Premature Deaths in India - An analysis

An insight into premature deaths and certain related metrics

 Premature Deaths in India - An analysis

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• Adult mortality: Reducing adult mortality by 2030 is a key component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). Monitoring progress towards these goals requires timely and reliable information on deaths by age, sex and cause. Reliable measures of mortality at adult ages are required for evidence-based health policy, monitoring and evaluation of progress towards health-related United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
• Premature deaths: The different causes of premature deaths in India include -

1. Liver and alcohol related issues - These are high in the northeastern states, Bihar, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, accounting for 18% of national YLLs.
2. Cancer - The Northeastern states, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh account for 44% of India’s cancer burden.
3. Suicides - These are highest in the southern states, accounting for 15% of national YLLs (years of life lost).

• New studies: They show that 9.7 million people face premature deaths in India (2017). Premature deaths are death that occurs before the average age of death in a certain population. Premature deaths due to various causes expressed as Years of Life Lost (YLL) are unevenly distributed in terms of the burden on the states. The Years of Life Lost (YLL) is a measure of premature mortality. It estimates the years of potential life lost due to premature deaths.
• Road traffic injuries: Theses are high in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, accounting for 33% of national YLLs. More than three-quarters of premature deaths and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) occurred in rural areas, and males accounted for 54.3% of all DALYs.
• DALY: The Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) is the sum of the number of years of life lost due to premature death and a weighted measure of the years lived with disability due to a disease or injury. India had 486 million DALYs in 2017. DALY rates in rural areas of India are at least twice those of urban areas. 36% of total national DALYs arose from communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional causes, and this proportion was greater among females and rural residents.  Males accounted for 54% of all DALYs (More than half of the years lost due to death or disability from diseases and injuries were in males).
• DALY and YLL: DALYs for a disease or health condition are calculated as the sum of the Years of Life Lost (YLL) due to premature mortality in the population and the Years Lost due to Disability (YLD) for people living with the health condition or its consequences. It can be written as DALY= YLL+YLD.
• Summary: Understanding the root causes can help mitigate the burden of such deaths.
• EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the difference between premature deaths and chronic disease deaths. (2) What are NCDs in India?

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