Non-communicable disease deaths were rising pre-pandemic

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 (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 in 2014-16 across 36 states and UTS. The largest major group of diseases that caused deaths in 2015-17 were noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, same as in 2014-16. Such deaths accounted for 52.8% in 2015-17, 0.4 percentage point up from 2014-16.

The next 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. 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.