Economic Slow Down and it’s Impact on Disease Burden in India

Context: Fall in employment, growth, incomes and investments are the more visible and obvious ill effects of an economic slowdown but there are far reaching impacts of an economic slowdown that aren’t so immediate and visible. The aim of this study is to assess how these economic downturns have dented the health outcomes in India since 1990. We assess the non-fatal outcomes of public health using the morbidity measure DALY( Disability adjusted life years) caused by economic slowdown. We find that rise in income led to reduction in communicable, maternal, neo natal and nutrition diseases (CMNNDs) while it led to an increase in injuries and non-communicable diseases. An increase in unemployment was associated with an increase in disease burden for CMNNDs, non-communicable disease and injuries. Economic slowdown puts the people in a vulnerable position as loss of income and employment lead to increase in disease burden. The public health policy especially in developing nations must focus on social security protection to prevent such negative health outcomes during an economic slowdown.