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Introduction <p>In the context of ‘epidemiological transition’, non-communicable diseases now account for approximately 2/3rd of all deaths in India, posing a significant challenge to the country’s socio-economic development. Hence, the present study owes its importance in examining the prevalence of chronic diseases among the 15 to 49 years aged population and their determinants across India, considering the gender perspective.</p> Methods <p>The study utilized Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Data acquired from the public repository of Demographic and Health Surveys, round 4 (2015-16) and round 5 (2019-21). A total sample size of 63,696 and 57,693 males &amp; females of 15to 49 years old from NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, respectively, has been considered for the present study. Besides descriptive statistics, Hot Spot Analysis has been applied to identify clusters of higher and lower selected chronic disease prevalence (CDP) across India. Binary logistic regression has been performed to predict the likelihood of developing selected CDPs based on individual and household characteristics as well as dietary patterns, which demonstrated statistically significant differences between groups according to the Chi-square test.</p> Results <p>The results highlight that the overall prevalence of non-communicable diseases in India remained consistently higher among women than men in both 2015 and 2021. The Chronic disease index (CDI) for men was 0.018 in 2015 and 0.012 in 2021, while for women, the CDI values were 0.023 and 0.019, respectively. This reflects a persistent gender gap in disease burden (CDI gap of 0.005 in 2015 and 0.007 in 2021), with women experiencing a higher prevalence of chronic conditions over time. People residing in the extreme southern and northern parts of the country have higher chances of CDP. Individual characteristics such as age and education are significant factors associated with CDP for both genders, with age is the strongest factor associated with the highest odds ratio of 5.14. However, working women have a higher probability of facing CDP (OR = 1.08) compared to non-working women, and the scenario is just the reverse for men (OR = 0.93). Moreover, compared to the poorest women, the richest women have 69% higher probabilities of CDP, which is 27% among men. Besides this, consumption of fried food and aerated drinks has a significant likelihood of developing selected CDP, and differences in the likelihood prevail based on gender.</p> Conclusions <p>The study reveals that NCDs are more prevalent among 15 to 49 years aged women, particularly in India’s extreme southern and northern regions. Age, education, and socioeconomic status are key factors associated with working status and lifestyle factors such as fried food and aerated drink consumption, further influencing risk. Although India has adopted effective measures to mitigate chronic diseases, these findings underscore the need for gender-sensitive, region-specific interventions and lifestyle-focused public health strategies.</p>

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Gender differences in the prevalence and determinants of selected chronic diseases among India’s 15–49 years aged population

  • 期刊论文

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月5日

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  • Soumitra Mandal,
  • Nasrin Banu,
  • Arindam Roy

摘要

Introduction

In the context of ‘epidemiological transition’, non-communicable diseases now account for approximately 2/3rd of all deaths in India, posing a significant challenge to the country’s socio-economic development. Hence, the present study owes its importance in examining the prevalence of chronic diseases among the 15 to 49 years aged population and their determinants across India, considering the gender perspective.

Methods

The study utilized Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Data acquired from the public repository of Demographic and Health Surveys, round 4 (2015-16) and round 5 (2019-21). A total sample size of 63,696 and 57,693 males & females of 15to 49 years old from NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, respectively, has been considered for the present study. Besides descriptive statistics, Hot Spot Analysis has been applied to identify clusters of higher and lower selected chronic disease prevalence (CDP) across India. Binary logistic regression has been performed to predict the likelihood of developing selected CDPs based on individual and household characteristics as well as dietary patterns, which demonstrated statistically significant differences between groups according to the Chi-square test.

Results

The results highlight that the overall prevalence of non-communicable diseases in India remained consistently higher among women than men in both 2015 and 2021. The Chronic disease index (CDI) for men was 0.018 in 2015 and 0.012 in 2021, while for women, the CDI values were 0.023 and 0.019, respectively. This reflects a persistent gender gap in disease burden (CDI gap of 0.005 in 2015 and 0.007 in 2021), with women experiencing a higher prevalence of chronic conditions over time. People residing in the extreme southern and northern parts of the country have higher chances of CDP. Individual characteristics such as age and education are significant factors associated with CDP for both genders, with age is the strongest factor associated with the highest odds ratio of 5.14. However, working women have a higher probability of facing CDP (OR = 1.08) compared to non-working women, and the scenario is just the reverse for men (OR = 0.93). Moreover, compared to the poorest women, the richest women have 69% higher probabilities of CDP, which is 27% among men. Besides this, consumption of fried food and aerated drinks has a significant likelihood of developing selected CDP, and differences in the likelihood prevail based on gender.

Conclusions

The study reveals that NCDs are more prevalent among 15 to 49 years aged women, particularly in India’s extreme southern and northern regions. Age, education, and socioeconomic status are key factors associated with working status and lifestyle factors such as fried food and aerated drink consumption, further influencing risk. Although India has adopted effective measures to mitigate chronic diseases, these findings underscore the need for gender-sensitive, region-specific interventions and lifestyle-focused public health strategies.