Health Transitions and the Double Disease Burden in Asia and the Pacific: Histories of Responses to Non-Communicable and Communicable Diseases

Chronic diseases#xE2;#xAC;#x1D;cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes#xE2;#xAC;#x1D;are not only the principal cause of world-wide mortality but also are now responsible for a striking increase in the percentage of sickness in developing countries still grappling with the acute problems of infectious diseases. The "double disease burden" #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; the onset of significant mortality from chronic, non-communicable diseases while mortality from communicable diseases remains high #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; is a problem of developing countries. Developed countries had the historical "luxury" of dealing with chronic diseases after the weight of communicable diseases had largely lifted. However, in both developed and developing countries old and new communicable diseases such as tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS enhance morbidity and mortality, and some infectious diseases may lead to chronic disease ; for example, the papilloma virus and cervical cancer. Exposure to environmental pollutants particularly prenatal or in infancy is clearly recognized as a major driver of later chronic ill-health. Double health burdens in Asia and the Pacific and the problems that this poses for health care regimes, resource allocation, strategies for prevention and control and the need for integrated approaches to both non-communicable and infectious diseases will challenge the future viability of the region. The primary aim of this book is to offer a historical picture of the development of a leading global health problem and policy responses to it in the context of a demographically, economically and politically very significant region of the world with a view to better understanding of the double disease burden and the development of more effective health policy to deal with it.