scholarly journals Analysis of research intensity on infectious disease by disease burden reveals which infectious diseases are neglected by researchers

2018 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 478-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Furuse
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Considerable Morbidity ◽  
Immunodeficiency Syndrome ◽  
Research Intensity

Infectious diseases are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although human, financial, substantial, and time resources are limited, it is unknown whether such resources are used effectively in research to manage diseases. The correlation between the disability-adjusted life years to represent disease burden and number of publications as a surrogate for research activity was investigated to measure burden-adjusted research intensity for 52 infectious diseases at global and country levels. There was significantly low research intensity for paratyphoid fever and high intensity for influenza, HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis considering their disease burden. We identified the infectious diseases that have received the most attention from researchers and those that have been relatively disregarded. Interestingly, not all so-called neglected tropical diseases were subject to low burden-adjusted research intensity. Analysis of the intensity of infectious disease research at a country level revealed characteristic patterns. These findings provided a basis for further discussion of the more appropriate allocation of resources for research into infectious diseases.

scholarly journals Human infectious disease burdens decrease with urbanization but not with biodiversity

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1722) ◽  
pp. 20160122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea L. Wood ◽  
Alex McInturff ◽  
Hillary S. Young ◽  
DoHyung Kim ◽  
Kevin D. Lafferty
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Over Time

Infectious disease burdens vary from country to country and year to year due to ecological and economic drivers. Recently, Murray et al. (Murray CJ et al . 2012 Lancet 380 , 2197–2223. ( doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4 )) estimated country-level morbidity and mortality associated with a variety of factors, including infectious diseases, for the years 1990 and 2010. Unlike other databases that report disease prevalence or count outbreaks per country, Murray et al. report health impacts in per-person disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), allowing comparison across diseases with lethal and sublethal health effects. We investigated the spatial and temporal relationships between DALYs lost to infectious disease and potential demographic, economic, environmental and biotic drivers, for the 60 intermediate-sized countries where data were available and comparable. Most drivers had unique associations with each disease. For example, temperature was positively associated with some diseases and negatively associated with others, perhaps due to differences in disease agent thermal optima, transmission modes and host species identities. Biodiverse countries tended to have high disease burdens, consistent with the expectation that high diversity of potential hosts should support high disease transmission. Contrary to the dilution effect hypothesis, increases in biodiversity over time were not correlated with improvements in human health, and increases in forestation over time were actually associated with increased disease burden. Urbanization and wealth were associated with lower burdens for many diseases, a pattern that could arise from increased access to sanitation and healthcare in cities and increased investment in healthcare. The importance of urbanization and wealth helps to explain why most infectious diseases have become less burdensome over the past three decades, and points to possible levers for further progress in improving global public health. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications’.

Time trends, associations and global burden of intraocular foreign bodies

2020 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2020-317063
Author(s):  
Guangming Jin ◽  
Minjie Zou ◽  
Yichi Zhang ◽  
Aiming Chen ◽  
Charlotte Aimee Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Trends ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Foreign Bodies ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Global Burden ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Disease Study

PurposeTo estimate the disease burden due to intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs) and evaluate contributions of various risk factors to IOFB-associated disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs).MethodsGlobal, regional and country-level number, rate and age-standardised rate of DALYs due to IOFBs were acquired from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 database. The Human Development Index (HDI) and other region and country-level data were obtained from open databases. Time trends for number, rate and age-standardised rate of DALYs due to IOFBs were calculated. Regression analysis was used to evaluate associations between age-standardised rate of DALYs and potential predictors.ResultsGlobal DALYs due to IOFBs rose by 43.7% between 1990 (139 (95% CI 70.8 to 233) thousand) and 2017 (202 (95% CI 105 to 335) thousand). The DALY rate remained stable while the age-standardised rate decreased during this period. Higher disease burden due to IOFBs was associated with higher glaucoma prevalence (β=0.006, 95% CI 0.003 to 0.09, p<0.001), lower refractive error prevalence (β=−0.0005, 95% CI −0.0007 to −0.0002, p<0.001), and lower income (β=−0.020, 95% CI −0.035 to −0.006, p=0.007).ConclusionPredictors of a greater burden of IOFB disability generally point to lower socioeconomic level. The association with glaucoma may reflect a complication of IOFB, increasing risk of vision loss and disability.

scholarly journals The winding road to health: A systematic scoping review on the effect of geographical accessibility to health care on infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244921
Author(s):  
Fleur Hierink ◽  
Emelda A. Okiro ◽  
Antoine Flahault ◽  
Nicolas Ray
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Geographical Accessibility ◽  
Physical Accessibility

Background Geographical accessibility to healthcare is an important component of infectious disease dynamics. Timely access to health facilities can prevent disease progression and enables disease notification through surveillance systems. The importance of accounting for physical accessibility in response to infectious diseases is increasingly recognized. Yet, there is no comprehensive review of the literature available on infectious diseases in relation to geographical accessibility to care. Therefore, we aimed at evaluating the current state of knowledge on the effect of geographical accessibility to health care on infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Methods and findings A search strategy was developed and conducted on Web of Science and PubMed on 4 March 2019. New publications were checked until May 28, 2020. All publication dates were eligible. Data was charted into a tabular format and descriptive data analyses were carried out to identify geographical regions, infectious diseases, and measures of physical accessibility among other factors. Search queries in PubMed and Web of Science yielded 560 unique publications. After title and abstract screening 99 articles were read in full detail, from which 64 articles were selected, including 10 manually. Results of the included publications could be broadly categorized into three groups: (1) decreased spatial accessibility to health care was associated with a higher infectious disease burden, (2) decreased accessibility was associated to lower disease reporting, minimizing true understanding of disease distribution, and (3) the occurrence of an infectious disease outbreak negatively impacted health care accessibility in affected regions. In the majority of studies, poor geographical accessibility to health care was associated with higher disease incidence, more severe health outcomes, higher mortality, and lower disease reporting. No difference was seen between countries or infectious diseases. Conclusions Currently, policy-makers and scientists rely on data collected through passive surveillance systems, introducing uncertainty on disease estimates for remote communities. Our results highlight the need for increasing integration of geographical accessibility measures in disease risk modelling, allowing more realistic disease estimates and enhancing our understanding of true disease burden. Additionally, disease risk estimates could be used in turn to optimize the allocation of health services in the prevention and detection of infectious diseases.

scholarly journals Neglected infectious diseases in the geriatrics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abrar Abdulfattah Al Yamani ◽  
Yahya Mohammad Falqi ◽  
Yussif Mohammed Alnawar ◽  
Lama Mohammed Almahrous ◽  
Haitham Ahmed Alwael ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Dengue Infection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Severe Dengue ◽  
Tropical Diseases ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Populations At Risk

Infectious diseases in the elderly population pose a significant threat to their lives. Neglected tropical diseases significantly impact the health of the affected patients and populations at risk. Reports show that many of these disorders are among the highest ten most typical causes of disability-adjusted life years. In the present literature review, we have discussed the most common neglected tropical infections in geriatrics based on data from the current studies in the literature. Different infections can affect the geriatric population. However, evidence shows that this population is susceptible to developing severe disease-related conditions. This has been reported with dengue infection, onchocerciasis, and cholera. It has been demonstrated that ocular lesions and other clinical manifestations are highest among the elderly population with onchocerciasis. Severe dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are also reported at a high rate in this age group. Concurrent infections and disorders were documented with many of these infections, probably due to reduced immunity. Socioeconomic factors, co-morbidities, access to healthcare settings, environmental factors, sanitation, clustering, and overcrowding contribute to the frequency of neglected tropical diseases in the elderly. Further studies are still needed because the current report is scarce, which might underestimate the current evidence.

scholarly journals A heavy burden on young minds: the global burden of mental and substance use disorders in children and youth

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1551-1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Erskine ◽  
T. E. Moffitt ◽  
W. E. Copeland ◽  
E. J. Costello ◽  
A. J. Ferrari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Substance Use Disorders ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Global Burden ◽  
Years Of Life Lost ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Disease Study

BackgroundMental and substance use disorders are common and often persistent, with many emerging in early life. Compared to adult mental and substance use disorders, the global burden attributable to these disorders in children and youth has received relatively little attention.MethodData from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 was used to investigate the burden of mental and substance disorders in children and youth aged 0–24 years. Burden was estimated in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), derived from the sum of years lived with disability (YLDs) and years of life lost (YLLs).ResultsGlobally, mental and substance use disorders are the leading cause of disability in children and youth, accounting for a quarter of all YLDs (54.2 million). In terms of DALYs, they ranked 6th with 55.5 million DALYs (5.7%) and rose to 5th when mortality burden of suicide was reattributed. While mental and substance use disorders were the leading cause of DALYs in high-income countries (HICs), they ranked 7th in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to mortality attributable to infectious diseases.ConclusionsMental and substance use disorders are significant contributors to disease burden in children and youth across the globe. As reproductive health and the management of infectious diseases improves in LMICs, the proportion of disease burden in children and youth attributable to mental and substance use disorders will increase, necessitating a realignment of health services in these countries.

scholarly journals The burden of infectious diseases in Europe: a pilot study

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
E A van Lier ◽  
A H Havelaar ◽  
A Nanda
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Burden Of Disease ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Disease Study

The main objectives of this pilot study were to test the potential use of the disease burden concept in the field of infectious diseases, including data quality and availability; to recommend future studies; and to stimulate a debate. The disease burden of seven infectious diseases (influenza, measles, HIV, campylobacteriosis, infection with enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, salmonellosis and tuberculosis) in Europe was estimated by calculating Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), a composite measure that attempts to combine mortality, incidence and sequelae, taking duration and severity into account. The results show that the relative burden of diseases as measured by DALYs differs from that only measured by incidence or mortality. Several limitations regarding data availability and quality have been identified, resulting in an underestimation of the true burden of disease in this pilot. Notwithstanding these, HIV-infection, tuberculosis (TB) and influenza are estimated to cause the highest burden in Europe among the selected diseases. The burden of foodborne diseases (campylobacteriosis, infection with enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli and salmonellosis) and in particular of measles is lower. A consideration of the relative comparison of burden between diseases can be useful when tackling the difficult, sensitive but necessary task of identifying priority actions. A low burden stresses the need for continued support for prevention and control whereas a high burden indicates the need for additional interventions. Following this pilot project, a generalised burden of disease study for infectious diseases in Europe is recommended. Such a study would benefit from an approach that identifies and combines several methods of investigation, including epidemiological modelling, and it should be done in collaboration with other international efforts in this field.

scholarly journals Using linked health data in international comparisons of infectious disease burden

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Reeves
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Respiratory Syncytial Virus ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Routinely Collected Data ◽  
Syncytial Virus ◽  
International Comparative

Linking population-level health databases – such as those on hospital admissions, GP consultations, prescriptions, maternal and perinatal data, and laboratory data – provides great opportunities to explore the epidemiology and burden of infectious diseases. Furthermore, comparing the epidemiology and burden of infectious diseases on an international scale is crucial in designing and implementing national and global prevention and control measures. However, substantial differences between countries in national health systems (including thresholds for hospital admission), as well as varying availability and quality of routinely collected data, can pose challenges when using linked population-level health databases to compare estimates of infectious disease burden between countries. This session aims to highlight and discuss the opportunities and challenges of international comparisons of infectious disease burden using linked population-level health data. This session will facilitate discussion of the methodological, ethical and resource challenges when using linked health data to produce internationally comparable estimates of the burden of infectious diseases. We will use as an example the ongoing work of the REspiratory Syncytial virus Consortium in Europe (RESCEU) – a large-scale collaborative project producing evidence to inform policymaking and regulatory decisions on novel respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines and therapeutics. The RESCEU project involves at least seven European countries each using linked routinely collected health data to produce national estimates of the health and economic burden of RSV, by age and risk group, for comparison. The results will highlight target populations for future vaccines and therapeutics, and provide a baseline estimate of the pre-vaccine era burden of disease that can be used to measure future vaccine impact. We will share the challenges faced in the RESCEU project with regards to using linked health data in international comparative work. We will then discuss, with relevance to other ongoing or future projects, how these challenges may be overcome. This session will generate ideas for procedures and tools for international comparative work using routinely collected data to investigate infectious diseases. This session will provide the opportunity to network with other researchers working in this area. We aim to facilitate the generation and dissemination of ideas for current and future projects, and therefore this session is likely to identify areas for potential future international collaborative work.

scholarly journals Global Disease Burden of Uncorrected Refractive Error Among Adolescents From 1990 to 2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenlan Yang ◽  
Guangming Jin ◽  
Zijing Li ◽  
Yunru Liao ◽  
Xiang Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Refractive Error ◽  
Disease Burden ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
Dropout Rates ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Disease Study ◽  
Uncorrected Refractive Error ◽  
Global Disease Burden

Abstract Background To estimate the global disease burden of uncorrected refractive error (URE) among adolescents and assess the contributions of various risk factors to disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to URE.Methods Global, regional and country-level DALY numbers and rates due to URE among adolescents were acquired from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 database. Human Development Index (HDI), Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) and other country-level data were obtained from other open databases as potential indicators. Regression analysis was used to evaluate associations between DALY rates among adolescents and potential predictors.Results Global DALYs due to URE among adolescents rose by 8% between 1990 and 2019 but moderately decreased by 4.8% during this period after adjusting for population size. Female adolescents showed higher DALY rates. DALY rates sharply increased from 5 to 9 years of age, then rose more slowly, reaching a plateau before 20 years of age. Country-level DALY rates in 2019 were positively associated with HDI, SDI, and urbanization rates but negatively correlated with primary school dropout rates. Higher disease burden of adolescents visually impaired from URE was associated with lower primary school dropout rates (β=−0.257, 95% CI −0.376 to −0.138, P<0.001) and higher urbanization rates (β=0.257, 95% CI 0.067 to 0.256, P=0.001).Conclusions Higher socioeconomic status, urbanization rates and education levels are associated with a heavier disease burden of URE among adolescents. The findings of this study can provide a reference for policy making on resource allocation for URE prevention and control in teenagers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document