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Acting on non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income tropical countries

Abstract

The classical portrayal of poor health in tropical countries is one of infections and parasites, contrasting with wealthy Western countries, where unhealthy diet and behaviours cause non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease and cancer. Using international mortality data, we show that most NCDs cause more deaths at every age in low- and middle-income tropical countries than in high-income Western countries. Causes of NCDs in low- and middle-income countries include poor nutrition and living environment, infections, insufficient taxation and regulation of tobacco and alcohol, and under-resourced and inaccessible healthcare. We identify a comprehensive set of actions across health, social, economic and environmental sectors that could confront NCDs in low- and middle-income tropical countries and reduce global health inequalities.

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Fig. 1: NCD mortality in low- and middle-income tropical countries and high-income Western countries.
Fig. 2: Comparison between low- and middle-income tropical regions and the high-income Western region of age-standardized death rates from NCDs in 2016.
Fig. 3: Age-standardized cardiovascular disease death rates in low- and middle-income tropical regions and the high-income Western region in 2016.
Fig. 4: Age-standardized site-specific cancer death rates in tropical regions and the high-income Western region in 2016.
Fig. 5: Age-standardized cardiovascular disease death rate, mean BMI, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean serum total cholesterol and diabetes prevalence in low- and middle-income tropical and the high-income Western region.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Beaglehole, S. Blundell, R. Nugent, F. Piel, M. Parkins and M. Thun for comments and recommendation of background literature.

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Nature thanks F. Assah, P. Byass, B. Singer and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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M.E. designed the Review concept and wrote the Review with input from J.P.-S., J.E.B. and C.D.M. J.P.-S. contributed to clinical and epidemiological reviews. J.E.B. and C.D.M. analysed data, and J.E.B. prepared figures.

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Correspondence to Majid Ezzati.

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Ezzati, M., Pearson-Stuttard, J., Bennett, J.E. et al. Acting on non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income tropical countries. Nature 559, 507–516 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0306-9

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