Non-communicable diseases are becoming a disaster of modern society. Unhealthy lifestyles, alcohol and tobacco abuse, fast food consumption... are causing more than 70% of deaths related to this disease.

Dangerous diseases have not received due attention

That is the information given by Dr. Truong Dinh Bac, Deputy Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine - Ministry of Health at the Conference on Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases held in Ho Chi Minh City (May 8). It is estimated that each year, there are about 520,000 deaths nationwide, of which nearly 380,000 cases are related to non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes... (accounting for about 73% of deaths).

 

Non-communicable diseases are becoming a burden on the whole society, accounting for 66% of the disease burden. Non-communicable diseases are the direct cause of hospital overload, increasing poverty and pressure on economic and social development.

The causes of non-communicable diseases are identified as being related to factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, eating a lot of fat, eating few vegetables and fruits, eating too much sweet or salty food, being lazy to exercise... This lifestyle is directly affecting the current situation of being overweight, obese, having high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol... more dangerously, the above risk factors are increasing in Vietnam.

Non-communicable diseases are becoming a top concern of the health sector, a prevention system has been established from central to local levels, however, implementation has not been really drastic. Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long commented that the prevention of non-communicable diseases has not been drastic, many people still do not have awareness of disease prevention.

In fact, 49% of the male population still smokes, 77% of the population drinks alcohol, of which 11% drink at a dangerous level, and the rate of salt consumption is twice as high as the World Health Organization's recommendation. 40% of patients with high blood pressure do not know they have the disease, while it is very simple to check if you have the disease by measuring your blood pressure. Incomplete prevention and community-based treatment are also not being done, increasing the burden of disease, increasing hospital overload, and reducing life expectancy and quality of life of the people.

The community should take proactive measures to prevent

Dr. Lokky Wai, chief representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, said that non-communicable diseases cause a huge economic burden. It is predicted that in the next 20 years, the world will lose 47,000 billion USD due to lost labor productivity caused by non-communicable diseases.

It is estimated that in Vietnam, each year, smoking causes about 1 billion USD in damage. While in developed countries, the rate of cardiovascular disease and stroke is decreasing due to good control of diabetes and early hypertension, in Vietnam, the rate of cardiovascular disease and stroke is the leading cause of death.

 

The doctor advised that many diseases can be prevented if detected early and treated effectively. If well controlled, treatment costs will be reduced, hospital overload will be reduced, and the economic burden on families and society will be reduced. To do this, there must be changes in the management of non-communicable diseases, policies, and implementation from the central to grassroots health levels.

To limit the increase and danger of non-communicable diseases, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long requested the health sector at all levels to step up prevention work, strengthen prevention communication, screen for early detection of non-communicable diseases, proactively prevent diseases for which vaccines are available, strengthen expertise and equipment in disease screening, treatment as well as palliative care in the community.

The health sector calls on people to proactively protect their health, reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and other diseases through a scientific diet, exercise, not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, and proactively having regular medical check-ups to detect diseases early, treat them promptly, and avoid dangerous complications.