Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also called chronic diseases. Last a long time and happen because of a mix of things like genes, how the body works, environment, and behavior. The main types of NCDs are heart diseases (like heart attacks), cancers, lung diseases (such as COPD and asthma), and diabetes.
These diseases affect more people in countries where incomes are lower or middle-level. In these places, more than three-quarters of all NCD deaths happen. This adds up to about 31.4 million deaths each year worldwide from NCDs.
People at risk
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) affect people of all ages, in all places around the world. These diseases are often linked with older age, but evidence shows that 17 million NCD deaths happen before people reach 70 years old. Most of these early deaths, about 86%, occur in countries where incomes are lower or middle-level.
Children, adults, and older people can all face risks that lead to NCDs. These risks include eating unhealthy foods, not being active enough. Breathing in tobacco smoke, drinking too much alcohol, or living where the air is polluted.
NCDs are caused by things like cities growing too fast without a plan. More people around the world living the same unhealthy ways, and populations getting older. Eating bad diets and not moving enough can raise blood pressure. Make blood sugar go up, increase fats in the blood, and cause obesity. These are called metabolic risks and can lead to heart disease, which is the biggest NCD causing early deaths.
Risk factors
There are things we do and things around us that can increase our chances of getting noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
Behavioural Risk Factors
- Tobacco Use: Smoking and breathing in smoke from others can cause over 8 million deaths each year.
- Physical Inactivity: Not moving enough can lead to about 830,000 deaths annually.
- Unhealthy Diet: Eating too much salt and unhealthy foods contributes to about 1.8 million deaths yearly.
- Harmful Alcohol Use: Drinking too much alcohol can cause more than half of the 3 million deaths related to NCDs, like cancer.
Metabolic Risk Factors
- These are changes in your body that increase the risk of NCDs:
- High Blood Pressure: This is the biggest risk, leading to about 19% of all global deaths.
- Overweight/Obesity: Being too heavy.
- High Blood Sugar: This is also called hyperglycemia.
- High Blood Fat: Known as hyperlipidemia.
Environmental Risk Factors
- Air Pollution: Breathing in dirty air causes about 6.7 million deaths worldwide. Most of these, around 5.7 million, are because of NCDs like heart disease and lung problems.
These factors show how things we do and things around us can affect our health and increase the chances of getting serious diseases.
Socioeconomic impact
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a big challenge for reaching our goals for a better world by 2030. One of these goals is to reduce early deaths from the main NCDs by one third before people turn 70.
NCDs are closely tied to poverty. They’re growing fast and making it harder for poor countries to reduce poverty. This happens because families end up spending a lot on healthcare for these diseases. People who are already struggling in society get sicker and die sooner because they’re more likely to be around harmful things like tobacco or unhealthy foods. Also, they often can’t get good healthcare.
In places with fewer resources, treating NCDs costs a lot of money. Treatment can take a long time and be very expensive. Plus, when someone gets sick, they might not be able to work. This pushes millions of families into poverty every year and stops development from happening.
Prevention and control
To control NCDs, we need to focus on reducing the things that make these diseases more likely. There are affordable solutions that governments and other groups can use to lower these common risks. It’s also important to keep an eye on how NCDs are changing and how risky behaviors play a part. This helps leaders decide on the best policies and plans.
Working Together for Health: To lessen how much NCDs affect people and communities, everyone needs to work together. This includes health workers, money people, transportation planners, teachers, farmers, and others. Together, they can cut down on things that cause NCDs and push for actions that prevent and treat them.
Investing in Better Care: It’s crucial to invest in managing NCDs. This means finding these diseases early, checking for them, treating them, and giving good care to those who need it. The best way to do this is through basic health care that catches problems early and treats them fast. This saves money because it stops problems from getting worse and needing more expensive treatments.
If countries don’t have good health care for everyone, they can’t give people the right help for NCDs. Managing NCDs is really important to reach the goal of controlling these diseases by 2030.
Conclusion
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a big problem for global health and making the world a better place. These diseases, like heart problems, cancers, lung diseases, and diabetes. Affect people all over the world and often cause early deaths. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development wants to reduce these early deaths by one third through better prevention and treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is very important in leading the fight against NCDs. By making strong plans and working together with different countries and sectors. We can prevent and manage these diseases better. This will improve health and well-being for everyone. It is important to keep working on these efforts to ensure a healthier future for all.