Preventive health must become a National Priority: Apollo

·/Apollo unveils its annual report – *Health of the Nation 2023 *– highlighting the prevalence andgrowthofNCDsinIndia///
·/Finds an increase in prevalence of *early risk factors *like Obesity and Dyslipidemia by 50% and 18%respectivelybetween2019and2022///
·/‘MINDHEALTH’andSleepemergeasamajorunrecognizedcontributortoNCDs///
·/Apollo also enhances *ProHealth*, a 100% doctor curated and AI-backed health program thatcaptures one’s health status, personalizes tests, predicts risks and guides on a path to wellness,offeringaone-stoppreventivehealthsolution,endingtheeraofgenerichealthchecks///
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Apollo, the world’s largest vertically integrated healthcare provider, hasreleased its annual Health of the Nation report that deep dives into the prevalence and growth ofNCDs and highlights the importance of the right preventive healthcare measures to ensure Indiastayshealthy.
*Dr Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group*, stated that /“Preventive healthcare needs tobecome a national priority. Over the past 3 decades, non-communicable diseases have become theleading cause of death and suffering, contributing to 65% of deaths in India. NCDs affect not justhealth, but also productivity and economic growth. The estimated economic burden on India isexpected be about $4.8 trillion by 2030. As the youngest and fastest growing major economy in theworld, the health of our nation is a critical indicator of our future, and the health of our people willdetermine how effectively we live up to our full potential. What we need is a proactive and highlydefinedstrategy tominimize theimpact ofNCDs. Andthe bestsolutionliesin prevention.”/
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TheincreasingtrendforNCDsandasignificantriseinearlyriskfactors
The rise in preventive screenings has also led to an increase in the diagnosis of early risk factors likeObesity and Dyslipidemia (cholesterol irregularities) among Indians across age groups. These areindication of the potential onset of chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension and a wake-upcallforindividuals tomakeearlyshiftsintheir lifestylebehaviors.
·There is a 50% increase in the prevalence of *Obesity *among Indians between 2019 and2022.
oObesity has seen an uptick in diagnosis in those less than 45 years of age by 43% andby60%inpeopleover theageof45.
·*Dyslipidemia or Cholesterol *irregularities has seen an 18% increase in prevalence amongIndiansbetween 2019 and2022
oThis is also fueled by a significant increase in its prevalence among those over 45yearsof agebymorethan35%
Along with these early risk factors, we also see a rise in the prevalence of conditions like DiabetesandHypertension.
·*Diabetes *and *Hypertension *diagnosis have seen an 8% and 11% increase respectivelybetween2019-22
oThere is also an increasing risk of Hypertension amongst Indians over 45 years, itsprevalenceindiagnosishavingincreasedfrom14%to16% inthelast3years.
oChronic stress and anxiety increase the risk of incidence of hypertension by 1.5X anddiabetes by up to 2X. Men with chronic stress have double the risk of incidence ofdiabetesthanwomen.
We administered the PHQ9 Depression Questionnaire for about 2000 people with Type 2 Diabetes atApollo Hospitals to understand their Mind Health status. Our analysis showed that with every oneunit increase in age and BMI, PHQ9 the depression score also increases. About 50% had some formdepression, and Diabetes along with any weight related comorbidity is an indicator to screen fordepression.
·The report also puts the spotlight on the importance of getting more frequent or extendedhealthtestsfor conditionsthat are*prevalentinour families***
oThe report finds that Diabetes is prevalent in 1 in 3 people with a history of theconditionin their family.
·Healthy sleepisan importantindicatorofoverallhealth.
oIn one study with 20,000 people, 47% have sleep problems and 52% haveimpairments intheirmindhealth state,and1 in3 havebothissues.
o2 out of 3 individuals do not have an optimal gap between dinner and bedtime,which is critical for good quality sleep. It is either less than 1 hour or more than 2hours,both scenariosleadingto suboptimal sleepquality.
·Impaired metabolism is also closely linked with digestive irregularities, such as gas/bloating,heaviness post-meal, burning sensation, belch/burp. The analysis found that 64% of peoplehaddigestiveirregularities,goingupto81%amongstdiabetics.
Many‘Indias’inoneIndia
Our diversity in lifestyle has led to the emergence of different NCD trends across regions, likelyimpactedbyour regional diet preferences.
·While liver diseases saw maximum prevalence in East (at 50%), its lowest impact relatively isintheSouth (28%)
·West has seen the least relatively the lowest prevalence of diabetes (15%) while South hasthehighest(27%)
·Obesitytrendshavebeensimilaracrossregions,rangingbetween22-24%
·Dyslipidemia (cholesterol) has the highest prevalence across all regions, with North seeingthemost (48%), followedbyWest(41%),East(39%) andthenSouth(37%).
Powerofprevention
/The silent epidemic of NCDs is behind 40% of all hospital stays. /While there is an increase in Indianstaking preventive screenings, these are still largely symptom led. Regular and comprehensive healthchecks, starting at a young age, can significantly reduce mortality rates, disease incidence as well asthefrequencyof hospitalvisits throughour lifespan.
There is also a need to *reimagine preventive health assessments *and design them to be moresuitable totheIndianpopulation.
Forinstance:
·The median age of *breast cancer diagnosis *from mammograms done at Apollo in the lastyear was 54-57 years; lower than that seen in mature markets (where the median age ofdetection is 62-65 years). This suggests an earlier onset of disease in Indian women,warrantingannual screeningforwomenfrom40yearsonwards.
oAccording to clinically published sources, early diagnosis through preventive checksofbreast cancer canreducemortalityratesby upto30%.
·*Undetected sleep disorders *often lead to chronic health conditions due to late diagnosis andoversightbythehealthcaresystems
oObstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is known to increase the risk of heart problems, andisoftenscreenedonlyin the obese(BMI>30)andwithneckcircumference >40cm
oApollo’s study of people with Type 2 suggests that intermediate to high risk of OSAoccurs even at a lower BMI (26) in the population screened, with a majority (91%)having a neck circumference < 40cm, thus *highlighting the need to screen for OSArigorously, irrespective of the BMI, especially for high-risk cohorts like patientswithDiabetes.*** ** Enhanced‘ProHealth’ byApollo In a bid to strengthen the preventive healthcare ecosystem, Apollo has launched an enhanced*ProHealth*, India’s most individualized preventive health program that brings together the power ofAI to help individuals stay ahead of potential NCDs. Combined with Apollo’s pioneering experience of40 years, the healthcare group has developed new technologies based on AI and ML for predictingrisk scores and developing structured lifestyle programs with new models of care that lead toimprovedclinicaloutcomes. WhatdifferentiatesProHealth: 1.ProHealthisa100%doctordesignedhealthprogram 2.It creates a first-of-its-kind health profile that determines the areas of concerns and customdesignsa uniquehealthcheck forevery individual 3.It integrates predictive health metrics through a sophisticated AI engine to determinepotentialareasofprevention 4.In addition to the results, every individual also has access to health mentors to transformtheirlifestyleandmaketheprogramtrulypreventiveineverysense Technology is transforming the approach for dealing with health risks and enabling early detection,andtherefore must beintegratedinpreventivescreenings.WithafirmbeliefthatAIandbig datawill play a key role in predicting risks and delivering personalized health solutions, Apollo’s ProHealthtoday is India's most individualized preventive health program. Apollo also strongly believes that alaundrylistoftestsisnotan effectivesolutionto gettotherootoftheproblem.Forinstance,thereisaclear data-drivencorrelationbetween/diabetes-obstructivesleepapnea-heartproblems/OR/weight related comorbidities & depression/, however generic health checks are unable to deducethese. The need of the hour is true personalization and prediction, which forms the foundation ofApollo ProHealth. Additionally, by offering convenient access to health mentors as a part ofProHealth, every individual is empowered to take charge of their own health and create a long-termandpermanent impact inthebattleoverNCDs. Apollo ProHealth is backed by a predictive algorithm that captures one’s health status, predictspotential health risks and individualizes every health check. A personal health risk assessment isdigitally available to every individual, post which they can visit the nearest Apollo facility to them toconduct thesetof customizedtests recommended for them. [gallery]