vietnamnet.vn

“Non-communicable diseases are diseases that are not spread through infection or through other people, but are typically caused by unhealthy behaviours. They are the leading cause of death worldwide and present a huge threat to health and development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.”Four types of non-communicable diseases account for over two thirds of deaths globally: Cardiovascular diseases, Cancers, Diabetes, Chronic respiratory disease” IFRC.org

Roughly 23 million Vietnamese people are suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that are the leading cause of death in the country, revealed Prof. Nguyen Lan Viet, vice president of the Vietnam National Heart Association.

Viet quoted statistics compiled by the Ministry of Health in 2021 and Globocan, an online database providing global cancer statistics, saying 17 million local people were suffering from high blood pressure, 4.6 million having diabetes, 1.5 million having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 354,000 living with cancer.

He said NCDs typically cause 80% of deaths annually, with 41% dying before the age of 70, and account for 74% of financial burden for disease treatment.

The professional pointed out that one of the main causes for the increase in cases is people’s poor awareness of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking prevention. In addition, people have imbalanced diets, leading to an increasing number of overweight people.

In order to avoid these NCDs, Prof. Viet urged people to follow a healthy lifestyle, eat a proper diet, maintain their weight, stop smoking, and drinking alcohol products. One of the steps encouraged by the professional is doing physical activities every day.