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.

Exercise to Prevent and Manage Chronic Disease Across the Lifespan, 2022, Pages 413-421

This book chapter advances SDG #3 and #10 by outlining the pathophysiology associated with Alzheimer’s disease and provide an overview of the impact of exercise programs on cognition, physical functional abilities, behavioral, and psychological symptoms and quality of life.
This chapter focuses on the adverse effects of air pollution on the developing brain and discusses the evidence from human and animal studies suggesting that exposure to elevated air pollution during pre- and early postnatal development is associated with a number of behavioral and biochemical adverse effects.
Elsevier,

Julia Derx, Rita Linke, Domenico Savio, Monica Emelko, Philip Schmidt, Jack Schijven, Liping Pang, Regina Sommer, Margaret Stevenson, Harold van den Berg, Saskia Rutjes, Andreas H. Farnleitner, Alfred Paul Blaschke, From Groundwater to Drinking Water – Current Approaches for Microbial Monitoring and Risk Assessment in Porous Aquifers, Encyclopedia of Inland Waters (Second Edition), Elsevier, 2022, Pages 580-594, ISBN 9780128220412

This chapter supports SDG 6 by summarizing the current approaches for evaluating pathogen fate and transport in the environment, their removal during subsurface transport in porous aquifers and the needed infection protection to achieve safe drinking water.
An Article in support of SDG 3, evaluating conditions under which risk-informed pre-exposure prophylaxis use would be cost-effective in sub-Saharan Africa.
This Review supports SDG 3, systematically reviewing the availability of HIV-1 viral sequences from antiretroviral therapy naive and experienced people, because these sequences are important in understanding HIV-1 drug resistance.
This Article supports SDGs 3, 5, and 10 by evaluating the safety and efficacy of injectable cabotegravir versus daily oral tenofovir diphosphate plus emtricitabine for HIV prevention in HIV-uninfected women across sub-Saharan Africa.
Elsevier,

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders (Second Edition)
Biological Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
2023, Pages 147-164

This content links with Goal 3: Good health and well-being and Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities by providing the most recent scientific advances that have improved diagnostic abilities and showcasing experimental studies of gene therapy and conventional pharmacological treatments to lead to effective treatment of these hereditary disorders.
Elsevier,

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders (Second Edition)
Biological Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
2023, Pages 233-251

This content links with Goal 3: Good health and well-being and Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities by highlighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease of the motor system characterized by focal and then generalized weakness leading to paralysis and death from respiratory failure.

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders (Second Edition), Biological Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, 2022, Pages 313-336

This book chapter advances SDG #3 and #10 by reviewing several key topics that influence our understanding of pathogenic mechanisms and lead to the identification of novel therapeutic strategies. These include the diagnostic spectrum of MCI and AD, genetic risk alleles associated with late-onset AD, structures of gamma-secretase and tau, imaging and fluid biomarkers, the role of microglia and neuroinflammation, and novel animal models of AD.
Elsevier,

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders (Second Edition)
Biological Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
2023, Pages 275-292

This content links with Goal 3: Good health and well-being and Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities by providing information on the clinical features, ethics, and neurobiology of HD and the exciting approaches being employed today to advance understanding of underlying mechanisms in an effort to develop therapies that would delay the onset and slow progression of this disease.

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