Silent surge in districts: Door-to-door screening reveals uneven burden of NCDs in Karnataka

Karnataka’s flagship door-to-door health screening outreach Gruha Arogya has thrown up a stark district-wise health map, revealing not just the scale of silent illnesses but also deep regional variations in diagnosis rates.

The programme, implemented through ASHA workers who covered 41,92,801 households between August 2025 and January 2026 across districts, focused on early detection of 14 non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic conditions among adults, besides anaemia among younger persons.

The Health Department is set to expand Gruha Arogya to Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) areas.

As per the screening results in districts, hypertension and Type II diabetes accounted for the bulk of diagnoses. From August 2025 till January 2026, the Health Department screened 76,07,739 people aged above 30 for hypertension, and 72,75,369 for diabetes. Of them, 19,94,530 were diagnosed with hypertension, and 14,78,842 with diabetes - underscoring the magnitude of the non-communicable disease (NCD) burden.

Burden of districts

District-wise data revealed significant regional variations.

Belagavi recorded the highest absolute number of hypertension cases, with 3,24,403 diagnoses from 14,15,047 screenings. Mysuru reported 1,87,089 cases from 4,35,504 screened. Chitradurga showed a high detection proportion with 1,34,725 diagnosed among 2,23,679 screened. Udupi and Tumakuru also reported substantial numbers.

In contrast, Yadgir and Ramanagara recorded lower absolute figures, though officials cautioned that this does not necessarily indicate lower prevalence.

A similar pattern emerged for diabetes.

Belagavi again topped the list with 2,77,231 cases detected among 13,81,829 screened. Mysuru reported 1,40,994 cases, while Tumakuru, Chitradurga and Chamarajanagar reflected a considerable metabolic disease burden.

In Bengaluru Urban, 19,336 of the 54,775 persons screened were diagnosed, indicating a notable urban load despite lower screening coverage.

Cancer screening

Cancer screening formed a major component of the outreach. Of 52,06,304 persons screened for oral cancer, 3,964 were diagnosed, and 21,157 referred as suspected cases.

Udupi and Uttara Kannada recorded the highest confirmed numbers, followed by Belagavi. Breast cancer screening covered 20,70,858 women and identified 3,272 cases, with Udupi, Mandya and Mysuru reporting higher detection.

Cervical cancer screening of 16,07,446 women resulted in 1,658 confirmed cases, with Udupi and Tumakuru among districts reporting more cases.

Screening for chronic kidney disease covered 31,53,077 persons and yielded 11,108 diagnoses, with Belagavi, Mysuru and Vijayanagara reporting higher numbers.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) screening identified 4,481 cases from 31,43,460 screened. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) screening led to 24,379 diagnoses from 31,34,623 persons, with Belagavi accounting for 4,200 cases, and Mysuru, Udupi and Mandya reflecting substantial respiratory burden.

Mental health screening reached 30,04,223 individuals, resulting in 20,353 confirmed cases. Neurological disorder screening covered 28,12,968 persons, and identified 8,658 cases, with Mysuru and Belagavi reporting higher figures.

Beyond urban centres

Raghunandan, State Deputy Director (Non-Communicable Diseases), said the findings highlight the silent spread of lifestyle diseases beyond urban centres. “The data shows that non-communicable diseases are widespread across districts, including rural and semi-urban areas. Early identification through household screening allows us to initiate treatment sooner and prevent complications,” he said.

He said that the next phase would focus on ensuring continuity of care through primary health centres and Ayushman Arogya Kendras.

A senior official said the district-level variations underline the need for targeted public health strategies rather than a uniform approach.