A presentation by Dr Sanne Van Kampen, Research Fellow in the Institute of Translational and Stratified Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
Are infectious diseases making room for non-communicable diseases or does it all just add up?
The epidemiological transition paradigm predicts that as countries move towards more economic and social prosperity, their burden of disease shifts from mostly infectious to non-communicable diseases. A first glance at global disease rates seem to confirm that diseases like HIV, TB and malaria are declining while CVDs, diabetes and cancers are increasing. However, when we zoom in on individual countries a more nuanced picture emerges.
This presentation will challenge this conventional paradigm by presenting a case study on historical cancer rates in Japan. It will show that non-communicable diseases can have an infectious aetiology and that, combined with behaviour risk factors amplified by globalisation, some countries are in fact now facing a double-burden of disease. This seminar is a summary of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine module on Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases.
This seminar is open to University staff and students. Contact laura.gill@plymouth.ac.uk to book your place.