Advocating Cost-Effective Interventions for Chronic Diseases

January 18, 2007

On January 18th, 2007, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article that highlights the importance of turning our attention to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) around the world. In "Expanding Priorities—Confronting Chronic Disease in Countries with Low Income," Gerard F. Anderson and Edward Chu use disease burden to debunk the myths that NCDs only affect the elderly and only prevail in rich countries. Anderson and Chu state, "...it is clear that by any measure, several noncommunicable chronic diseases have a place in the global top 20," referring to the 20 leading causes of death and disability worldwide.

The authors make a powerful argument for investing in the prevention and treatment of NCDs and advocate for low-cost, cost-effective interventions, referring to Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition, as an excellent resource for global examples of cost-effective interventions.

This article can be found in the New England Journal of Medicine 356; 3: 209 or online at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/356/3/209.

Related Disease/Condition:
Cardiovascular Disease
Diabetes
Heart Disease
Noncommunicable Diseases
Stroke