About Conference

NCD or non-communicable disease is a disease that is not infectious and cannot be transferred to others. Some of these are diseases that progress slowly or cause chronic symptoms while others progress very rapidly. The World Health Organization estimates that NCDs are the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 60 percent of deaths in all humans. Some risk factors for non-communicable diseases include the environment, lifestyle, or background such as genetics, age, exposure to air pollution, or gender of a person. Some behaviors such as a lack of physical activity, poor diet, or smoking which could lead to obesity or hypertension can also increase the risk of developing some non-communicable diseases.

According to the WHO report, NCDs already disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries where nearly three-quarters of NCD deaths – 28 million – occur.

Key facts

1) Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 38 million people each year.

2) Almost three-quarters of NCD deaths - 28 million - occur in low- and middle-income countries.

3) Sixteen million NCD deaths occur before the age of 70; 82% of these "premature" deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.

4) Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths, or 17.5 million people annually, followed by cancers (8.2 million), respiratory diseases (4 million), and diabetes (1.5 million).

5) These 4 groups of diseases account for 82% of all NCD deaths.

6) Tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, and unhealthy diets all increase the risk of dying from an NCD.

These diseases are driven by forces that include aging, rapid unplanned urbanization, and the globalization of unhealthy lifestyles. For example, the globalization of unhealthy lifestyles like unhealthy diets may show up in individuals as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids, and obesity. These are called 'intermediate risk factors' which can lead to cardiovascular disease, an NCD. As a responsible research institute in Sri Lanka, we hope to gather subject-related people to discuss, share knowledge, and spread the details among the population to support the prevention and control of NCD in the world.