Non Communicable Disease to cause 7 of 10 deaths by 2020 in Developing Nations

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By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos.
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) will cause seven out of every 10 deaths in developing countries by year 2020, medical experts have predicted.
Dr, Femi Onanuga, Special Adviser to Lagos State governor on Primary Healthcare (PHC) disclosed this recently.
“In contemporary time,” according to him, “developing countries to which Nigeria and Lagos State form a part, are undergoing a major demographic transition with significant injuries and non-communicable diseases.”
He, therefore, stressed that increased health services and increased pressures for improving disease preventions and health promoting strategies have become imperative in the country.
“These diseases are by far the leading cause of mortality in the world, representing 60 per cent of all deaths,” Onanuga said.
Prominent among the NCDs that are ravaging the world are hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, especially breast, cervical and prostrate cancers.
Onanuga expressed concern that these diseases are more expensive to treat, pointing out that they are generally preventable if early detection os initiated.
Lagos State “being the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria” has peculiar environmental factors that predispose residents to non-communicable diseases,” he stated.
This state of affairs, he narrated prompted the state’s 4th Round State Wellness Week Awareness and Screening Programme on hypertension, diabetes and cancer.
“Many people have these diseases without remotely knowing it, hence the name ‘silent killer’”, he explained.
He regretted that hypertension causes increased incidence of sudden death especially among young people in the productive age range – that is, the mean age – 35 years.
There is a significant correlation between hypertension and diabetes on one hand and “End stage kidney disease (renal failure), stroke, heart failure, heart attack on the other hand with resultant high morbidity and mortality,” Onanuga warned
Obesity, excessive alcohol intake, heredity (run in the family), diet (heavy in take of saturated fat, salt, cholesterol and calories), smoking, age especially over 45 years), inactive (sedentary) lifestyles and lack of regular health screening are risk factors of NCDs, the health official said.

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