IN MOST states and Union territories, at least a fifth of women and men have high blood pressure, according to the National Family Health Survey (2019-20). The numbers are highest among adults in Sikkim, 35 percent of women and 42 percent of men have high blood pressure.
There are significant differences between states / UTs in the prevalence of both high or very high random blood sugar and hypertension in both women and men, experts said in a webinar organized by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) on key findings from NFHS- 5.
According to the data, 24 percent of men have high blood pressure and need medication to control it, compared with 21 percent of women. The proportion of high blood sugar levels is 15.6 in men and 13.5 in women. The results of the National Family Health Survey Round 5 NFHS-5 (2019-21) for India and 14 Phase II States / UTs were published in the form of fact sheets with key indicators on population, reproductive and child health, family welfare and nutrition, and others areas relevant to health.
NFHS-5 results across 22 states and UTs were covered in Phase I and published in December 2020. Sarang Pedgaonkar, Assistant Professor at the International Institute for Population Sciences, told The Indian Express that obesity, tobacco and alcohol consumption is high here. “These are metabolic and behavioral risk factors that lead to non-communicable diseases,” Pedgaonkar said.
Obesity was also 35 percent of women and 36.3 percent of men with a body mass index of more than 25 kg / m2.
Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal also showed high blood sugar levels in the population, the survey found.
About 27 percent of men in Kerala have high blood sugar levels, compared with 24.8 percent for women. In Goa (24 percent of men and 21 percent of women had high blood sugar levels), while the levels were the same in Tamil Nadu (22 percent of men and 21 percent of women), Andhra Pradesh (22 percent of men) and 21 percent of the Women) and West Bengal (21 percent of men and 17 percent of women).
In Kerala, 32.8 percent of men have high blood pressure compared to 30.9 percent of women. In Punjab, 37.7 percent of men have elevated blood pressure, while the percentage among women is 31.2. Men are more likely to have high or very high random blood sugar levels, as well as high blood pressure, compared to women in all states / UTs, Pedgaonkar said.
Only five states where screening for cervical cancer is greater than 3 percent. There are now only five states where screening for cervical cancer is greater than 3 percent, while six states have screening tests greater than 1 percent for breast cancer.
Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality in women, and more than a quarter of its global burden comes from developing countries. So far, more than 3 percent have been screened for cervical cancer in the states of Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, and Tamil Nadu.
In Goa, Maharashtra, Manipur, Kerala, Mizoram and Tamil Nadu, breast cancer screening is over 1 percent.
For oral cancer in women, screening is more than 1 percent in only the four states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Among men screened for oral cancer, Andhra Pradesh ranks 6 percent, followed by Sikkim, Andaman, and the Nicobar Islands (4 percent each) and Telangana and Chandigarh (3 percent each).
