fh.1.4 The disease continuum and the implications of a global ageing population
Content
- Geographic inquiry and concept(s)
- Ways of measuring disparities in food and health between places
- Geographic knowledge and understanding
- The epidemiological transition, the diseases continuum (diseases of poverty to diseases of affluence), and the implications of a global ageing population for disease burden
- Case study or detailed examples
- Neither required by the syllabus
- Aims of this lesson
- To have knowledge of what the epidemiological transition is.
- To understand the disease continuum and how it occurs.
- To have knowledge and understanding of how an ageing population can be perceived as a disease of burden.
Base knowledge and understanding
News article
Dementia prescriptions jump 46% in a decade as Australia urged to prepare for ‘full impact’ of disease
Neuroscientist says rapidly ageing population puts country at forefront of a health crisis
The Guardian · 12 September 2024
Key terms
- Disease burden
- The impact of a health problem on a given population, and can be measured using a variety of indicators such as mortality, morbidity or financial cost. This allows the burden of disease to be compared between different areas, for example regions, towns or electoral wards.
- Disease continuum
- The continuum from diseases of poverty to diseases of affluence.
- Diseases of affluence
- Those so-called chronic "degenerative" diseases whose incidence has been rising conspicuously in industrialised societies as incomes have risen, as living standards have gone up and even as health indices have improved. Examples of diseases of affluence include mostly chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and other physical health conditions for which personal lifestyles and societal conditions associated with economic development are believed to be an important risk factor — such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, coronary heart disease etc.
- Diseases of poverty
- Diseases that are more prevalent in low-income populations. They include infectious diseases, as well as diseases related to malnutrition and poor health behaviour. HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis (TB) also known as “the big three” have been acknowledged as infectious diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries.
- Epidemiological
- The study (scientific, systematic, and data-driven) of the distribution (frequency, pattern) and determinants (causes, risk factors) of health-related states and events (not just diseases) in specified populations (neighbourhood, school, city, state, country, global).
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Review
- Outline what is meant by the epidemiological transition. [2]
- Explain how the distinction between diseases of poverty and diseases of affluence relates to levels of economic development. [2]
- Suggest two ways in which a global ageing population may increase the disease burden. [4]
- Examine how the epidemiological transition and changing population structures affect the global disease burden. [10]
- Examine why global patterns of health indicators such as HALE and infant mortality vary between countries at different levels of economic development. [10]
- Examine the importance of economic factors in explaining the incidence and impact of diseases in different places. [10]
- Examine the relationship between the nutrition transition and changing patterns of disease at different scales. [10]
