India faces a significant public health challenge as non-communicable diseases and some persistent infectious conditions drive millions of deaths each year. Cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory ailments, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and diarrheal diseases are among the top health conditions claiming the most lives across the nation. These conditions are fueled by various factors including lifestyle changes, environmental pollution, and access to healthcare, signaling a critical need for public health intervention.
Cardiovascular Diseases Remain India's Top Killer
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including ischemic heart disease and stroke, are the leading cause of mortality in India. These conditions contribute to nearly a quarter of all deaths in the country. In 2021, India recorded 2,873,266 deaths due to CVDs. The age-standardized death rate for CVDs in India stands at 272 per 100,000 people, which is higher than the global average of 235 per 100,000.[ahajournals+4]
Ischemic heart disease is the single leading cause of death, reflecting a major burden nationwide. Factors like urbanization, sedentary lifestyles, tobacco use, unhealthy diets, and increasing stress levels all contribute to its high prevalence. Stroke also remains a significant cause of death, with both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes contributing to this statistic. In 2022, heart attacks alone caused 32,457 deaths. These diseases often strike Indians a decade earlier than in Western populations.[timesofindia+5]
Chronic Respiratory Diseases Claim Millions
Chronic respiratory diseases, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lower respiratory infections, represent another major cause of death in India. India accounts for a substantial 30.28 percent of all global deaths from chronic respiratory diseases. The country also has the highest number of COPD cases in the world, totaling 55.23 million people.[ipcrg+1]
COPD alone causes approximately 0.85 million deaths, making it the second-largest contributor to global COPD mortality. Lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, are particularly deadly for children under five and elderly individuals. In 2020, respiratory diseases like pneumonia, asthma, and bronchitis led to 181,160 deaths, excluding COVID-19 related fatalities. Air pollution plays a critical role in exacerbating these conditions, linking to millions of deaths annually.[ipcrg+4]
Cancer Burden Continues to Rise
Cancer has emerged as a growing public health crisis, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives in India each year. In 2022, India saw over 1.41 million new cancer cases and more than 910,000 deaths from the disease. Cancer accounts for 6.4 percent of all deaths in India.[timesofindia+1]
India's mortality-to-incidence ratio for cancer was 64.47 percent in 2022, the highest among the top 10 countries with the most cancer cases. This means a high proportion of those diagnosed with cancer in India ultimately succumb to the disease. Breast cancer was the most common cancer in 2022, according to the World Health Organization. Oral cancer is also highly prevalent, especially among men.[business-standard+3]
Diabetes Mellitus on the Increase
Diabetes mellitus is a rapidly escalating health condition and a significant cause of death in India. The country is home to 77 million people living with diabetes. Globally, India has the second-highest number of children with type 1 diabetes.[en+2]
Diabetes contributes to one in every twenty deaths from all causes, with approximately four million people dying annually from diabetes-related complications. The recorded death rate for diabetes in 2019 was 19.64 per 100,000 population. This chronic condition accounts for 3.5 percent of total deaths. Lifestyle factors such as poor diets, sedentary behavior, and increased stress are major drivers behind the rising prevalence of diabetes.[pmc+4]
Diarrheal Diseases Still a Threat, Especially for Children
Despite progress in sanitation and healthcare, diarrheal diseases remain a leading cause of death in India, particularly affecting young children. Diarrhea is the third most common cause of death among children under five years old. It is responsible for 13 percent of deaths in this age group, killing an estimated 300,000 children in India each year.[pmc+1]
In 2015, diarrheal deaths in Indian children under five accounted for 10 percent of all deaths in that age group, totaling 117,285 children. While the death rate for children under five from diarrheal diseases has seen a significant drop, from 147 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to over 35 deaths per 100,000 in 2021, the burden remains substantial. Inadequate sanitation, limited access to clean water, and malnutrition continue to contribute to the prevalence of these preventable illnesses.[indiaspend+4]
The Broader Impact of Non-Communicable Diseases and Air Pollution
India is undergoing an epidemiological transition, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) increasingly replacing infectious diseases as the primary cause of death. NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory illnesses, and diabetes now account for nearly 63-65 percent of all deaths in India. This is a sharp rise from 37.9 percent in 1990.[dataforindia+4]
Air pollution significantly exacerbates many of these conditions. A 2024 study published in Lancet Planetary Health found that long-term exposure to air pollution contributed to 1.5 million deaths per year in India when compared to World Health Organization recommendations. Another study attributed 1.67 million deaths to air pollution in 2019, representing 17.8 percent of all deaths in the country that year. The entire population of India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels exceed WHO guidelines, exposing nearly 1.4 billion people to health risks annually.[hsph+4]
Addressing these leading causes of death requires comprehensive strategies. These include promoting healthier lifestyles, improving air quality, strengthening healthcare infrastructure for early diagnosis and treatment, and enhancing preventive care across the country.
