NEW DELHI: High blood pressure and blood sugar, smoking and pollution are causing more deaths in India than under-nutrition and tropical diseases, according to a new study published in British journal The Lancet.Researchers who conducted the study observed a significant increase in deaths over the past decade due to diseases associated with the aforementioned health risk factors.Deaths due to high blood pressure and cholesterol more than doubled in India between 1990 and 2013, whereas those caused by outdoor pollution increased by over 60%. Deaths caused by alcohol consumption have also increased by 97%, data collected through analysis of 79 risk factors showed. The study , which seeks to assess the global disease burden, was conducted by a consortium of researchers led by University of Washington and including representatives from the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).In 1990, childhood undernutrition was the topmost health risk, causing nearly 8.97 lakh deaths in India.However, the study shows it is no longer among the top 10 health risk factors in the country . On the contrary , high blood pressure, which caused over 76 lakh deaths in 1990, was the most serious threat to the health of people, with deaths shooting up 106% by 2013.According to the study , high blood pressure, high blood sugar and indoor pollution together contributed to 3.3 million premature deaths in India in 2013.The other major contributors to health loss in India were unsafe water sources and tobacco consumption.Though the contribution of child and maternal undernutrition have dropped significantly since 1990, these are still substantial contributors to health loss in India, the study said. “It is remarkable that the contribution of metabolic risk factors such as high blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, and that of poor diet and alcohol use, to health loss has doubled in India over the past quarter of a century ,“ said study coauthor Lalit Dandona , who is also a professor at PHFI.Experts said findings from the study provide useful pointers for where policy emphasis is needed to improve health in India.