Keralaneeds to focus on challenges emerging from thedemographic transitionas the strategies adopted by the state now will determine the future course of transition, says a recent study by theCentre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies,Kochi.
Given its early onset, demographic transition in Kerala is now at the matured stage with fertility below the replacement level, life expectancy at birth above 75 years, decadal Growth rate of Population at 5% during 2001-2011 with negative growth in two districts. The demographic advantage has created certain unique challenges for the state that are yet to be visible at the national level.
With mortality transition, Kerala experienced an obvious shift in the disease pattern from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCD) and emerged as the state experiencing the highest level of epidemiological transition in the country. Between 1990 and 2016, NCD accounts for three-fourths of the total burden of diseases in the state and thus shifted the mortality up to mid-seventies.
Given the global experience, the study highlights that there remains untapped potential in the state to postpone the age-specific mortality from degenerative diseases from the current age group of 70+ further to the advanced age group of 80+.
Kerala, with the highest proportion of elderly among all states in India, has already started recognizing the unique Health needs of elderly as a group. The study calls for further refinement in strategies targeting interventions to address the intra-group differentials in mortality to postpone the death rates to advanced ages of 80 and above. This also calls for age-sex disaggregated data across major killer diseases in the advanced age groups.