Averting onset of lifestyle disease tops mind of young Indians: Lybrate Healthscape India

Even as their major concerns are around sexual and mental health, the young population of the city has become wary of diseases cropping up, because of an unhealthy lifestyle, pushing them to reach out to doctors for help on their prevention and early diagnosis, states Lybrate Healthscape India 2016.

Around 32 per cent people in the city discussed about health problems arising out of unhealthy lifestyle, either about treatment or prevention, with most of the people in the age group 18-45 years discussing with doctors, the way out for not letting lifestyle diseases take root or delay their onset, states the report released by Lybrate, India’s first and largest online doctor consultation platform.

The top seven lifestyle issues, the report points out, that hovered greatly on the minds of young Indians which they want to stay away from include Diabetes, Hypertension and Cardiovascular diseases. Majority of the interactions happened around prevention, but there has also been a remarkable rise in interactions on the treatment of these diseases from those who are already suffering from them.

“The inclination of young people towards preventive health assumes greater significance given the pressure it builds on the country’s healthcare infrastructure. The awareness will bring about a huge change in the behavior towards health and greatly reduce the cost burden on households and healthcare delivery in the country.” said Saurabh Arora, Founder, and CEO, Lybrate.

While preventive health has gained prominence among people in Tier 1 cities, people from Tier 2 and 3 cities to have become conscious about it. However, in Tier 2 and 3 cities, the data shows, people are more inclined to discuss issues related to their sexual or mental health.

The interactions over stress and depression have remarkably increased from these cities in the last one year, showing the stigma attached to these subjects is fading away even in small towns and cities of the country.

Women, especially from small Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, are still dependent on their male partners to reach out to doctor for their health issues. Efforts need to be made for reversal of the trend to make healthcare delivery cohesive and progressive.

The data reflected that overall awareness about sexual and mental health has increased among those in the age bracket 18-24 years across big cities and towns in the country. However, growing interactions around safe sex and dealing with depression from smaller towns press for the need to encourage the behavior with concrete interventions and policies.