The results, reported last week, highlight significant trends common to all states as well as important differences between them. The per person disease burden, from all causes, dropped by 36 per cent in the same period. States in early stages of the health transition were coping with both the persisting challenge of infectious, nutritional and pregnancy-related health threats and the rising magnitude of non-communicable diseases. These data, of time trends and inter- state variations, highlight the need to develop specific strategies to address the major contributors to disease burden within each state. The broad national agenda should be elimination of malnutrition, reduction of child and maternal mortality, control of infectious diseases and containment of risk factors contributing to non-communicable diseases.

Source: Indian Express November 24, 2017 18:45 UTC