Dileep V Kumar By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fight against non-communicable diseases (NCD) is set to get a fillip in the state with the government proposing to implement population-based screening for hypertension, diabetes and diabetic retinopathy on a state-wide basis. At present, the screening is being carried out in selected districts. Delivering the policy address, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said in the assembly on Wednesday that the government will extend the screening programme state-wide during the 2020-21 fiscal year. “It has been estimated that 52 per cent of the total deaths in the state between the productive age group of 30 and 59 are due to one or the other NCD. This makes NCD an emerging health challenge. The implementation of the screening programmes for hypertension, diabetes and diabetic retinopathy might bring a difference to this scenario,” said an officer of the health department. A senior official with NCD cell, said though there was high prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in the state, the rate of control for the same was relatively low. “Hypertension means raised blood pressure. The higher the blood pressure the higher the risk of damage to the heart and blood vessels in major organs such as the brain and kidneys. It also leads to heart disease and stroke. Thus awareness and screening are needed against this silent killer,” he said. The officer said, at present, the awareness and screening against hypertension and diabetes are carried out through India Hypertension Control Initiative which is currently in operation on a pilot basis at Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kannur, and Wayanad districts. “If a patient returns to normal blood pressure within six months or one year after the treatment then his/her hypertension is in control. The state’s control rate against hypertension was 13 per cent. But through the initiative, a remarkable change has been made. Now the control rate at Kannur is 45 percent, Thiruvananthapuram 36 per cent and at Thrissur and Kannur it is around 40 per cent,” the officer added. Meanwhile, the health department said that as with hypertension, the control rate for diabetes is also relatively low. In the case of diabetic retinopathy (DR), a diabetes complication that affects the eyes and leads to irreversible blindness, there is a considerable spike in the state and the programme to address the same were piloted in Thiruvananthapuram. According to the department, efforts were on to ensure facilities like laser photocoagulation, the first-line therapy for DR, and fundus camera (low power microscope with camera) at all districts. Programme on pilot basis At present, the awareness and screening against hypertension and diabetes are carried out through India Hypertension Control Initiative which is currently in operation on a pilot basis at Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kannur, and Wayanad districts.

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