Chapters in Books (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS))

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Browsing Chapters in Books (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS)) by Subject "Medical care -- Africa"

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    Ensuring healthier trajectories that start in early life to assist non-communicable disease prevention in Africa : a life-course approach
    (African Sun Media, 2020) Norris, Shane A.
    Non-communicable diseases are increasing globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. For countries on the African continent, this is of particular concern as the combination of a persisting burden of infectious disease coupled with a burgeoning of non-communicable diseases could cripple already strained health care systems. The current paradigm subscribes heavily on detection, treatment and management of patients with non-communicable diseases. This perspective is important, but a more balanced approach that strengthens prevention efforts is also needed.
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    The implications of developmentel origins of health and disease for Africa : what can be learnt from available data?
    (African Sun Media, 2020) Byass, Peter
    There is a broad spectrum of knowledge globally that shows that specific exposures in early life – during pregnancy and early childhood – might affect what happens at various later stages of life. The scientific field behind this has become known as the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD). The underlying mechanisms may be complex, and understanding and analysing the epidemiology of the causes and effects are complicated. Long-term individual data, often across generations, are the best way into understanding the precise nature of such effects. Therefore, much of the research that has been done in this area has happened where detailed, individual data on health and welfare are a routine part of social structures – for example, in Scandinavian countries. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to suppose similar exposures and effects might apply within African populations – the difference being that relevant details are much less likely to be documented. Since there is no quick fix for implementing data collection that spans generations, the only indirect clues as to how DOHaD may be affecting Africans is to consider how available data sources might be used in derivative analyses. In this chapter, an example is presented of taking a relationship established elsewhere between breastfeeding and obesity, applied to publicdomain estimates on breastfeeding and childhood obesity in Africa, and analysed to estimate the magnitude of the likely consequences of non-breastfeeding on childhood obesity in Africa. This approach is much less rigorous than the ideal situation where specific individuals’ breastfeeding histories could be related to their later individual obesity, but it offers some clues as to the likely magnitude of this particular issue in Africa, and offers a proof-of-principle for this general approach.
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    International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease's work at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study
    (African Sun Media, 2020) Daar, Abdallah; Pauw, Christoff; Macnab, Andrew J.
    This chapter describes the core group at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) who have contributed to the long-term theme project, ‘Health in Transition’. It also describes what this book is about, why it is crucial, and the different strands and topics that are covered.