RESUMO
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading health and development challenge worldwide. Since 2015, WHO and the United Nations Development Programme have provided support to governments to develop national NCD investment cases to describe the socioeconomic dimensions of NCDs. To assess the impact of the investment cases, semistructured interviews and a structured process for gathering written feedback were conducted between July and October 2022 with key informants in 13 countries who had developed a national NCD investment case between 2015 and 2020. Investment cases describe: (1) the social and economic costs of NCDs, including their distribution and projections over time; (2) priority areas for scaled up action; (3) the cost and returns from investing in WHO-recommended measures to prevent and manage NCDs; and (4) the political dimensions of NCD responses. While no country had implemented all the recommendations set out in their investment case reports, actions and policy changes attributable to the investment cases were identified, across (1) governance; (2) financing; and (3) health service access and delivery. The pathways of these changes included: (1) stronger collaboration across government ministries and partners; (2) advocacy for NCD prevention and control; (3) grounding efforts in nationally owned data and evidence; (4) developing mutually embraced 'language' across health and finance; and (5) elevating the priority accorded to NCDs, by framing action as an investment rather than a cost. The assessment also identified barriers to progress on the investment case implementation, including the influence of some private sector entities on sectors other than health, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes in senior political and technical government officials. The results suggest that national NCD investment cases can significantly contribute to catalysing the prevention and control of NCDs through strengthening governance, financing, and health service access and delivery.
Assuntos
Doenças não Transmissíveis , Humanos , Doenças não Transmissíveis/epidemiologia , Doenças não Transmissíveis/prevenção & controle , Pandemias , Política de Saúde , Formulação de Políticas , GovernoRESUMO
The prevention of memory decline requires better knowledge of biological markers. We studied the associations between kidney function biomarkers and memory decline (assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination-MMSE) in elderly individuals without dementia (MMSE 24-30, age 60-74 years, n = 643, Arkhangelsk, Russia). Participants were divided by sex and into three groups according to the delayed memory performance: recall of 0-1, 2, and 3 out of 3 words. The median of serum creatinine was 82 µmol/L in men who recalled 2 words and both medians in those recalling 3 and 0-1 words were 87 µmol/L. The 90th percentile for creatinine in men recalling 0-1 words (115.0 µmol/L) exceeded the upper limit of the normal range (110.5 µmol/L), while those who recalled 3 and 2 words had 90th percentiles within the normal range (109 and 101 µmol/L, respectively). Glomerular filtration rates were normal (≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2) with a median of 92.0 mL/min/1.73 m2 in men who recalled 2 words, 84.4 and 84.9 mL/min/1.73 m2 in men who recalled 3 and 0-1 words, respectively. None of these associations were observed in women. A reduced serum creatinine in older non-demented men may indicate the initial stages of memory decline, while the increased creatinine may reflect further stages of memory impairment.