Mohammad Wasay, Abdul Jabbar.
Fight against chronic diseases (high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and cancer) in Pakistan; cost-effective interventions.
J Pak Med Assoc Jan ;51(4):196-7.

Pakistan has the world`s sixth largest population (165 million in 2007) which is continuously growing at about 1.83% every year. We know from our national heath surveys that 33% of Pakistani population above the age of 45 has hypertension. Further analysis of this data revealed that the prevalence is 19% (95% CI; 18.9-19.1) in people of age 15 or above. Moreover, Pakistan ranks at number six in terms of number of people with diabetes worldwide. It was estimated that in 2000 there were 5.2 million diabetic patients and this will rise to 13.9 million by 2020, leading Pakistan to 4th most populous country for patients with diabetes mellitus. According to the National Health Survey of Pakistan, 25% of patients over the age of 45 years suffer Diabetes Mellitus. Further analysis of this data revealed that prevalence of DM among population aged 15 years and above was 5.4% (95% CI; 4.9-5.9) with significant ethnic differences. Prevalence of smoking has been reported to be 14-21% in adolescents and adults, being more common in men. The estimated annual incidence of stroke in Pakistan is 250/100,000, translating to 350,000 new cases every year. (Editorial).

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