Men's Health in Africa. Part 2: Non-communicable diseases, malignancies and socio-economic determinants of health

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dc.contributor.authorHeyns C.F.
dc.contributor.authorBornman M.S.
dc.date.accessioned2011-05-15T16:17:03Z
dc.date.available2011-05-15T16:17:03Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.description.abstractWhile recognizing that the geographic designation 'Africa' does not imply a homogeneous race or population, and that the concept 'men's health' is not clearly defined, the aim of this paper is to review the non-communicable diseases and socio-economic determinants affecting the health of African men. It is clear that Africa bears a disproportionate burden of disease in relation to health care funding, with the highest disease burden (measured in disability-adjusted life years) being in sub-Saharan Africa (21.4% of the global total). Many parts of Africa are exposed to a wide range of disasters, such as drought, desertification, infectious disease epidemics and armed conflicts, leading to poverty, malnutrition, environmental degradation, lack of economic development, and large refugee populations. Although malignant neoplasms do not form a major portion of the disease burden in Africa, certain types of cancer (primary hepatocellular and esophageal carcinoma) are much more common than in other parts of the world, most probably due to dietary carcinogens. With the advent of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic there has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Penile carcinoma is relatively more common, but testicular germ tumors are much less common in Africa than in other parts of the world. In many of the large urban centers there is an increasing mortality among young males due to road traffic accidents and the use of firearms, with a male:female ratio as high as 10:1 in some cities. Armed conflicts in several parts of Africa have left a legacy of physically and psychologically traumatized survivors, with a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, leading to alcohol and drug abuse. Refugee and migrant populations in sub-Saharan Africa have increased dramatically, due to the partisan nature of African politics in many countries, and the incapacity to manage ecological degradation. In the USA, African-American men bear a greater burden of diet and lifestyle-associated conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity and cardiovascular disease. There is an increasing prevalence of hypertension among urban black men in sub-Saharan Africa, probably related to dietary factors such as increased salt intake and obesity. Many developing countries in Africa are experiencing a transition from diseases of poverty, such as malnutrition, infective and parasitic diseases, towards chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer, which increasingly contribute to premature mortality in men. © 2008 WPMH GmbH.
dc.description.versionReview
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Men's Health
dc.identifier.citation5
dc.identifier.citation2
dc.identifier.issn18756867
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.jomh.2007.12.002
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/14053
dc.subjectcarcinogen
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.subjectalcohol consumption
dc.subjectcardiovascular disease
dc.subjectchronic obstructive lung disease
dc.subjectcommunicable disease
dc.subjectdepression
dc.subjectdeveloping country
dc.subjectdiabetes mellitus
dc.subjectdietary intake
dc.subjectdisability
dc.subjectdrug abuse
dc.subjecteconomic development
dc.subjectenvironmental factor
dc.subjectepidemic
dc.subjectfirearm
dc.subjectgeographic distribution
dc.subjectgerm cell tumor
dc.subjecthealth status
dc.subjecthuman
dc.subjectHuman immunodeficiency virus
dc.subjecthypertension
dc.subjectischemic heart disease
dc.subjectKaposi sarcoma
dc.subjectlifestyle
dc.subjectlung cancer
dc.subjectmalnutrition
dc.subjectmen's health
dc.subjectmortality
dc.subjectnonhodgkin lymphoma
dc.subjectobesity
dc.subjectpenis carcinoma
dc.subjectpolitics
dc.subjectposttraumatic stress disorder
dc.subjectpoverty
dc.subjectprevalence
dc.subjectpriority journal
dc.subjectrefugee
dc.subjectreview
dc.subjectsalt intake
dc.subjectsocioeconomics
dc.subjectstroke
dc.subjecttraffic accident
dc.subjecturban area
dc.titleMen's Health in Africa. Part 2: Non-communicable diseases, malignancies and socio-economic determinants of health
dc.typeReview
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