Nation to intensify fight against chronic diseases

China plans to intensify its battle against chronic diseases such as cancer and respiratory illnesses over the next five years by developing comprehensive healthcare services that integrate traditional treatment methods with preventive care and rehabilitation.

This strategy is pivotal to raising the nation's average life expectancy and enhancing public health, as outlined in the Recommendations of the Communist Party of China Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development that was released in late October.

Official data shows the average life expectancy in China reached 79 years in 2024, an increase of 0.4 years from 2023 and 1.7 years from 2019. In several provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong and Jiangsu, this figure has already surpassed 80 years.

Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, said that the nation aims to raise the national average to around 80 years in the next five years. Achieving this goal requires a series of measures, with a particular focus on the prevention and control of chronic diseases, primarily cardiovascular illnesses, chronic respiratory conditions, cancer and diabetes.

In alignment with the five-year plan's call for "end-to-end services covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and health management", Lei emphasized the importance of targeted early interventions, multidisciplinary collaboration in treatment, guaranteed continuity of care for rehabilitation and long-term health follow-ups.

"Meanwhile, we will further enhance the restructuring and redesigning of service processes and establish platforms for consultations and referrals within and between hospitals … to help patients access scientific, standardized, orderly and convenient healthcare services," he added.

Wang Jianye, director of the National Center for Gerontology, said that China has made significant progress in chronic disease control over the past five years.

"Looking ahead, the key is to establish an end-to-end, holistic service model for chronic conditions," Wang said. "This model should encompass not only disease prevention and treatment but also rehabilitation, elderly care and personalized interventions for comorbidities and mental disorders."

He suggested specific measures such as deploying artificial intelligence to integrate healthcare, public health and social security data, guiding the development of novel health promotion products and exploring incentives to encourage public participation in routine health examinations and physical activity tracking.

Amid a rapidly aging population and shifting lifestyles, the incidence of chronic diseases is rising, accounting for over 80 percent of all deaths nationwide, according to health authorities.

Cancer remains one of the deadliest diseases. In 2022 alone, China reported over 4.8 million new cases and about 2.6 million related deaths.

Shen Hongbing, director of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, recently stressed the importance of improving public awareness of cancer prevention and strengthening early screening campaigns.

These efforts are crucial to achieving the goal of raising the five-year cancer survival rate to at least 46.6 percent by 2030. This rate has already improved to 43.7 percent in recent years.

To expand access to high-quality cancer services, Shen championed enhancing partnerships between large and small hospitals, establishing national and regional medical centers and strengthening the capabilities of grassroots facilities.

He also emphasized standardizing care in county-level hospitals and promoting multidisciplinary teams to ensure precise patient evaluation and personalized treatment plans.

"Efforts should also concentrate on improving survival rates for complicated and hard-to-treat cancers like liver and pancreatic cancer … and on developing novel diagnostic technologies and targeted therapies," he added.

Regarding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, which affects nearly 100 million people in China, experts also highlight the need for comprehensive care that includes controlling cigarette smoking — a leading cause, incorporating pulmonary function tests into routine physical examinations and improving grassroots diagnostic and treatment capacity.

COPD causes persistent coughing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Its incidence among people aged 40 and above has exceeded 13 percent, but public awareness of the disease is critically low at just 0.9 percent.

Yang Ting, deputy director of the National Center for Respiratory Medicine, said key challenges discovered through frontline investigations include inadequate medicine access and reimbursement policies, low public awareness and a shortage of capable grassroots doctors.

To address these issues, Yang recommends enhancing the training of grassroots doctors by rolling out more small-group training sessions and covering other prevalent respiratory diseases based on local needs.

"It is also important to establish a quality control and standard system for COPD patient management," she added. "This will enable local doctors to scientifically evaluate long-term patient improvements, such as the reduction in repetitive breathing difficulties or acute exacerbations."