Heart disease Goa’s biggest killer: Study

Heart disease Goa’s biggest killer: Study
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: Majority of deaths in the state are related to lifestyle diseases. Of the six or seven persons who die in state everyday, majority die either due to cardio vascular ailments, diabetes or alcholic liver diseases.
Cardio vascular diseases continue to be the biggest killer, followed by infections, diabetes and alcoholic liver diseases. Meanwhile, people dying from accidents every year is as low as 10 percent, followed by cancers and respiratory tract diseases at 6 percent.
The good news is that while 20.7 percent patients admitted in the hospital died due to cardio vascular diseases in 2005, the percentage has come down to 18.6 percent in 2007. But the bad news is that death due to infections has gone up from 11.4 percent in 2005 to 16.7 percent in 2007 and people dying of diabetes in 2005 was 8.3 percent, while in 2007 was 12.2 percent.
Percentage of deaths due to alcoholic liver diseases and accidents has remain unchanged at 10 percent in the last three years. Meanwhile, the deaths due to respiratory tract diseases has come down from 6.9 percent in 2005 to 5.72 percent in 2007 and deaths due to cancer has shot up from 3.9 percent in 2005 to 5.5 percent in 2007.
This is revealed in a study conducted by the pathology department of GMC and is based on the deaths that occur at Goa medical college and hospital. These deaths are discussed in the monthly meetings held at GMC by doctors to ascertain the cause of death.
“Majority of deaths are due to lifestyle diseases. We need to create more awareness about lifestyle diseases amongst the population,” said Dr Wiseman Pinto, who has conducted the study.
Explaining the type of cardiovascular diseases that kill people Dr Pinto said that hypertension, congestive cardiac failure and stroke are the most common factors. The infections that lead to a patients death are tuberculosis, HIV, viral infections, septicemia, leptospirosis, malaria, dengue and rabies and the alcholic liver disease death is caused mainly due to cirrhosis, hypertension, gastrointestinal bleeding and hepatic coma
The fact remains that most of these diseases are also linked with obesity and the doctors in the state had been insisting that obesity is a significant and growing diasease amongst Goans, terming it a ‘silent killer’. The percentage of women who are overweight or obese is 27 percent as compared to India’s 14.8 percent. Even men are not far behind. The percentage of Goan men who are obese or overweight is 20.8 percent as compared to India’s 12.1 percent, as reported in the Health Intelligence Bureau report, 2007, of the Directorate of Health Services.
“Prevention is better than cure. People need to give up their sedantary lifestyle and walk or exercise, avoid getting stressed, eat vegetarian food, avoid alcohol and smoking. Pollution caused due to mining is also a matter of concern,” said Dr Pinto.

2008 Jul 24 Times Of India Goa