Cardiac disorder replaces diarrhoea in Bangladesh mortality statistics

New Age Online

Mortality from diarrhoeal diseases falls but more lives are lost to ischemic heart disease in Bangladesh as average life expectancy for men increased to 68.3 years while the figure 71 for women, according to global health survey report released on Thursday.‘Fewer people are (now) dying from diarrheal diseases and preterm birth complications in Bangladesh,’ according to the comprehensive analysis of trend data from 188 countries carried out by Washington University adding mortality from diarrheal diseases dropped 91 per cent between 1990 and 2013.But, it said, at the same time, a number of diseases including ischemic heart disease and diabetes now claimed more lives in Bangladesh in 2013 than in 1990, reports Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.‘Life expectancy (however) improved for both men and women in Bangladesh, at an average of 11.1 years gained since 1990. This was a larger increase than the global average, and one of the top 10 biggest gains in life expectancy worldwide,’ the study said. Published in The Lancet on December 18 was conducted by an international consortium of researchers coordinated by the .
It titled ‘Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013’.

The report identified stroke, ischemic heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or lung diseases as ‘leading killers’ in Bangladesh saying they account for 34 percent of all deaths in 2013.Ischemic heart disease and stroke were the top two causes of death for people between the ages of 15 and 49, resulting in 31,724 lives lost in 2013.Among individuals 70 and older, stroke claimed the most lives that year. The top cause of child mortality was neonatal encephalopathy in 2013, killing 28,412 children under the age of 5.In Bangladesh, ischemic heart disease and diabetes took more lives in 2013 than in 1990, with deaths increasing more than 400 percent and more than 200 percent, respectively.‘Mortality from stroke also increased more than 200 percent between 1990 and 2013,’ it said
Worldwide, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and COPD claimed the most lives, accounting for nearly 32 percent of all deaths, it said.

According to the report since 1990, Bangladesh saw marked declines in mortality from a number of diseases that used to take a large toll on the country.‘For instance, by 2013, mortality from diarrheal diseases decreased 91 per cent and preterm birth complications caused 79 per cent fewer deaths. In 1990, these diseases killed 271,569 people. Twenty-three years later, they claimed 235,859 fewer lives,’ it said.On the other hand, it said, ischemic heart disease took a greater toll on men, killing 71,375 males and 35,505 females in 2013. By contrast, stroke claimed 91,809 women’s lives and 86,545 men’s lives.‘Bangladesh has set an extraordinary example of improving health and life expectancy of its people at a very low cost, and has achieved notable gains in a number of indicators. Bangladesh has outperformed some of its neighboring countries, which have higher per capita incomes,’ said Aliya Naheed, associate scientist, Centre for Equity and Health Systems at ICDDR,B.Naheed, however, added ‘the health system has been facing enormous challenges as it caters to more than 150 million people’ and cautioned that ‘these challenges will be greater in the future as the population grows, demographics shift, and chronic diseases emerge on top of infectious diseases’.
‘The government will need to invest more in primary health care and focus on developing self-sustaining health plans for prevention of both acute and chronic diseases,’ she said.According to the health statistics in Bangladesh, the average life expectancy for women was 71 years in 2013, with men living an average of 68.3 years while by contrast, women lived an average of 59 years and men had a life expectancy of 58.2 years in 1990.