Noncommunicable disease fatality up

Despite Bangladesh making significant achievements in reducing death from diarrhoeal diseases, the number of people dying from non-communicable diseases like heart disease and diabetes has increased over the recent years in the country, according to a study published recently in The Lancet.

The study was conducted by an international consortium of researchers, said one of the researchers, Dr Aliya Naheed, associate scientist at icddr,b's Centre for Equity and Health Systems. 

The Global Burden of Disease Study analysed trend data on diseases and mortality in 188 countries.

In Bangladesh, the mortality rate from diarrhoeal diseases decreased by a staggering 91 percent between 1990 and 2013. During the same period, deaths related to pre-term birth complications fell by 79 percent, according to an icddr,b web post.

Life expectancy in Bangladesh has improved by an average of 11.1 percent in the years since 1990 -- a better improvement than the global average, according to the study.

Regarding non-communicable diseases, the study found that the leading causes of death in Bangladesh in 2013 were stroke, ischemic heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -- these accounted for 34 percent of all deaths.

Incidents of ischemic heart disease and stroke rose by more than 400 percent and 200 percent respectively between the years 1990 and 2013 in the country. The number of deaths from diabetes also rose by more than 200 percent in the same period.

The trend of increased number of deaths due to non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh is consistent with global trends. While progress has been made globally in reducing mortality from diseases such as measles and diarrhoea, rates of ischemic heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have increased and these three diseases claimed nearly 32 percent of all deaths worldwide.