2.a. Economically developed countries have higher cases of non-communicable diseases

What is Omran’s model of epidemiological transition?

• It describes the relationship between development, changing patterns of population age distribution, mortality, fertility, life expectancy and causes of death

What happens as a country develops economically?

• Improvements in healthcare, standards of living and the quality of environment

What is the age of pestilence and famine (pre-industrial societies)?

• Mortality rate is high - people are susceptible to infectious diseases

• Life expectancy is low - factors such as poor sanitation, contaminated drinking water and low standards of living

• Population growth is slow

What is the age of receding pandemics (industrial societies)?

• Life expectancy rises - factors such as medical technology, diet and hygiene

• Population growth increases

• Shift from infectious diseases to chronic and degenerative diseases

What is the age of degenerative and man-made diseases (post-industrial societies)?

• Mortality related to infectious disease is rare

• Degenerative disease becomes the main cause of mortality

• Man-made diseases associated with environmental change is prevalent

What is the potential 4th phase of Omran’s model?

• The age of delayed degenerative diseases

• Medical advances delay the onset of degenerative CVD

• Obesity and diabetes rates increases

Which kind of non-communicable diseases do LIDC’s face?

• Animal-borne

• Water-borne - malaria, bilharzia and cholera

• Food-borne

• Malnutrition - kwashiorkor, marasmus, rickets, scurvy, pellagra

What is the main cause of communicable diseases in LIDC’s?

• Lack of health-care services and nutrition

• Poor environmental and living conditions

• Location

Why does undernutrition/malnutrition increase the risks of disease in LIDC’s?

• Undernutrition - insufficient food intake to maintain body weight

• Malnutrition - an unbalanced diet

• Weakens the immune system, bacterial and viral infections

Why does environmental conditions increase the risks of disease in LIDC’s?

• Water pollution - lack of sanitation and hygiene - wells and surface streams

• Poor drainage - breeding sites for disease vectors

• Informal housing and overcrowded

Why does location increase the risks of disease in LIDC’s?

• Tropics and subtropics - high temperatures and abundant rainfall (ideal epidemiology)

Which kind of non-communicable diseases do AC’s face?

• CVD, diabetes and cancer dominate mortality rates

Why have communicable diseases been eliminated by AC’s?

• Advancements in medical diagnosis and treatment, high standards of living, proper sanitation, clean water supplies and diet

What is the life expectancy like in AC’s?

• Prolonged life expectancies - increases the proportion of deaths connected to degenerative diseases and old age

What is the main cause of non-communicable diseases in AC’s?

• Sedentary lifestyles - overnutrition, increases the likelihood of CVD, type-2 diabetes, hypertension and cancers

• Obesity and inactivity are apparent in younger age groups