Global Health: Time to Pay Attention to Chronic Diseases

From the 1 Ju;ly 2014 blog post

…While infectious diseases remain a significant problem in the developing world, cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases are now among the fastest growing causes of death and disability around the globe. In fact, nearly three-quarters of the 38 million people who died of chronic diseases in 2012 lived in low- or middle-income countries [1].

…

The good news is that many NCDs can be prevented by making lifestyle changes, such as reducing salt intake for hypertension, stopping smoking for cancer and heart disease, or venting cookstove fumes for lung disease. Other NCDs can be averted or controlled by taking medications, such as statins for high cholesterol or metformin for diabetes.

 

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Link Found Between Major Depression and Social Conditions

Blue- High income

Green- Upper middle income

Purple- Lower middle income

Red- Low income

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Bank_income_groups.svg

From a 27 July posting by dal22 in Research Now

Major depression is a serious condition, and can lead to a decline in function and quality of life. A new study published in the most recent issue of BMC Medicine reports on a survey of 89,037 adults from 18 high- and low-middle-income countries. Through face to face interviews, data were collected on prevalence, impairment, and demographic factors associated with depression.

Results showed that the average age of onset was 25.7 years in 10 high-income countries and 24.0 years in 8 low-middle-income countries. The ratio of females to males with major depression was

Countries based on World Bank income groupings for 2006 (calculated by GNI per capita, Atlas method).    High income    Upper-middle income    Lower-middle income    Low income

approximately 2:1. Major depression was associated with a younger age in high-income countries, while older age showed greater prevalence in several low-middle-income countries. Separation was found to be the most significant demographic factor in high income countries, while being divorced or widowed was most significant in low-middle-income countries.

According to the authors, major depression is a worldwide threat to public health and is strongly associated with social conditions. Further research will be needed for evaluation of risk factors contributing to occurrence of major depressive episodes.

Read the complete article.

Related articles

• US and France More Depressed Than Poor Countries (livescience.com)
• India named world’s most depressed nation (independent.co.uk)