Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are adverse health issues that progress slowly and often threaten one's health without causing symptoms until the situation has moved to an elevated level. The majority of the diseases are non-infectious and are caused by genetic, physiological, developmental, and environmental factors. Specific examples include lung cancer, leukemia, hypertension, skin cancer, and stroke. On the other hand, people minimize their likelihood of getting illnesses by eradicating the risk factors. A critical examination of NCDs is necessary since the diseases contribute to a high global mortality rate and impose numerous socioeconomic burdens.
NCDs are a significant cause of disease burden worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (2021), NCDs diseases mortalities account for 71% of all mortality each year. In particular, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers are the top four killers among NCDs in mortality rates. On the other hand, NCDs cover many diseases that affect many people worldwide, including gastroenterological illnesses, endocrine, dermal diseases, and disabilities. Nonetheless, NCDs can be caused by infectious pathogenic microorganisms (Coates et al., 2020). There is hepatitis B virus (HBV), which also affects many globally and presents a public health risk due to its potential to spread quickly. There are, however, international efforts underway to combat the two infectious causative risks of NCDs. The World Health Organization, for example, has necessitated international cooperation to eradicate cervical cancer and hepatitis B and C. Vaccines against HPV and HBV have become widely available and supplement the effort in reducing the NCDs public health burden. Overall, efforts to eliminate the public health burden of NCDs must address infectious and non-infectious risk factors associated with the diseases.
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Furthermore, NCDs have a significant impact on people's socioeconomic well-being. For example, the sharp increase in NCDs is expected to negatively affect the ongoing poverty eradication programs in developing nations (WHO, 2021). For instance, NCDs have a direct influence on the downward trend of peoples' income. Individuals ailing from the diseases might be unable to perform their work-related task, which is a significant threat to the national economy as it causes widespread loss of labor productivity. Furthermore, NCDs raise healthcare costs for households. As a result, economically disadvantaged people increasingly get sick as they cannot afford nutritious meals and healthy living conditions. From this perspective, their mortality rates are high compared to people in financially stable conditions. Poor people are also more likely to engage in unhealthy practices such as smoking and less access to health care. NCDs' lengthy and expensive treatment and reduced productive workforce due to victims' deaths drive people into poverty and suppress economic growth and development.
Further, NCDs are linked with a range of risk factors. According to Budreviciute et al. (2020), they are categorized as modifiable or non-modifiable factors. Hypertension, smoking, metabolic disorders, physical inactivity, overweight, and hyperlipidemia are all varying risk factors. Age, sexual orientation, biological predispositions, and race are examples of non-modifiable risk factors. Several NCDs have historically been related to financial well-being, as many associated the diseases with the affluent. However, the incidence of NCDs in poor communities has risen in recent years (Coates et al., 2020). The lack of well-planned and evidence-based approaches to prevent NCDs occurrence and spread is the main barrier that increases the rise in the number of patient populations in developing regions.
However, given that NCDs are primarily triggered by behavioral and physiologic factors, NCDs prevention and management strategies can include various feasible approaches. According to Budreviciute et al. (2020), the best plan will consist of lifestyle management, sensitization, national health policy actions, international health strategic planning components, and activities like partnerships, data systems, and new technologies. Further, patients with NCDs or those at risk of developing the conditions require extensive, individualized, assertive, and sustainable health care. For instance, lifestyle management strategies effectively contribute to improvements in eating plans, physical activity, quitting smoking, and control of metabolic disorders. Subsequently, effective primary health care can help communities’ control NCDs and identify the diseases early by coordinating and implementing public health crisis identification and prevention procedures. As a result, they will significantly solve the problems associated with the high healthcare costs. Beyond the health sector, beneficial effects related to economic growth, such as safe drinking water, enhanced waste management, and a living environment less conducive to the spread of infectious diseases, provides the chance of some progress against contagious diseases causing NCD. From this perspective, the advancement of effective diagnostic methods facilitates the efficient identification of NCDs biomarkers with improved sensitivity to aid in the early detection of diseases, resulting in quicker treatment.
To conclude, NCDs are the primary healthcare challenge in modern society. The management of risk factors is critical in the treatment of NCDs. The management necessitates various approaches from various viewpoints and at multiple levels, including personal and collective dimensions. As explained, the most critical aspect of the preventive process is individual lifestyle control and a focus on actions such as new research in NCDs prevention and treatment. The move can aid society in raising risk factor management awareness, improving health policies at the national level, and developing effective global health strategies to control diseases. International health agencies such as WHO and UN can collaborate at the global level to develop policies and programs to minimize the incidence of NCDs. Furthermore, setting specific and accurate diagnostic channels to trace NCDs at care delivery will benefit health professionals and the healthcare system to control the diseases effectively. Innovations are also critical to successfully addressing the rapidly increasing NCD crisis and using lifestyle initiatives such as healthy eating habits to improve individuals’ health.
References
Budreviciute, A., Damiati, S., Sabir, D. K., Onder, K., Schuller-Goetzburg, P., Plakys, G., Katileviciute, A., Khoja, S., & Kodzius, R. (2020). Management and Prevention Strategies for Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Their Risk Factors. Frontiers in Public Health , 8 , 788. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.574111
Coates, M. M., Kintu, A., Gupta, N., Wroe, E. B., Adler, A. J., Kwan, G. F., Park, P. H., Rajbhandari, R., Byrne, A. L., Casey, D. C., & Bukhman, G. (2020). Burden of non-communicable diseases from infectious causes in 2017: A modeling study. The Lancet Global Health , 8 (12), 1489–1499. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30358-2
World Health Organization. (2021, April 13). Non communicable diseases . http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases.
