Chronic Disease Bigger Global Threat than Infection

Chronic disease is a problem usually associated with first-world, high-income countries. However, a new report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau and the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that chronic disease in now a bigger cause of morbidity and mortality than infectious disease in many low-to-middle income countries. The Global Aging and Adult Health (SAGE) survey, included people from China, Russia, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Ghana – six countries that are home to 42% of the world's 1.4 billion people who were 50 or older in 2010. Participants were asked if they had ever been diagnosed with angina, arthritis, asthma, cataracts, chronic lung disease, diabetes, or hypertension. Results showed that hypertension was the most common health condition for people aged 50 to 69 in all the countries, except in India where arthritis was most common. For those aged 70 and older, hypertension was the leading chronic condition in China, South Africa, and Russia. Arthritis was overall the second most common chronic condition among those aged 50 to 69 and those 70 and older in the six countries. "This report illustrates a disturbing transition occurring in these and other low- and middle-income countries," said Richard Suzman, PhD, director of the Census Bureau's National Institute of Aging's Division of Behavioral and Social Research.