China’s ‘hidden epidemics’: the preventable diseases that could reshape a nation

Stratospheric economic growth since the late 1970s has brought great prosperity, along with ‘western-style’ health problems that are beginning to have a devastating impact

China faces a health emergency from “hidden epidemics’’ of diseases such as cancer, heart trouble and diabetes that could have far-reaching social, economic and demographic consequences for the world’s most populous nation, experts have warned.

Although China imposed the world’s strictest lockdowns to protect its people from Covid-19, the deadly impact from non-communicable diseases is much less well understood and threatens to kill tens of millions of Chinese in the coming decades without tougher public health policies.

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