Surveillance Report of the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases in Tinghu District,Yancheng City,2021

Objective:To comprehensively understand the changes and prevalence of major chronic diseases among residents of Tinghu District,Yancheng City,in 2021,and to analyze the trends of the major risk factors for the onset of chronic diseases in the region.Methods:Chronic diseases and their risk factors in Tinghu District in 2021 were monitored among the resident population who had lived in the district for five years or more and were aged 18 years or older.The survey was conducted using random cluster sampling,with 7,130 questionnaires collected.After data processing,7,012 valid questionnaires were obtained,resulting in a qualification rate of 98.35%.Results:Among the chronic diseases reported in the survey population,hypertension had the highest prevalence at 37.61%,followed by dyslipidemia at 37.19%.Other chronic diseases were ranked in order of prevalence from highest to lowest.Regardless of gender,the top three chronic diseases were hypertension,diabetes,and hyperlipidemia.Multifactorial regression analysis identified both non-preventable risk factors(such as family history,gender,and age)and preventable risk factors(such as smoking,sedentary behavior,overweight,and obesity)as significant contributors to the major chronic diseases in Tinghu District.Conclusion:Analyzing the trends in the main risk factors for chronic disease incidence in Tinghu District,Yancheng City,provides a basis for developing a new comprehensive chronic disease prevention and control plan to address chronic disease prevention and management.

Research progress of 24-hour movement behaviors in chronic non-communicable disease

Chronic non-communicable diseases(NCDs)represent a significant impediment to improve life expectancy and remain a focal point in global public health and disease prevention efforts.24-hour movement behaviors,which include sleep,sedentary behavior(SED),and physical activity,underscore the inherent connections between different daily activities and the comprehensive impact of overall movement patterns on health.Evidence suggested that modifying patterns of 24-hour movement behaviors can aid in preventing and attenuating the progression of NCDs.This study systematically delineated the concept,evolution,analytical methods,and intrinsic associations of 24-hour movement behaviors,emphasizing their pivotal role in the prevention and management of NCDs such as obesity,mental disorders,cardiovascular diseases,diabetes,and renal diseases.Future research endeavors should focus on refining methodologies,broadening study populations,developing research tools,and exploring precise intervention strategies and interdisciplinary approaches to comprehensively enhance the effectiveness of NCDs prevention and management from a temporal perspective.Such efforts are poised to provide substantive guidance and support for public health practices.

Health Awareness: A Significant Factor in Chronic Diseases Prevention and Access to Care

Health literacy and awareness are essential strategies in promoting global health and improving access to care. While seen as an essential tool for promoting population health awareness to improve early detection and treatment of chronic diseases, it is yet to be emphasized in most African countries. Health literacy is an essential practice to promote chronic disease prevention and reduce the growing threat to population health. Incidences and mortalities from chronic diseases commonly arise from limited knowledge of the causative risk factors and access to health facilities. Without knowledge about causes, health impacts, and available health services, people continue to indulge in the habits that worsen their health conditions and fail to access care timely. By using health literacy and awareness as a tool for chronic disease prevention, healthcare professionals will develop strategic health awareness programs that fit the socio-demographics of the population they serve. This article explored the significant role health awareness occupies in individual and community health prevention through health promotion and education. It reviewed the concept and dimensions of chronic disease prevention, cultural beliefs and impact on chronic diseases, gaps created by low health literacy, and the significance of health literacy in disease prevention and health promotion. Furthermore, it recommends that health systems and local communities form partnerships to address common and emerging health problems, and health systems should be properly funded.

Ayurveda daily regimen practices (Dinacharya): a scientific system model approach suitable as a quaternary prevention strategy for non-communicable diseases

Background:Non-communicable or lifestyle diseases replaced infectious diseases at the end of the 20th century as the primary burden of disease worldwide,marking the epidemiological transition.The industrial revolution and technological advancements,as well as packaged processed foods,have greatly affected lifestyle,causing adverse health effects through chronic,low-level,and systemic inflammation known as“metaflammation”.The main contributors to lifestyle-related diseases are poor eating habits,physical inactivity,poor posture,and a disturbed biological clock.The study on lifestyle changes indicates that comprehensive lifestyle changes can prevent disease and reverse the progression of diseases like diabetes,heart disease,stroke,prostatic cancer and breast cancer.The concept of disease prevention is getting wider acceptability owing credit to early disease detection,better treatment modalities and reduced financial implications.However,the possible harms of over-testing and over-medicalization have led to the propagation of Quaternary prevention strategies.Ayurveda,too propagates the principle of health preservation,promotion,and disease prevention,along with early diagnosis and holistic disease management strategies,incorporating dietary and lifestyle components such as Dinacharya(daily regimen practices),Ritucharya(seasonal regimen practice).This paper critically explores the scientific relevance behind these ascribed daily regimen practices(Dinacharya)and their suitability as a quaternary prevention strategy and presents it for dialogue and research to the scientific community.Method:The classical texts of Ayurveda and the internet search engines were explored with keywords of relevant terms such as“research”“benefit”and“role in health”combined with the Ayurveda daily regimen terms and their English equivalents as provided in brackets and their different combinations and permutations,along with net surfing and hand search.The relevant articles were stored and screened for relevance and the matter is presented systematically for scientific deliberation principal findings–Ayurveda recognized the temporal effects of chronobiological cycles on human health and accordingly devised the daily regimen schedule,delineating the principles for healthy living and harmonization.The daily regimen practices of Ayurveda like timely sleeping,waking up early in the morning,proper defecation,massage,exercise,occupation,social bonding,appropriate dietary practices,etc.adopt a system biology approach with synchronization of chronobiological cycles,mind-body integration,system performance,and epigenetics,apart from other possible approaches and have considerable scientific evidence for the effectiveness as a quaternary prevention strategy.Conclusion:The adoption of these practices in the daily routine may play a crucial role in health preservation and disease prevention at all levels of preventive domains.However,prospective large scale,long-duration randomized controlled trials are yet needed to scientifically further establish the validity of the same.

Sustaining Increase in Life Expectancy in Africa Requires Active Preventive Measures against Non-Communicable Diseases

It is projected that aged population (≥60 years) will continue to increase globally, including in Africa. This is due to reduced population growth, decreased fecundity and improved medical interventions;factors which increase life expectancy. While this is typical for developed countries, it is not the same for Africa and similar developing regions. In these regions, a significant proportion of death is due to non-communicable diseases (NCD’s) such as hypertension, cerebrovascular accident, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal disease and cancer, among others. Rising prevalence of NCD’s due mainly to western style diets and sedentary living is made worse by inadequate nutrition education, high prevalence of low birth weight, poor health services, lack of efficient tobacco control and deficient planning of built environment. In order to halt the possible reduction in life expectancy occasioned by NCD’s, efforts by the community, health planners and governments in Africa to address relevant NCD’s, must be put in place. Suggested measures are: nutrition education, regular community directed physical exercise, improved environmental planning and development. Others are review of present health service model, early detection, prevention and treatment of NCD’s, including improved antenatal care to reduce low birth weights, and establishment of policies and measures that decreased access to tobacco especially by women of childbearing age. Africa and similar developing regions cannot fund the health bill due to NCD’s and their complications;hence it is important that this scourge is attended to with all seriousness.

Potential of Sestrin2 in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases

The prevalence and lethality of chronic non-communicable diseases are constantly rising,becoming a global public health problem.The occurrence and development of chronic diseases are closely related to the generation of excessive free radicals and active oxygen in the body,and anti-oxidation will become an effective treatment.Sestrin2 protein,as a new stress protein found in mammals in recent years,has unique advantages in antioxidants,and is expected to become an effective biomarker and therapeutic target for chronic diseases.The following is a review of the regulatory role and mechanism of sestrin2 in chronic diseases in order to provide a reference for the research of other scholars.

Prevalence of Risk Factors for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases to the National Teaching Hospital “HKM” of Cotonou

Background: In 2008 Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were responsible for 63% of deaths worldwide and 80% of these deaths occurred in developing countries. Four of them were responsible for more than 80% of mortality from NCDs, which were cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. They shared the same risk factors. Objective: To determine the prevalence of NCD risk factors in patients admitted to consult in the outpatient unit of the National Teaching Hospital of Cotonou. Patients and Methods: This was a transversal, descriptive and analytical study which took place from 15 June 2011 to 16 September 2011. It focused on 1000 subjects found after a recruitment of all patients coming to consult during the study period. The collection technique was a questionnaire followed by physical measures (weight, height, blood pressure and waist) and biological measures (fasting glucose and cholesterol). The data were analyzed with the software Epi-3.3.2 info. Results: The mainly prevalent behavioural risk factors were smoking (10.2%), alcohol consumption (60.3%), insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables (84.2%), and physical inactivity (57.6%). The prevalent physical risk factors were hypertension (47.4%), obesity (27.5%), and overweight (35.3%). The prevalent biological risk factors were diabetes (28.5%), and hypercholesterolemia (10.4%). The level of cardiovascular risk was higher than 40% in 81 people (8.1%). Conclusion: This study shows the importance of risk factors for NCDs in outpatient Unit in the National Teaching Hospital of Cotonou.

The Limits of the Intervention of Public Power in Individual Health Choices——From the Perspective of the Realization of the Right to Health in the Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases

Noncommunicable chronic diseases have become the most important public health problem in the world today,so the focus of public health services should be shifted from the traditional area of communicable diseases to the prevention and control of chronic diseases.Since bad living habits are the most direct cause of chronic diseases,the most effective measure to prevent and control chronic diseases is to promote healthy lifestyles for the individual citizen.The theories of equal health opportunity,the right to health from the perspective of human rights,and determinants of a healthy society provide justified reasons for the intervention of public power in individual health choices.In the current legal system,the intervention of public power is limited to flexible measures such as health education,which shows respect for individual autonomy.However,it is inconsistent with the needs of current public health practice.We should expand diversified intervention means to encourage individuals to make healthy choices under the guidance of the management model.The“ladder of intervention”outlines a panoramic view of the intervention measures available.However,for the selection of specific measures,it is necessary to consider the public health objectives and the invasion of individual freedom,introduce the“legal reservation principle”and“proportionality principle”as policy analysis tools,and reasonably choose intervention measures at different levels on the ladder to properly handle the tension between public power and private rights.

The status quo and challenges of prevention and control of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China

Introduction Characterized as persistent and progressive pulmonary function declining,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be accompanied by a systemic inflammatory response.A variety of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities can occur to the patients,such as depression,nutritional disorders,cardiovascular disease,and lung cancer.It is imposing great impacts on the quality of patients' life.In 2010 alone,the economic burden of COPD in the world was as high as 2.1 trillion dollars [1].The high prevalence,mortality,and morbidity have made this disease a major public health problem in socio-economic development with a rapidly aging population in China.

Frequent office visits of patients with chronic kidney disease: Is a prelude to prevention of dialysis

This study is an excerpt of broad-based offce practice which is designed to treat patients with diabetes and hypertension, the two most common causes of chronic kidney disease （CKD）, as well as CKD of unknown etiology. This model of offce practice is dedicated to evaluating patients with CKD for their complete well-being; blood pressure control, fuid control and main-tenance of acid-base status and hemoglobin. Frequent offce visits, every four to six weeks, confer a healthy life style year after year associated with a feeling of good well-being and a positive outlook. Having gained that, such patients remain compliant to their medica-tion and diet, and scheduled laboratory and offce vis-its which are determinant of a dialysis-free life.

Pathogenesis and Prevention of Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease

This treatise of chronic kidney disease (CKD) describes association of hypertension, diabetes and congestive heart failure (CHF) with CKD. CKD is defined by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of less than 60 ml/min for three months or more. CKD is generally irreversible but not necessarily progressive. Thus progression of CKD into end stage renal disease (ESRD) is the concern here and what can be done to reduce the progression of CKD. Exact data of CKD with progression are unavailable but high incidence of ESRD (dialysis) eleven times more in 2011 than in 1980 accordingly to United States (US) Renal Data System is a testimonial to progression of CKD in patients with diabetes, hypertension, CHF and other renal diseases. US Renal Data System reveals that ESRD has soared in parallel with marketing of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) drugs, providing strong indirect evidence that these drugs are someway instrumental in the progression of CKD into ESRD. These drugs produce acute renal failure which is an independent risk factor for CKD. Thus shift in therapy with enthusiastic use of ACEI/ARB drugs has led to dialysis bonanza throughout the world benefiting the professionals and corporations at the expense of vegetative life of the patients associated with family and societal burdens. The ways to turn the pendulum is to treat diabetes with insulin and hypertension with beta blocker, calcium channel blocker and diuretic therapy, and avoid the use of ACEI/ARB drugs. It is important to understand that diuretic orally, by intravenous boluses or by continuous infusion, is the cornerstone of therapy for CHF, whereas ACEI/ARB drugs markedly impair the efficacy of diuretics by lowering the blood pressure to a very low level thereby reducing renal perfusion. An evidence for that is marked elevation of BUN with comparatively slight increase of serum creatinine. Thus with the approaches stated above, CKD is less likely to progress;hence rate of ESRD is likely to decrease.

Targeting mitochondrial phenotypes for non-communicable diseases

The concept that ＂Exercise is Medicine＂ has been challenged by the rising prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases （NCDs）. This is partly due to the fact that the underlying mechanisms of how exercise influences energy homeostasis and counteracts high-fat diets and physical inactivity is complex and remains relatively poorly understood on a molecular level. In addition to genetic polymorphisms in humans that lead to gross variations in responsiveness to exercise, adaptation in mitochondrial networks is central to physical activity, inactivity, and diet. To harness the benefits of exercise for NCDs, much work still needs to be done to improve health effectively on a societal level such as developing personalized exercise interventions aided by advances in high-throughput genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. We propose that understanding the mitochondrial phenotype according to the molecular information of genotypes, lifestyles, and exercise responsiveness in individuals will optimize exercise effects for prevention of NCDs.

Three Year Community Based Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention in Epidemiological and Political Transition Context: Example of Tunisia

Objective: Our aim was to determine the effectiveness, feasibility, and necessary cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions directed at tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity in adults and children in three different sectors: workplace, neighborhood and schools. Materials and Methods: We conducted in Sousse, Tunisia an interventional study through a quasi-experimental design (pre-post with intervention and control groups) to prevent non communicable disease risk factors. The intervention group included different settings and pre and post assessment concerned independent groups (schools with 1929 and 2170 participants, workplaces with 914 and 1098 participants and community with 940 and 1001 participants respectively at pre and post assessment). It was located in the delegation of Sousse Jawhara and Sousse Erriadh. The control group with similar settings (schools with 2074 and 2105 participants, workplaces with 861 and 1015 and community with 940 and 976 participants respectively at pre and post assessment) was located in the delegation of Msaken from the region of Sousse. Results: Tobacco use decreased among neighborhood (26.2% to 23.2%, p = 0.13) workplace (39.2% to 37.5%, p = 0.43) and schools (5.7% to 4.8%, p = 0.19) participants. In control group, it increased significantly in schools and neighborhood. Participants who consumed five fruits and vegetables daily increased significantly in all settings in intervention group (from 30% to 33.2% in schools, 47.5% to 52.1% in workplace and 39.4% to 58.4% in neighborhood). However in control group it increased only in schools and neighborhood. An improvement in physical activity practice was seen both in intervention and control group among adults participants but not in schools. Conclusion: The “Together in Health” project for the prevention of risk factors for NCD is an example of a loco-regional initiative. Such initiatives can only be beneficial with a structure organized by the government.

Three Years Community-Based Intervention Program to Prevent Non-communicable Disease Risk Factors in Sousse, Tunisia

Aim： To evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based intervention program for NCD （non-communicable disease） risk factors prevention. Materials and methods： The authors conducted a quasi experimental study with a control group over five years between 2009 and 2014 in the region of Sousse, Tunisia. In each group, the sample size required was 1,000 participants. For this, the authors randomly selected 500 households from two areas and they included all adults aged 18 years and older in these households. They evaluated the habits of participants from both intervention and control groups at baseline in 2009-2010 and after three years of intervention in 2013-2014. They focused on the main lifestyle risk factors represented by poor diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use. Results： Tobacco use decreased significantly among men by 7.3% （/9 = 0.03） in the intervention group, versus an increase of 3.5% in the control group （p = 0.4）. Physical activity and fruits and vegetables intake increased significantly respectively by 25% （p 〈 0.001） and 19% （p 〈 0.001） in intervention group. Conclusion： The results suggest that a combined community-based lifestyle intervention in a developing country, can significantly improve some NCD risk factors. However, a supportive environment or a gender approach is required to maximize the effectiveness and maintain the sustainability of the health intervention.

Clinical Characteristics and Prevention Strategies of Falls in Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Objectives: To analyze the clinical features of falls in hospitalized patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and to provide basis for preventing the occurrence of falls in hospitalized patients with CKD. Method: A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the 27 adverse events of falls in hospitalized patients from the department of nephrology in Peking University Shenzhen Hospital during May 2009 and May 2019. Results: Among the 27 patients with falls, people over 65 years old accounted for 55.56%;74.07% of the patients had caregivers;the peak period of falls was from June to August, accounting for 40.74%, mainly occurring from 7:00 to 8:00, 12:00 to 13:30 and 19:00 to 21:00;the locations of falls were mostly near the bed and in the bathroom, accounting for 33.33% and 22.22%, respectively;suffering from anemia, hypoproteinemia, abnormal serum potassium, calcium-phosphorus metabolism disorders accompanied by abnormal parathyroid hormone and hypertension accounted for 88.89%, 85.19%, 29.63%, 96.30% and 81.48% respectively. The inpatients on dialysis therapy accounted for 66.67%. Conclusion: The occurrence of falls in hospitalized patients with CKD was not only related to age, caregivers, time, months, locations or other conventional factors, but also the complications and dialysis therapies. To effectively reduce the occurrence of falls, it’s necessary to enhance the sense of safety and responsibility of caregivers. Besides, nurses should strengthen the inspection of wards for inpatients engaging in some intensive activities, and nurses should also pay more attention to the inpatients with anemia, hypoproteinemia, calcium-phosphorus metabolism disorders and those on dialysis therapies.

Life’s Essential 8 and risk of non-communicable chronic diseases:Outcome-wide analyses

Background:Life’s Simple 7,the former construct of cardiovascular health(CVH)has been used to evaluate adverse non-communicable chronic diseases(NCDs).However,some flaws have been recognized in recent years and Life’s Essential 8 has been established.In this study,we aimed to analyze the association between CVH defined by Life’s Essential 8 and risk of 44 common NCDs and further estimate the population attributable fractions(PAFs)of low-moderate CVH scores in the 44 NCDs.Methods:In the UK Biobank,170,726 participants free of 44 common NCDs at baseline were included.The Life’s Essential 8 composite measure consists of four health behaviours(diet,physical activity,nicotine exposure,and sleep)and four health factors(body mass index,non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol,blood glucose,and blood pressure),and the maximum CVH score was 100 points.CVH score was categorized into low,moderate,and high groups.Participants were followed up for 44 NCDs diagnosis across 10 human system disorders according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th edition(ICD-10)code using linkage to national health records until 2022.Cox proportional hazard models were used in this study.The hazard ratios(HRs)and PAFs of 44 NCDs associated with CVH score were examined.Results:During the median follow-up of 10.85 years,58,889 incident NCD cases were documented.Significant linear dose-response associations were found between higher CVH score and lower risk of 25(56.8%)of 44 NCDs.Low-moderate CVH(<80 points)score accounted for the largest proportion of incident cases in diabetes(PAF:80.3%),followed by gout(59.6%),sleep disorder(55.6%),chronic liver disease(45.9%),chronic kidney disease(40.9%),ischemic heart disease(40.8%),chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(40.0%),endometrium cancer(35.8%),lung cancer(34.0%),and heart failure(34.0%)as the top 10.Among the eight modifiable factors,overweight/obesity explained the largest number of cases of incident NCDs in endocrine,nutritional,and metabolic diseases(35.4%),digestive system disorders(21.4%),mental and behavioral disorders(12.6%),and cancer(10.3%);however,the PAF of ideal sleep duration ranked first in nervous system(27.5%)and neuropsychiatric disorders(9.9%).Conclusions:Improving CVH score based on Life’s Essential 8 may lower risk of 25 common NCDs.Among CVH metrics,avoiding overweight/obesity may be especially important to prevent new cases of metabolic diseases,NCDs in digestive system,mental and behavioral disorders,and cancer.

Associated Risk Factors of Non-Communicable Disease in Three Sites across Ivory Coast: An Urban (Cocody), Peri-Urban (Abobo) and Rural (Yocoboué) Area

Introduction: The prevalence of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has increased so it’s becoming a global public health problem. This problem is also threatening in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) country including Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast is a country of 22.6 million people experiencing rapid economic development and social change. All development is typically associated with an increase in non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of the major risk factors of NCDs among the population of Cocody, Abobo and Yocoboué in the Ivory Coast. Methods: A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted and involved 1146 adults of 19 to 60 years from general population in Cocody (urban), Abob (peri-urban) and Yocoboué (rural). The WHO STEPS risk factor survey has been changed a bit and was administered. it contains anthropometric and biochemical measures. Results: The prevalence of NCD risk factors was markedly different across the three sites particularly between urban (Cocody) and rural (Yocoboué) areas. The overall prevalence estimates of the risk factors were 15.2% for current smoking, 57.71% for harmful use of alcohol, 58.84% for low physical activity, 24.71% for sedentariness (sitting at least 7 h), 69.45% for skipping breakfast, 61% for having late dinner and 36% for snacking. Concerning biological risk factor we noticed 40.95% for Overweight/obesity, 52.96% for abdominal obesity, 14.61% for raised blood pressure, 23.37% for raised blood sugar and 18.51 low HDL-C. Being female has an important associated with an increased risk for having abdominal obesity (OR: 25.7) and being overweight or obese (OR: 11.3), suffering from hypertension increased with age, 30 - 39 years (OR 8.45), 40 - 49 years (OR 13.4) and 50 years and above (OR 24.6). Conclusion: Adult residents in the two (Urban and peri-urban) of three different areas are developing high-risk NCDs, particularly Cocody’s population. At the end, we observed among participants that the female gender, living in urban areas and clustering are the most concerned by non-communicable disease risk factors. To reach the goal, preventive and therapeutic interventions are needed among the targeted population.

High-intensity interval training for health benefits and care of cardiac diseases——The key to an efficient exercise protocol

Aerobic capacity, which is expressed as peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), is well-known to be an independent predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular prognosis. This is true even for people with various coronary risk factors and cardiovascular diseases. Although exercise training is the best method to improve VO2peak, the guidelines of most academic societies recommend 150 or 75 min of moderate- or vigorous- intensity physical activities, respectively, every week to gain health benefits. For general health and primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been recognized as an efficient exercise protocol with short exercise sessions. Given the availability of the numerous HIIT protocols, which can be classified into aerobic HIIT and anaerobic HIIT [usually called sprint interval training (SIT)], professionals in health-related fields, including primary physicians and cardiologists, may find it confusing when trying to select an appropriate protocol for their patients. This review describes the classifications of aerobic HIIT and SIT, and their differences in terms of effects, target subjects, adaptability, working mechanisms, and safety. Understanding the HIIT protocols and adopting the correct type for each subject would lead to better improvements in VO2peak with higher adherence and less risk.

Chronic disease and the link to physical activity

Chronic diseases have become a focal point of public health worldwide with estimates of trillions of dollars in annual health care cost and causing more than 36 million deaths a year. Lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity are heavily correlated with the development of many chronic diseases. New strategies for primary and secondary disease prevention are desperately needed to aid in blunting the negative economic and social impact of these diseases. Physical activity （PA） and exercise are now considered principal interventions for use in primary and secondary prevention of chronic diseases. Currently, more emphasis in primary prevention of disease is necessary to reduce disease risk in youth and adults; however with chronic disease prevalence so high, similar emphasis is also necessary for secondary prevention in those children and adults already inflicted with chronic diseases. Conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cancer are drastically improved when PA and exercise are part of a medical management plan. In addition, the national PA guidelines in conjunction with PA promotion tools like Exercise is MedicineTM are needed to promote increased PA and exercise levels worldwide.

Molecular therapy and prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in some areas of the world with an extremely poor prognosis. The major etiologic risk factors for HCC development include hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, toxins (alcohol, aflatoxin BI) and various inherited metabolic liver diseases, such as hemochromatosis and alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. Central to the molecular pathogenesis of HCC are mutations of various genes and genetic/chromosomal instability that result from chronic liver disease and the associated enhanced liver cell regeneration and mitotic activity. Alterations in the structure or expression of several tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes have been described. In addition, mechanisms leading to genetic instability due to mismatch repair deficiency or chromosomal instability and aneuploidy due to defective chromosomal segregation appear to be involved. The prognosis of HCC patients is generally very poor. Most studies have shown a five-year survival rate of less than 5% in symptomatic patients. HCC has been found to be quite resistant to radio- or chemotherapy. Investigations of the natural history and clinical course of HCC revealed a long-term survival of patients only with small asymptomatic HCC that could be treated surgically or nonsurgically. For patients with advanced symptomatic HCC, novel therapeutic strategies such as gene therapy are urgently needed. Apart from exploring and refining new HCC treatment strategies, the implementation of the existing measures or the development of novel measures to prevent HCC is most important. Primary HCC prevention could have a major impact on the incidence of HCC. Further, secondary prevention of a local recurrence or of new HCC lesions in patients after successful surgical or nonsurgical HCC treatment is of paramount importance and is expected to significantly improve disease-free and overall survival rates of patients. Based on rapid scientific advances, molecular diagnosis, gene therapy and molecular prevention are becoming increasingly part of our patient management and will eventually complement or in part replace the existing diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive strategies. Overall, this should result in a reduced HCC incidence and an improved clinical outcome for patients with HCC, one of the most devastating malignancies worldwide.