Findings and Implications of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study for the Pacific Islands

Abstract

The Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study is the largest study of its kind. It provides a large volume of information about the global burden of disease and associated risk factors. It estimates that lower respiratory infections, diabetes, diarrhea, and tuberculosis cause the greatest burden in the Pacific, and noncommunicable diseases caused a substantially greater burden in 2010 compared with 1990. Although the Pacific is considered to be a region rich in data, very little of these data has been analyzed, synthesized, and made publically available. Consequently, burden estimates for the Pacific are derived from models built with very limited data, and it is difficult to know how accurate they are. Health information in the Pacific needs strengthening, particularly in relation to data collection, analysis, use, and sharing. This will improve the reliability and comparability of burden of disease estimates.

Noncommunicable diseases and risk factors in adult populations of several Pacific Islands: results from the WHO STEPwise approach to surveillance

“…Further, no such module exists for musculoskeletal diseases. Improving surveillance of both these conditions is essential; depression and low back pain cause the highest two amounts of disability in the Pacific and globally 3,50,51 . Opportunities to monitor and respond to these NCDs are urgently needed and are currently being missed.…”

“…Today, these 22 Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) (referred to hereafter as ‘the Pacific region’) are facing a “human, social, and economic crisis” due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) 2 . Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are among the leading causes of mortality in the region; mental health disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are estimated to account for much of the non‐fatal burden of disease 3 . Through the costs of treatment, combined with the social and economic consequences of premature mortality, morbidity and lost productivity, NCDs pose a grave threat to development in the region 4…”

“…Monitoring the region's progress towards these targets will need robust surveillance and knowledge of the current burden of NCDs and their shared risk factors. Although a wealth of data are gathered in the Pacific, considerably more analysis and dissemination is required 3 . Considering the shared challenges the islands face, collation of data in a Pacific‐focused analysis is warranted.…”

Erroneous inflation of diabetes prevalence: Are there global implications?

“…For example, the cost‐effectiveness study of the Package of Essential Non‐Communicable Disease (PEN) interventions in Tonga was based on T2DM data from the 2012 Tonga STEPS survey . Because many small Pacific Islands do not have adequate population health surveys, estimates and trends of T2DM prevalence for these countries are often modeled on limited data, sometimes using information from nearby or larger neighbors that do have population risk factor survey data available …”

<i>In vitro</i> growth-inhibitory activity of <i>Calophyllum inophyllum</i> ethanol leaf extract against diarrhoea-causing bacteria

“…In the territory of Pacific Islands, diarrhoea causes the third greatest burden of all present diseases [11]. In correspondence with this, the proportion of local medicinal plants traditionally used to treat diarrhoea is quite high, especially in the South Pacific [12].…”