Srinagar: Experts on Wednesday called for a multi-discipline approach to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and said that the need of the hour was having as much focus on prevention as on treatment.
The takeaway of an illuminating, first of its kind discussion among a panel of experts at the ‘J&K Health Conclave’ held at SKICC in Srinagar was, “Play grounds are the vaccines against NCDs.”
Speaking at the conclave on mental health and its link to NCDs, professor of psychiatry at GMC Srinagar, Dr Arshid Hussain said that all biological problems could not have biological solutions.
“Public health policy must have a primordial component,” he said.
While recalling his stint in the Endocrinology Department of a hospital, Dr Hussain said that he was initially surprised to see that the same set of people visited the diabetes clinics, the cardiology departments, and the mental health clinics.
“It is a fallacy to think that these diseases are not linked,” he said.
Dr Hussain said that 10-25 Years of Life are Lost (YLL) to mental health issues and people do not die of mental health issues but due to accompanying non-communicable diseases.
He said that in order to reduce the burden of NCDs, it was important to make the playgrounds accessible to the young generation.
“Playgrounds are the vaccines against NCDs,” Dr Hussain said. “Humans are predisposed to walk and the reduction in physical activity is responsible for the rise in many diseases.”
He said that the public health policy should focus on children and prevention of NCDs among the new generation.
Director Tata Memorial Centre, Dr R A Badwe said that it was important to document the incidence of various cancers in J&K.
“It is not a notifiable disease but a documentable disease,” he said.
Dr Badwe said that the fact that the incidence of cancers increased from rural to semi-urban to urban areas was in itself explanatory to some extent.
He said two-thirds of cancers in Kashmir were gastro-intestinal tract cancers, lung cancer, and breast cancer.
“A lot of cancers are linked to lifestyle and diet,” he said talking about smoking and high meat content in diet.
WHO representative to India, Dr Roderico H Ofrin said that healthy choices needed to be made more accessible to people.
“Schools must have healthy foods on the canteen menu, not unhealthy items. Similarly, playing must be made an essential part of the daily routine of children in schools,” he said.
HoD Gastroenterology at GMC Srinagar, Prof Showkat Kadla said that liver diseases affected nearly one half of the patients visiting his department.
He urged the government to create Hepatology Departments in GMC Srinagar and GMC Jammu to deal with the growing concern of liver diseases.
HoD Cardiology, GMC Srinagar, Prof Khalid Mohiudin said that the fact that younger people were getting heart attacks needed to be investigated for the causes and appropriate strategies needed to be devised to address this.
HoD Social and Preventive Medicine, GMC Srinagar, Prof M Saleem Khan said NCDs were in every family and reminded the audience of their risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments.
Director NIMHANS Dr Pratima Murthy and Director Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre Dr Ashish Gulia also highlighted various facets of NCDs and their link to mental health and lifestyle.