Hyderabad: People suffering from serious health issues in their childhood are at risk of suffering from multiple chronic diseases after reaching their middle age, a recent study has found.
The study 'Illness in childhood' conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
According to the research, while 23 out of every hundred men have multiple diseases, more than 27 percent of women have more than two diseases. In rural areas, 21 out of every 100 people suffer from multiple chronic diseases, while in urban areas, the number is 35.
Significantly, the study found that children experiencing serious illness in their childhood and who couldn't go to school for more than a month due to serious health problems, are at risk of suffering from multiple (two or more) chronic diseases after reaching middle age.
The study was conducted across the country on 51,481 people above 50 years of age. Among them, 19,835 (38.53 percent) were in the middle age group of 50-59 years, 18,807 (36.53 percent) were in the 60-69 age group, and 12,839 (24.94 percent) were over 70 years old. Of these, 23,942 (46.51 percent) were males and 27,539 (53.49 percent) females.
The study suggests that that childhood lifestyle is also a factor in lifestyle related diseases. As many as 33 percent of those who were economically well-off in childhood were overtaken by lifestyle related diseases after the age of 50, the study found. The study analyzes that children are more prone to chronic diseases as they grow older due to a lack of physical activity such as walking, running, and other physical activities during childhood. It has been found that 21 percent of those who live in poverty as children are infected with multiple diseases after the age of 50.
The study found that 30 percent of the people studied suffer from a single chronic disease and 25 percent suffer from multiple diseases. Besides, 53 percent were absent from school for more than a month due to childhood illness, it found. Among them, after 50 years of age, 35 percent are infected with multiple chronic diseases, it added.
Dr. Kiran Madala, Head, Department of Critical Care, Government Medical College, Nizamabad said that the research “makes it clear that maintaining health in childhood is very important”. “The World Health Organization has directed that children under the age of 18 should exercise at least five days a week for a total of 150 minutes. There are 80 percent of children in our country who do not do that. This research paper says that those who are not physically active in childhood are more likely to develop chronic diseases in the future. People in poverty naturally do manual labor. That is why people after 50 years are less affected by chronic diseases,'' Dr Madala said.
''The research warns that less exercise among children of higher-income families may lead to an increase in chronic diseases later in life. Malnutrition due to poverty also often causes illness. How is the food, vaccinations, and health care given in the first 1000 days of a baby's birth, the effect is seen later in life. Cleanliness also plays a very important role in childhood. Awareness should be created from childhood about washing hands cleanly,'' added Dr Madala.
