Chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the number one cause of death and disability in the world. The term NCDs refers to a group of conditions that are not mainly caused by an acute infection, result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. The...se conditions include cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses.
Many NCDs can be prevented by reducing common risk factors such as tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity and eating unhealthy diets. Many other important conditions are also considered NCDs, including injuries and mental health disorders.
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Chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the number one cause of death and disability in the world.
The term NCDs refers to a group of conditions that are not mainly caused by an acute infection, result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. ...These conditions include cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses.
Many NCDs can be prevented by reducing common risk factors such as tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity and eating unhealthy diets. Many other important conditions are also considered NCDs, including injuries and mental health disorders.
more
The article "The silent epidemic of COPD in Africa" discusses the under-recognized yet significant prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Africa. Despite being the third leading cause of death worldwide, COPD remains poorly studied and largely unknown in sub-Saharan Africa. Th...e article highlights risk factors such as tobacco smoking and biomass smoke exposure, which significantly affect both men and women. Biomass smoke, in particular, is linked to COPD in younger individuals and impacts women due to prolonged exposure during cooking. The piece calls for better awareness, training for healthcare providers, and proactive measures to address and manage COPD in the region.
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The document provides information on managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It emphasizes the importance of recognizing early symptoms such as persistent coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing. The guide offers practical advice, including quitting smoking, avoiding lung irritant...s, regular consultations with healthcare providers, and seeking support from friends and caregivers. It also highlights the value of preparing for medical visits, noting symptoms, understanding risk factors, and taking notes during appointments to maximize treatment effectiveness.
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The article from The Lancet Global Health discusses the "silent epidemic" of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Africa, emphasizing its status as an under-recognized yet significant health issue. Although COPD is the third leading cause of death globally, it remains largely overlooked i...n African countries. The article highlights studies indicating varying prevalence rates of COPD across sub-Saharan Africa, with major risk factors including tobacco smoking and biomass smoke exposure. The findings suggest that COPD in Africa often affects younger age groups (30–40 years), likely due to early exposure to biomass smoke. The author calls for better education and training for healthcare providers and urges policymakers to address COPD through improved surveillance and effective prevention and treatment strategies.
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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global epidemic with significant morbidity. Diabetic
retinopathy (DR) is the specific microvascular complication of DM and affects 1 in 3 persons with DM. DR remains a leading cause of vision loss in working adult populations. Patients with severe levels of DR are report...ed to have poorer quality of life and reduced levels of physical, emotional, and social well-being, and they utilize more health care resources.
Epidemiological studies and clinical trials have shown that optimal control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids can reduce the risk of developing retinopathy and slow its progression. Timely treatment with laser photocoagulation, and increasingly, the appropriate use of intraocular administration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors can prevent visual loss in vision- threatening retinopathy, particularly diabetic macular edema (DME). Since visual loss may not be present in the earlier stages of retinopathy, regular screening of persons with diabetes is essential to enable early intervention.
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Schistosomiasis is a chronic parasitic infection caused by worms. It is most common in rural and impoverished populations. In the Americas, the parasite species is Schistosoma mansoni, which is associated with intestinal schistosomiasis. The main risk factor for infection is exposure through househo...ld, work, or recreational activities in fresh water contaminated with faeces from infected humans.
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This document provides a generic model that can be used for risk assessment of exposure to insecticide products applied as indoor residual sprays. It aims to harmonize the risk assessment of such insecticides for public health use in order to generate comparable data for their registering and labell...ing by national regulatory authorities. The assessment considers both adults and children (all age groups) as well as people in the following specific categories:
- those preparing the spray;
- those applying the spray;
- residents living in the treated houses;
- residents who participate in preparing and applying insecticides.
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Check out this animation and see how location, proximity and time can help you make safer choices when you're in an area of widespread COVID-19 transmission
Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and disability globally. In low- and middle-income countries hypertension has a major social impact, increasing the disease burden and costs for national health systems. The present call to action aims to stimulate all A...frican countries to adopt several solutions to achieve better hypertension management. The following 3 goals should be achieved in Africa by 2030: (1) 80% of adults with high blood pressure in Africa are diagnosed; (2) 80% of diagnosed hypertensives, that is, 64% of all hypertensives, are treated; and (3) 80% of treated hypertensive patients are controlled. To achieve these aims, we call on individuals and organizations from government, private sector, health care, and civil society in Africa and indeed on all Africans to undertake a few specific high priority actions. The aim is to improve the detection, diagnosis, management, and control of hypertension, now considered to be the leading preventable killer in Africa.
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Objective: To conduct a landscape assessment of public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and acute myocardial infarction symptoms, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) awareness and training in three underserved communities in Brazil.
Metho...ds: A cross-sectional, population-based survey of non-institutionalised adults age 30 or greater was conducted in three municipalities in Eastern Brazil. Data were analysed as survey-weighted percentages of the sampled populations.
Results: 3035 surveys were completed. Overall, one-third of respondents was unable to identify at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor and 25% unable to identify at least one myocardial infarction symptom. A minority of respondents had received training in CPR or were able to identify an AED. Low levels of education and low socioeconomic status were consistent predictors of lower knowledge levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors, acute coronary syndrome symptoms and CPR and AED use.
Conclusions: In three municipalities in Eastern Brazil, overall public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and symptoms, as well as knowledge of appropriate CPR and AED use was low. Our findings indicate the need for interventions to improve public knowledge and response to acute cardiovascular events in Brazil as a first step towards improving health outcomes in this population. Significant heterogeneity in knowledge seen across sites and socioeconomic strata indicates a need to appropriately target such interventions.
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The document systematically examines dietary and lifestyle factors influencing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Western Pacific region. It highlights regional nutrition transitions, including dietary improvements like increased fruit and vegetable consumption and reduced salt intake, alongsid...e challenges like rising ultra-processed food consumption. The findings stress the need for stronger national policies, tailored interventions, and international collaboration to reduce NCD risks and improve public health outcomes.
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These key factors can help you live a longer, healthier life and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. They’re part of an overall healthy lifestyle and prevention approach you can build with your health care team (doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other professionals).
The article investigates the global burden and risk factors of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It emphasizes that COPD is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with significant health and economic impacts. The study identifies smoking as the primary risk factor, but als...o highlights other contributors such as occupational exposure, air pollution, and respiratory infections. The authors discuss variations in COPD prevalence and mortality rates across different regions, influenced by socioeconomic and environmental factors. The article calls for comprehensive public health strategies to reduce exposure to risk factors and improve early diagnosis and management to curb the global impact of COPD.
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Contains many illustrations of all country materials – of risk factors, treatment procedures, side effects, coping, healthy lifestyle, and more; Promotes cancer screening, especially for breast and cervical cancer, and gives local resources; Educates about local cancer risk factors, e.g., HIV infe...ction, ‘burning buvera or breathing in diesel fumes'; Emphasizes the need to avoid tobacco and heavy alcohol use
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The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) began 30 years ago with the goal of providing timely, valid and relevant assessments of critical health outcomes. Over this period, the GBD has become progressively more granular. The latest iteration provides assessments of thousands of outcomes for diseases..., injuries and risk factors in more than 200 countries and territories and at the subnational level in more than 20 countries. The GBD is now produced by an active collaboration of over 8,000 scientists and analysts from more than 150 countries. With each GBD iteration, the data, data processing and methods used for data synthesis have evolved, with the goal of enhancing transparency and comparability of measurements and communicating various sources of uncertainty. The GBD has many limitations, but it remains a dynamic, iterative and rigorous attempt to provide meaningful health measurement to a wide range of stakeholders.
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Reproductive Health, Vol. 10, Supplement 1, 15 November 2012.
Reproductive Health Journal has published a supplement entitled “Born Too Soon” which addresses factors in the preconception and pregnancy period which may increase the risk of preterm birth and also outlines potential interventions ...which may reduce preterm birth rates and improve survival of preterm babies by as much as 84% annually. This is critical in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG 4) for child survival by 2015 and beyond.
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The American Heart Association, in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, annually reports the most up-to-date statistics related to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular risk factors, including core health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, diet, and weight) and health factors ...(cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose control) that contribute to cardiovascular health. The Statistical Update presents the latest data on a range of major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions (including stroke, congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, heart failure, valvular disease, venous disease, and peripheral artery disease) and the associated outcomes (including quality of care, procedures, and economic costs).
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Lancet Public health 2022 January 6, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2468-2667(21)00249-8
Growth in the number of individuals living with dementia underscores the need for public health planning efforts and policy to address the needs of this group. Country-level estimates can be used to inform nati...onal planning efforts and decisions. Multifaceted approaches, including scaling up interventions to address modifiable risk factors and investing in research on biological mechanisms, will be key in addressing the expected increases in the number of individuals affected by dementia.
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In 2007, WHO warned that infectious diseases are emerging and re-emerging at a rate that has not been seen before. The potential for infectious diseases to spread rapidly results in high morbidity and mortality, causing a potential global public health treat of major concern.
Several factors are ...contributing to the (re)emergence of infectious diseases such as population growth, living in close contact with animals, frequent travelling, poverty, destructive ecological changes due to economic development and land use and climate change result in global warming.
Especially Africa is at a threat for (re)emerging infectious diseases due to the huge population growth (expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050) with rapid urbanisation. Additionally, people across and beyond the continent are excessively mobile which is combined with a weak health system. Moreover, the risk of (re)emerging infectious disease is further heightened by three newly adopted continental initiatives: African Continental Free Trade Area, Free Movement of Persons and African Passport and Single African Air Transport Market.
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