The double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases in developing countries

Now, at the dawn of the third millennium, non-communicable diseases are sweeping the entire globe. There is an increasing trend in developing countries, where the demographic and socio-economic transition imposes more constraints on dealing with the double burden of infectious and non-infectious diseases in a poor environment, characterized by ill-health systems. It is predicted that, by 2020, non-communicable diseases will cause seven out of every ten deaths in developing countries. Among non-communicable diseases, special attention is devoted to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic pulmonary disease. The burden of these conditions affects countries worldwide but with a growing trend in…