Peptic ulcer, diabetes follow, shows BBS survey
Hypertension is the most common disease in Bangladesh, with 78 out of every 1,000 people suffering from the non-communicable condition, according to a government survey.
Peptic ulcer is the second most prevalent illness, followed by diabetes, the survey found.
The survey also reported that one-third of respondents experienced some form of illness in the 90 days preceding the study.
The Health and Morbidity Status Survey-2025 said the average medical expenditure during this period was Tk 2,487, with over half of respondents relying on self-treatment or care from local pharmacies or medicine shops. The survey, by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, covered 1.9 lakh people from 47,040 households between November and December last year.
Mostafa Ashrafuzzaman, project director of the Improving Demographic and Health Statistics of Bangladesh Project, shared the findings at a programme yesterday at the BBS office in Dhaka. Officials said this is the second such survey since 2014, but many indicators cannot be directly compared due to changes in methodology.
The prevalence of illness was 332 per 1,000 population. Illness rates were higher among women, both young and elderly, compared to men.
Among women, 355 per 1,000 were reported ill, whereas among men the rate was 309 per 1,000. In rural areas, the rate of ill women was 333 per 1,000, while in urban areas it was 331.
The findings show illness increases significantly with age. The rate was 232 per 1,000 among children under one. Among those aged 75 to 79 years, it rose to 744 per 1,000.
Peptic ulcer ranked second among the top 10 diseases, with 64 out of every 1,000 people suffering from it. The other major diseases are diabetes (43), arthritis (40), skin diseases (37), heart disease (31), asthma (31), osteoporosis (22), hepatitis (22) and diarrhoea (16).
Average medical expenditure per person in the three months preceding the survey was Tk 2,487. Women spent Tk 2,576 on average, while men spent Tk 2,387.
The survey shows people depend more on self-care and informal healthcare than on institutional services. About 51.2 percent received self-treatment or care from local pharmacies. Around 20 percent sought private healthcare, while only 11 percent went to government facilities.
Contacted by The Daily Star, Prof Liaquat Ali, a member of the Health Sector Reform Commission, said that the high reliance on self-treatment or on pharmacies and medicine shops indicates that the findings are largely based on patients' impressions.
He added that the growing antimicrobial resistance is a consequence of this widespread dependence on self-medication or care taken from pharmacies and medicine shops.
He, however, said, "Such surveys, conducted without proper diagnosis or review of medical documents and listing most common diseases, raise questions about their reliability."
Meanwhile, only 1.64 percent underwent routine health check-ups.
According to the survey, the overall caesarean delivery rate is 49 percent, with 53 percent in urban areas and 48 percent in rural areas.
Institutional delivery is steadily increasing. About 67 percent of deliveries take place under a physician's supervision, and 16 percent are attended by trained midwives or birth attendants. However, four percent are still conducted by untrained attendants, highlighting gaps in remote and underserved areas.
The survey shows the average expenditure per delivery at Tk 22,677, of which Tk 13,060 is spent on delivery alone. Average maternal care expenditure is Tk 26,360 in urban areas and Tk 21,554 in rural areas.
The survey says 26.7 percent of people aged 15 years and above consume tobacco or tobacco products, down from 29.6 percent in the 2014 survey. There is a significant gender gap: 38 percent of men use tobacco, compared to 16 percent of women.
Drug use is comparatively low (0.8 percent), yet it places a financial burden on families. Urban drug users spend an average of Tk 1,428 per month, compared to Tk 556 in rural areas.
The survey highlights the prevalence of physical and mental disabilities, which also impose financial strain. On average, 5.2 out of every 100 people live with some form of disability. Age is a major factor: among people aged 18 and above, the disability rate is 7.1 percent, compared to 1.8 percent among those under 18.
Average expenditure on disability-related treatment is Tk 6,775. In rural areas, it is Tk 7,269, higher than the urban average of Tk 5,417.
The survey shows 108 out of every 1 lakh population have tuberculosis, while 0.38 out of every 1,000 have malaria. It also shows 91.2 out of every 1 lakh population had Hepatitis B.
Aleya Akter, secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division, and Huzur Ali, additional secretary of the Health Services Division, also spoke at the programme, with BBS Director General Mohammed Mizanur Rahman in the chair.
