Let's read! We will often find out this sentence everywhere. When still being a kid, mom used to order us to always read, so did the teacher. Some books are fully read in a week and we need the obligation to support reading. What about now? Do you still love reading? Is reading only for you who have obligation? Absolutely not! We here offer you a new book enPDFd preventing chronic diseases a vital investment to read.

Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment

A review of published observational studies of neighbourhoods and depression/depressive symptoms was conducted to inform future directions for the field. Forty-five English-language cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that analysed the effect of at least one neighbourhood-level variable on either depression or depressive symptoms were analysed. Of the 45 studies, 37 reported associations of at least one neighbourhood characteristic with depression/depressive symptoms. Seven of the 10 longitudinal studies reported associations of at least one neighbourhood characteristic with incident depression. Socioeconomic composition was the most common neighbourhood characteristic investigated. The associations of depressive symptoms/depression with structural features (socioeconomic and racial composition, stability and built environment) were less consistent than with social processes (disorder, social interactions, violence). Among the structural features, measures of the built environment were the most consistently associated with depression but the number of studies was small. The extent to which these associations reflect causal processes remains to be determined. The large variability in studies across neighbourhood definitions and measures, adjustment variables and study populations makes it difficult to draw more than a few general qualitative conclusions. Improving the quality of observational work through improved measurement of neighbourhood attributes, more sophisticated consideration of spatial scale, longitudinal designs and evaluation of natural experiments will strengthen inferences regarding causal effects of area attributes on depression.

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Are neighbourhood characteristics associated with depressive symptoms? A review of evidence

Background/Purpose. Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams are increasingly encouraged in health research, services, education and policy. This paper is the second in a series. The first discussed the definitions, objectives, and evidence of effectiveness of multiple disciplinary teamwork. This paper continues to examine the promotors, barriers, and ways to enhance such teamwork. Methods. The paper is a literature review based on Google and MEDLINE (1982-2007) searches. “Multidisciplinarity”, “interdisciplinarity”, “transdisciplinarity” and “definition” were used as keywords to identify the pertinent literature. Results. The promotors of teamwork success include: good selection of team members, good team leaders, maturity and flexibility of team members, personal commitment, physical proximity of team members, the Internet and email as a supporting platform, incentives, institutional support and changes in the workplace, a common goal and shared vision, clarity and rotation of roles, communication, and constructive comments among team members. The barriers, in general, reflect the situation in which the promotors are lacking. They include: poor selection of the disciplines and team members, poor process of team functioning, lack of proper measures to evaluate success of interdisciplinary work, lack of guidelines for multiple authorship in research publications, language problems, insufficient time or funding for the project, institutional constraints, discipline conflicts, team conflicts, lack of communication between disciplines, and unequal power among disciplines. Conclusion. Not every health project needs to involve multiple disciplines. Several questions can help in deciding whether a multiple disciplinary approach is required. If multiple disciplinarity is called for, eight strategies to enhance multiple disciplinary teamwork are proposed. They can be summarised in the acronym TEAMWORK - Team, Enthusiasm, Accessibility, Motivation, Workplace, Objectives, Role, Kinship.

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Multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity in health research, services, education and policy: 2. Promotors, barriers, and strategies of enhancement

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a global health problem that causes major illnesses and disabilities worldwide. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that the prevalence of AR has increased progressively over the last few decades in more developed countries and currently affects up to 40% of the population worldwide. Likewise, a rising trend of AR has also been observed over the last 2–3 decades in developing countries including China, with the prevalence of AR varying widely in these countries. A survey of self-reported AR over a 6-year period in the general Chinese adult population reported that the standardized prevalence of adult AR increased from 11.1% in 2005 to 17.6% in 2011. An increasing number of original articles and imporclinical trials on the epidemiology, pathophysiologic mechanisms, diagnosis, management and comorbidities of AR in Chinese subjects have been published in international peer-reviewed journals over the past 2 decades, and substantially added to our understanding of this disease as a global problem. Although guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of AR in Chinese subjects have also been published, they have not been translated into English and therefore not generally accessible for reference to non-Chinese speaking international medical communities. Moreover, methods for the diagnosis and treatment of AR in China have not been standardized entirely and some patients are still treated according to regional preferences. Thus, the present guidelines have been developed by the Chinese Society of Allergy to be accessible to both national and international medical communities involved in the management of AR patients. These guidelines have been prepared in line with existing international guidelines to provide evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of AR in China.

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Chinese Society of Allergy Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a serious systemic allergic disease, which together with comorbid asthma causes major illness and disability worldwide. Recent epidemiological studies have revealed wide variations in the increasing prevalence of AR and allergies globally, including in China. Despite a markedly higher population than western countries, and a landmass close to Europe in area, little epidemiological data is available on AR in China. Thus, the present study reviewed the prevalence, comorbid allergic diseases, trends and pattern of sensitizing allergens in adults and children suffering from AR in China. Available data indicated that despite variations in the prevalence of AR in different regions of the country, the prevalence of AR has increased in both adults and children over the last 2 decades. Similarly, there has been an increase in a "western"-type lifestyle, industrialization and air pollution over this period, which may have contributed to the increased prevalence of AR observed in China.

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Prevalence of Allergic Rhinitis in China

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for a high proportion of death and disability in all countries. In developing countries the burden of disease caused by NCDs is increasing rapidly. If the current rapid increase in NCDs is left uncontrolled there will be significant social, economic, and health consequences for these populations which, in turn, will threaten to overwhelm already stretched health services. The most cost-effective approach to containing this emerging epidemic is primary prevention based on comprehensive, population-based programmes. Fortunately, the major risk factors—tobacco and alcohol use, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol—of the most common NCDs are amenable to prevention. Although most of this evidence comes from developed countries, it appears that the causal relationships are broadly similar in developing countries.

The WHO Stepwise Approach to Surveillance (Steps) of Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors

Background: Chronic diseases are now a major health problem in developing countries as well as in the developed world. Although chronic diseases cannot be communicated from person to person, their risk factors (for example, smoking, inactivity, dietary habits) are readily transferred around the world. With increasing human progress and technological advance, the pandemic of chronic diseases will become an even bigger threat to global health. Methods: Based on our experiences and publications as well as review of the literature, we contribute ideas and working examples that might help enhance global capacity in the surveillance of chronic diseases and their prevention and control. Innovative ideas and solutions were actively sought. Results: Ideas and working examples to help enhance global capacity were grouped under seven themes, concisely summarised by the acronym “SCIENCE”: S trategy, C ollaboration, I nformation, E ducation, N ovelty, C ommunication and E valuation. Conclusion: Building a basis for action using the seven themes articulated, especially by incorporating innovative ideas, we presented here, can help enhance global capacity in chronic disease surveillance, prevention and control. Informed initiatives can help achieve the new World Health Organization global goal of reducing chronic disease death rates by 2% annually, generate new ideas for effective interventions and ultimately bring global chronic diseases under greater control.

https://jech.bmj.com/content/jech/62/5/391.full.pdf

Enhancing global capacity in the surveillance, prevention, and control of chronic diseases: seven themes to consider and build upon

Existe la necesidad de reforzar la capacidad regional para la vigilancia de las enfermedades cronicas en las Americas. Los objetivos de este articulo son 1) ofrecer nuestro apoyo decidido a favor de la vigilancia de las enfermedades cronicas, 2) presentar una revision descriptiva y un resumen de las actividades de vigilancia y los problemas en torno a las mismas en las Americas, 3) confeccionar una lista de recursos y fuentes de consulta para obtener mas informacion, y 4) ofrecer unas recomendaciones para reforzar la capacidad regional. Este articulo se basa en una revision personal de informes, sitios de Internet y apuntes personales procedentes de diversos proyectos, reuniones y actividades relacionados con la vigilancia de las enfermedades cronicas en las Americas, y en un analisis a profundidad de los materiales recopilados. Se ha determinado que las agencias sanitarias internacionales, los gobiernos de diversos paises, las organizaciones no gubernamentales y los profesionales de la sanidad publica han dedicado grandes esfuerzos a la construccion y al desarrollo de las capacidades de vigilancia de las enfermedades cronicas en la Region. Para seguir apoyando el aumento de dichas capacidades, se hace necesario establecer una red de redes (una metarred) cuya mision deberia ser la vigilancia de la vigilancia. Siete aspectos importantes para el aumento de esta capacidad son la estrategia, la colaboracion, la informacion, la educacion, la novedad, la comunicacion, y la evaluacion.

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Enhancing regional capacity in chronic disease surveillance in the Americas

Eleven countries in the world have a population at or exceeding 100 million: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States. Together, these diverse countries represent over 60% of the world’s population. In 1998, in response to critical trans-national health issues and the transition of global disease burden from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (Murray and Lopez, 1996), the World Health Organization (WHO) formed a network among these countries to combine efforts towards improving world health. This network, called the Mega Country Health Promotion Network, was bora out of recognition that these highly populated countries have the potential to impact world health by working together to strengthen infra-structure for tackling common global health issues.

Kathy A. Douglas

Papers

The WHO Stepwise Approach to Surveillance (Steps) of Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors

Enhancing global capacity in the surveillance, prevention, and control of chronic diseases: seven themes to consider and build upon

Enhancing regional capacity in chronic disease surveillance in the Americas

Mega Country Health Promotion Network Surveillance Initiative