Chronic disease and public health failure contribute to COVID-19 pandemic

Australia has created a 30-year global increase in chronic illness and the worst-case situation in which related risk factors such as obesity, hyperglycemia, and outdoor air pollution contribute to the death of the coronavirus (COVID-19). I couldn’t escape.

The results of the latest Global Disease Burden Survey also reveal that people around the world are spending more years. SickDespite advances in treatment in many countries.Australia is relatively successful with COVID-19 despite the second wave of Victoria, but experts are concerned about the level of cardiovascular disease and stagnation Average life..

Released today LancetThe latest results outline how ready countries are for COVID-19 from a fundamental perspective. Population health, And the scale of the challenge to protect the population from further pandemic threats.

A 30-year global survey involving several University of Melbourne experts analyzed 286 causes. death, 369 illnesses and injuries, 87 Risk factor In 204 countries and territories.

We have found that urgent action is needed to address the global syndemic, that is, the aggregation of two or more simultaneous or continuous epidemics, including: Chronic disease, Social inequality, and COVID-19-to be more robust health It makes the system more resilient to healthier people and future pandemic threats.

With some risk factors Non-communicable disease Emphasis, including obesity, smoking, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, is associated with an increased risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19.

The world’s healthy life expectancy (the number of years a person can be expected to be healthy) increased steadily (more than 6.5 years) from 1990 to 2019, but not so much. Overall life expectancy Almost all of the 204 countries evaluated show that people are living more years in poor health.

The study also reveals increased exposure to key risk factors, including: High blood pressure, HyperglycemiaHigh body mass index (BMI), and elevated cholesterol, combined with increased deaths from cardiovascular disease in some countries or regions (such as the United States and the Caribbean), have made parts of the world a turning point for life expectancy. Benefits suggesting that you may be approaching.

Australia’s healthy life expectancy has steadily increased over 30 years to 70.0 years in 2019 (up 4.1 years from 1990), but overall life expectancy (82.9 years in 2019, It has not increased as much as 5.9 years since 1990). , Shows that people live longer in poor health.

We also revealed Australian data:

• In 2019 Australia, ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of health loss, followed by back pain, falls, major musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• The top five risk factors for death in 2019 are hyperglycemic blood pressure (which contributes to an estimated 25,500 deaths), dietary risk (21,600 deaths), smoking (20,100), high BMI (18,700), and high. It was blood pressure (17,700).

Senior author and University of Melbourne award-winning professor Alan Lopez said Australia was relatively “significantly successful” in managing cases of COVID19, especially death, but was obese and poor despite the second wave of Victoria. He said he was less successful in managing dietary risks. As a result, the long-term decline in Australian cardiovascular disease has stopped.

“Life expectancy in Australia hasn’t increased in the last five years,” said Professor Lopez.

“While the immediate public health priority of the world is, of course, the rapid management of the COVID-19 pandemic, these findings on global health show that major avoidance of health losses such as smoking, alcohol and obesity. It’s a call to awaken that it’s a possible cause, and poor blood pressure and cholesterol control continue to claim millions of lives early each year. “

“Further concern is that in many countries, including Australia, this risk factor’cocktail’due to smoking, lack of food, improper control of blood pressure and other metabolic factors, as evidenced by the stagnation of life expectancy. The impact of is increasing. The last 5 years. “

Research authors from various countries and institutions emphasized actions taken by the government to prevent disease It has not been realized globally through incentives for healthier behavior and better access to health care.

The study was led by Professor Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, USA.

“Most of these risk factors are preventable and treatable, and addressing them will bring enormous social and economic benefits,” Murray said.

“We cannot change unhealthy behaviors, especially those related to dietary quality, caloric intake, and physical activity, partly due to inadequate policy attention to public health and behavioral research. It is funded. ”