WHO: Noncommunicable diseases on the rise globally

The first WHO global status report on noncommunicable diseases confirms that they are the leading cause of death and are on the rise. In 2008, 36.1 million people died from conditions such as heart disease, stroke, chronic lung disease, cancer and diabetes, and nearly 80% of these occurred in low- and middle-income countries, according to a press release.

“The rise of chronic noncommunicable diseases presents an enormous challenge,” Margaret Chan, MD, director-general of WHO, said during the WHO Global Forum in Moscow. “For some countries, it is no exaggeration to describe the situation as an impending disaster; a disaster for health, for society, and most of all for national economies.”

The report is a key component of the 2008-2013 action plan for the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. The action plan was endorsed by the 2008 World Health Assembly to help countries take action against noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) by raising the priority of NCD control, improving disease surveillance, enabling governments to take comprehensive action against the diseases, and protecting countries, particularly developing, from the burden of the epidemic.

Margaret Chan

The status report includes global, regional and country-specific statistics, evidence, and experiences necessary to implement a stronger response to the growing incidence of chronic NCDs. It provides a baseline to monitor future NCD trends and responses, including socioeconomic effects. The report provides advice and recommendations for all countries, with particular consideration for low- and middle-income countries that are hit hardest by NCDs.

According to Chan, “Chronic noncommunicable diseases deliver a two-punch blow to development. They cause billions of dollars in losses of national income, and they push millions of people below the poverty line, each and every year.”

Information from the report demonstrates that cardiovascular diseases accounts for 17 million people annually, followed by cancer (7.6 million), respiratory disease (4.2 million) and diabetes (1.3 million). These four groups of diseases account for around 80% of all NCD deaths and share four common risk factors:

Tobacco use.
Physical inactivity.
The harmful use of alcohol.
Poor diets.

However, deaths may be prevented by implementing government-wide action against NCDs, such as stronger anti-tobacco controls and promoting healthier diets, physical activity, reducing harmful use of alcohol, and improving access to health care.

“About 30% of people dying from NCDs in low- and middle-income countries are aged under 60 years and are in their most productive period of life. These premature deaths are all the more tragic because they are largely preventable,” Ala Alwan, MD, PhD, assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO, said in the press release. “This is a great loss, not just at an individual level, but also profoundly affecting [the] family and a country’s work force. For the millions struggling with poverty, a vicious circle ensues. Poverty contributes to NCDs and NCDs contribute to poverty. Unless the epidemic of NCDs is aggressively confronted, the global goal of reducing poverty will be difficult to achieve.”

In 2008, NCDs were responsible for 63% of deaths worldwide, equaling 36 million, with nearly 80% of these in low- and middle-income countries. Without action, the NCD epidemic is projected to kill 52 million people annually by 2030, according to the release.

The WHO report provides country-by-country estimates of the NCD epidemic and the associated risk factors, the challenges hindering many countries from taking action and measures that can save millions of lives and reduce spiraling health care costs.

Measures include implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to raise taxes on tobacco, ban tobacco advertising and legislation to curb smoking in public places. Other measures include reducing levels of salt in foods, putting an end to inappropriate marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages to children, and controls on harmful alcohol use.

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