Increasing Prevalence Of Chronic Diseases Will Increase Demand For Medical Devices

The rising prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer is expected to be a major driver of the medical devices market. According to the United Nations, the proportion of total global deaths due to chronic diseases is expected to increase to 70% and the global burden of chronic diseases is expected to reach about 60% by 2030. Extended working hours, limited physical activity, and unhealthy food habits are the major causes of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. This is further increasing the demand for medical devices used in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of a number of diseases, thus driving the medical devices market.

The global medical devices market is expected to grow from around $446 billion in 2019 to nearly $522 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.33%. The number of cases of chronic diseases is increasing due to aging population and unhealthy lifestyles. The population profile of most countries is becoming older. During 2010-2015, the number of people globally over the age of 65 grew from below 450 million to 601 million, an increase of 33%, according to estimates based on Population Reference Bureau data. The USA’s proportion of population aged above 65 is expected to grow from 13% in 2010 to 16% in 2020, to more than 19% in 2030. Older people are prone to health disorders such as arthritis, bursitis, heart diseases, and respiratory diseases. The medical devices market is expected to benefit from the growing pool of aged patients in the forecast period. Medical devices such as implants, prostheses and diagnostic equipment are needed to prevent, diagnose and treat many chronic conditions affecting the elderly populations globally.

Again, sedentary lifestyles, busy work lives and unhealthy choices are gradually becoming the leading causes of hospitalization globally. While the global rates of smoking have reduced over the historic period, the increase in population itself has led to an increased number of smokers. Smoking continues to be popular in many regions, especially in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking is proven to cause more than 0.48 million deaths in the USA every year and is the major cause of preventable death. Unhealthy and sedentary lifestyles lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The rise in such chronic conditions can lead to a rise in demand for patient monitoring devices. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, aged 18 years and older were overweight, and of these over 650 million were obese, leading to numerous cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. In 2017, approximately 8.8% of the adult population globally had diabetes and this percentage is expected to increase to 9.9% by 2045.