NCDs

Question 1

What is a NCD?

Answer 1

Chronic diseases, cannot be passed from person to person, long duration and slow progression
Characteristics: long latency period, prolonged course of illness, non-contagious, complex etiology/multiple risk factors, premature mortality, functional impairment or disability, low cure rates, long term and costly care, diagnosis often made at a late stage

Question 2

What is the burden of NCDs?

Answer 2

68% of worldwide deaths due to NCDs
75% of NCD death occur in LMICs
42% of NCD deaths are premature (before age 70)
82% of premature deaths are in LMICs
(No longer diseases of affluence or old age)
NCDs are becoming an epidemic all over the world.

Question 3

What is a modifiable risk factor?

Answer 3

Can be reduced through intervention to reduce likelihood of morbidity
Examples: behavioral/metabolic
Four behavioral factors prioritized by WHO: physical inactivity, tobacco use, alcohol use, unhealthy diets

Question 4

What is a non-modifiable risk factor?

Answer 4

No interventions, ie age, sex, race, family history/genetics

Question 5

How is industry a vector?

Answer 5

Power of industry and interest groups in shaping health policies
• Poli1cal and economic incen1ves favoring industry at expense of health
– Tobacco revenue in countries with a governmentOowned tobacco industry
– Subsidies paid for corn based agriculture and mass produced processed foods
– Industrial growth at expense of environment

Question 6

Burden

Answer 6

• Significant burden
– Increase vulnerability to communicable
diseases
• Loss of productivity due to premature deaths and disability
• Burdensome individual costs – disability, absenteeism, lost income (poverty), healthcare costs
• Na1onal healthcare costs
– US: CVD and diabetes cost $750 billion
annually.
• In 2011–2025, cumulative economic losses due to NCDs in LMICs countries estimated at US$ 7 trillion