Young people have to quit work and school because of illness.
Recently, Mr. Nguyen Van Lam (26 years old) - an office worker in Hanoi, continuously had dull chest pain. When the chest pain became severe, Mr. Lam had to be hospitalized in critical condition, with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Test results showed that his entire coronary artery was blocked by a blood clot storm. After the blood clot was successfully removed, atherosclerotic plaque was revealed to be the culprit causing severe narrowing of the coronary artery.
Mr. Lam shared that the cause could be due to prolonged stressful work pressure combined with a sedentary lifestyle and frequent smoking habits.
Male student Ly Minh Ha (17 years old, Hanoi - character name has been changed) went to Medlatec General Hospital for examination due to pain in the first metatarsal joint of his left foot, and was diagnosed with acute gout. After several weeks of treatment, the male student's pain was gone and he returned to school.
MSc.BSNT. Trinh Thi Nga - Head of the Department of Musculoskeletal, Medlatec Healthcare System - said: Gout is showing a tendency to get younger. Although it is a benign disease, if not detected and treated promptly, the disease can become serious such as tophi, joint damage, kidney stones... In particular, young people with gout can have cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, chronic kidney disease...
According to the latest reports, the mortality rate caused by non-communicable diseases accounts for 84% of total deaths in Vietnam. Notably, cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the most common causes of death related to non-communicable diseases, with the corresponding rates of 31% and 19%.
For every 10 people who die from non-communicable diseases, 4 are under 70 years old; the rate of people aged 36-69 with diabetes is increasing, increasing by 1.7% in the 10 years from 2012 to 2021; many cases of myocardial infarction are treated in emergency cases in people under 40 years old;... are numbers that show the increasing trend of younger people with non-communicable diseases.
Previously, people aged 50 and over were at risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, stroke, etc. However, these diseases have now appeared in people aged 30-40, and there are even cases under 30 years old.
Warning about sedentary lifestyle and unscientific diet
Warning about this issue, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Sinh Hien - Director of Hanoi Heart Hospital, Chairman of Hanoi Cardiology Association - said: "In recent years, the number of people with cardiovascular disease has become younger and younger, many of whom are of working age. Doctors have encountered many patients with myocardial infarction in their 20s who have ruptured ventricles, aortic dissection, stroke requiring intervention or emergency surgery to save their lives. Many cases, only over 30 years old, have had to have coronary artery bypass grafting, stent placement... In the community, the rate of young people aged 30-40 with high blood pressure is very high."
"The sudden increase in metabolic diseases, especially aortic and coronary artery diseases (increased by 15-20%), mainly caused by stress, sedentary lifestyle, unscientific diet (eating a lot of meat, fried foods...)... are common problems among young people today" - he said.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dac Phu - former Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health - said: "In fact, Vietnam only has the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases. Other issues such as environmental health, especially non-communicable diseases, mental health, and nutrition have no laws regulating them, but only strategies and guidance documents."
The consequences of the trend of non-communicable diseases becoming younger are clear. That is, the pressure on the health system is increasing with overloaded hospitals, wasting the state budget. For example, in Hanoi, the Health Insurance Fund spent about 1,000 billion VND to treat this disease for people in 2023, not to mention the number of people who buy medicine outside or do not know they are sick.
More importantly, it affects people's quality of life and health, directly affects labor productivity and efficiency, and consequently affects the overall socio-economic development of the country.
