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Asian heart illnesses rise alarmingly
Data show increased numbers of people in Asia who smoke, suffer from diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension will thrust Asian nations into epidemic levels of heart disease in the next two decades. The results come from 10 years of research conducted by a panel of cardiac experts at the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration. Their research effort combined data from 659,000 participants in 46 studies from nine countries, including China, Thailand and Australia. The experts found that young Asian adults from 40 to 50 will bear the brunt of coronary disease since more and more of them become addicted to nicotine and are plagued by diabetes. "Heart disease strikes at a much younger age in Asia than in the West," said Professor Stephen MacMahon, who is a member of the research group. The findings show that young Asian smokers are two times more likely to die from heart disease than non-smokers, while youngsters with diabetes have a four times greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those without. However, MacMahon admits the reason young people suffer more still remains unknown. MacMahon, also director of the George Institute for International Health, said the steep rise in smokers and diabetes patients in China in recent years, particularly in urban areas, indicates a prevailing adoption of western life styles. According to MacMahon, there are currently 17 million diabetes patients in China. And the figure will probably double by 2025. Statistics from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that China has 350 million smokers now, growing by 3 million annually. By 2025, about 2.5 million Chinese will die from the diseases related to heavy smoking, the CDC said. "If no action is taken now, countries such as China will be confronted with skyrocketing costs for acute hospital care for heart attack and stroke patients, and will need to fund rehabilitation for millions more patients every year," MacMahon said. And physicians and others are calling for immediate legislative action to raise tobacco taxes and limit tobacco use. "Hong Kong initiated a lasting campaign to reduce tobacco use in the early 1980s, and effectively lessened the levels of heart disease," said Professor Tai-Hing Lam with the University of Hong Kong. Lam also suggested the Chinese Government introduce additional smoke-free areas and called on the citizens to more frequently exercise in their daily lives. Cardiovascular disease is now the world's leading killer, accounting for 16.7 million or 29.2 per cent of total global deaths last year, according to the APCSC. Around 80 per cent of the deaths took place in low and middle-income countries. |
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