What is already known about this topic?
Roughly 80% of the global disease burden caused by diabetes comes from low-and-middle income countries, and 60% of diabetics are located in Asia; 6 of the top 10 countries with the highest prevalence of diabetes are in Asia.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Diabetes Compact (GDC) was created as a global initiative to improve diabetes prevention and care, and to contribute to the global targets to reduce premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases by one-third by 2030.
The Incontrol video is a play put together by the ACACIA STUDY GROUP to address several misconceptions that people have about asthma.
The document "Appropriate use and withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)" from the IPCRG provides guidance on when to start, adjust, or discontinue ICS in COPD treatment. It highlights the benefits and risks, emphasizing personalized... treatment based on patient history, exacerbation frequency, and eosinophil count, while detailing how to optimize bronchodilator use to manage symptoms effectively.
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Objective: To conduct a landscape assessment of public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and acute myocardial infarction symptoms, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) awareness and training in three underserved communities in Brazil.
Metho...ds: A cross-sectional, population-based survey of non-institutionalised adults age 30 or greater was conducted in three municipalities in Eastern Brazil. Data were analysed as survey-weighted percentages of the sampled populations.
Results: 3035 surveys were completed. Overall, one-third of respondents was unable to identify at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor and 25% unable to identify at least one myocardial infarction symptom. A minority of respondents had received training in CPR or were able to identify an AED. Low levels of education and low socioeconomic status were consistent predictors of lower knowledge levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors, acute coronary syndrome symptoms and CPR and AED use.
Conclusions: In three municipalities in Eastern Brazil, overall public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and symptoms, as well as knowledge of appropriate CPR and AED use was low. Our findings indicate the need for interventions to improve public knowledge and response to acute cardiovascular events in Brazil as a first step towards improving health outcomes in this population. Significant heterogeneity in knowledge seen across sites and socioeconomic strata indicates a need to appropriately target such interventions.
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ARE PEOPLE WITH DIABETES MORE LIKELY TO GET COVID-19?
• People with diabetes are more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19, than those who do not have diabetes.
• Unfortunately, persons with diabetes who get COVID-19 are more likely to die than those without diabetes.
Today there is a new nutrition reality. It is a reality where undernutrition (such as micronutrient deficiencies, stunting and wasting) , overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and cancer now coexist in the same countries, communities, households and even ...individuals. This is what is called the double burden of malnutrition which impacts not only our health but also that of future generations, the health of our planet and our economies.
This video is designed to help viewers better understand this double burden of malnutrition and its drivers. It aims to raise awareness and contribute to the global dialogue and much needed new narrative and action to achieve better health through nutrition.
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Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by the presence of hyperglycaemia in the absence of treatment. The heterogeneous aetiopathology includes defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. The long-term specific complications of diabe...tes include retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. People with diabetes are also at increased risk of other diseases, including cardiac, peripheral arterial and cerebrovascular disease, cataracts, erectile dysfunction, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. They are also at an increased risk of some infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, and are likely to experience poorer outcomes.
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This paper explores the angles and opportunities of digital health, with a look
at digital innovation and its potential to support patients with circulatory diseases.
In reviewing developments in the field, current applications as well as gaps, the paper aims to support policymakers in leveraging ...technology for better circulatory health and to capture the roles that various sectors have in making
digital health a tool for everyone.
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Read and share this easy-to-understand content about the ABCS of heart health (Aspirin when appropriate, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol management, and Smoking cessation).
Heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is a condition frequently encountered by healthcare professionals and, in order to achieve the best outcomes for patients, needs to be managed optimally. This guideline document is based on the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the t...reatment of acute and chronic heart failure published in 2016, and summarises what is considered the best current management of patients with the condition. It provides information on the definition, diagnosis and epidemiology of HFrEF in the African context. The best evidence-based treatments for HFrEF are discussed, including established therapies (beta-blockers, ACE-i/ARBs, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), diuretics) that form the cornerstone of heart failure management as well as therapies that have only recently entered clinical use (angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), sodium/glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors). Guidance is offered in terms of more invasive therapies (revascularisation, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) by implantation of a biventricular pacemaker with (CRT-D) or without (CRT-P) an ICD, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) use and heart transplantation) in order to ensure efficient use of these expensive treatment modalities in a resourcelimited environment. Furthermore, additional therapies (digoxin, hydralazine and nitrates, ivabradine, iron supplementation) are discussed and advice is provided on general preventive strategies (vaccinations). Sections to discuss conditions that are particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa (HIV-associated cardiomyopathy (CMO), peripartum CMO, rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrillation) have been added to further improve clinical care for these commonly encountered disease processes.
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ARE PEOPLE WITH DIABETES MORE LIKELY TO GET COVID-19? People with diabetes are more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19, than those who do not have diabetes. Unfortunately, persons with diabetes who get COVID-19 are more likely to die than those without diabetes.
The burden of asthma in Africa is high, and yet the disease is not universally prioritised. Data on allergic asthma and its impact on asthma morbidity are limited in Africa. Our aim was to describe the distribution of skin prick positivity among asthmatics in Eastern Africa.
Coronavirus disease 2019 has a mild disease course in children and adolescents. Chronic respiratory conditions, including asthma, have been suggested as risk factors; however, asthma in children is highly variable in both triggers and severity.
During the pandemic, pediatric asthma services limite...d consultations and established virtual clinics. However, respondents perceived their patients’ asthma control to be retained or even improved, while treatment adherence was considered increased. Children with asthma were not disproportionately affected by coronavirus disease 2019.
Trigger avoidance and treatment adherence can rapidly improve asthma control in children, even under lockdown pressure. Children/adolescents with asthma do not appear to need additional prophylactic measures from coronavirus disease 2019 when asthma is well-treated. This article analyses the effect of COVID-19 on Asthma in children, providing information for management guidelines.
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ARE PEOPLE WITH DIABETES MORE LIKELY TO GET COVID-19?
• People with diabetes are more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19, than those who do not have diabetes.
• Unfortunately, persons with diabetes who get COVID-19 are more likely to die than those without diabetes.
Diabetes mellitus, also called diabetes, is a chronic metabolic condition in which the hormone insulin is not produced by the
pancreas in sufficient quantities or is not utilized effectively by the body to control blood glucose levels. As a result, blood
glucose levels are abnormally high (hypergl...ycaemia). Chronic uncontrolled hyperglycemia leads to long-term target organ damage, such as: retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy (microvascular complications); stroke, coronary heart disease
and peripheral arterial disease (macrovascular complications).
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The2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines: A Report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee Expert Panel Working Group was coordinated and supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Healt...h. It is designed to improve patient care and support informed decision making about asthma management in the clinical setting. This update addresses six priority topic areas as determined by the state of the science at the time of a needs assessment, and input from multiple stakeholders:
• Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Testing
• Indoor Allergen Mitigation
• Intermittent Inhaled Corticosteroids
• Long-Acting Muscarinic Antagonists
• Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Allergic Asthma
• Bronchial Thermoplasty
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Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including mental disorders, currently pose one of the biggest threats to health and development globally, particularly in low and middle income countries2. It is predicted that unless proven interventions are rapidly implemented in countries, in the short to medium ...term, health care costs will increase exponentially and severe negative consequences will ensue not only to individuals and families but to whole societies and economies. NCDs are already a major burden in South Africa, but without added rigorous and timely action the health and development consequences may well become catastrophic. Immediate and additional, high quality, evidence based and focussed interventions are needed to promote health, prevent disease and provide more effective and equitable care and treatment for people living with NCDs at all levels of the health system. The problem is further compounded by the rising global prevalence of multi-morbidity (defined as the coexistence of two or more chronic diseases in one individual).
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Key facts
- A healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
- Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.
- Healthy dietary practices start... early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer term health benefits such as reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.
- Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with energy expenditure. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake (1, 2, 3). Intake of saturated fats should be less than 10% of total energy intake, and intake of trans-fats less than 1% of total energy intake, with a shift in fat consumption away from saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats (3), and towards the goal of eliminating industrially-produced trans-fats (4, 5, 6).
- Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake (2, 7) is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits (7).
- Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day (equivalent to sodium intake of less than 2 g per day) helps to prevent hypertension, and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population (8).
- WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30% by 2025; they have also agreed to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025 (9, 10).
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The "WHO Package of Essential Noncommunicable (PEN) Disease Interventions for Primary Health Care" provides a set of cost-effective, evidence-based interventions to address noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancers. Designed ...for implementation in primary healthcare settings, especially in low-resource environments, the package includes protocols for screening, diagnosis, treatment, and management of these diseases. The document emphasizes an integrated approach, supporting universal health coverage by empowering healthcare workers with practical tools to improve NCD care. It aims to reduce premature mortality from NCDs and enhance global health equity.
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