scholarly journals Strategy for primary prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and mitigation of climate change in Italy

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-215726
Author(s):  
Paolo Vineis ◽  
Jessica Beagley ◽  
Lucia Bisceglia ◽  
Luca Carra ◽  
Roberto Cingolani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Sugary Drinks ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes

This paper derives from a document commissioned in 2019 by the Italian Minister of Health, and outlines a general strategy for primary prevention of non-communicable diseases in Italy, with a special focus on cobenefits of climate change mitigation. Given that action against climate change is primarily taken via energy choices, limiting the use of fossil fuels and promoting renewable sources, an effective strategy is one in which interventions are designed to prevent diseases and jointly mitigate climate change, the so-called cobenefits. For policies capable of producing relevant co-benefits we focus on three categories of interventions, urban planning, diet and transport that are of special importance. For example, policies promoting active transport (cycling, walking) have the triple effect of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, preventing diseases related to atmospheric pollution, and increasing physical activity, thus preventing obesity and diabetes.In particular, we propose that for 2025 the following goals are achieved: reduce the prevalence of smokers by 30%, with particular emphasis on young people; reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity by 20%; reduce the proportion of calories obtained from ultraprocessed foods by 20%; reduce the consumption of alcohol by 10%; reduce the consumption of salt by 30%; reduce the consumption of sugary drinks by 20%; reduce the average consumption of meat by 20%; increase the weekly hours of exercise by 10%. The aim is to complement individual health promotion with structural policies (such as urban planning, taxation and incentives) which render the former more effective and result in a reduction in inequality. We strongly encourage the inclusion of primary prevention in all policies, in light of the described cobenefits. Italy’s role as the cohost of the 2020 (now 2021) UN climate negotiations (COP26) presents the opportunity for international leadership in addressing health as an integral component of the response to climate change.

scholarly journals Non-communicable diseases and climate change: linked global emergencies

The Lancet ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 394 (10199) ◽  
pp. 622-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Nugent ◽  
Edward Fottrell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases

scholarly journals “There’s Not Really Much Consideration Given to the Effect of the Climate on NCDs”—Exploration of Knowledge and Attitudes of Health Professionals on a Climate Change-NCD Connection in Barbados

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 198
Author(s):  
Roxanne A. Springer ◽  
Susan J. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Psychosocial Health ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Future Burden

Despite widespread awareness of the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and the growing threat of climate change, little research has explored future health outcomes that will occur at the intersection of these challenges. Ten Barbadian health professionals were interviewed to assess their knowledge of health risks of climate change as it relates to NCDs in Barbados as a case study of a small island state at risk. There is widespread concern among health professionals about the current and future prevalence of non-communicable diseases among Barbadians. There is less concern about the future burden of NCDs in the context of a changing climate, largely because of a lack of knowledge among the majority of the health experts interviewed. Those knowledgeable about potential connections noted the difficulty that climate change would pose to the prevention and management of NCDs, given the impacts of climate stressors to food security, the built environment, and physiological and psychosocial health impacts. Lack of awareness among health professionals of the risk climate change poses to NCD prevalence and impact is reflective of the country’s health priorities that fail to recognize the risk of climate change. We recommend efforts to disseminate information about climate change to stakeholders in the health sector to increase awareness.

scholarly journals Impact of nutritional risk factors on chronic non-communicable diseases

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Grosso
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Nutritional Risk ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
High Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Dietary Risk Factors ◽  
Dietary Risk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background modifiable risk factors, can help to identify emerging threats to population health and opportunities for prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD). Among various risk factors, poor nutrition quality has been identified as a leading determinant of NCD. Methods The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) Study provided a comprehensive comparative risk assessment (CRA) of risk factor for NCD, quantifying the impact of behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk-outcome pairs that met the GBD study criteria for convincing or probable evidence of causation. Special focus on nutritional risk factors will be dedicated, discussing the proportion of disease-specific burden attributable to each dietary risk factor and the level of intake associated with the lowest risk of mortality. Results In 2017, over 30 million deaths were attributable to risk factors. When ranked, high systolic blood pressure was the leading risk factor, accounting for more than 10 million deaths, followed by, high fasting plasma glucose, and high body-mass index. A total of 11 million deaths were attributable to dietary risk factors. High intake of sodium, low intake of whole grains, and low intake of fruits were the leading dietary risk factors for deaths globally. However, important differences between regions and outcome (i.e., cardiovascular disease vs. cancer) have been registered. Besides the major aforementioned factors, underrated dietary risk factors, such as low calcium intake, have been found important contributors to cancer burden in certain developed countries. Interpretation The combination of increasing metabolic risks and population ageing will probably continue to drive the increasing trends in NCD at the global level. These data provide a comprehensive picture of the potential impact of suboptimal diet on NCD mortality and morbidity, highlighting the need for improving diet across nations.

Urban Planning, Development and Non-communicable Diseases

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mala Rao ◽  
Francoise Barten ◽  
Neil Blackshaw ◽  
Jostacio Lapitan ◽  
Gauden Galea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Planning Development

scholarly journals Adopting healthy habits through the collaboration of health, education and culture systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Puljak ◽  
M Maric Bajs ◽  
Z Sostar
Keyword(s):  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Health Promotion Program ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Healthy Habits ◽  
The City

Abstract Background The ’Adopt healthy habits’ program is a health promotion program that links the health system, education system and the City of Zagreb library. It is based on the association of mental, physical and emotional health factors. It is done through work in smaller groups, using educational interactive materials and methods with selected books in accordance with the topic of the workshop and with the practice of applying the adopted knowledge. Methods of work The methodological basis of the programs are health workshops conducted in the libraries of the City of Zagreb in cooperation with the primary schools. They imply working with students by acting on risk factors: obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and low self-esteem. The skills used are promoting health, cognitive-behavioral methods, health education, kinesiology, nutrition and bibliotherapy. Objectives Educating students about the importance and ways of adopting healthy habits and gaining self-esteem and reducing the occurrence of risky behaviors. Long-term objectives are improvement of the psychophysical development of students, increase of the population of the City of Zagreb with balanced dietary habits and regular physical activity and normal body mass index and reduction of the occurrence of chronic non-communicable diseases in adulthood. Results In the period from 2015 to 2018, a total of 141 workshops were conducted through which 3,106 pupils were educated. The workshops were conducted in 12 primary schools of the City of Zagreb and 5 of the related city libraries. Conclusions Interactive approaches in the creative environment proved to be the most appropriate in educative work with children. It is necessary to continue to implement this form of primary prevention on a wider population. Key messages Adopting healthy habits in childhood is the basis for primary prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases. Multidisciplinary approach to health education in youth assures a more permanent adoption of positive health behavior.

scholarly journals Macrolevel Association of COVID-19 with Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors in India

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Gaur ◽  
RS Khedar ◽  
Kishore Mangal ◽  
Arvind K Sharma ◽  
Rajinder K Dhamija ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
State Level ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
List Type ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes ◽  
Non Communicable Disease

ABSTRACTObjectiveGreater COVID-19 related mortality has been reported among persons with various non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We performed an ecological study to determine the association of state-level cases and deaths with NCD risk factors and healthcare and social indices.MethodsWe obtained cumulative national and state-level data on COVID-19 cases and deaths from publicly available database www.covid19india.org from February to end November 2020. To identify association with major NCD risk factors, NCDs, healthcare related and social variables we obtained data from public sources. Association was determined using univariate and multivariate statistics.ResultsMore than 9.5 million COVID-19 cases and 135,000 deaths have been reported in India at end November 2020. There is significant positive correlation (Pearson’s r) of state-level COVID-19 cases and deaths per million, respectively, with NCD risk factors- obesity (0.64, 0.52), hypertension (0.28, 0.16), diabetes (0.66, 0.46), literacy, NCD epidemiological transition index (0.58, 0.54) and ischemic heart disease mortality (0.22, 0.33). Correlation is also observed with indices of healthcare access and quality (0.71, 0.61), urbanization (0.75, 0.73) and human (0.61, 0.56) and sociodemographic (0.70, 0.69) development. Multivariate adjusted analyses shows strong correlation of COVID-19 burden and deaths with NCD risk factors (r2=0.51, 0.43), NCDs (r2=0.32, 0.16) and healthcare related factors (r2=0.52, 0.38).ConclusionsCOVID-19 disease burden and mortality in India is ecologically associated with greater state-level burden of NCDs and risk factors, especially obesity and diabetes.KEY MESSAGESThere is significant state-level variability in COVID-19 cases and deaths in India.In a macrolevel statistical analysis we find that Indian states with better human and sociodemographic indices, more literacy, longer age, greater burden of non-communicable diseases and risk factors have greater COVID-19 case burden and mortality.Non-communicable disease risk factors- obesity and diabetes are the most important determinants on multivariate analyses.

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