The silent surge: Early onset of chronic illnesses

Deccan Herald

a day ago

Across India's sprawling office complexes, sleek co-working hubs, and hybrid home workspaces, a health crisis is silently unfolding. While much attention is focused on digital disruption, AI transformation, and skilling for the future, an equally urgent, less recognised, and under-discussed crisis is taking root: the early onset of chronic illnesses among working Indians, often a decade earlier than seen globally..The Employee Health Report 2025, by Plum, analysed data from over 100,000 telehealth consultations, 25,000 insurance claims, 1,998 health camp participants, and 512 survey responses across 6,000+ companies. The report reveals a stark reality: chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health disorders are now manifesting by the age of 35 or even earlier in India's salaried class. For a nation staking its future on its demographic dividend, this is both an economic and social red flag. What it signifies is a decade of lost health. In most developed countries, lifestyle-related chronic conditions tend to show up post-age -50, giving people a full three decades of stable employment productivity before grappling with health setbacks. But in India, the average age of onset has slid into the thirties, even the late twenties. What is alarming is the intensity and clustering of these diseases: comorbidities are becoming the norm rather than the exception..Rethinking mental health at workplace.The report highlights that nearly 20% of urban white-collar workers in India suffer from multiple chronic ailments. Worse still, mental health issues are surging, with 1 in 5 employees having sought professional help, and 1 in 5 considering quitting due to burnout. This is just the data captured from insured employees, an urban upper crust. The figures among gig workers, contractual staff, and MSME employees – most without insurance or workplace wellness programmes – would be worse..Three factors are driving this premature health decline: First, ironically, is the nature of work itself. India's service economy, powered by IT, finance, education, media, and e-commerce, leans heavily on sedentary desk jobs. With the rise of remote work, digital presence has replaced physical exertion. Employees routinely clock 10-12-hour days, eyes glued to screens, meals skipped or hastily eaten, and movement limited to keystrokes and Zoom calls..Second, a growing urban disconnect from wellness. In metropolitan areas, access to green spaces, safe pedestrian infrastructure, or time for leisure activity is shrinking. Long commutes, overcrowding, and pollution aggravate physical inactivity and highly processed, delivery-based food makes a recipe for metabolic disorders..Third, is the phenomenon of cultural stigma and denial. In workplaces, chronic fatigue, burnout, or depression are often dismissed as a 'phase', a lack of willpower, or even laziness. This stigma drives employees to delay seeking care. Until they crash..Common mental health problems are growing. What is unfolding is not just a physical health crisis, but a psychological one. Burnout is no longer a buzzword; it is a lived reality. Employees report symptoms ranging from insomnia and anxiety to persistent demotivation and even clinical depression. Managers are often unable to identify or act upon these red flags, partly due to a lack of training and outdated assumptions about 'professionalism.' This is made worse by the demand for longer work hours. Unlike physical illnesses that have defined markers and treatment paths, mental health disorders are murkier and harder to quantify – making them both widespread and dangerously under-treated..The economic costs of this invisible but growing health challenge are inescapable. Chronic illnesses are not just private tragedies – they are societal economic liabilities. A workforce beset by hypertension or stress is less productive, more prone to absenteeism, and more likely to switch jobs frequently. For companies, this translates into spiralling health insurance claims, lost person-hours, and increasing employee turnover. At a macro level, the early onset of chronic diseases shortens productive work lives, potentially flattening India's much-touted demographic dividend. For a country hoping to leverage its young population to power global growth engines, this is akin to trying to sprint on a sprained ankle..Shift in approach.There is a need for a new paradigm of workplace health. We can no longer afford to treat employee health as a side benefit or a corporate box-ticking exercise. We need a fundamental shift in how workplaces think about health – from reactive treatment to initiative-taking well-being. What might such a shift look like?.Institutionalising preventive health checks: Annual health screenings, biometric risk assessments, and lifestyle counselling should become default offerings. These should be mandated and subsidised, particularly in sectors like IT, finance, and logistics..Designing movement into the workday: Standing desks, stretch breaks, walking meetings, and ergonomic workplace design can go a long way in reducing the toll of sedentary lifestyles. Urban planners and architects too must rethink the live-work-commute model..Mental health first aid: Companies must not only offer access to mental health professionals but actively normalise the use of these services. Mental health sick days, manager sensitisation workshops, and peer support groups must be institutionalised..Government and policy: Just as CSR mandates funding social causes, a small percentage of profits could be directed to health and wellness infrastructure, including access to gym memberships, therapy, and nutrition..It is time to address the rapid epidemiological transition from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases in both urban and rural India. The early onset of chronic diseases must receive dedicated attention through awareness and surveillance mechanisms. Employers, policymakers, and healthcare providers must collaborate to foster a culture that prioritises health and well-being.The data is clear. The trend is urgent. The impact is generational. Investing in employee health is not just an economic necessity but a moral imperative. Our greatest asset – human capital – must not become our greatest vulnerability..(The writer is the Director of School of Social Sciences, Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences)