Unit 3 Health & Disease in the Caribbean

Learning Objectives1. Identify the main diseases prevalent in the

Caribbean

2. Explain the importance and difficulties of controlling HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean

3. Outline Nutrition Trends in the Caribbean and discuss their implications

4. Analyze the links between diet, lifestyle, and the pattern of chronic diseases prevalent in the region

5. Comment on substance abuse and its implications for regional health and productivity

Learning Objectives (cont’d)

6. Describe the causes of some genetic disease

7. Discuss the possible implications of disease for regional health and productivity

8. Discuss the importance of understanding the causes of disease as exemplified by the diseases included in this unit

9. Discuss the importance of reasoned behavioral lifestyle choices, which will promote good health

Key TermsHealth is a state of complete physical, social and

mental well-being and not just the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO,1978)

A resource for everyday life ( Nutbeam, 1986)Is health a state, an end in itself, or is it a

resource, a means to an end?

Disease - Pathological changes diagnosed by symptoms and signs

Illness - The perception of a disease. So, illness is what you feel, but disease is what the doctor diagnoses .

Key Terms (cont’d)Health Promotion the process of enabling

people to increase control over, and to improve their health… Health promotion affirms that you are in

charge of your health, not the doctor, not the health services.

Emphasizes prevention rather than cure.

It also requires (1) healthy public policy (2) effective action from all the stakeholders, including the family, the education sector, the agricultural sector, the media, the government and the professional health sector (that is doctors, nurses, hospitals etc).

Common Diseases in the Caribbean (1)Communicable – (also called infectious

diseases) passed on by contact or vector . These could be caused by parasites eg malaria,

bacteria – cholera, tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, salmonella, STDs such as syphilis.

viruses –flu, dengue Fever, yellow fever, small pox, polio, human immunodeficiency virus,

Non-communicable-Includes chronic or lifestyle diseases- Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Heart Disease, Cancer Includes also Genetic diseases: Sickle cell anaemia, Down's syndrome, Cystic fibrosis

Common Diseases in the Caribbean (2)

Common Diseases in the Caribbean (3)

HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE

Common Diseases in the Caribbean (4) It is necessary to speak

about risk factors rather than causes, because of the complex interrelationships between the various parameters which affect health. Risk implies probability rather than certainty.

Communicable Diseases (Infectious)

sexual behavior

personal hygiene

Sanitation

What are other risk factors for infectious diseases?

RISK FACTORS

Common Diseases in the Caribbean (5)DISABILITY ADJUSTMENT LIGHT YEARS - DALY

• The DALY relies on an acceptance that the most appropriate measure of the effects of chronic illness is time, both time lost due to premature death and time spent disabled by disease.

• One DALY, therefore, is equal to one year of healthy life lost

Common Diseases in the Caribbean (6)Sickle Cell Anemia Sickle-cell

conditions are inherited from parents in much the same way as blood type, hair color and texture, eye colour, and other physical traits.

The types of haemoglobin a person makes in the red blood cells depend on what haemoglobin genes are inherited from his parents.

Common Diseases in the Caribbean (7)Sickle Cell Anemia

If only one parent has the trait and the other has no abnormal hemoglobin gene, there is no chance that their children will have sickle cell disease. However, there is a 50-50 chance of each child having the trait.

Nutrition & Associated Problems (1)

Nutrition & Associated Problems (2)

RISK FACTORS

Nutrition & Associated Problems (3)

DID YOU KNOW?

“...that although the region produces enough food to meet the nutritional needs of three times the current population, 8.8 million Latin American and Caribbean children suffer from chronic undernutrition (stunting) due to a persistently inadequate nutritional intake, and 4.2 million are underweight?”(ECLAC and United Nations system organizations, The Millennium Development Goals: A Latin American and Caribbean Perspective, 2005).

Nutrition & Associated Problems (4)

DID YOU KNOW?

“...that chronic undernutrition affects half of the children under 5 years of age of indigenous origin; that in rural areas under-fives are 1.6-3.7 times more likely to become undernourished than in urban areas; and that over 40% of the undernourished live in cities?”

(ECLAC/WFP, Hambre y desigualdad en los países andinos. La desnutrición y a vulnerabilidad alimentaria en Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú, 2004).

.

Genetic Diseases (1)

Genetic Diseases (2) Sickle-cell disease

Hemophilia

albinism

Cystic Fibrosis

Tay Sachs Disease

colorblindness

Heriditary Deafness

Achondroplasia(dwarfism)

Fragile X Syndrome

Huntington's Disease

Marfan Syndrome(alton giant)

Trisomy 13(Edward's Syndrome)

Klinefelter Syndrome

Turner Syndrome

Progeria(pre-mature aging)

Xeroderma pigmentosum

Gaucher Disease

Prader-Willi Syndrome

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Down Syndrome

Questions1.The great medical success story of the 20th century has been the effectiveness of vaccinations and antibiotics in eliminating or drastically reducing the incidence of many diseases. Why haven’t these techniques worked on the current killer diseases?

2.What measures would be most effective in curbing substance abuse, especially among young people?

3.What aspect of malnutrition requires most attention in the region (or in your neck of the woods)?

Questions (cont’d)

4. The loss due to chronic diseases is very high, as measured in DALYs. (Disability Adjusted Life Years). How can this be reduced?

5. If only one parent has the sickle cell trait, what chance does the child have of having (a) the trait (b) the disease?