Health and population

Health and population dynamics are intertwined, embodying an intricate relationship with significant implications on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Health is fundamentally at the center of these 17 global goals, aimed to transform the world by 2030. Specifically, Goal 3 endeavors to "Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages." It acknowledges that health is pivotal to human life quality, social cohesion, and sustainable development. Inextricably linked to this are the complexities of population dynamics, including growth rates, age structure, fertility and mortality rates, and migration patterns.

With the world's population projected to exceed 9.7 billion by 2050, the pressure on health systems will undoubtedly escalate. The demographic transition, with an aging population and an increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases, poses new challenges for health systems globally. Additionally, areas with high fertility rates often overlap with extreme poverty, resulting in heightened health risks, including higher maternal and child mortality rates, malnutrition, and infectious diseases.

Moreover, rapid urbanization and migration present both opportunities and threats to health. While urban areas may provide better access to healthcare, they also harbor risks of disease transmission, air and water pollution, and social determinants of health like inadequate housing and social inequality. Simultaneously, migrants often face disproportionate health risks due to unstable living conditions, exploitation, and limited access to healthcare services.

Achieving the SDGs will necessitate comprehensive approaches that consider the intricate interplay of health and population dynamics. It means strengthening health systems, promoting universal health coverage, and addressing social determinants of health. It also implies crafting policies that recognize demographic realities and foster an environment conducive to sustainable development. Only by understanding and harnessing these dynamics can the world meaningfully progress towards realizing the SDGs, ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all.

There is overwhelming evidence that the national food system in South Africa is in crisis. This chapter contributes to goals 2 and 10 by outlining some of the key interventions that are attempting to increase food equity and sustainability.
This chapter explores goals 1 and 10 by examining whether the social sustainability enjoyed by sugar industry employees can be maintained given expanding beet production, falling world prices, promotion of healthy diets and the development of sugar alternatives.
Towns and cities worldwide emit significant pollution and are also increasingly affected by pollution's health and climate impacts. Local decision makers can alleviate these impacts by transitioning the energy they control to 100% clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency. This study develops roadmaps to transition 53 towns and cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to 100% wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) in all energy sectors by no later than 2050, with at least 80% by 2030.

Recent progress in the genomics of non-syndromic autism spectrum disorder (nsASD) highlights rare, large-effect, germline, heterozygous de novo coding mutations. This distinguishes nsASD from later-onset psychiatric disorders where gene discovery efforts have predominantly yielded common alleles of small effect. These differences point to distinctive opportunities for clarifying the neurobiology of nsASD and developing novel treatments.

This study aimed to examine the relation between chosen name use, as a proxy for youths' gender affirmation in various contexts, and mental health among transgender youth. This research directly contributes to SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).
Objective: Foreign-origin street children are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS mainly due to poverty, violence, early sexual activity and poor access to health care services. This study aimed to highlight the effectiveness of peer education intervention to reduce HIV-risky behavior among street children with Afghan nationality. Methods: Sixty-one street children were stratified by sex and then randomly allocated to either an intervention or control group by assigning each participant computerized random numbers.
Elsevier,

Environmental Psychology and Human Well-Being, Effects of Built and Natural Settings, 2018, Pages 365-386

This chapter addresses goal 3 by providing a better understanding of the way in which mental and physical well-being is affected by physical environments, along with insights into how the design of these environments might be improved to support better health outcomes.
Mothers are often perceived as key agents in safeguarding the interests of children. If the assumption that women, given the opportunity, are more likely than men to see to the interests of children is true, children can be expected to be less exposed to severe forms of deprivation in countries where women have a relatively strong position in society. The hypotheses that fewer children are exposed to health deprivation and to severe forms of food deprivation in countries where there is a high degree of gender equity are tested.
Objective: Although the benefits of vaccines are widely recognized by medical experts, public opinion about vaccination policies is mixed. We analyze public opinion about vaccination policies to assess whether Dunning-Kruger effects can help to explain anti-vaccination policy attitudes. Rationale: People low in autism awareness – that is, the knowledge of basic facts and dismissal of misinformation about autism – should be the most likely to think that they are better informed than medical experts about the causes of autism (a Dunning-Kruger effect).
Elsevier,

The Immune System and Mental Health, 2018, Pages 483-515

This chapter addresses goal 3 by investigating the immune system to identify factors that can undermine and impair mental health, including Alzheimer’s Disease.

Pages