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Disease Problems in the Third World
Author(s) -
WALSH JULIA A.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1989.tb27354.x
Subject(s) - third world , disease , cause of death , medicine , developed country , gerontology , environmental health , psychology , development economics , population , pathology , economics
For those living in the Third World, no matter what their age, the risk of death and disability is always many times higher than for those living in the first world. Despite biomedical advances, illness and death remain common events. These stifle the ability to learn and the capacity to work and raise families, sap one's energy, discourage efforts for advancement, influence attitudes and pervade practically all activities. T able 1 shows these higher risks of death. 1,2 The likelihood of dying in the Third World is almost 30 times greater for an infant, 40 to 75 times greater for a child, and more than a 1,000 times greater for a pregnant woman than in any of their counterparts living in an industrialized nation. Even the adolescent and elderly survivors continue to have a greater chance of becoming ill and dying. One of the first steps in attempting to identify possible methods to prevent this excess ill health and death is to analyze the causes. This paper reviews the available information on the causes of death and outlines the changes that have occurred recently.