This document summarizes the findings of the STEPS survey in Ukraine and compares them with the results of STEPS surveys carried out in other countries in the WHO European Region, as well as with selected other surveys in Ukraine. The survey is designed to be repeated approximately every five years ...in each country to allow assessment of trends.
The study revealed very high prevalence of NCDs and their behavioural and biological risk factors in Ukraine. Data on behavioural risk factors include tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and physical activity. Data on biological risk factors include overweight and obesity, blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipid levels.
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Risk factors for noncommunicable diseases in Ukraine in 2019. This document summarizes the findings of the STEPS survey in Ukraine and compares them with the results of STEPS surveys carried out in other countries in the WHO European Region, as well as with selected other surveys in Ukraine. The sur...vey is designed to be repeated approximately every five years in each country to allow assessment of trends.
The study revealed very high prevalence of NCDs and their behavioural and biological risk factors in Ukraine. Data on behavioural risk factors include tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and physical activity. Data on biological risk factors include overweight and obesity, blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipid levels.
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Diabetes is a major public health problem in the Americas and worldwide, demanding special attention and integrated response. It is estimated that more than 62 million adults are living with diabetes in the Americas. The projections show that diabetes prevalence will continue to increase to at least... 2025. Its steady rise has been mainly due to the high prevalence of risk factors, especially overweight/obesity and physical inactivity. Diabetes also is one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide and across our Region.
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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 81% of all deaths in the region of the Americas, of which 34% befall prematurely in people between 30- 69 years old. The burden of theses diseases and their common risk factors jeopardize the health systems to provide adequate management, as well a...s to implement customized policies and interventions. The PAHO/WHO STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance (STEPS) is a simple, sequential, standardized method for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data on key NCD risk factors in countries in adults from 18 to 69 years old. This survey covers key modifiable risk factors: tobacco use, alcohol use, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet, as well as key biological risk factors: overweight and obesity, raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose, and abnormal blood lipids. STEPS is a household survey that gathers information on the risk factors through a face-to-face interview (step 1), simple physical measurements (step 2), and collection of urine and blood samples for biochemical analysis (step 3). Every step has a core set of questions, measurements, and expanded sets depending on the countries' needs and interests. It also has optional modules. Implementing STEPS allows the comparability of data within and between countries due to its standardized data collection. It also helps health services plan public health priorities and monitors and evaluates population-wide interventions. It is designed to help countries build and strengthen their capacity to conduct surveillance. STEPS captures 11 of the 25 indicators outlined in the NCD Global Monitoring Framework relating to 7 of the nine global targets.
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Tanzania, like other developing countries, is facing a higher burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The country is experiencing rapid growth of modifiable and intermediate risk factors that accelerate CVD mortality and morbidity rates. In rural and urban settings, cardiovascular risk factors suc...h as tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, overweight, and obesity, are documented to be higher in this review. Increased urbanization, lifestyle changes, lack of awareness and rural to urban movement have been found to increase CVD risk factors in Tanzania. Despite the identification of modifiable risk factors for CVDs, there is still limited information on physical inactivity and eating habits among Tanzanian population that needs to be addressed. Conclusively, primary prevention, improved healthcare system, which include affordable health services, availability of trained health care providers, improved screening and diagnostic equipment, adequate guidelines, and essential drugs for CVDs are the key actions that need to be implemented for cost effective control and management of CVDs. Effective policy for control and management of CVDs should also properly be employed to ensure fruitful implementation of different interventions.
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Key facts
- A healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
- Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.
- Healthy dietary practices start... early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer term health benefits such as reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.
- Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with energy expenditure. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake (1, 2, 3). Intake of saturated fats should be less than 10% of total energy intake, and intake of trans-fats less than 1% of total energy intake, with a shift in fat consumption away from saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats (3), and towards the goal of eliminating industrially-produced trans-fats (4, 5, 6).
- Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake (2, 7) is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits (7).
- Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day (equivalent to sodium intake of less than 2 g per day) helps to prevent hypertension, and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population (8).
- WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30% by 2025; they have also agreed to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025 (9, 10).
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Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar, or glucose), or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Diabetes is an important public health problem, one of four priority noncom...municable diseases (NCDs) targeted for action by world leaders. Both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past few decades
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Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar, or glucose), or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Diabetes is an important public health problem, one of four priority noncom...municable diseases (NCDs) targeted for action by world leaders. Both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past few decades.
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Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a growing public health problem in Ghana and other African countries. Strokes and other CVDs have become a leading cause of death due to increasing risk factors such as hypertension. According to the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD), ischaemic heart disease was... the fourth leading cause of death in Ghana in 2016. The prevalence of hyper-
tension, a major risk factor for CVDs, is increasing rapidly and ranges from 19% to 48%, according to the Ghana Health Service Annual Report, 2017, due to rising life expectancy and the increasing prevalence of contributing factors such as overweight/obesity. Early diagnosis and adequate management of the risk factors can reduce the fatal consequences of CVDs.
At the heart of improving risk assessment and management of CVDs are nationally approved guidelines, which facilitate standardisation of care approaches.
These guidelines developed by experts from all levels of health care and stakeholders capture all recommended approaches and necessary information for clinicians and other healthcare workers on CVDs. They also serve as a practical guide for assessing and managing the most important CVDs prevalent in Ghana and can be used at all levels of care namely health facilities without a doctor; with a general practitioner and with a physician specialist.
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The World Health Organization's fact sheet on hypertension provides a comprehensive overview of high blood pressure, highlighting its prevalence, risk factors, and health implications. It emphasizes that hypertension is a major cause of premature death worldwide, with an estimated 1.28 billion adult...s aged 30–79 years affected, two-thirds of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.
The document outlines modifiable risk factors, including unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, and being overweight or obese. It also discusses non-modifiable risk factors such as family history, age over 65 years, and co-existing conditions like diabetes or kidney disease. The fact sheet underscores the importance of regular blood pressure monitoring, as hypertension often presents without symptoms, and highlights lifestyle changes and medications as effective treatments. Additionally, it mentions global targets aimed at reducing the prevalence of hypertension by 33% between 2010 and 2030.
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The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Africa webpage on diabetes provides an overview of the disease's impact in the African Region. It highlights that diabetes is a serious, chronic, and costly condition, with projections estimating cases to rise to 23.9 million by 2030. The page outl...ines risk factors such as physical inactivity, overweight and obesity, tobacco use, and diets high in unhealthy fats and calories. It also discusses the three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Recent surveys indicate that up to 15% of adults aged 25 to 64 in the region have diabetes, with many unaware of their condition. The lack of access to proper treatment and medications, especially insulin, often leads to complications like neurological, vascular, or visual disorders, heart disease, stroke, lower limb amputation, and kidney failure.
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Obesity and diabetes are affecting the peoples of the Americas at high and increasing rates. National surveys demonstrate that obesity is increasing in prevalence among all age groups; 7% to 12% of children under 5 years old and
one-fi fth of adolescents are obese, while rates of overweight and obe...sity among adults approach 60%. Obesity is the major modifi able risk factor for diabetes.
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One in three people globally suffers from at least one form of malnutrition, leading to poor health outcomes and low productivity in the workplace. The workplace offers an important, relatively unexploited opportunity to address malnutrition in all its forms. This narrative literature review aims to... understand the impact of workforce nutrition programmes on nutrition, health, and business outcomes, based on high-strength-of-evidence studies. We used PubMed as our primary research database, complemented by Google Scholar, to identify systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomised controlled trials published between January 2010 and October 2021. In total, 26 records were included. We found that comprehensive workforce nutrition programmes, including a variety of intervention areas, and/or programmes targeting high-risk categories of workers (overweight/obese or (pre-)diabetic) were more likely to be effective on nutrition, health, and business outcomes. Within comprehensive and targeted programmes, individualised counselling and worksite environmental modifications were often mentioned as the most effective components. However, a high degree of heterogeneity in outcome measures and programme designs made it difficult to draw strong conclusions on the impact of workforce nutrition interventions. Limited evidence was found on business outcomes, longer-term effects of interventions, and programme implementation in LMICs. Therefore, further research is needed to address these evidence gaps.
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Background
Asthma remains highly prevalent, with more severe symptoms in low-income to middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with high-income countries. Identifying risk factors for severe asthma symptoms can assist with improving outcomes. We aimed to determine the prevalence, severity and ris...k factors for asthma in adolescents in an LMIC.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey using the Global Asthma Network written and video questionnaires was conducted in adolescents aged 13 and 14 from randomly selected schools in Durban, South Africa, between May 2019 and June 2021.
Results
A total of 3957 adolescents (51.9% female) were included. The prevalence of lifetime, current and severe asthma was 24.6%, 13.7% and 9.1%, respectively. Of those with current and severe asthma symptoms; 38.9% (n=211/543) and 40.7% (n=147/361) had doctor-diagnosed asthma; of these, 72.0% (n=152/211) and 70.7% (n=104/147), respectively, reported using inhaled medication in the last 12 months. Short-acting beta agonists (80.4%) were more commonly used than inhaled corticosteroids (13.7%). Severe asthma was associated with: fee-paying school quintile (adjusted OR (CI)): 1.78 (1.27 to 2.48), overweight (1.60 (1.15 to 2.22)), exposure to traffic pollution (1.42 (1.11 to 1.82)), tobacco smoking (2.06 (1.15 to 3.68)), rhinoconjunctivitis (3.62 (2.80 to 4.67)) and eczema (2.24 (1.59 to 3.14)), all p<0.01.
Conclusion
Asthma prevalence in this population (13.7%) is higher than the global average (10.4%). Although common, severe asthma symptoms are underdiagnosed and associated with atopy, environmental and lifestyle factors. Equitable access to affordable essential controller inhaled medicines addressing the disproportionate burden of asthma is needed in this setting.
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This manual is part of a series of guides devised by the Oxfam Public Health Engineering Team to help provide a reliable water supply for populations affected by conflict or natural disaster. Storage tanks are required for collection of water from springs or water produced from continuous flow water... treatment systems, e.g. from upflow clarifiers or slow sand filters. There should be sufficient storage volume to store all water produced overnight, as this is unlikely to be collected by users during the night. Storage tanks also have secondary functions such as ensuring a constant water supply to treatment processes, providing a level of treatment by settlement of larger suspended solids and maintaining pressure in distribution systems
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This guideline provides evidence-informed guidance on the use of non-sugar sweeteners to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain and diet-related noncommunicable diseases in adults and children. The guidance in this guideline is not based on toxicological assessments of the safety of individual no...n-sugar sweeteners and is therefore not intended to update or replace guidance on safe or maximal levels of intake established by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) or other authoritative bodies.
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This guideline provides updated, evidence-informed guidance on the percentage of total fat in the diet to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain.
This guideline is intended for a wide audience involved in the development, design and implementation of policies and programmes in nutrition and pub...lic health. This guideline includes a recommended level of total fat intake which can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to address various aspects of dietary fat in their populations through a range of policy actions and public health interventions.
The guidance in this guideline replaces previous WHO guidance on total fat intake, including that from the 1989 WHO Study Group on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and the 2002 Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. The guidance in this guideline should be considered in the context of that from other WHO guidelines on healthy diets.
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Las tasas cada vez mayores de sobrepeso y obesidad son una amenaza para la salud de miles de millones
de personas en todo el mundo. En 2016, más de 1900 millones de mayores de 18 años tenían sobrepeso , de los cuales más de 600 millones eran obesos. En 2020, más de 38 millones de menores de 5 ...años tenían sobrepeso, lo que supone un aumento de casi 6 millones en los últimos 20 años
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This first in a series of Washington Group Implementation Documents covers the tools developed by the Washington Group to collect
internationally comparable disability data on censuses and surveys. WG Implementation guideline Tool 1
Анализ статистических данных в Кыргызстане показывает, что показатели смертности от инсультов превышают показатели заболеваемости. Учитывая то, что на сегодняшн...й день в стране, особенно в регионах, диагностика инсульта главным образом основана на клинических методах обследования больных и личном опыте врача, такие расхождения могут быть результатом неправильной постановки посмертного диагноза инсульт. В настоящем документе описываются результаты исследования, целью которого было проведение анализа верифицированности диагноза «инсульт» у лиц, умерших на дому на основе анализа медицинской документации.
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