Stats SA has warned that deaths from chronic medical conditions have increased, its latest report showing that mortality linked to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic lower respiratory diseases, had risen a startling 58.7% over 20 years.
The agency said these chronic conditions, or non-communicable diseases (NCDs), required urgent targeted interventions to ease the burden on health systems, reports BusinessLIVE.
WHO research has shown that factors like urbanisation, sedentary lifestyles, and unhealthy dietary habits – too much salt, high sugar intake and fatty foods, inadequate intake of fibre, fruit and vegetables, tobacco use and rising obesity rates – had contributed to this upsurge
Looking at data between 1997 and 2018, Stats SA said the median age of death was 65 for males and 69 for females.
Deaths from cardiovascular diseases (heart attacks and strokes) increased steadily in 2008-18, accounting for 12.9% in 2008, and 17.6% in 2018. Black Africans had the highest age-standardised mortality rates at 203.46 per 100 000, followed by Indian/Asian and coloured population groups, at 170.63 and 168.23 per 100 000 respectively.
The white population group had the lowest age-standardised mortality rates overall, at 111.14 per 100 000 in 2018.
A leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases is hypertension, or high blood pressure. South Africa has one of the highest levels of overweight and obesity in the world, which is a contributing factor for heart disease.
The number of deaths from diabetes increased 36.5% in the period. In 2018, the age-standardised mortality rate for diabetes was 62.86 deaths per 100 000 midyear population.
The Indian/Asian population group had the highest, while the white population group had the lowest. The coloured and black African population groups had lower but increasing age-standardised mortality rates than the Indian/Asian population group.
Chronic lower respiratory diseases accounted for 2.4% of all causes of mortality in 2008, and their contribution increased to 3% in 2018. Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases accounted for the majority at 62%, followed by asthma at 22.3% and status asthmaticus at 5.4%.
Males accounted for the majority of deaths at 60.2%.
Efforts to tackle NCDs have evolved, with a notable shift towards preventive strategies, Stats SA said.
“Health education campaigns, policy interventions and public health initiatives focusing on promoting a healthier lifestyle, early detection and regular health check-ups have shown promise in curbing the spread and impact of NCDs.
“Regular screening for NCDs at health facilities needs to be reinforced to ensure timely diagnosis and monitoring of patients to ensure that they are under control.”
STATS SA Report-03-08-012018BusinessLIVE article – Chronic diseases are on the rise, says Stats SA (Open access)
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