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Increase in deaths from chronic disease in poorer countries

Medicine has made gigantic strides in the last years - certainly in the West and other more affluent countries.    It therefore still surprises to read that a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations records an increase in deaths from chronic diseases in poorer countries.  Yet another example of the divide between rich and poor.

"Chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease are rising fast in low- and middle-income countries, striking far younger populations than in rich countries and causing much worse outcomes, according to a new report.

Deaths from chronic diseases have risen by more than 50 percent in low- and middle-income countries over the past two decades, according to the report, by the Council on Foreign Relations. The increase is part of a shift in global mortality patterns in which infectious diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis, have declined substantially and are no longer the leading cause of death in the developing world."

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 "Working-age people in poorer countries have little access to preventive care and more exposure to health risks, such as air pollution, poor nutrition and lax antismoking laws, than their counterparts in rich countries, and are more likely to develop a chronic disease. And with limited resources to pay for treatment, those with chronic diseases are much more likely to become disabled and die as a result.

In all, about 80 percent of the deaths and disabilities from chronic diseases in Africa and South Asia involved people under the age of 60, more than double the share in many rich countries, said Thomas J. Bollyky, a fellow at the council and one of the report’s authors. In lower-income countries in particular, about 40 percent of the deaths from chronic diseases occur in people younger than 60, compared with 13 percent in rich countries.

If the trend continues unabated, it could have far-reaching consequences, the report stated, including catastrophic health expenditures and impoverishment among low-income populations. At the national level, it would further strain already overburdened health systems and could lead to lower economic productivity."s from chronic diseases in poorer countries.     Another example of the the divide between rich and poor.

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