Health risks surging among employees aged 20-35: study

 India’s leading employee benefits platform, Pazcare launched the Employee Health Matters 2026 Handbook which highlights how metabolic health risks such as hypertension, pre-diabetes, and high cholesterol are appearing much earlier in employees’ careers than previously expected.

As per the study 1 in 4 men aged 31 to 35 have abnormal HbA1c levels, signalling early risk of pre-diabetes. Employees aged 20 to 35 account for 63% of all cholesterol abnormalities. 

Nearly 50% of male employees under 35 show abnormal blood pressure and more than 60% deliveries happening via C-Sec driving up cost.

Drawing on 77,000 insurance claims across 400,000 covered lives over five years, along with 12,000 preventive health screenings, the handbook reveals how present-day work environments are shifting employee health trends and influencing corporate healthcare costs. 

The handbook provides HR leaders, business founders, and the leadership teams with a 360° view of workplace health after due analysis of physical health, mental health, lifestyle risks, and healthcare claim patterns across 14 major health categories.

The handbook also identifies gaps in early diagnosis and preventive care. Approximately 11% of hospital admissions occur without a clear diagnosis at admission, often due to delayed care for symptoms such as fever, fatigue, or infections. Infections account for 9% of hospitalizations, with dengue, chikungunya and intestinal infections contributing to over 80% of infection-related claims.

Other insights from the study reveal that maternity remains the largest healthcare cost driver, accounting for nearly 20% of all hospitalizations in group health insurance programs, making it the single largest claims category. Approximately 62% of deliveries are now C-sections, which costs 1.28× more than normal deliveries. Additionally, maternity care costs are 42 to 48% higher in metro cities compared to non-metros. These trends highlight the growing financial impact of maternity-related claims on corporate insurance programmes and point towards the need for better maternity care planning and support within workplace benefits.

In addition to maternity, the study also revealed insights on sexual and reproductive health claims at the workplace, pointing that female genital tract conditions dominate at 61.5% and most are conditions that started years before hospitalization. In fact, reproductive health, as commonly believed, is not just a woman’s issue. The study found that one in four reproductive health claims comes from male genital conditions and the prostate alone drives nearly 4% of this category. Moreover, Prostatic Hyperplasia is observed to be the most expensive sub-condition at ₹1,02,184 per claim, most (90%) claimed by parents (fathers of employees) aged 61+ and above.

The analysis also shows that while employees frequently utilise corporate health insurance, the highest-cost claims are often driven by dependents, especially parents. These claims commonly involve cardiac procedures, cancer treatments, kidney treatments, and long-term chronic disease management.”

“This pattern indicates that corporate health programs are increasingly extending beyond employee care to broader family health management, placing additional pressure on employer-sponsored healthcare budgets,” he said. 

Sanchit Malik, Cofounder and CEO, Pazcare, said, “In the past few years, the way we work has fundamentally changed. Teams are more distributed, expectations are higher, and the boundaries between work and life are getting increasingly blurred. In this environment, employee health (physical, mental, and emotional) serves as one of the most critical factors impacting productivity, retention, and long-term business growth. The Employee Health Matters handbook is our effort to move this conversation beyond assumptions and anecdotes.”

He further added, “Our handbook is based on real-world data from tens of thousands of insurance claims and health check-ups across organisations in India. The findings show that employees are engaging more actively with healthcare, and expectations from employers are thus increasing. Companies that will view employee health as a strategic priority will build stronger, more resilient teams, while those that treat it as a checkbox will risk falling behind.”

To direct a shift in trend, the Employee Health Matters 2026 handbook reinforces the need for a structured, data-driven approach, starting with preventive health screenings, employee wellness surveys, insurance claims analysis, which offers companies with insights on emerging health risks & workforce needs, and detect patterns across demographics and business functions. As the importance of employee health and well-being grows, partnering with insurers, wellness providers, and analytics experts will become central to building resilient workforces and more sustainable healthcare systems.

Published – March 21, 2026 09:48 pm IST