Working Group 6: Burden of Non-communicable diseases
and clinical diagnosis
Lead: Prof. Dr. Torben Sigsgaard
Co-Lead: Prof. Dr. Maria Albin/Prof. Dr. Tor Aasen
Working Group Members:
Working Group 6
Since NCDs not only cause premature deaths and increased morbidity, but also have a significant economic impact, the cost-effective and evidence-based interventions and tools to prevent and control various non-communicable diseases must include: 1.reduction of causative exposures/risk factors. 2. early detection and management of respective disorders. 3. surveillance of endangered populations to monitor trends in risk factors and diseases. Such interventions are feasible; they necessitate a paradigm shift, i.e. from considering each singular exposure to addressing collectively disease clusters in an integrated manner (“exposome”), also from a separated clinical to a public health approach guided by the principles of universal access and social justice, and from action expected from the health sector alone to a broad-based, coordinated and intersectional whole society access and social justice, and from action expected from the health sector alone to a broad-based, coordinated and intersectional whole society. An integrated approach targeting all major common risk factors is clearly the most cost-effective way to prevent and control the common non communicable diseases with the aim of reducing premature mortality and morbidity of chronic non-communicable diseases, but also the need to integrate primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, health promotion and related programs across sectors and different disciplines
