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Epidemiology, Disease Transmission, Prevention, and Control
Published in Julius P. Kreier, Infection, Resistance, and Immunity, 2022
There are several basic indicators that epidemiologists take into account when measuring and analyzing the health status of a population. Both mortality and morbidity figures for example show effects of a disease in a population. Of the two, mortality is the more severe outcome of a disease. In developed countries where data are available, mortality is easy to measure in an accurate manner and is therefore valuable. In third world countries, however, its value is diminished, as it is often difficult to establish the cause of death, or deaths are simply unrecorded. The mortality rate, also called the death rate, estimates the proportion of the population that dies during a specific period. Morbidity in contrast expresses any departure, subjective or objective, from a state of physiological or psychological well-being. It may be measured as the number of persons who are ill; the number of illnesses that the individuals experienced; and the duration of the illness in an individual. Incidence is the number of new events or cases of a disease in a given population group during a certain period of time. The incidence rate indicates the rate at which new events occur in a population; the numerator is the number of new cases in a defined period while the denominator is the number of individuals exposed to risk during the period. If the period is a year, the figure is called the annual incidence rate.
Public Health as a Social Choice
Published in Rui Nunes, Healthcare as a Universal Human Right, 2022
Smoking is also a major cause of mortality and morbidity in many countries. According to the WHO, tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year (World Health Organization 2019a). More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of nonsmokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. It is estimated that approximately 15% of cancers in developed countries are related to tobacco consumption (Cancer Research UK 2019). Recent data indicate a decrease in the percentage of smokers worldwide. Indeed, the global prevalence of tobacco smoking among people aged ≥ 15 years reveals a prevalence of 26.9% in 2000 and a prevalence of 18.7% in 2020 (World Health Organization 2018a). However, around 80% of the world’s 1.1 billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Efforts to combat smoking at the global level conform to two types of preventive strategies: a) information/disclosure and b) legislation. Smoking prevention is crucial for the reduction of cancer, and therefore, different programs have devoted a part of their activity to interventions in this field over the past few years (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies 2006).
Rates and Standardization
Published in Marcello Pagano, Kimberlee Gauvreau, Heather Mattie, Principles of Biostatistics, 2022
Marcello Pagano, Kimberlee Gauvreau, Heather Mattie
Rather than comparing the total numbers of deaths in 2016 and 2017, we could instead compare the death rates for these years. A death rate, or mortality rate, is the number of deaths that occur during some period of time divided by the total population at risk during that time. The population at risk consists of all individuals eligible to be part of the numerator.
Relationship between Physical Activity and Health Outcomes in Persons with Psychotic Disorders after Participation in a 2-Year Individualized Lifestyle Intervention
Published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2023
Marjut Blomqvist, Andreas Ivarsson, Ing-Marie Carlsson, Anna Sandgren, Henrika Jormfeldt
Worldwide, Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, accounting for approximately 90% of all diabetes cases due to increasingly unhealthy lifestyles, and people with Type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of developing several serious physical health complications such as kidney disease, health failure, retinopathy, and neuropathy (IDF - International Diabetes Federation, 2017). Type 2 diabetes is associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes (Larsson et al., 2018), and people with severe mental illness have a significantly increased risk of CVD and CVD‐related mortality, highlighted in a large-scale meta-analysis (Correll et al., 2017). Lifestyle-related factors in the overall population, such as physical inactivity, are some of the leading risk factors for mortality worldwide, and the fourth contributor to mortality worldwide in high-income countries after tobacco use, high blood pressure, and overweight/obesity (World Health Organization, 2009). In the general adult population, long-lasting sedentary time has shown to be associated with health problems, such as increased risk of diabetes, CVD, and early death (Biswas et al., 2015).
Oxidized LDL-regulated microRNAs for evaluating vascular endothelial function: molecular mechanisms and potential biomarker roles in atherosclerosis
Published in Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 2022
Anvarsadat Kianmehr, Durdi Qujeq, Abouzar Bagheri, Abdolkarim Mahrooz
Cardiovascular diseases globally constitute the most common cause of mortality. Over 75% of the 17.8 million deaths caused by these disorders in 2017 were reported in low-income and middle-income countries [1]. Atherosclerosis, which is characterized by the persistent and progressive inflammation of vascular endothelial cells, is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases [2]. Endothelial cells form a critical starting point of a vicious cycle, coupled with different intervening molecules of extrinsic and intrinsic origin [2,3]. The vascular endothelium serves as a thin anatomic and functional single-celled interface between the blood and underlying tissues as well as an active signal transducer for vascular and body homeostasis [4,5]. Alterations in endothelial function precede morphological and atherosclerotic modifications such as increased infiltration of inflammatory cells and lipids into the intima, increased vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, formation of vascular lesions, and subsequent clinical complications [4,6]. Circulating cardiovascular risk factors trigger a cascade of molecular changes in endothelial sparks, resulting in the expression of chemokines, cytokines, and adhesion molecules, which interact with leukocytes and platelets as well as target inflammation to specific tissues [7,8].
Is there a need for pneumococcal vaccination programs for the homeless to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease?
Published in Expert Review of Vaccines, 2021
Gregory Tyrrell, Cerina Lee, Dean Eurich
Previous systematic reviews have concluded that homeless individuals have both a higher risk and prevalence of multiple chronic comorbidities. In the UK, linked primary care electronic health records have shown both higher risk, prevalence, and incidence of cardiovascular disease [4]. Consequently, mortality rates are substantially higher in homeless people, with some studies reporting that homeless people are at risk to die at a younger age than the general population [7]. Mortality causes include infectious diseases, heart disease, substance misuse, and poor mental health [8]. Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorders are highly prevalent among the homeless [9,10]. These conditions are associated with an increased risk of infections, including pneumococcal disease [11]. This is also due to an unhealthy lifestyle, lack of self-care, physical circumstances including poor housing and homelessness [11]. Further exacerbating these conditions are their significant barriers to accessing primary care and housing support services [12]. Indeed, with the COVID-19 pandemic, insufficient housing, and lack of reliable access to health care have placed homeless individuals to be at higher risk of both serious illness and death from the virus [13].