CM8.2 | CM8.2 | Non-Communicable Disease Control at Primary Care — Summary & Reflection

KEY TAKEAWAYS

India's NCD burden — dominated by hypertension, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and cancer — causes over 63% of national deaths, predominantly in the productive 40–69 age group. The four modifiable risk factors (tobacco, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, harmful alcohol) act through intermediate metabolic risk factors and are amplified by urbanisation and poverty. The NPCDCS framework assigns the PHC physician responsibility for opportunistic screening of all adults ≥30 years using feasible tools: BP measurement (hypertension threshold ≥140/90 mmHg), glucometry/FBS (diabetes: FBS ≥126 mg/dL on two occasions), VIA (cervical cancer, women 30–65 years every 5 years), oral visual inspection (oral cancer), and clinical breast examination. Programme performance is monitored through the cascade of care — screening, diagnosis, treatment, and control. The PHC physician integrates lifestyle counselling (SNAP), pharmacological management, NCD register maintenance, and appropriate referral — and maximises impact by treating every patient contact as a screening opportunity.

REFLECT

Return to the case that opened this module. The 52-year-old woman has RBS 312 mg/dL, unseen hypertension, BMI 28, and is a tobacco user. Design her immediate management plan: what tests will you order now, what will you prescribe today, when will you review her, and what community-level message will you give her family? Which SNAP elements are most critical for her? How would you use the WHO CVD risk chart to guide your pharmacotherapy decision for her blood pressure?