New Delhi: As many as 24‰ men and 22.6‰women in India – aged 25 years and above – are suffering from high blood pressure (BP). Over one in 10 men and women aged 25 years and above have high blood sugar. More women in India (2.5‰ of adults aged 20 years and above) are obese compared to Indian men (1.3‰).

Almost one in five (19‰) boys, aged 13&ndash15 years (adolescents), and 8‰ girls smoke tobacco. Among those aged 15 years and above, the prevalence of tobacco consumption is 26‰ among males and 4‰ among women.

Only 23‰ men (aged between 15 and 49 years) used condoms during high&ndashrisk sex between 2005 and 2010, while only 36‰ men aged 15&ndash24 and 20‰ women have a comprehensive correct knowledge about HIV.

The World Health Statistics 2012 released on Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) point out two worrying trends for Indians. For the first time, the report includes information from 194 countries on the percentage of men and women with high blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

One in three adults worldwide, according to the report, has raised blood pressure – a condition that causes around half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease. One in 10 adults has diabetes. Left untreated, diabetes can lead to cardiovascular disease, blindness and kidney failure, it said. “This report is further evidence of the dramatic increase in the conditions that trigger heart disease and other chronic illnesses, particularly in low and middle&ndashincome countries," said Dr Margaret Chan, director&ndashgeneral of WHO.

Obesity has been pointed as another major issue plaguing the world. In all parts of the world, including India, women are more likely to be obese than men, and are at greater risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

This year’s report says that in 20 years, the number of maternal deaths has decreased from more than 5.4 lakh deaths in 1990 to less than 2.9 lakh deaths in 2010 – a decline of 47‰. However,one&ndashthird of these maternal deaths occur in just two countries – India with 20‰ of the global total and Nigeria with 14‰.

The report says behavioural risk factors are associated with four key metabolic and physiological changes – raised blood pressure, increased weight leading to obesity, hyperglycaemia and hyperlipidemia.

For example, in addition to its direct role in diabetes, raised fasting blood glucose also increases the risk of cardiovascular deaths, and was estimated to cause 22‰ of coronary heart disease deaths and 16‰ of stroke deaths.

In terms of attributable deaths, the leading behavioural and physiological risk factors globally are raised blood pressure (to which 13‰ of global deaths are attributed), followed by tobacco use (9‰), raised blood glucose (6‰), physical inactivity (6‰) and being overweight or obese (5‰).

It has been estimated that raised blood pressure causes 51‰ of stroke deaths and 45‰ of coronary heart disease deaths. Worldwide, 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese can lead to adverse metabolic effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and can result in diabetes. Being overweight or obese thus increases the risks of coronary heart disease, ischaemic stroke, type 2 diabetes and a number of common cancers.

Between 1980 and 2008, the worldwide prevalence of obesity almost doubled. By 2008, 10‰ of men and 14‰ of women in the world were obese, compared with 5‰ of men and 8‰ of women in 1980. As a result, an estimated half a billion men and women over the age of 20 were estimated to be obese in 2008.

New Delhi: India is facing a severe shortage of dentists. The World Statistics 2012 released by the WHO, says India has less than 1 dentist (0.8) per 10,000 population. In absolute numbers, there are only 93,332 dentists. India’s neighbours, however, are worse off.

Though China has 51,012 dentists, the density is as low as 0.4 per 10,000 population. Bangladesh has 0.2 dentists per 10,000 population; Pakistan (0.6), Sri Lanka (0.8) and Afghanistan (0.3). In comparison, developed countries like Greece has 13.2 dentists per 10,000 population, Norway (8.9), Israel (8.8), Denmark (8.1), Germany (7.8), Japan (7.4), Australia (6.9), France (6.8) and the UK (5.3). The Planning Commission says oral diseases qualify as major public health problems owing to their high prevalence in India. TNN