World Health Organization

About: World Health Organization is a government organization based out in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 13330 authors who have published 22232 publications receiving 1322023 citations. The organization is also known as: World Health Organisation & WHO.

Maternal mortality at the end of a decade: signs of progress?

Abstract: Maternal mortality is an important measure of women's health and indicative of the performance of health care systems. Several international conferences, most recently the Millennium Summit in 2000, have included the goal of reducing maternal mortality. However, monitoring progress towards the goal has proved to be problematic because maternal mortality is difficult to measure, especially in developing countries with weak health information and vital registration systems. This has led to interest in using alternative indicators for monitoring progress. This article examines recent trends in two indicators associated with maternal mortality: the percentage of births assisted by a skilled health care worker and rates of caesarean delivery. Globally, modest improvements in coverage of skilled care at delivery have occurred, with an average annual increase of 1.7% over the period 1989- 99. Progress has been greatest in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, with annual increases of over 2%. In sub- Saharan Africa, on the other hand, coverage has stagnated. In general, caesarean delivery rates were stable over the 1990s. Countries where rates of caesarean deliveries were the lowest — and where the needs were greatest — showed the least change. This analysis leads us to conclude that whereas there may be grounds for optimism regarding trends in maternal mortality in parts of North Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, the situation in sub-Saharan Africa remains disquieting.

A consistent log-linear relationship between tuberculosis incidence and body mass index

Abstract: Background Low weight for height is an established risk factor for tuberculosis (TB), and recent studies suggest that overweight is a protective factor. No previous systematic review has been done to explore the consistency and establish the gradient of this apparent 'dose-response' relationship. Methods A systematic literature review was carried out to identify cohort studies that collected data on weight and height at baseline and that used a diagnosis of active TB as the study outcome. Weight-for-height measures used in the original studies were transformed into body mass index (BMI). Exponential trend lines were fitted to each data set. Results Six studies were included. In all of them, there was a log-linear inverse relationship between TB incidence and BMI, within the BMI range 18.5-30 kg/m(2). The average slope gave a reduction in TB incidence of 13.8% [95% confidence interval 13.4-14.2] per unit increase in BMI. The dose-response relationship was less certain at BMI 30 kg/m(2). Conclusion There is a strong and consistent log-linear relationship between TB incidence and BMI across a variety of settings with different levels of TB burden. More research is required to test the relationship at very low and very high BMI levels, to establish the biological mechanism linking BMI with risk of TB and to establish the potential impact on the global TB epidemic of changing nutritional status of populations.

The World Health Organization STEPwise Approach to Noncommunicable Disease Risk-Factor Surveillance: Methods, Challenges, and Opportunities.

Abstract: Objectives. We sought to outline the framework and methods used by the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach to noncommunicable disease (NCD) surveillance (STEPS), describe the development and current status, and discuss strengths, limitations, and future directions of STEPS surveillance.Methods. STEPS is a WHO-developed, standardized but flexible framework for countries to monitor the main NCD risk factors through questionnaire assessment and physical and biochemical measurements. It is coordinated by national authorities of the implementing country. The STEPS surveys are generally household-based and interviewer-administered, with scientifically selected samples of around 5000 participants.Results. To date, 122 countries across all 6 WHO regions have completed data collection for STEPS or STEPS-aligned surveys.Conclusions. STEPS data are being used to inform NCD policies and track risk-factor trends. Future priorities include strengthening these linkages from data to action on NCDs at the co...

The Melamine Incident: Implications for International Food and Feed Safety

Abstract: BackgroundA major food safety incident in China was made public in September 2008. Kidney and urinary tract effects, including kidney stones, affected about 300,000 Chinese infants and young childr...