Guwahati: Cancer causes 9.5 percent fatalities in the Northeast, the highest percentage in India according to the World Health Organization in its 2018 profile, said Dr. A Dkhar, Joint Director, health services. He claimed that 58.8% of all fatalities in the northeastern region were caused by non-communicable diseases.
This was stated in the digitally released study titled “Monitoring Survey of Cancer Risk Factors and Health System Response in Meghalaya, 2021–22.”
The event was organised by the staff of Population-Based Cancer Registry (PBCR), Meghalaya, Civil Hospital, Shillong in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, at the main secretariat building.
Dr. Dkhar further highlighted that Cancer is one of the top five causes of mortality in Meghalaya.
The main finding of the study report underlined the fact that Meghalaya has a high prevalence of tobacco use, with a current rate of 52.5. The average age at which people start using tobacco is 19.2 years.
The consumption of betel products, which has been shown to result in oral submucous fibrosis, a precancerous condition that can develop to oral cancer, was also addressed in the paper.
The report further stated that respondents currently consume 72.7 percent non-tobacco betel products, with areca nut consumption being the highest. Additionally, it was noted that 10% of respondents engaged in high episodic drinking and that the average age of early alcohol consumption was 21.