Data: Non-communicable disease deaths were rising pre-pandemic

The largest major group of diseases that caused deaths in 2015-17 were non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, same as in 2014-16.

The share of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases was increasing while those due to communicable, maternal, perinatal (relating to the foetus or a newborn) and nutritional conditions or injuries was decreasing before the pandemic, according to Sample Registration System (SRS) data for 2014-16 and 2015-17 released by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the home ministry on March 31.

The SRS data on causes of deaths released on Thursday is based on a verbal autopsy. (AFP)

The SRS data on causes of deaths released on Thursday is based on a verbal autopsy (VA). This method involves interviewing household members about symptoms, conditions, duration and anatomical site of the disease, which is later evaluated by independent physicians to assign causes of death. The survey covered 7.9 million people in 2015-17 and 7.7 million people in 2014-16 across 36 states and union territories.

The largest major group of diseases that caused deaths in 2015-17 were non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, same as in 2014-16. Such deaths accounted for 52.8% of deaths in 2015-17, 0.4 percentage point up from 2014-16.

The next biggest major group in both rounds was deaths caused by communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions – such as those caused by malaria, HIV/AIDS, or tuberculosis -- accounting for about a fifth of total deaths. The share of this group decreased 0.2 percentage point to 22% in 2015-17.

Injuries caused 10.9% of deaths in 2015-17, compared to 11% in 2014-16. Injuries on account of suicides and motor accidents accounted or 2.4% and 4% of the deaths within this category. 14.4% deaths in both rounds were caused by ill-defined conditions.

To be sure, the share of these causes of deaths were not the same for different genders or different groups of states. For example, non-communicable diseases were responsible for 54.1% of deaths among men in 2015-17, 0.5 percentage point up from 2014-16. The share of this group among women also increased by 0.3 percentage points, but only to 50.9%. Injuries were also a bigger cause of death among men (12.6% in 2015-17 compared to 12.4% in 2014-16) than among women (8.4% in 2015-17 compared to 8.7% in 2014-16).

Similarly, the group of communicable and nutritional conditions had almost twice as much share in states classified in the Empowered Action Group (EAG) and Assam (30.2%) than in other states (17.4%) in 2015-17, a continuation of the trend in the previous round. To be sure, the share of this group decreased by 1 percentage point in the former compared to 2014-16.

These statistics need to be interpreted with caution, the report says. This is because although both physicians doing the classification have to concur on the cause of death (disputes being adjudicated by a third), allowing for a reasonable profile of deaths, misclassification cannot be completely ruled out.