50.44% diabetic, 37.35% have blood pressure issues: Warning signs from BBMP health survey in 54 wards

Among those surveyed, 1,17,554 individuals were found to have comorbid conditions for Covid-19, while 2.9% of them have hypothyroidism

The BBMP’s ambitious door-to-door health survey has revealed that 50.44 per cent of those having comorbidities have diabetes while 37.35 per cent have hypertension, two major comorbid conditions for Covid-19.

The just-concluded survey covered 16,06,531 individuals in 6,37,571 households in 54 wards of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Aimed at determining various health parameters, the survey is the first of its kind in the country.

Among those surveyed, 1,17,554 individuals were found to have comorbid conditions for Covid-19, while 2.9 per cent of them have hypothyroidism. A tiny 2.12 per cent of them were also found to have heart disease. Revenue Minister R Ashoka flagged off the survey on August 16.

Hundred-and-eight teams of doctors and paramedics visited every household in the 54 wards to collect the health details of individuals. The survey has challenged the BBMP’s claims of vaccinating 85 per cent of the citizens with at least one dose, revealing only 68 per cent of them have been vaccinated once and only 35 per cent twice. Interestingly, only 3 per cent of the surveyed population has been affected by Covid-19.

No extension

Although the minister and BBMP officials had said during the launch that the survey will be scaled up to cover all the 198 wards once the pilot concludes, the civic body is in no mood to extend it now. At that time, they said having the health details of all citizens will help tackle the pandemic.

“Our plate’s already full,” a senior official in the BBMP health wing said. “We can’t take anything further. We’re already holding a doorstep vaccination programme in addition to vaccination at PHCs and other facilities. We don’t have the bandwidth to extend the survey any further at least for now.”

Officials are also clueless about making use of the data. “We may use it as a sample set for analysis since the survey was focused only on 54 wards,” explained another official. “We’re yet to analyse the findings.”

Health matters

Individuals surveyed	16,06,531
Individuals infected by Covid-19	47,836 (3 per cent)
Vaccinated with one dose	0,99,148 (68.41 per cent)
Fully vaccinated	5,57,391 (35 per cent)
People with comorbidities	1,17,554 (7 per cent)
Percentage of individuals having diabetes	50.44
Percentage of individuals having hypertension	37.35
Percentage of individuals having hypothyroidism	2.9
Percentage of individuals with Ischaemic Heart Disease	2.12

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