Mar 25,2024
New Delhi: About 77% of the 56,000 IT sector corporate employees in the age group of 25-40 years suffers from deranged values in several health parameters and 61% have high cholesterol, a clinical study conducted by HCL Healthcare has revealed.
The study was conducted on people working in the sector who underwent health checks and doctors’ consultations at its onsite clinics.
The objective of this study was to underline the growing need for preventive care in the corporate spectrum of India. The clinical parameters studied included 8 key health conditions – obesity, prediabetes, diabetes, prehypertension, hypertension, anaemia, hypothyroidism and high cholesterol.
The study has revealed that high cholesterol (61%) tops the chart with nearly two-thirds of corporate individuals showing deranged values.
It is followed by obesity (around 22%), prediabetes (17%), hypothyroidism and anaemia (11% each), diabetes (7%), and then other health problems. The same individual can have more than one abnormal health condition.
It was also observed that nearly 44% of the younger population below 25 years of age also suffered from deranged cholesterol followed by anaemia (14%), obesity (13%), hypothyroidism (8%), and prediabetes (7%).
These chronic health conditions appear to be growing at a rapid pace and with a higher prevalence among those with advancing age. “We see a considerable rise in the prevalence of these health conditions in the above-40 age group, with high cholesterol, obesity, pre-diabetes, and diabetes topping the list,” quality data analysts said.
Only 23% of these employees had their health parameters within range. About 37% of the individuals who were studied had a single chronic health condition while 26% suffered from two conditions followed by 11% having three (comorbidities).
Doctors said that the above parameters make up a constellation of common lifestyle problems and noncommunicable diseases which mean that these conditions may have a common underlying cause and can co-exist in an individual. This is clinically called metabolic syndrome and requires timely intervention.
Shikhar Malhotra, vice-chairman and CEO of HCL Healthcare, said: “The data clearly shows the incidence of diseases and health abnormalities starting at a much younger age. The health issues that used to begin in the 40s have now shifted base to early 30s. Some fluctuations in health and vitality are normal, attributed to hormonal and metabolic shifts but what is concerning is the amplified stress and lifestyle-induced ailments that are becoming synonymous with such health issues now seen in the 30s.”
He added that employers need to give access to basic health check-ups because early intervention in these conditions can help people control symptoms and find timely treatments. “Today, we suffer not just from health problems, but we suffer from a lack of awareness,” he said.
Source: Healthworld