rural areas were at least twice those of urban areas for certain conditions. The study funded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, included authors from the Indian Council of Medical Research, and from the global health research wings of the University of Toronto and University of California, San Francisco.