Non-communicable diseases (NCD) cause 60 percent deaths every year in Bangladesh, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said yesterday.

The minister said this during a press conference on publishing a survey report titled “Bangladesh NCD Risk Factor Survey 2018” at his office.

The six risk factors of NCD are: tobacco use, consuming less than five servings of fruits and vegetables on average per day, insufficient physical activity, being overweight, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the minister said.

Around 70 percent Bangladeshis have at least two of the risk factors. Over 68 percent male and 73 percent of the female population have two of the six risk factors, according to the survey.

Seventy percent people of Bangladesh are suffering from high blood pressure, the minister also revealed.

Of the total population, 70.8 percent have never checked their blood glucose level. Among men, 73.6 percent have never measured blood glucose level; among women, that ratio is 68.5 percent. 

A little over 20 percent of Bangladeshis are overweight, and five and a half percent of the total population are obese, the survey reveals.

The cross-sectional survey was carried out from September 2017 to June 2018 among adult population (aged 18-69) across all the divisions of Bangladesh, said Prof Baizid Khoorshid Riaz, director of National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine.

Non-communicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors, the minister said.

Globally more then 70 percent deaths occur due to these diseases, he added.

Therefore, information on and determinants of those diseases and their risk factors are essential for launching appropriate community programmes to reduce mortality and to prevent disabilities from the NCDs, Prof Baizid said.

The survey report recommends preventing and controlling NCDs, prioritising primary healthcare, promoting availability of and access to fruits and vegetables round the year through effective strategies, and promoting physical activity, among others.